Fancy Cologne

Final thoughts

2010-06-05T21:54:00.013+01:00

When I left for Cologne, Germany, I knew very little about the place and was pretty nervous about what was to come. However, I reckoned that even if I didn't have a good time, at least the experience would be 'character-building'.

Luckily I've enjoyed many good times. There have been the bad times too, but I think/hope they have shaped a stronger 'me'.

Here are just a few things I learned about the country and myself through my expat adventure, in no particular order of importance...

Things I have learned about Germany:

It is perfectly okay for dogs to peruse the counters of department stores (Read more...)
There's more rubbish on the streets than I expected, but there are a lot of bin men and road sweepers
There is a surprising amount of beret wearing amongst men of a certain age. It's not just for the French you know
Lederhosen isn't that popular, unless it's carnival time or Oktoberfest
Customer service in shops could score higher and some banks and post offices close over lunchtime, which is just when you need them
The health service is very good and doctors seem to have the resources they need
People are very environmentally aware and it is the norm to take your own bags to the supermarket
There are some lovely customs such as St Martin's Zug and May Day love tokens
It is a land of bread-lovers: bread comes in a huge number of varieties (Wikipedia reckons on around 600 types) and you're never far from a bakery

Things I have learned about myself:

Maybe I need to be a bit, just a teensy bit, less controlling
I am an optimist, not a pessimist (unless things are going wrong...)
I am not too old to try new things and I am not too old to learn new things
Even though I might not enjoy it, I can tolerate a high level of embarrassment
Although I am not great at languages, I am not as bad as I thought when I was a teenager, learning GCSE French. So, on that note, 'Auf Wiedersehen!'

Home

2010-04-27T20:47:00.005+01:00

I've been home a week and am just about unpacked and am slowly settling in. I'm staying at my parents' while we work out what we're doing next - and where we're going to do it. As my folks live in a leafy suburb I am now adjusting to being woken up by wood pigeons instead of sirens.

The last week has been eventful.

On the Monday we were due to leave we went to the Cologne town hall to deregister (it's compulsory to 'sign out' if you're leaving Germany and you're not native). We were a bit crestfallen on arrival when we found that about fifty people were ahead of us in the queue. However, we were only there five minutes when Alexander managed to fall over in the 'soft play area' and cut his head. Interestingly, when I ran to the front desk to ask for help, we were whisked to the front of the queue to complete the de-registration forms. Taking our bleeding son (using the medical sense rather than cussing you understand) to the hospital seemed to be a secondary consideration. The staff were kind though, and ordered a taxi to the hospital after they'd seen all the blood. Alexander was treated immediately at the hospital and luckily only needed to have the wound glued together. He was soon running around as though nothing had happened.

Simon's colleague didn't need a lift in the end - he chose to stay a bit longer. Now travel seems to have returned to normal so I assume he's home now.

Luckily we got our ferry okay. We were interviewed on the boat by the BBC travel expert Simon Calder - he was making a video piece about travel via Norfolk Line ferries for a business conference. He asked us what we consider are the benefits of travelling from Dunkirk and we could only really think it's cheap and punctual (which are pretty good reasons), but I suspect he was angling for more.

On Sunday April turned three. It was great to be able to celebrate her birthday with all grandparents, aunts and uncles as that was never possible before. She even got two chocolate birthday cakes as both Nanas baked: so one for elevenses and one for afternoon tea!

I am still in a bit of a headspin at the moment and it will take some time to mull over the relevance of the last three and a half years spent as an English lady abroad. I plan to write one more post, giving a round up of thoughts and comments. Auf Wiedersehen!

Erupting

2010-04-18T20:41:00.001+01:00

In Germany it is quite normal for a rented apartment to come without a kitchen and in that case it is the tenant's responsibility to fit one on arrival and then remove it on leaving. We have no need of a kitchen where we are going so we managed to find a willing buyer who came to pick it up today.

In a strange twist the buyer for the kitchen works for the European Aviation Safety Agency which has just moved to Cologne. Given the current ban on flying over Europe due to the eruption of a volcano in Iceland, I cannot help wondering how busy he is right now.

One of Simon's English colleagues and friends is currently stranded in Cologne due to the volcano. As he was at a loose end he helped us to deconstruct our kitchen yesterday. In return we're going to squeeze him into our car tomorrow and drop him at Lille, where he can catch the Eurostar. Our small car will be rammed with three crumpled adults and two little people. Goodness knows what the pressure build up is going to be like inside and how long before one of us explodes.

Last night we popped round our neighbours' place for a drink. We'd just arrived and started on the prosecco when we heard fireworks so we watched the impressive display from their large balcony. A perfect and unplanned moment.

Last Friday

2010-04-16T13:25:00.003+01:00

It's my last Friday here.

Just so you know, I did cry on Wednesday when I said goodbye to my friend and her family. It's hard when you meet wonderful people and the path you want your life to take is different from theirs. It is hard for my friend too, as she has made a life here and has seen so many of her expat friends come and go.

April and Alexander leave their playgroup today. I pick them up in half an hour. April has been going twice a week for nearly two years - a long time. I think I am set for another emotional goodbye so I'll take some tissues just in case.

Last week in Cologne

2010-04-14T13:02:00.006+01:00

I will be leaving Cologne and Germany next Monday and returning to my home town. I've been here nearly 3 and a half years!

We spent a lovely weekend with Simon's best man and his family, doing all the tourist highlights: the cathedral, the Roman Museum, the Museum Ludwig, the zoo and the Rhine. Without visitors we probably wouldn't have taken this much needed pause to soak up some of the atmosphere of this great city.

When we were standing by the west door of the cathedral the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cologne came out, leading a procession. Seeing what she thought of as a parade, April did what any toddler might do - and clapped. This caught His Eminence's attention so he came over to bless each of us in turn. It turns out that the Archbishop is a bit cheeky though - as he was leaving we heard him muttering to his attendants that we were 'quite normal for English'. Hmm.

This week has been very busy so far and it's only going to get busier. We're saying goodbye to good friends we have made, tying up loose ends and frantically packing. (Nb packing is not easy when you have a baby and a toddler who like to inspect everything as it's boxed up.)

Today April had her three year check up at the doctor's, but she wasn't in the mood. She was mute for the entire time. Questions like, 'What can you see on this chart?' and, 'Tell me what this animal is,' were met with stony silence. The doctor asked if April could jump to which I said yes - but of course April refused to show us. So the doctor could not perform a sight test; ascertain April's language ability; or check her gymnastic skills. I tried not to be mortified by the experience. On the way home April chatted noisily, jumping along the road like a kangaroo.

This afternoon we are off to say 'Auf Weidersehen' to a dear friend and her family. There is a very real chance that I will cry.

Frohe Ostern...

2010-04-03T14:44:00.008+01:00

...or 'Happy Easter'!

It is thought that the 'Easter Bunny' tradition - where a magical rabbit leaves eggs for children who have been good - emerged in Germany and Alsace.

So it's no surprise that Easter eggs are a serious business here. As well as the usual array of chocolate eggs on sale, you can also buy dyed hard-boiled eggs known as 'Bunte Eier' (colourful eggs).

We bought these ones but were too chicken (ahem) to eat them.

More about the Easter Bunny...

Weyerstrasse

2010-04-02T19:25:00.011+01:00

My street is called 'Weyerstrasse' and it is where I have lived all the time I have been in Germany.

Weyerstrasse is in the Griechenmarkt ('Greek Market') quarter of Cologne (although there's sadly no longer a Greek market here - I am sure it would have been interesting to see). It's near the centre of student nightlife and also a short walk from the town high street. It's a funny mix of residential, offices, bars and shops.

Facilities here range from the sublime to the ridiculous:

A jazz club which has been going since the 60s and which describes itself as 'interjazzional' (mmm, nice)
The oldest pub in Cologne
A centre for Rosicrucian study/worship (don't know what this is, but given that I have never seen anyone enter or leave, maybe nobody else does either)
A leather corset emporium
Water bed shop
Vegan supplies shop
Further Education college
An alternative hairdresser's which has scary Goth dolls hanging by their necks from the window
A club for expat Brits which is never open
A club for expat Russians which is never closed
Portuguese restaurant
And your usual run of takeaways, bakeries, grocery shops and a very nice florist

The people that I have encountered walking up and down the street are always friendly and keen to say 'hallo' and engage the children in conversation. Cologne is a diverse and absorbing place with many facets - and nowhere is this more evident than in our little corner of the city.

Roll up, roll up

2010-03-13T20:51:00.009+01:00

The circus is making its annual visit to Cologne so I took April along to today's matinee. It was a special treat for the girls of the household.

(Alexander is growing his first molars - a situation which isn't pleasant for him or anyone caring for him. So today I ~~escaped from him~~ left him with his Dad.)

April was extremely excited. But I think I may possibly have been more so. I remember being taken to the circus when I was little by one of those ladies I called 'Auntie', but who wasn't really. I recall that it was very good and that I was entranced by a group of acrobats in sequinned green outfits. (Hang on, maybe that explains a lifelong fixation with sparkles?)

It took some time for everyone to get seated in the 'Big Top'. Before the show started April declared that she'd 'Like to go home now' but I managed to convince her to wait for the performance. A few minutes later, coinciding with the opening drum roll, she declared that she needed a wee. Hmmm.

Anyway, after these niggles we were able to settle down and enjoy ourselves. Television and books have taught April to expect the following acts from a circus: jugglers, acrobats and clowns. Luckily we saw all three today: there was a juggler who managed to keep six balls on the go at once, sometimes even throwing them behind his back; there were lithe acrobats who formed human pyramids and flipped their bodies into all sorts of unfeasible configurations with apparent ease; and there was a clown who turned a member of the audience into a goat* - the symbol for the city's beloved FC Köln.

We left at the interval because a full show - at nearly three hours long - would have been too much for a toddler. As we left I inhaled the glorious smells coming from the popcorn and sausage stalls. Although April is too young to remember this day, I shall think of it with fondness. In fact, I want to go again already!

*No people or animals were hurt.

Carnival Sunday

2010-02-14T14:30:00.037+01:00

Tomorrow is the day of the nationally-televised Cologne 'Rosenmontag' parade, and today is the less-crowded warm-up event, which takes the same route through the city and represents local schools and districts (Schull und Veedelszög parade). We decided to brave the snow and take the opportunity to have a look.

The schools that put on a really good display today are chosen to parade again tomorrow: this is a hotly-contested gig.

As it's Carnival, even the people watching the parade are expected to dress up - so we went as a Prisoner, Little Devil, Bird and Showgirl. Sometimes it's hard to know who is meant to be parading and who's just a bystander.

Children come to the parade clutching big, empty bags, which people from the parade fill with sweets. April got into the spirit of the parade, as you can see in the photo (bottom right).

PS - Several bystanders turned up with ironing boards (see photo, middle left), which they used as tables for their beers and snacks. Ingenious.

Carnival photo collage

2010-02-11T19:47:00.010+01:00

Some photos I took today...

Top row: me with some clown musicians; wigs on sale in a fancy dress shop; a carnival clown cake

Bottom row: carnival street sign; party bus; carnival folk in front of the cathedral

Kissed in Cologne!

