Had my first breakfast in Cologne today. The hotel has a free breakfast bar that services various buns and what looks like that fruit that kids getting in cans from Del Monte. You know, the one with the grape, cherries, peaches, apples, in that really sugary soup. Lots of cold cut meats to choose from. 
And tons of different types of liverwurst. Yum! I actually had to wake up really early for this, earlier than I usually wake up. 9AM! Much too early. But, it was worth it. Had my breakfast then headed out.
Most of the major tourist attractions are near my hotel. There’s Open Markt which is this huge patio filled with bar after bar after bar. Then there’s the church here in Cologne called Dom. It’s probably the largest church I’ve seen in my life. Bigger than the Notre-Dame, but with even more beggars. Probably even taller than the one in Quebec, Saint-Anne. I didn’t really plan my trip here, but when I walked in there was a booth that had guides waiting. I got an English guide and was bunched with 5 other people. You can’t see most of the church without a guide, so it was worth the 6€. The architecture was really unique. You could feel the German in it. Definitely much more different than what I noticed with the Notre-Dame.
There’s one thing about Europe I haven’t been able to understand though. Throughout Paris and Cologne, I’ve noticed that a lot of homeless people have dogs. Like, why would they feed a dog when they can barely feed themselves. There are adoption centres in Paris and in Cologne. I know they might be lonely, but what good is company if you can’t even live to take care of that company.
Anyway! For lunch I ate at the restaurant attached to my hotel again. I honestly love this place. Price-wise it’s not too bad, looking at the menu it isn’t too far off from Paris, but my wallet doesn’t feel too burdened. Portion-wise it’s better than Paris though. I ended up getting this awesome dish called Alt-Kanzler-Filet Schröder Art. Don’t even ask me how to pronounce it. I couldn’t begin to try. But it taste great! It’s a dish with a German sausage covered in German curry sauce and seasoned with spices, and it comes with Germany famous french fries. Yes, the fries here are to die for. Almost as much as the fries used in Poutine out in Quebec! Definitely eating anything with potatoes is a must here in Germany. Oh, and then to top off my meal, I got an apple pie with ice cream. So, yum!
Honestly, this isn’t my favourite way to enjoy a town. I much rather stay somewhere a bit more long term. Maybe a week or two. Getting to know the local life really changes your perspective about a city, might even make you appreciate the tourist life a bit more. But, also the other advantages is not paying those extravagant tourist inflated prices. Right now, finding a decently priced bottle of water in this area is hard. Cheapest is like 2€ for 0.5 litres. I miss my local 80 cent 1.5 litre bottle of Evian in Paris.
I’m really not all that interested to see the sights here. Just wanna relax before I head off to Holland and then Asia. I have about 1 more week here in Europe. But, even though I’ve only been to 2 cities so far, I definitely want to make another trip to another area in Europe. Maybe head south next time, or north. Such a difference between Asia and North America. There’s just too much to see and experience.
Here are the photos from today. Enjoy!
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