2010-02-11T11:45:00.019+01:00

It's 'Karneval' once again! Today is the start of 6 days of partying and 17 parades through and around the town. There will be an estimated 1.5 million people attending the big 'Rosenmontag' parade on Carnival Monday.

This year's carnival motto is 'Kissed in Cologne' which I am guessing was chosen because Carnival Sunday happens to fall on Valentine's Day. There is also a custom on Carnival Thursday (known as 'Weiberfastnacht', which roughly translates as 'Women's Carnival Day') which allows women to go up to any man wearing a tie and give him a kiss in exchange for cutting off his tie. I expect bargain tie shops will be doing a good trade today.

Braving this morning's sub-zero temperatures, I headed into town to take some photos of the chaos. Here I am at the main train station. I saw this band and asked to take their picture. They persuaded me to be in the photo instead, for the price of a kiss. My carnival experience is living up to this year's motto!

Here are crowds of early revellers, spilling out of the main station and making their way into town.

More revellers. Note the 'Yippee'!

More about carnival...

January

2010-01-30T19:37:00.012+01:00

January. Oh January. What a disappointment you've been to me. Here's a quick summary:

Week 1: April and Alexander contract the winter vomiting virus. It snows a lot.
Week 2: Me and Simon contract the winter vomiting virus and the kids get coughs. It is very cold.
Week 3: The lift breaks and it takes ten days to fix - and we live on the 4th floor. It is very, very cold.
Week 4: It snows again and I am just too cold. How is one supposed to keep the spark going in a marriage when it's necessary to wear socks in bed to retain body heat?

I'll be glad to see the back of January. (Though I am pleased to have found that having to wear a hat outside the house has put paid to 'bad hair days'.)

Today I took some photos of the snow when out buying the groceries. Here's a photo taken of our local Zülpicher Platz church.

Schneemann

2010-01-10T13:56:00.004+01:00

Today April and I built a happy snowman. It has eyes made out of cake candle holders, a toy carrot nose, chopsticks for arms and a button mouth.

It's been very cold here - I don't think it's got above freezing all week.

Queasy

2010-01-03T21:03:00.014+01:00

We've been away in England for Christmas and it's been pleasant, as it always is. We arrived back in Cologne about 3 hours ago and are enjoying being back on our sofa and surrounded by all of our things.

We split the journey back to Cologne over two days, with a break in a Dover hotel last night, prior to our Channel crossing. That was meant to make the journey more pleasant. Hmm.

Precisely 6 minutes before we got to the hotel April was violently sick. Poor little thing. When we arrived at the hotel I had to get her out of the car and shake her down. Bits of part-digested tangerine, orange squash and all - making a nice fruit cocktail for the urban rats. This was not stylish travel.

She was ill again when we were in our hotel room; a room all four of us were sharing. With vomit-covered sheets and clothes the room soon became a bio-hazard and I was worried that we'd all be ill by dawn.

Luckily Simon, Alexander and I were okay this morning, but April threw up her breakfast. Of course, it occurred to us that a nauseous child and a cross-channel ferry in winter seas might not be good. We boarded with some anxiety.

In the end, the worst thing that happened on the ferry was that April had a very loud tantrum about not wanting to put her boots on. It was public mortification for me, but not as bad as her being sick again.

Now we're home April is fully recovered but I am mentally scarred!

Travelling with children? Just DON'T.

St Nicholas Day

2009-12-06T19:37:00.020+01:00

Before I came to Germany I didn't realise that here - and in many other European countries - Saint Nicholas is celebrated with a feast day held on 6th December.

In the Christian church St Nicholas is the patron saint of children, merchants, sailors and pawnbrokers. During his lifetime (270-346) this bishop of Myra (now a part of Turkey) was said to have given generously, and secretly, to the poor.

Here in Germany children put out their shoes on the eve of December 5th, hoping to find them filled with small gifts, such as chocolates or nuts, in the morning.

April decorated this bushy-faced St Nicholas figure at her German playgroup. On the quiet, the playgroup ladies filled it with goodies for today. Of course, April was delighted this morning when she found out that her figure had been turned into a receptacle for chocolates and they were all for her.

Our neighbours hold a 'St Nicholas Brunch' every Sunday closest to St Nicholas Day. So, once April was suitably high on sugar, we headed next door where we enjoyed great company and fabulous food. I think the boozing started before midday too. Cheers St Nicholas!

My first Christmas market this year

2009-11-25T22:10:00.029+01:00

The Christmas Markets open this week. There are six to choose from. I took April and Alexander to our local one today, which stands in front of the medieval gate known as the Hahnentor (one of three medieval gatehouses which remain from the late 12th Century city fortifications). This market is based in the square known as Rudolfplatz, which I always think is a very appropriately named venue.

April had a go on the carousel - in fact she had it all to herself as we got there quite early. After that we shared some chips. April managed to get ketchup on her hands, face, coat, gloves and the pram.

The market here is known as the fairytale market - it is distinguished by large fibre glass fairy tale characters on top of the stalls and there is a reading by a 'fairy' every afternoon. See the slightly tipsy dwarves atop of the stall to the far left of this photo: they've been at the glühwein early.

Find out more about this year's Christmas markets...

Post about the Neumarkt Christmas market 2007...

Video about the Medieval Christmas market 2007...

St Martin's Zug

2009-11-07T13:48:00.050+01:00

April goes to a little German playgroup two mornings a week and it was through this that we were invited to join in a German custom - the 'St Martin's Zug' (Zug = Train).

Every year the young children of each neighbourhood gather with their parents at twilight, carrying lanterns. Here is April with the colourful tissue paper lantern she made at playgroup.

At the appointed time we met with the other parents at the local church, perplexed as to what might happen next. While we waited for whatever was going to happen, to happen, Simon had a conversation with a bold young German girl (about 8 perhaps?) who wanted to practise her English by asking the vocab for different 3-dimensional shapes.

I stopped listening in when I looked up and was surprised to see a man dressed as a Roman soldier, riding towards us on a white horse. Apparently, he represented 'St Martin' of the 'St Martin's train'.

Soon our number was swelled by parade guides carrying flaming torches, a police escort and the city's official brass band.

When everyone was assembled we formed a very long column and we began to parade down the middle of the road. We heard music, laughter and people singing the song, 'Laterne, laterne' (Lantern, lantern). We did this for about half an hour, snaking around the block.

Eventually we arrived at the local park where a massive bonfire had been set alight. A man spoke about the importance of St Martin and led a prayer. Then the band started up again and people were invited to partake of the mulled wine.

By this time our little ones were shattered, so we headed home, pleased to have been involved in this event and very proud of April for her lantern-bearing duties.

More information:

St Martin was a Roman soldier who supposedly shared his cloak with a beggar during a snowstorm. He is also known as 'Martin of Tours'. St Martin's Day is celebrated on 11th November in Catholic parts of Germany. There are also many other celebrations across Europe to celebrate St Martin around this date. More about St Martin...

Video of the St Martin's Train Cologne 2008...

Video of the Laterne, laterne song...

Here is my description of the St Martin's Festival 2008...

Seasonal photos

2009-10-31T09:55:00.018+01:00

Yesterday we collected leaves in the park and April made a couple of collages with them. Here's one. Needless to say, we are still wiping glitter off our faces.

This week Simon, April and me made a pumpkin head. Simon did the design (of course); April helped by removing individual seeds as Simon scooped them out; and I was face carver. It was the first time Simon had seen inside a pumpkin. He admitted to being surprised that it wasn't a solid mass, but a cavity full of seeds and a bit of flesh.

Here the Devil contemplates the enormous Halloween 'To do' list.

A world in a grain of sand

2009-10-30T13:12:00.026+01:00

This morning was good.

Well, it started a bit sooner than I'd like, with Little Man crying 'Mmm, Mum, Mhm' at 6:15. Ouch. However, as we were all up and dressed so early I decided to make the most of the time and took the kids to the park.

The playgrounds here are built on sand, which means that if you go equipped with a bucket and spade it's possible to build sandcastles, which is just what we did. We dug some lovely holes and built some interesting structures which we decorated with autumn leaves. When we dug one hole we found a tiny green bucket that someone must have left behind - some exciting treasure for April!

The park was particularly beautiful today because it was completely covered in a carpet of leaves. The sun was low and shining and it caused the dew-spotted leaves to sparkle. There were so many leaves falling down that it looked like the sky was snowing gold.

In the trees there were rose-ringed parakeets (they can be found living wild all over the city) and on the ground we saw two foraging jays.

April also said she saw some worms. She was very pleased with this nature 'spot'.

One of few pieces of poetry I can quote is the opening stanza of William Blake's 'Auguries of Innocence':

To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.

Full version here...

I like to think we followed Blake's advice today, by drinking in all the small details around us.

We came, we saw and we had pizza

2009-10-26T13:33:00.034+01:00

Simon's younger brother came to visit this weekend. We thought we should show him something of the city so we took him to the Romano-German museum in the centre of town. I hadn't been there for over two years so it was lovely to have an excuse to go again.

This collage shows some of the interesting exhibits we saw: including a fabulous Dionysian floor mosaic from around 200 AD (top right); the reconstructed tomb of legionary infantryman Poblicius (bottom left); and some fantastic glass animals (bottom right).

If you ever find yourself in Cologne I really do recommend taking in this museum, as it is packed full of fabulous artefacts.

Afterwards we continued the vaguely Italian theme by stopping off for a pizza. Though whether the ancient Romans would have understood the concept of a 'Hawaiian' is anyone's guess.

Read about my previous visit...

Find out more about the museum...

Birthday monkey fun

2009-10-23T12:09:00.031+01:00

Well yesterday was my birthday ('Geburtstag') and so I moved another year closer to 'The big ticket birthday'. The main thing is that I am not there YET.

I decided that the best way to cling to my youth was to act like a kid - so I spent my birthday with Simon and the children at a monkey park an hour's drive from here. We saw monkeys, reptiles, exotic birds and meerkats. (The photo is of a squirrel monkey. I only had my camera phone to hand, so it's not the best quality.) The park was laid out over a huge area of German forest, amongst steep hills of firs, giving it quite an Alpine feel.

There were also lots of un-manned rides at the park and these provided many opportunities for cheeky monkey fun - Heath-Robinson contraptions such as a small carousel powered by one person on a bicycle; or a cable car operated at your own risk by the insertion of 50 cents; and a circular multiperson bicycle that just went round and round and round about its centre point.

More about the monkey park...

Oktoberfest by proxy

2009-09-19T19:26:00.017+01:00

This morning I went to the supermarket to buy a chicken to roast for tomorrow's lunch. There was one lonely chicken left and it was labelled as an 'Oktoberfest' chicken. (It didn't look particularly festive, unless you count being covered in spices as something to party about. And, hang on, isn't it still only September? And isn't Oktoberfest in Munich?) My brain. My brain!

In the afternoon I took the kids to the park as Simon had to work. He'll be kicking himself for not coming. I went by tram and it was rammed full of women in revealing dirndl wench dresses with hair in plaits. Incidentally, there was a good quota of lederhosen-clad men too. It was 3pm and they were all off to start drinking.

This evening I've been asking the web to account for my Oktoberfest encounters.

#Where?
Now I always thought that Oktoberfest happened in Munich. Apparently not: there's also been one in Cologne since 2004.
#When?
Although it is called Oktoberfest, it starts in September.
#How?
How does one celebrate it? Drinking. Lots. And eating grilled spicy chicken.

Tomorrow I shall be entering the spirit of the event when I eat my chicken. Maybe I'll have a drink. I'm telling you now that I shall not be dressing up as a wench to do so*.

*Though if I were to do so, I'd be getting my costume from the local C and A.

*Note: the image is courtesy of iStock Photography - because I didn't have the guts to ask if I could take someone's photo!

Oh yeah mate, build you one of them in an evening, no probs

2009-09-12T13:51:00.069+01:00

We went to a very impressive exhibition of Lego models this week, held in the 'Rhein Centre' shopping mall. All the models are by a very talented group of Lego fanatics called the 'Modellbaufans Rheinland'.

There were recreations of whole towns and villages as well as models of the Taj Mahal, the Whitehouse, Eifel Tower and Notre Dame cathedral. The one that really stood out for me was a 2.9m high version of Cologne Cathedral. It is by a man called Jurgen Bramigk and it took him 2 years to make.

If you look at the amount of work in this close up then I think he did amazingly well to finish it in just two years.

The features of the original have been lovingly recreated. There is an amazing attention to detail. For example, the dark and light grey tones of the bricks used really do give the impression of the real building, which is very sooty and grimy due to its great age.

In the close up above you can see a couple of little painted Lego men posing as decorative grotesques, as well as two small pigeons for authenticity.

Jurgen's masterpiece inspired me to make my own cathedral. Luckily Simon had been given a cardboard kit of Cologne Cathedral as a birthday present - which lay unopened on a shelf. I opened it for him. Well, we're married so what's his is mine and all that.

Inside there were 47 numbered pieces to remove from their cardboard sheets and then fold and slot all together. (See all of the bits laid out ready to join up.)

I managed to construct my version of the cathedral in a couple of hours last night. With Eastenders on in the background and other quality start-of-the-weekend TV shows.

This photo shows me mid-build. Witness a master mason at work! (Ahem)

Nave, transepts and apse completed and roof on, but no towers or spires yet. What you cannot appreciate from the pic is that at this point I was swearing and red faced because the buttresses were refusing to slot into the holes. And there were A LOT of buttresses.

The wine helped with the build process but may have contributed to the wobbly (jolly?) style of the finished project.

Ta da! Here's the finished model. I've added the twin spires at the front, which are Cologne Cathedral's most recognisable motif (and indeed, of the city). Incidentally the arrangement of the two spires side-by-side means that Cologne Cathedral has the widest façade of any church in the world.

Here's something to think about: My model took a mere 2 hours; the cathedral itself took from 1248 - 1880 (with some interruptions) - which is over 600 years!

More info about the cathedral:

Website of Cologne Cathedral...

Wikipedia entry for Cologne Cathedral...

Info about the Lego exhibition:
Modellbaufans Rheinland...

Bake in foil

2009-08-20T12:15:00.006+01:00

It is 34 degrees today!

That would be okay if I were by a pool, my needs being tended to by waiters carrying trays of icecream sundaes and refreshing cocktails. It is not quite so comfortable when you live in an apartment that has lots of large windows and no natural shade.

To try to keep out some of the heat I have covered the windows in baking foil. I expect I probably looked quite odd to the people working in the office block opposite, as I was taping up strips of foil, but I'd rather lose my dignity than my cool.

PS - the fridge freezer got fixed last week, so I have a stock of Magnum lollies at my disposal if my foil plan turns out to be a folly.

Englishmen in the midday sun

2009-08-02T12:17:00.021+01:00

It's been very, very hot this week and the freezer remains broken (hopefully to be fixed in 8 days time). With no ice lollies to keep us cool the heat seems to be affecting our brains...

April has created an imaginary friend. This friend is called 'Pae-ya!' (always said with exclamation) and is, apparently, sometimes cuboid, sometimes pyramid-shaped, with blonde hair and a green face.

Yesterday we received polling cards allowing us to vote in the upcoming election for the mayor of Cologne. There are five candidates to choose from. I know nothing about politics in Cologne so I was initially concerned by this unexpected responsibility. However, the worry was taken away when Alexander ate the polling card and regurgitated it in bits.

It is wasp season and the little bu$$ers are thriving. When they go near April and Alexander I have to try to hide my panic and claim 'There's nothing to worry about!' while doing a crazy mad woman jig to flick them (the wasps, not the children) away.

Simon has found an ingenious way to deal with wasps: a vacuum cleaner. Here he is doing a bit of light 'wasp extermination' yesterday afternoon (al fresco).

Oh, for a Sainsburys ready meal...

2009-07-23T12:05:00.005+01:00

The fridge freezer is still broken. The guy who came to fix it last week said it needed an electrical part and he would order it. Then we didn't see him for dust. A German friend rang the repair man to get an explanation for his odd behaviour - but he was evasive. We can only assume that the fridge freezer parts ordering process is too onerous.

So we contacted the manufacturer direct and they are sending someone next Thursday. That is still a long time.

I am starting to run out of ideas for what to eat now. We've done things in tins. We've done salads to death. Pizza likewise. I find myself hankering after the huge variety of ready meals available in UK supermarkets. Yes, yes, I know they are full of fat, sugar and salt, but oh, what a selection and what convenience.

For now I shall just keep perusing recipe books and hoping for some inspiration.

At least it's cool in the pool

2009-07-14T12:08:00.012+01:00

This morning has been good and bad.

The bad? Our fridge freezer has stopped working and we cannot get anyone to repair it until FRIDAY. Simon's going out to buy one of those cheap mini fridges after work today*, to see us through. It's about 27 degrees today, so it would be nice to have some way to keep milk from turning to cottage cheese.

The good? Alexander had his first swimming lesson today and it went really well. I was nervous as I thought he might be a bit frightened and also that I might not be able to keep up with the instructions. There was no need to be worried as the teacher was so nice and the environment so well set up for babies. We both had fun. And we learned a new German song about being little fishies.

*Then after the big fridge is better we can keep the mini one in the bedroom and pretend we are in a hotel, on our holidays.

Punch drunk

2009-07-12T12:23:00.010+01:00

We went to our neighbours' house for a party last night. Today I feel a little bit fragile.

Obviously the preceding two sentences are in no way statements of cause and effect.

Oh. Was that my nose growing?

It was at the party that I got my first taste of a German drink called 'Bowle'. It is a fruit punch made in a big bowl (hence the name) which typically contains champagne, white wine and chunks of fruit. The bowle is ladled out into glasses, along with the fruit (you're provided with a tooth pick to eat the fruit). Not only is it a lovely drink, but it counts towards your 'five a day'. Hurrah!

Link for recipe...

High dining

2009-06-10T19:36:00.030+01:00

On Monday I was lucky enough to share a meal with friends in a restaurant on the 30th floor of a skyscraper (almost 150 m high) known as the 'Media Turm'.

We started with drinks. So far so good. Even better was the fact that we sipped our drinks while out on the 30th floor viewing terrace - which gave me the chance to see Cologne from a different perspective.

The first photo was taken with the camera pointing across the spread of the city and features the twin peaks of the cathedral.

The Media Turm is part of Cologne's 'MediaPark' district, which is a leisure and business zone developed just 11 years ago.

In the second photo the camera is pointing down to street level. The wedge-shaped group of buildings in the middle make up the forum area of the MediaPark. If you look closely you will see that they are shaped like segments of circles, with the curved facades facing inwards. Apparently this unusual layout was chosen by the architects so that people congregating in the centre of the forum area would be able to appreciate the interesting curved facades, while the more boring flat facades would be facing outwards where people are less likely to hang around. I think it also works as a scheme when viewed from above as I found it much more enjoyable to look at than rows of rectangular buildings.

More about the MediaPark...

Pfingstmontag

2009-06-01T09:53:00.035+01:00

A pinch and a punch and, gosh, it's the first of the month. Here it's also one of the wonderfully abundant public holidays.

This public holiday is called Pfingsmontag, which means 'Pentecost Monday'. It has traditionally been a day for celebration as Pentecost is an important date in the Christian calendar (it marks the time when the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples).

When I was trying to find out about the festival I came across a lovely article from The New York Times describing a Pfingstmontag gathering by Germans in New York in 1860. Here are some excerpts which give a flavour of the event:

'The recurrence of the German May festivals was hailed this year with unusual enthusiasm...
Motion was the order of the day, either in dancing, running, leaping, walking, turning, twisting, swinging, gyrating, rolling, riding or tumbling - all was a continued scene of unceasing, uninterrupted, continual, perpetual motion...
But, of all the amusements of the day, quaffing the foaming lager was the most universal.'
NY Times, May 29th, 1860
View full article...

My celebrations have been more humble. We all went out to an icecream parlour and I had a banana split. Oh, and I did some spins on the carpet with April this morning, which must count towards my quota of motion-based activities.

The very depth of fashion

2009-05-22T15:00:00.010+01:00

Yesterday I had a little time to myself and went into town to see what's in fashion. (Because whatever is in fashion, it surely isn't me. For the last three years I seem to have been either being pregnant or breast feeding: not situations where you tend to worry about being the in-thing.)

When shopping for clothes in Germany I have started to wonder if something is truly stylish and, indeed, whether I can be objective about this anymore. Is it the fact that...

a) My head has been turned by a world where mullets for the gent and leather trousers for the lady are more common than is strictly necessary...

b) I am too close to a significant birthday for my brain to be able to comprehend 'contemporary' and for my frame to flatter it...

c) Due to globalisation, clothing is more or less the same wherever you go - and so I'd be facing such sartorial dilemmas whether in Germany or England...

Or d) all of the above?

Using our new vocab

2009-05-12T19:03:00.006+01:00

On the one hand it has not been a particularly remarkable day. It rained a lot and so we stayed inside a lot. However, April and I both did some good chatting.

A nice man came to fix the water heater. We nattered about what was wrong with the heater and what he needed to do to repair it. We briefly exchanged information about our respective kids (gender and age). As we did all of this in German I am feeling quite chuffed with myself.

In the afternoon April went up to Alexander, gave him a hug and told him she loves him. As they say here: 'süß' (sweet)

Wunderbar at the weekend

2009-04-30T19:13:00.026+01:00

April turned two at the weekend. (Where did those 24 months go?)

My parents were here to join in the fun. It was hot on April's birthday so we were able to open presents on the balcony, in the sunshine. April's old enough to understand the concept of gifts, so she got stuck in with gusto.

In the afternoon Simon and my Dad took April to the park, so she could ride the new bike that my parents bought her. Apparently the expedition went rather well. Well, until it came to going home. At which point April decided to lay down in the gravel and have a tantrum - several times. My Dad was mortified, but Simon was unfazed, having seen such displays before.

Luckily I avoided all the kerfuffle by staying at home. While Mum got her fill of cuddles with baby Alexander, I embarked on a baking bonanza.

I made two birthday cakes and a pile of fairy cakes, ready for April's party the day after. I must say that I am pleased with how they came out. It's a while since I baked and I was surprised the cakes didn't burn/go soggy/sink in the middle. I enjoyed decorating them with a lavish amount of sprinkles, chocolate drops, marzipan and Smarties.

The next day April had a little party with some of her toddler chums. I think she enjoyed herself. She was a bit shy at first - but soon overcame this when the party spread was unveiled and her mind turned to thoughts of CAKE.

On Monday we went sightseeing with my folks. We took a trip to the opposite side of the Rhine, via the Cologne cable car. (More info here: http://www.blogger.com/www.koelner-seilbahn.de/english/index.html) I was a little nervous when we started to sway in the wind. However, I was consoled by the thought that if the cable snapped and we fell to our doom, at least I'd have died happy (well, apart from the falling to our doom bit at the end). Here's a photo Simon took from our cable car.

When we arrived at the opposite bank we had a little picnic to celebrate (and give thanks for still being alive). After lunch we visited a building called the 'Triangle Tower'. It is 28 storeys high and you can take a lift to the top where there is a viewing platform that you can walk around. Here is a snap my Dad took from the top of the tower, looking back across the Rhine at the cathedral. More info about the tower is available here: http://www.blogger.com/www.koelntriangle.de/

April may be too young to remember all the things we did over her birthday weekend, but I'll always recall those days with fondness.

Just another of April's things

2009-04-24T12:35:00.004+01:00

Yesterday, when I was feeding Alexander, April came up to me. She put her arms around my neck and said, 'It's meine' (pronounced like 'miner', as in coal). It was a clear message to Alexander about who she believes has first dibs on Mummy. Also, it's a neat example of April's habit of mixing up English and German.

Time flies

2009-04-21T20:06:00.006+01:00

Dear Blog,
Sorry, it's not you, it's me.
I've just had a few things going on and before you know it, the month has nearly passed without us spending any quality time together. I WILL put more effort into our relationship in May. Promise.
Forgive me?

The Botanic Gardens

2009-03-31T19:00:00.002+01:00

With the weather in Cologne having turned back to wintry in the last few days, I had the urge to see some spring flowers to brighten my mood. I dragged my mate Nina to join the pensioners at the Botanic Gardens in Cologne.

By the time we got there it had started to sleet so we decided to take shelter in the nearest greenhouse.

We found ourselves in a tropical glass house full of beautifully blousy white, pink and red camellias. They were on display as a temporary exhibition. There was even gentle oriental music playing in the background to create a tranquil ambience.

Following us on the circuit of the greenhouse was a man sporting a 10 cm long powdery yellow line down his nose. Perhaps a man-bee hybrid who'd got too close to the pollen. (How do I manage to attract these people?)

The photos show just some of the wonderful specimens we saw.

So, now for the info-burst:
The gardens date back to the mid 19th century and cover an impressive 10 hectares/25 acres. They are home to around 12,000 plant species. I recommend a visit if you're ever in Cologne. Find out more...

Cologne main station

2009-03-24T21:32:00.012+01:00

Another journey with my kids, but this time much shorter and less hassled...

Yesterday I took a train from the main station in Cologne (Köln Hauptbanhof) to a nearby town called Pulheim, in order to get to a baby shower being held for a friend of mine. It was my first ever time on a German overland train and I was a little nervous of how I would get on transporting myself and two small people. I needn't have worried as a friendly lady offered to help me lift the pram on and off the train. Even better, both children were happy and relaxed, content to watch the scenery go by, throughout the journey. I wasn't surprised to find that the train ran exactly to the timetable (as I have always found the tram service to be very efficient).

Here are a few snaps I took in and around the station. I'd like to blame the dreary ambience of the photos on the fact that it was drizzling and not on my lack of ability.

Long winding road

2009-03-12T14:13:00.010+01:00

We came back to Cologne yesterday after a wonderful holiday in England. We travelled by car, via the Eurotunnel. The trip was eventful:

1. April threw up half an hour after departure. We had to continue the rest of the journey (9 and a half hours) surrounded by the putrid smell of warm vomit . On a more positive note, April was much more content - perhaps even euphoric - after she'd purged herself of her breakfast of Shreddies and toast.

2. More purging, this time from little man: Alexander did a massive poo, five minutes after we'd changed him at the services near Stansted airport.

3. At a services in Belgium I picked up a balloon for April to play with while we had some coffee. She insisted on bringing it (why didn't I anticipate this?). For the rest of the journey we were interrupted with cries of 'boon' (which means 'balloon' in April-ese) every time she dropped it down the side of her car seat and was unable to retrieve it.

4. We enjoyed a wonderfully relaxing half hour traffic jam on the southern part of the Brussels ring road.

5. April escaped from her car seat by means of persistent wriggling. I only noticed when she raised both arms to the roof of the car for a good stretch. I noticed while we were driving at a reasonable speed along the motorway.

6. I had a little 'moment' at a services in the Netherlands. We were only an hour from home, but if you'd sat in a car with two crying kids, the smell of sick and a balloon bouncing around, your patience would be tried too.

We were very, very relieved to get home.

That is, until Simon opened a letter from the tax office claiming we owed 16,000 Euros!

Luckily all is well today. We have recovered from our tortuous journey and are enjoying being back in our house. Even better, having enquired after the tax bill we found it was an error. (Boy, what an error!)

Home sweet home

2009-02-16T20:14:00.003+01:00

I do like this city. It's laid-back and friendly. Creative and buzzy. However, I do miss my home city of Norwich quite a lot. It's been five and a half months since I have been home, which is too, too long. I am heading back in three days and I really cannot wait. It is the place where my heart resides and I don't think that will ever change.

Street of surprises

2009-02-06T14:12:00.021+01:00

I have just read an article* which claimed that a road I live 10 minutes walk from is Europe’s busiest shopping street. Apparently almost 13,000 people pass through it every hour, making it more popular than Oxford Street. It's a road I know very well as it is where we do most of our 'high street' shopping.

The street is called Schildergasse (roughly translated as 'sign lane') and is named named after the painters & sign makers who used to work there.

I took a little walk there today to run some errands. I was keen to revel in my new-found knowledge so I spent a little time taking in the sights. This is what I saw:

1. A small llama advertising that the circus is in town.

(Well the llama is. I don't know what his friend in the fair isle jumper, leisure-wear blouson and bright blue slacks is doing.)

2. A giant ice cream atop of a shopping centre.

According to the artists they chose this motif because ice cream parlours are very popular in Cologne and the word 'cone' can be found in the name of the city.

Apparently several 'flavours' were trialled in the design phase but one of the artists decided the final version should be vanilla. Yes, really.

3. A lady trapped inside a snow globe.

She was trapped in there by an evil crone and her only hope of escape to a normal life - where she can order a takeaway, enjoy HD TV and collect virtual friends all from the comfort of the bubble that is her home - is to be kissed by a man in an unfeasibly pink fleecy sweatshirt.

Oh, it looks like her luck's in.

4. A green-coated dandy with a satsuma head.

He's one of many small pieces of street art which are put up at this time every year to herald carnival time.

-----------------------------------------------------------

*Read full article on the Deutsche Welle website

Hibernating

2009-01-23T20:38:00.006+01:00

I have nothing exciting to report regarding the Cologne that exists outside our little flat as I have been in hibernation. It's too cold to go outside. It's also a complex operation getting myself and two little ones ready and out of the house - especially when you have to factor in the time it takes for everyone to get kitted out with gloves, hats, scarves and fresh nappies (this last item only applies to the kids you understand). I've found it easier to stay at home and limit our activities to building towers of blocks and knocking them down, counting to ten, sticking things with glue, and finger painting. This is about as much as my brain can cope with in its current sleep deprived state anyway.

Perishing

2009-01-06T09:12:00.016+01:00

It's very, very cold here this morning.

MINUS 12 DEGREES.

I wonder if I have ever known it to be this cold before?

Here in Cologne it is so cold that people are skating on park lakes. I, however, have a phobia* of ice, so I won't be joining them.

*My phobia is based on rational thinking - ie I find that slipping over is not usually fun. Luckily my phobia only affects me in winter. I feel sorry for people who fear spiders, for those wee beasties are omnipresent.

Christmas in Deutschland

2008-12-29T19:27:00.021+01:00

Simon and I have just spent our first Christmas ever away from our respective families. We would have liked to go home but it wasn't possible because Alexander is a little young to travel and we haven't been able to get him a passport yet.

I have always gratefully enjoyed my Mum's festive cooking (and last year my Mother-in-Law's) so I'd managed to reach the age of ~ahem, cough, ahem~ having never cooked a full Christmas turkey lunch. I was a little anxious abut how my attempt would turn out. Luckily my only judge was Simon and he wouldn't have complained if I'd served up beans on toast*.

Some planning ahead ensured I had all the essentials for an English Christmas: I managed to source Christmas crackers and cranberry sauce from an expat supplies shop in the centre of Cologne and my Mum brought over a Christmas pudding when she visited earlier in the month.

In my humble opinion I think the lunch turned out okay. Unfortunately April wouldn't touch her portion - instead she sat for the entire meal fashioning rudimentary hats out of the remains of the Christmas crackers. In fact, all she ate for her Christmas lunch was a couple of chocolate Euro coins. They were our nod to the fact that we were spending Christmas on the Continent.

*One of his favourite meals, but only when accompanied by salad cream.

Christmas joys

2008-12-14T14:11:00.027+01:00

Alexander is now 3 weeks old. He's managing to stay awake a bit longer in the daytime now and is more inquisitive about his new world. Both sets of grandparents have been to visit the new little man and his sister.

Neither my parents nor Simon's had been to Cologne at this time of year before so we were able to introduce them to the joys of the Christmas markets.

There was some sampling of mulled wine - which resulted in squiffiness in the middle of the day - and the purchasing of treats to eat and spangly things for the tree. These photos of the market stalls were taken by Simon.

I hope the man in the fetching blue coat (see the photo above) isn't picking his nose...

O tannenbaum, O tannenbaum

2008-12-02T09:42:00.010+01:00

I suspect that April is now learning German at a faster rate than her parents. Yesterday she pointed to one of the Christmas cards on our window sill and I could have sworn she said 'tannenbaum', which is German for 'Christmas tree'. She does have quite a few German toddler mates so perhaps she's learning from them.

On Sunday I ventured out for the first time since Alexander was born. I left him with his daddy for a bit while I took April to the local Christmas market. I had only been meaning to browse but I ended up buying this little Christmas tree to adorn our sideboard. I wanted to have something quintessentially German to bring out every year at Christmas - so that when we are eventually all back in England we will be reminded of our time here.

N.b. I also bought a BIG bag of pink candyfloss at the market (it smelled so good, how could I not?). I shared some of it, but mostly ate it all by myself. Well, my midwife did say that I need to keep my blood sugar levels up...

Great news

2008-11-22T13:01:00.009+01:00

Baby Alexander was born on Friday morning, just before breakfast. I managed to escape from the hospital in the afternoon, so that by the evening Mr Harris and I were able to celebrate with some 'fizzy pop' in the comfort of our own home.

What can I say about the new addition? Well, he's a decent weight and height and has fairly big feet. He's wrinkly, red and blotchy. He still manages to be cute.

Labour was hard and fast, with no pain relief. That's fairly normal here - the only pain relief option most hospitals seem to offer is an epidural and they only give that when circumstances really call for it. Sadly, laughing gas isn't provided (are they having a laugh?). Still, now I am over it all I am quite chuffed with myself for getting through labour with breathing techniques and visualisation. So, whatever life throws at me I'm going to feel strong enough to say 'Bring it on!'

Christmas is coming

2008-11-19T13:21:00.005+01:00

April and I took a stroll this morning. Well, it was more of a waddle for me. Junior Harris is now 5 days late and every day he delays his appearance my mobility decreases.

On the walk I passed the local Christmas market which was being set up ready for the grand opening on Monday. Chippies were constructing the stalls and others were busy decorating them with lights, garlands and huge Christmas figurines.

Monday is also the day when my labour would have to be induced. So, is Junior going to arrive before the Christmas markets open, or is he going to pop out that day as a seasonal greeting? Christmas is coming, but is he?

11th November

2008-11-11T09:22:00.026+01:00

Two airline pilots, a monk and a goat herd were chatting outside a coffee shop…

No, this isn’t the start of a joke. It is what I saw at 8:50 am today. I wasn’t too surprised though. You start to think fancy dress is fairly normal after you’ve been here a while (the photos show just a few of the characters I passed today).

No doubt the coffee shop gents were on their way to celebrate the official start of the carnival season - which kicks off at 11.11 am on the 11th November and runs all the way through to Ash Wednesday, with a little bit of a break for Christmas. The 11th November is traditionally important as it is the festival of St Martin, a patron saint of the poor.

All this fun is a big contrast to what happened in England today – the traditional observance of a two minute's silence in honour of Armistice Day. The celebrations felt a little odd to me, especially as this year marks 90 years since the end of 'The Great War'. [The Germans have their own event to commemorate those who died in war. It is known as Volkstrauertag and takes place on the Sunday nearest to the 16th November.]

Anyway, as I had a doctor's appointment near the city centre, which ended about 11, I hopped on a tram to get into the centre in time to see what actually happens at 11.11 am. From what I could see, it seems that the time is the cue to start singing songs in praise of Cologne and its carnival and to begin aimlessly wandering the streets drinking beer. There are also numerous parties organised by clubs in the city, for those who really, really want to get into the spirit of things...

Strung tight

2008-11-04T14:27:00.011+01:00

I had my last physio session on my arm today. The practitioner kept asking me to relax. Now, that’s not easy when you have a small human smuggled inside your central body cavity, kicking and shoving and causing your vital organs to move out towards your extremities.

When it was clear that I was not going to relax any time soon, the physio commented that I, ‘was as relaxed as a bow talking to an arrow’. Ie, not at all. The mental image conjured up by this German expression did make me laugh though, which broke some of the tension.

I already knew I was just a little stressed. I have been trying to relax and take my mind off things (labour anyone?) by throwing myself into a couple of sewing projects. Sewing is good because it’s a sitting down activity and it can be very absorbing. I’ve just finished making a cheery bag for myself and a little fluffy comforter for Junior Harris (see pics).

Unfortunately, even these tasks made me slightly stressed: halfway through constructing my bag I became convinced that I was going to go into labour that night. Bizarrely, I was more worried that I would have to go to hospital with the bag languishing incomplete on the sideboard, than the fact that I might be facing hours of pain…

Shameless plug

2008-10-27T12:53:00.006+01:00

My little sister and her band - The Foster Kids - have just released an album. I am sooo proud of her! The album is available online at Letterbox Records - and on iTunes.

My sister is on the album cover, standing in front of my parents' house, back in Norwich, England! It's making me feel all homesick. (I am, of course, very hormonal.)

There's even a tenuous link to Germany as the band were interviewed on German radio recently!

Baby boom time

2008-10-22T19:28:00.014+01:00

I know four women due to give birth over the next three weeks - I'm one of them! Another friend gave birth to a bonny baby girl on Saturday. Should we be suspicious that these babies will be making an appearance approximately 9 months after the craziness of the Cologne Carnival?

With all this baby fun to come and the prospect of being engulfed in a tidal wave of nappies and holed in for the winter, yesterday I took myself off to do something cultural. I visited the Wallraf-Richartz Museum of Art in Cologne. Unfortunately, my body was not feeling quite so enlightened (what with the 'cankles', the heartburn, the lack of body cavity space for adequate lung function...etc, etc) and so I couldn't stay too long.

During my brief visit I found this beautiful nativity scene - part of a 14th Century altar panel from Osnabruck. I only hope that all of us pregnant ladies and new mums look as serene and beatific when our little ones arrive. [Hah hah.]

Super hausfrau

2008-10-10T11:50:00.010+01:00

I have five weeks to go until my due date and already there are serious signs of nesting activity. I'm chanelling Kim and Aggie BIG time.

It's bizarre: I feel exhausted and dream of having a whole day of just watching DVDs and eating cheese. However, I get these strange urges to clean things and then I'm off and whipping up a whirlwind with a vacuum cleaner and a feather duster. I'm cleaning things that I have never considered needed cleaning before. Like door handles. Or vents on bathroom fans. Or plug sockets.

I don't remember being quite this fastidious last time I was pregnant and nesting, so perhaps the need to clean amplifies with each subsequent birth? Before you're wondering, there's no way I'm testing out this theory with a further pregnancy!

No flies on me

2008-09-30T08:59:00.009+01:00

When I returned to the flat in Germany I was surprised to find that Simon hadn't been as alone as I'd imagined. Indeed, there seemed to be an extended family of fruit flies keeping him company. In a jealous rage I declared war on the new residents. I armed myself with fly paper and suspended it from the freezer, by the sink. A week on and I was pleased to see that the fly paper was speckled with little black dots: one-time flies.

Last night Mother Nature got her own back. I was doing the washing up while simultaneously trying to supervise April and prevent her from opening the biscuit tin. As I flicked my head around to look in April's direction, my hair became completely entangled in the sticky fly paper. I swore (so much for my self-imposed ban on swearing in front of my daughter) and Simon came running to my rescue. Once freed, I touched my hair and I could tell that it was matted with sticky residue and possibly some flies. There was only one thing to do - wash it out immediately. 10 minutes later and I was sitting in a bath tub having scrupulously scrubbed my hair a couple of times. The flies that fell from my newly cleaned locks didn't seem to mind sharing the bath water. I minded a little more.

Doctor, doctor...

2008-09-23T08:08:00.016+01:00

...doctor, doctor, doctor...

I've been back for a fortnight and it seems that those two weeks have flown by in a haze of medical appointments all over the city.

Yesterday I used my best German (ie very poor) to book into the local hospital for the birth of sproglet number 2. I've also been to see my 'Frauenarzt' (this is a special doctor who deals with the delicate business of lady health) to check on my antenatal well being. I've seen my 'Facharzt fuer Allgemeinmedizin' (equivalent to a GP in England) for a test on my iron levels. Next week I'll be seeing a physiotherapist for my arm. Oh - and then a midwife!

In Germany it's up to you to find a doctor for your particular ailment. This can be a fiddle if you are new in town and don't know which of the many practitioners in the phone book are:

a) good at what they do
b) have a nice bedside manner
c) and - most important of all - speak English

On the other hand, it's convenient in that you don't have to wait a long time to see a specialist - you just book an appointment in the same way you would a hair cut.

All this running around. It's enough to make one ill.

Culture dash

2008-09-06T13:13:00.018+01:00

My left arm is more or less recovered, though I couldn't use it to participate in any strong man competition just yet (those Atlas Balls might be a challenge too far). Anyway, as a result, April and I are flying back to Cologne on Tuesday, to pick up where we left off seven weeks ago.

Intent on squeezing every morsel of goodness out of my unexpected summer vacation, I travelled down to London on Thursday to meet with some friends* who I worked with in my last job. I used to work in a 30-storey office building by the Thames. Its official title is Millbank Tower, but is known to some as 'The Tower of Doom' due to its grey demeanour. It does have one saving grace for me - it's next door to Tate Britain.

Before meeting with my old co-workers I took some time to look around the Tate's galleries, taking in a good dose of Stubbs, Turner, Degas and co. All very cultured. However, what stood out for me was a piece of performance art staged in the central neoclassical atrium. The piece is
Martin Creed's work No 850. In it, a runner dashes through the atrium as fast as his little legs can carry him. This happens again 30 seconds later. And again. And again...you get the idea. (Fortunately there is more than one runner to take on this burden.)

Creed's piece was inspired by a visit he made with friends to the catacombs in Palermo. They arrived just before closing and had to run to see everything. Creed decided that this speedy visiting style was the ideal way to appreciate culture.

I enjoyed this piece of art. Firstly, it is quite amusing to see a succession of people running through a major gallery in their gym vests and shorts. Secondly, Creed has captured how I feel about visiting galleries - that it is sometimes too daunting to think about seeing everything and that a short dash to lift the soul is a much more refreshing approach.

*(Hi Jenny, Lisa and Sophie! It was good to catch up!)

Unforgettable summer

2008-08-25T19:14:00.010+01:00

It's now five weeks since I broke my arm. I have just over a fortnight left before I can return to Cologne. April and I have really missed Simon and I am looking forward to us all living together as a family again.

It's been very strange only having one functioning arm and asking for help to complete the simplest of tasks, such as cutting up my food or tying my hair in a pony tail. I still bear a 14 cm green and purple bruise where the fracture is and most nights my arm throbs because it is repairing itself.

I don't wish to come across all doom and gloom though, because this cloud does have a silver lining. April has flourished from such close proximity to her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Every day she says new words and seems to understand more. I've benefited from resting my back, which is not a luxury many women get when they are expecting child no 2.

That summer holiday I mentioned back in my last post? Well, that's been quite a success. I've caught up with friends for lunch or down the pub and am planning more of the same. April and I have spent some magical moments with family: we've been to the zoo, petted farm animals, gone to various parks, attended free musical sessions for kids and eaten lots of icecream and cake.

We've also experienced Norwich's summer public art event - a display of over 50 artist-decorated elephants placed around the city. This event has been very popular with locals and tourists, especially kids. Here is one of April's favourites. (See www.goelephants.co.uk for more info.)

Like an archetypal elephant, I'll be unable to forget this summer. It was the first time I broke one of my bones*, but also the first time April sat on a beach and made sand castles.

*Hopefully also the last.

Weekend break

2008-08-04T11:15:00.015+01:00

Two weeks ago Simon, April and I travelled back to England for weekend break to attend a christening. April and I are still here.

My weekend break was certainly a break, but not in the way I imagined. So what happened?

Take one pregnant lady and her need to go to the loo in the middle of the night. Add the fact that she didn’t want to wake her husband by turning on a light. Throw in the detail that she was staying with relatives and so the room’s geography was slightly unfamiliar. Finally, put in a heavy Victorian wooden armchair and a very solid wall.

The result? I tripped over the chair and crashed into the wall with a lot of force. The pain was so bad that ten minutes later Simon helped me to dress (carefully) and we set off to join the queue of casualties at Accident and Emergency.

We soon found that Saturday night is not the best time to be visiting A&E and to be sober. We had a four hour wait to be seen because it was so busy. This time probably passed a little quicker for those who were well oiled on arrival, which seemed to be everyone else in the waiting room. There were people there with bloodied heads and hands, claiming they had been beaten up, or boasting about starting fights. There was a bride in full wedding dress, sitting with her new husband and parents. She was holding her arm up like me, so I am guessing it was an arm fracture. I imagine the break was a result of the combination of too much champagne and overly-enthusiastic participation in the 'Time Warp'. A teenage girl was there with her boyfriend. We heard, from their loud conversation, that he had been giving her a piggy back when she fell off his shoulders and banged her head. He had the sense to take her to hospital as she was feeling ‘a little dizzy’. However, she kept saying that she was fine and couldn’t she just go and get another vodka?

I was seen somewhere between four and five in the morning and doctors informed me that I had broken my left humerus. My arm was put in a sling and I was sent home. Being pregnant I was told that I could take nothing stronger than paracetamol. This didn’t prove powerful enough in the first few days. How I suffered - poor me.

Two weeks on and I am still in England. It is going to take six weeks for the fracture to mend and before I will be able to lift April. As I cannot lift her I am having to stay at my parents so they can help. There are positives and negatives. The bad news is that Simon has had to go back to Germany to work and there is a limit to how often he can afford to come back. On the other hand, I haven’t changed a nappy in a fortnight. People have to cut up my food for me, but at least I can still type. I’ve had to spend a lot of time in doctors' waiting rooms, but I’ve also been to the beach and am catching up with old friends as a lady who lunches.

The six weeks I will be off happen to coincide with the school holidays. I have decided to look on the bright side and call this period my school holiday. Translating a weekend break into a whole school holiday - can’t be bad, even if have to enjoy it with only one arm.

Photo space holder

2008-07-30T10:53:00.004+01:00

I haven't written in a while...but I promise, promise, that I am not malingering. I broke my arm last week and can't yet summon up the energy to write a long entry. In the meantime, here's a view of Cologne Cathedral from the east side of the Rhine (it's courtesy of iStock Photography images - because I could never hope to do the view photographic justice).

Rauchen verboten

2008-07-13T14:09:00.039+01:00

Rauchen verboten = Smoking is forbidden = Vicky is happy

Germany has banned smoking in public places. This brings the country into line with the UK, France and Italy. The ban is a radical move for Germany as it is estimated that one third of the population smokes.

As of 1st July, there is now a risk of being fined if you're caught smoking in a public place or if you are the proprietor of a public establishment where smoking takes place.

The ban hasn't been well received by some smokers - a number have claimed that the new regulations infringe their rights. There have even been murmurings regarding the fact that in 1941 the Nazi regime implemented a national ban on smoking in the quest for bodily purity. (See article from the British Medical Journal for more details...)

Many bar owners are annoyed by the potential loss of earnings as a result of the ban. Some have turned their establishments into 'smoking clubs', while others have tried to create special rooms for smokers or have spread out their chairs on to the pavements.

Myself? I am just relieved that I can go out and not have a coffee or a meal spoiled by inhaling the toxins from other people's smoke. A recent study by the German Cancer Research Center revealed that more than 3,300 people die in Germany every year due to passive smoking-related diseases. Makes you think.

Stolpersteine

2008-07-07T12:09:00.026+01:00

My entry for 19th June was about street signs and furniture in my neighbourhood. This entry continues the theme, but is more reflective.

I walk a lot here. It is very easy to get around on foot and April enjoys having a look around. On my many wanderings I have passed sets of little square brass plaques set in pavements. I often wondered what these were, but never really looked. Recently a friend explained their real purpose.

The plaques are called 'stolpersteine', which literally means 'stumbling stones', though the name is intended to describe the fact that they are designed to encourage us to pause and contemplate rather than trip up. They are the project of the Cologne artist Gunter Demnig and are designed as memorials to all those deported by the Nazis - Jews, the mentally or physically disabled, those opposed to the Nazi regime, Romany and Sinti people and homosexuals.

Each stone - a four inch square of brass - represents one person. The stone is set outside the home from which the person was taken. Each stone is inscribed with the words 'Here lived', then the name and date when the individual was taken and date of death, if known. This photo shows a memorial to one Viktoria Herz (Victoria Heart).

According to Wikipedia, by October 2007 Demnig had placed more than 13,000 Stolpersteine in more than 280 cities around Europe. It is a life's work and he is still going. Although he initially donated 600 stolpersteine to the city of Cologne, he now works through sponsorship, creating and laying each piece for a nominal fee. He can never hope to lay memorials to all those who were affected, but if his work makes us stop and think about individual victims, then it has served its purpose.

More about the project and locations...

Enjoying the east

2008-06-30T13:37:00.034+01:00

I was greatly in need of a little break. I wanted a bit of culture, but also to get away from it all. A German friend suggested an area south of Berlin known as the 'Spreewald'. It is an area of beautiful lakes and canals, but conveniently only an hour's drive from the capital. So, we packed and headed east.

It's a bit of a drive to get there as Germany is such a vast country. Still, the amazing thing about this country is the autobahn system. We travelled almost from one side of the country to the other, experiencing mostly free-flowing (and fast!) traffic. Regular users of the M25 would be green with jealousy.

We stayed in a holiday park by the Scharmuetzelsee lake. Our apartment was constructed in the alpine style and as an authentic touch even included its own sauna. As I've never had access to a private sauna it was with some regret that I remembered that pregnant women shouldn't take saunas because they are too risky. I doubt that kind of private sauna opportunity comes knocking twice in a lifetime.

Anyway, I was able to get some amusement from the sauna - via this handy 20 step programme for its correct use. This could just be Germans playing up to their stereotype of being sticklers for the rules. I don't know. It made me chuckle whatever the intent.

On the holiday there were plenty of chances to engage with the wildlife and the scenery.

We visited a wild deer park on one occasion. It was in the middle of nowhere - in that it wasn't on any road known by our navigation system. Luckily a passing postwoman was able to provide directions. When we arrived at the park we were the only people there. I expect everyone else gave up trying to find it. The park's relative isolation meant we were able to get up really close to the animals.

We took a couple of trips to Berlin itself. I really enjoyed the city and would love to return as there were so many sights we didn't get time to squeeze in.

Here is Simon standing by one of the remaining pieces of the Berlin Wall on Potsdamer Platz. He was standing on the side which used to be in the east. Several chunks of wall have been preserved as a memorial.

If you look carefully there is a map on Simon's right - and on it someone has scribbled the score of the previous night's Germany versus Turkey Euro 2008 semi-final - a spectacular 3:2 win to Deustchland. These pieces of wall are regularly 'tagged' by tourists saying 'Franz woz ere' or the like. Though a football score is a bit more unusual.

This photo, also from Potsdamer Platz shows the line where the Berlin Wall ran.

The line taken by the wall is described in the city by means of slightly different coloured stones and plaques like this one.

No trip to Berlin would be complete without a peek at the Brandenburg Gate. However, when we went the gate was bedecked with Coca Cola and Carlsberg livery. Was there ever such a harsh juxtaposition of global brands and a city's leading monument?

The reason we couldn't see the gate for all its branding is that it was the focus point of an area designated for football fans to enjoy Euro 2008. Kindly Coca Cola and Carlsberg had provided a 'fan mile' - a huge promenade featuring a stage with performers, refreshment tents and even a big wheel.

Another thing we did was visit the Bauhaus Archive - the museum to the Bauhaus art school (1919-1933) that was so influential in modern design. The school's philosophy was to bring together art and technology to create beautiful, but easy to mass produce pieces - something we take for granted now, but which was quite a radical aim at the time. Unfortunately April chose this time to have a bit of a tantrum. We clearly have some work to do if we want to get her to appreciate good design heritage.

Signs

2008-06-19T10:32:00.032+01:00

Here are some signs and street furniture from my neighbourhood. In a train-spotterish kind of way, I thought it would be interesting to document them.

When I first came here they were very alien. Now, they are my normality.

I'm hoping that when I am eventually back in England and browsing through my Cologne photos, they'll make me feel nostalgic.

Medicinal compounds

2008-06-18T14:42:00.019+01:00

April has been suffering from a cough for a few days so this morning I took her to see a doctor. This being Germany, she doesn't go to my doctor. No: she has a specialist Kinder Arzt (children's doctor). So, off we went to see Dr Kinder Arzt.

(As an aside, when we first met this Kinder Artz he reminded us of Art Garfunkel, because his hair stood several centimetres proud of his scalp, held up by its frizzy texture. For this reason he is always referred to as Arzt Garfunkel in our household.
I was therefore slightly disappointed to find that he has recently cut his trademark hair. We are sticking with the nickname though.)

Anyway, after examining April, Arzt Garfunkel declared that she did, indeed, have a cough. No surprise to me. I hoped for a prescription for a simple-to-administer medicinal compound. What I got was a prescription for five different homeopathic medicines. The instructions for ingestion were far from simple:

• 1 cough medicine to be taken 3 times a day
• 2 medicines in pill form to be taken - 3 of each - at 7 am and again at 3 pm
• 2 different medicines in pill form to be taken - 3 of each - at 11 am and again at 7 pm

Arzt Garfunkel had to write all this down for me, to avoid confusion (and, let's face it, my brain is too busy making another baby for me to be able to remember all these rules).

Goodness knows what April is going to think of this regime. When she is ill she doesn't approve of any interference to her plans: she gets annoyed if I simply change her pants. What is she going to be like when I try to keep her still to administer all these medicines?

After all that effort, I hope the medicines work!

Monkey magic

2008-06-08T18:03:00.021+01:00

We already have a 'little monkey', who goes by the name of 'April'. However, we suddenly had an urge to see some simian primates.

Simon's parents came to stay for the weekend so we took them to Cologne Zoo. Plenty of monkeys there.

The zoo has an island colony of around 150 baboons. We took lots of photos. Unfortunately, because baboons like to take every possible opportunity to display their large pink bottoms, most of those photos will never see the light of day. I have managed to salvage this cute photo of a mother and baby, by cropping out some bottoms that were placed on either side.

We saw lots of other fascinating birds and animals.

Here is a bird who had such remarkably long eyelashes that he could have taken on a career as a pantomine dame.

He was making the most of his beauty - an artist was there painting his portrait and he was standing helpfully still. Showing his best side. I bet he was glad he'd booked that eyelash tint last week. Sadly I didn't get his name.

There were also many meerkats in residence.

This grouping amuses me because it looks like they've lost someone and are trying to decide which is the best direction to go in which to find him.

He went that-a-way!

Day as black as night

2008-05-30T13:32:00.023+01:00

What an unusual week it has been for weather in these parts. In the last week an area of high pressure, which meteorologists are calling 'Otto', has caused it to be oppressively hot and humid.

Things came to a head yesterday morning in bizarre fashion: the sky turned black for about half an hour before a storm. Simon took some photos of what it was like outside his office at 10.30 am, one of which you can see here. All the birds stopped singing and someone had to switch on the external lights. Simon rang me because he'd never seen anything as strange before and wanted to check if I was experiencing the same phenomenon. At our flat, things didn't get quite so dark, but it was still eerily dusky.

This momentary blackness was preceded by a dust storm which left many cars covered in a layer of dark yellow Saharan sand.

Apparently there has been other strange weather in Germany this week. There was a storm in northern Hesse on Wednesday which brought so much hail it had to be cleared by snowploughs. Areas in the south west have suffered mudslides due to heavy rain. In Krefeld, tennis ball sized hail stones smashed car windscreens and windows.

It is horribly hot again here today. I am hoping for some cooling rain - but I also don't want my wishes to bring showers of monsoon proportions. After the weather we have been having, I wouldn't rule out a monsoon!

Treats to eat

2008-05-26T19:06:00.003+01:00

I have just been back to England for a week to catch up with family and friends. But also, I will sneakily admit, I had another item on my agenda - to indulge my cravings for some good old English grub.

Isn't it strange that one never misses really healthy foods? The things I had been missing included proper fish and chips from a fish and chip shop, my mum's cheese and potato pie (it contains cheese and potato!), English sausages and the best of all - a roast chicken dinner.

I was lucky enough to find opportunities to satisfy all of these indulgences. Well, as I am now pregnant with baby number two, I can use the 'eating for two' excuse...

On fire

2008-05-13T08:48:00.017+01:00

At the start of the year I joined a group of female writers here in Cologne. We meet twice a month to spur each other on with our creative endeavours and to provide constructive criticism. It's been fantastic as it has prompted me to write some short pieces, having merely talked about doing so for several years.

We meet in a very inspiring space - an old fire station which has been converted into a lively centre for the arts and community groups. The fire station dates back to the 1890s, but thanks to local graffiti artists it has a very modern feel: they have been given the opportunity to make their mark on several of the walls. You can see a couple of examples here.

I feel that with the help of the writing group, I am also now making my mark, albeit on the page rather than the wall. Simon always said that he thought moving here would help us to be more creative. I hate to admit it, but he was right.

May Day love tokens

2008-05-04T13:53:00.020+01:00

Last Thursday afternoon (30th April) I was amused to see a man dragging a wispy looking tree branch, which was taller than he was, along the pavement. It was covered in brightly coloured streamers made of crepe paper. I was more than a little puzzled. As I proceeded on my way home I spotted more people engaged in similar pursuits, many of them cyclists, balancing twigs and branches on their handle bars.

The next day, May Day, was another of Germany's wonderfully frequently occurring public holidays so I went for a little walk. I couldn't help noticing that many buildings were now adorned with these colourful boughs.

My curiosity was roused and so I did a little online research to find out what it all meant. Apparently it is a May Day custom. The tradition states that the bedecked boughs should be delivered by a male admirer to the house of his love interest on the eve of 30th April. On leap years, females have to take responsibility for delivery of the trees. As this is a leap year I guess I should have got one of these lovely gifts for Simon. Oh well. Until 2012 then...

Two castles and one dragon

2008-04-27T18:52:00.041+01:00

As my folks have been here for a visit we decided to do some sightseeing. We took a little car trip out to the neighbouring Rhineland town of Königswinter. The town is overlooked by a very steep, 1053 foot high hill known as Drachenfels (meaning 'Dragon's Hill').

The hill earned its name from a legend - it is said that the last dragon lived in a cave on the mountain until it was slain by the hero Siegfried. Apparently, after taking a bath in the slain dragon's blood Siegfried became invincible.

We travelled up the hill courtesy of the Drachenfels railway - said to be Germany's oldest railway track.

The journey upwards was a little scary at times because the gradient is so steep (22% in some places). However, it is well worth the worry as the view from the top is spectacular. Below, the Rhine snakes out in all its beauty. The view is meant to have inspired the opening lines to Lord Byron's work, Childe Harold.

The hill is topped by the ruins of a 12th century castle (see in the middle of this photo).

It was built by Archbishop Arnold of Cologne around 1140, to protect his property. Sadly, it was destroyed in 1634, during the 30 Years War.

Still, that's not the only castle you'll find here - for halfway up the hill is the 19th century Castle Drachenburg. This is all you could ask for from a German castle. It has the trademark turreted towers you'd expect and seems to be a mad confection of lots of different architectural styles. Drachenburg was built by Baron Stephan von Sarter (1833–1902), a successful stockbroker, between 1882-4. It is said that the Baron hardly spent any time in his castle, as he preferred to live it up in Paris. Tough call isn't it? Relax in one's castle, or enjoy high society à Paris...?

Growing old without dignity

2008-04-22T11:28:00.013+01:00

Over the last week I have been musing about my age. It is a sad fact that I am definitely in the wrong half of my thirties. With that in mind I realised that I should do a few more 'young things', before it is too late. Cologne is quite a good place to put that operation into practice, what with it being a party city. Also, no-one I know from England need find out if I get into embarrassing situations along the way.

So, last night I went to my first gig in years, with Simon. The gig was held in a very small venue a convenient ten minutes walk from our flat. The act was a singer song writer from England, with the fantastically creative name 'Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly.' I only ever saw 'Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly' from the eyes up because the rest of him was obscured by other punters. His music was very good - he had some great songs and performed them with gusto. I enjoyed myself. Well, apart from the discomfort which comes from the raised expectations of the older person - you know, like wanting a nice sit down and a smoke-free atmosphere in which to enjoy my music - not a standing-only, acrid-smelling hall full of sweaty youths.

When Simon and I got home we told our babysitter about our evening out and why we had gone. She decided that it is her personal mission to get us to go to one of Cologne's many night clubs for our next challenge. She is only 21 and she has the energy levels to match. Somehow, I think that this is a 'young thing' task too far...

Green bottles

2008-04-17T11:46:00.013+01:00

Germany has a deposit system for many of its glass and plastic bottles and cans. The deposit is called 'Pfand'. If you take a qualifying bottle or can to the supermarket you can feed it into a machine (delightfully named the 'Pfandflasche Rücknahmeautomaten') that reads the barcode and gives you a voucher back, which you can put towards your shopping.

The system is very popular. In supermarkets you will normally see a queue of people waiting to post their bottles into the Pfandflasche Rücknahmeautomaten (just wanted to use that name again).

More pitifully, in the evenings you can often see homeless people walking around with shopping trolleys full of empties that they have collected, in order to get money off groceries. Also, on refuse collection day you can see others going through bins to find any bottles that they can hand in. This latter situation is quite unnerving if it is your bin, especially if you have a paranoia about identity theft (I saw someone doing this to the communal bins of our block of flats today).

The system is a fantastic way to encourage recycling and to keep litter off the streets. There was a similar system for lemonade bottles in place in England in the 1970s as I can remember taking bottles back to the corner shop to collect the deposit when I was very small. It's a shame that nothing like it is in operation in England today.

Fallen angel

2008-04-07T18:27:00.004+01:00

In this photo you can spy an angel, hanging around by the west front of Cologne Cathedral.

He had with him a little hat for donations. I guess he must have fallen from God's grace and on to hard times.

Could they cut it?

2008-03-30T09:53:00.016+01:00

Yesterday I did a brave thing. I went to a German hairdresser's shop for the first time. I have lived in Germany for 16 months and managed to avoid the experience until now.

I had been getting by with trims from an American hairdresser I know here. Last month she broke the news that she has decided not to do hair anymore. There was nothing for it but to visit a native snipper.

Now, fortunately I have a very wised up German female friend who has a well maintained head of hair. So I asked where she had it done and that is where I went.

I was relieved when I walked into the salon because all the stylists had good hair. It was clearly not a place used to doing bright red rinses (a favourite barnet choice for the slightly older German lady) or mullets (a style that can still be spotted from time to time around these parts). I immediately felt more at ease.

The experience was all very familiar and yet slightly out of the ordinary. The process was the same: consultation, hair washing, cutting, drying, then straightening.

The language barrier was obviously the major difference for me. My stylist did not have much English and I did not have much German, so we had to use one of the other stylists as interpreter to discuss the finer points of snippage. I became slightly nervous that my requirements might be lost in translation. I held my breath when the stylist starting chopping.

Once the process was in full swing there was no possibility of small talk - I found it a bit unnerving to have someone in my personal space but for there to be no chit chat. When I am in England I always book in a haircut with a hairdresser I have used for about ten years. We've done a lot of gossiping in that time, so we have an easy familiarity.

Just one other unusual thing - to save money customers can opt to dry their own hair, using the hairdryers in the salon. This is something I have never seen in England. Now, the only time my hair is ever straight and smooth is when I visit the hairdresser so there is no way I would forego this joy for the sake of saving a few Euros. However, the Germans are known for being very careful with their money.

Anyway, I won't keep you in suspense any longer - the haircut was a success. My 'do' is really neat and shiny. I am still enjoying swishing my mane around today. It is a shame that over the last day it has absorbed lots of cooking smells, but at least it is glamourous if you don't get too close.

Easter snow

2008-03-24T11:02:00.011+01:00

It has been snowing today. It's very pretty to observe. Yet, I cannot help thinking it is a little odd to look out on falling snow at the same time as tucking into chocolate Easter eggs.

I sent Simon out on to the balcony to take some photos in the freezing cold. There were three reasons it was better for him to go out than me:

1. He has a very fancy camera
2. He has much more photographic skill than me
3. Finally, isn't it better if someone else suffers for my art?

Here is a lovely photo he took of the forsythia plant, its flowers weighed down with snow crystals.

Living it up in town

2008-03-17T19:45:00.011+01:00

What I do quite like about my life in Cologne is my proximity to where stuff happens. I live about 10 minutes walk away the centre of the city and there are plenty of bars and restaurants lining the way. Before Cologne I was always a suburban lass, so expeditions into the interesting zones were always carefully planned to coincide with train and bus timetables.

Simon and I do try to take advantage of our exciting location as much as possible. Sometimes we book a babysitter so we can enjoy an evening out. More often though, we just meet friends for weekend lunches or coffee and cake and take little baby with us (baby April really enjoys people watching).

On one such weekend rendezvous a friend suggested meeting in a gastro bar. I was very impressed with the bar on two counts: 1)It had four large chandeliers (one of which is pictured) made out of kitchen paraphernalia, thus making it feel grand yet cosy and domestic 2) It also produced one of the best club sandwiches I have had the pleasure to eat. I will be going again as German eating establishments do not often have club sandwiches on the menu!

Corsets and curtains in the Café

2008-03-11T09:51:00.005+01:00

Last night I found myself face to face with Madonna’s iconic pointy bra corset. She was not in it. If she had been, I doubt whether I would have stared so boldly.

Let me explain.

Last night I went to the Hard Rock Café in Cologne with a group of friends. We sat upstairs, in an almost empty room. On the wall facing me was a glass case containing the corset. It was gold. It was laced. It was boned. It was engineered in such a way as to suggest that the wearer would have undergone some discomfort. The caption under the case explained that the corset was one of those that Madonna wore on stage for photographers prior to performances. One passer-by thought the item of such significance that he took a photo of it on his camera phone.

The only other person in the room with us last night was a lady running up a pair of curtains on a sewing machine. She was tucked away in a corner, in the gloom. While I might have expected to see some rock memorabilia at the Hard Rock Café, I certainly never expected to see a seamstress toiling in the dark in such a Dickensian manner.

Dogs

2008-03-02T09:39:00.004+01:00

Like the English, Germans seem to enjoy the company of dogs. Unlike the English, they also enjoy the company of dogs in shops, restaurants, and other places you’d expect to be dogless if you were in the UK. This came to me as quite a surprise – not least because I nearly tripped over a little dachshund in the jewellery section of a department store during an early visit. I did a double take and checked to see if anyone else noticed this oddity, yet nobody else seemed surprised. After this had happened a few times I realised it must be normal – so I stopped pointing at them as much and began to tread more carefully.

I find it even more surprising that dogs are accepted in many restaurants. One evening I was in an Italian restaurant with a group of friends. I was happily tucking into my main course when I stopped, fork in air, as I saw a couple entering the premises with a wolf hound. I assumed they would be told to tie up the dog outside, but I was wrong. Instead, the waiter cheerfully greeted the couple and their dog and showed them to a table. I began imagine some farcical scenarios in my head involving said dog:
• Dog chases waiter carrying a bowl of meaty Bolognese sauce
• Dog knocks down patrons in enthusiastic displays of affection
• Dog jumps over tables to locate the source of the scent of a rabbit risotto
What actually happened? The wolf hound just curled up on the floor and we hardly heard a peep out of him. Now, in the face of all that temptation, that's what I call a well-trained hound!

Without a song or a dance what are we?

2008-02-19T21:45:00.016+01:00

April and I go to a little session known as ‘Baby Musikgarten’ once a week. It’s an hour of singing, dancing and bashing of musical instruments for little ones. April really enjoys it. I guess that is because she has yet to learn about shame and embarrassment. Her mother knows all about these though, for her mother was the sister who couldn’t sing*.

As the sister who couldn’t sing I have traditionally held back from public singing whenever possible. I am afraid this even counts in church, where I admit to miming and standing next to those with all the talent.

It is curious that in this country where I have no past, I have now been able to reinvent myself as a woman who will sing in public (albeit sotto voce). Furthermore I will sing songs to which I do not know the words and cannot even guess what they look like, what with them being inconveniently 'in foreign'. I must sound quite awful.

Now that I am overcoming my fears I am finding these musical sessions interesting for myself, rather than just as April's responsible guardian. I am certainly learning a lot of basic vocabulary, both through the songs and small talk with the other mothers (one has to be able to apologise when one’s baby sticks her fingers in another little darling’s eye). I am also building up a repertoire of German songs.

Here is an example of a refrain we covered in today's group:

Hopp, hopp, hopp,
Pferdchen lauf Galopp!
Über Stock und über Steine,
aber brich dir nicht die Beine!
Hopp, hopp, hopp,
Pferdchen lauf Galopp!

It is a song about a little horse (a Pferdchen) galloping along over sticks and over stones. All well and good until the fourth line, where it warns the little horse: ‘…but don’t break your legs’. So, it isn’t just the English who can lay claim to darkness in the nursery is it?
Listen to the rhyme here…

*In stark contrast my sister is so good at singing that she sings in a band.

Food for thought

2008-02-08T09:43:00.001+01:00

Isn't it amazing what we humans find to eat from our large and bounteous planet? I guess, if you wait long enough, whatever it is, someone will eat it.*

Last night we went to an Italian restaurant near to our flat. I selected a dish described as 'angler fish in a truffle sauce'.

Let's break that down.

Angler fish: a predatory large and ugly fish which lives in the very deep sea. It lures its prey into its mouth by means of a fleshy protusion from its head, which it can twitch to look like something small and appetising (ie bait). Sometimes the protrusion can emit light to make it even more fatally attractive.
(As a point of interest, in some species of angler fish the males attach themselves to females like parasites and then the two fuse to such an extent that the male exists only as a pair of gonads, ready and waiting to deliver sperm whenever the female should be ready for such romantic attentions.)

So far, so yummy.

Truffles: fungal tubers which grow underground, near tree roots. These growths produce a smell which is meant to be a bit like that of the male pig sex hormone. Truffles are particularly unattractive lumpy blobs - in that sense, not much different to angler fish then.

Double yum.

Why did I choose to eat this? Basically because I couldn't remember having knowingly tried angler fish or truffles before. And truffles were a speciality of the house.

What was the outcome? Well, it was actually rather good. The truffle sauce and truffle shavings were delicious and really brought an earthy, meaty, flavour to the fish. The fish reminded me of scallops, which I like (although research online today reveals that the received wisdom is that it most resembles lobster).

I guess I was a little disappointed that it didn't arrive on a platter with its little fleshy fishing rod intact, perhaps deep fried, with a sparkler to resemble the light. But that would have been asking too much. Anyway, the spectacular chocolate mousse I had for dessert soon put paid to any lingering regrets.

More about angler fish...
More about truffles...

*Indeed, only yesterday my daughter attempted to digest mouthfuls of a foam ball.

Carnival reflections

2008-02-05T13:39:00.003+01:00

I had been planning that this blog entry would be all about my wild long weekend of carnival revelry, culminating in a description of my attendance at the big Rosenmontag carnival parade yesterday. (Rosenmontag is a public holiday. The term means 'running Monday'.)

Sadly I had a stonker of a migraine yesterday and had to stay in bed. Instead of the beat of drums and tambourines, the only percussion I encountered was as my grey matter pounded against the white.

It was such a shame. I had been looking forward to dressing up the whole family, as is the tradition for carnival attendees. We were to be a cat (moi), a devil (April) and a convict (my dear husband). Sadly, I think it will be some time before I can persuade Simon to try on his newly purchased convict's stripy attire.

April and I did manage to make it to a kiddie's carnival party on Friday though. It was cute seeing all the little ones dressed up. My prize for the most inventive costume goes to the mum of the baby boy dressed as Axl Rose, wearing an AB/CD (geddit?) rocker's T-shirt and bandana. Apart from the enjoyment of seeing all these helpless little ones in fancy dress there was another highlight for me: someone had brought along chocolate iced buns. Hmm, methinks I might try to attend more children's parties...

April wore her little devil outfit. I learnt that 'little devil' in German is 'teufelchen' as one of my friends was called this on Thursday night by a native in a chat up attempt. It's amazing how you pick up the lingo isn't it? (Still, the native didn't get to pick up my friend.)

Everyday crime fighters

2008-02-01T09:10:00.001+01:00

Carnival kicked off yesterday at 11.11am. It is a week long festival of street parties, processions and balls and ends on Ash Wednesday. The first day of carnival is a very rowdy affair, with all day drinking and pretty much compulsory costume wearing.

I went out with friends Sarah, Nina and Ros - we were two devils, a gypsy and an angel. We saw some great costumes spanning all genres from historical, to fictional characters, to members of the animal kingdom. While out I saw these chaps, who I think deserve a mention.

Sherlock Holmes queues patiently outside a bar. Or perhaps he is doing a stakeout on a dastardly villain...

If you look closely you'll notice how he seems to have abandoned the traditional pipe for a sneaky draw on a cigarette.

Zorro prepares to fight injustice on the late night tram.

Or, perhaps he is hoping to sneak up on one of those short-skirted young ladies and envelop her under his cape?

I love in Cologne

2008-01-29T12:38:00.000+01:00

Yesterday morning I contacted a German lady.
I wrote her an email in my best German.
I started by explaining that I live in Cologne.
Or so I thought.
It was only in the afternoon when I realised I had made a common error and had mixed up the verbs 'leben - to live' and 'lieben - to love'.
I had actually written that 'I love in Cologne'.
Which is more information than she probably wanted over her morning coffee.

Infamy

2008-01-22T16:15:00.000+01:00

Has my humble little blog found some kind of fame?

This is what I am currently pondering. For this afternoon I 'Googled' my site - under the blogs section - and found that one of my posts had been quoted in the Gluhwein.net blog. I hadn't known there was a blog specially devoted to gluhwein until this point, but I guess I am glad someone is out there giving gluhwein good PR.

I did go on about gluhwein quite a lot over the festive season, so perhaps it is no surprise that they saw me as some kind of kindred spirit.

Is it wrong to achieve a small amount of fame from one's drinking habits? (Hic.)
Link to the quote...
Gluhwein recipes...

Medieval grizzliness

2008-01-22T08:23:00.002+01:00

At the weekend I visited a local museum of medieval art. I was most taken by the deathly pieces you see here. I have chosen to show them in order of 'deadness', from just killed, to several days dead, to decomposing with worms. Which suggests that either I have have a rather grizzly outlook, or that the majority of the art on show was morbid. It's both really.

First up is this wooden relief showing the story of the beheading of John the Baptist. It is dated to the 16th Century and originates from southern Germany. It shows the point at which the dancer, Salome, is presented with John's head on a silver platter. John had been held as a prisoner by King Herod. Salome attended a party at the royal palace and danced for the king. The story goes that Herod was so entranced by the dance that he granted Salome a wish. On the advice of her mother, Salome requested John's execution.

Here the story is represented in a very matter of fact way. See the very clean wound. No evidence of any severed veins of arteries there.

Next is this piece dating from around 1460, which was carved in the Netherlands. It is a type of art known as a 'Pietà' (Italian for pity) - a representation of the moment Christ is brought down from the cross and is mourned by Mary.

It is quite rich in colour, with strong blues and reds. Reds are used to show Christ's wounded hands and body. Seven figures circle the central figure of Christ and all the action takes place in a very compact space.

Finally, here is a miniature sculpture from Aachen dating to around 1520. This sculpture is of a type known as 'Memento mori' (Latin for 'remember you will die'). Typical memento mori pieces include evidence of death - whether that be a painting showing a skull, or something more gruesome, like this 3-D rotting cadaver. The point is to remind the viewer that, whatever status they hold in life, everyone dies in the end. Such pieces were extremely popular in the middle ages, as death became more common due to plague, pestilence and warfare.

This particular sculpture shows a corpse in a beautiful chequered casket. It is made from ivory. The corpse is feeding a whole host of wildlife including worms, lizards and possibly rats (it's a bit hard to make out).

Now, I have to confess to a special interest in this type of art, having done my degree dissertation on medieval tombs depicting decomposing cadavers. I really got into it. (As you can probably imagine.)

All the pieces are from Museum Schnütgen.

Eggscited

2008-01-20T16:00:00.000+01:00

I got very excited this week as I found they were selling Cadbury's Crème Eggs in the English Shop in town. At a rather steep 79 cents a pop. Of course, price does not always stop an addict/aficionado, so I bought and devoured one as a special treat to myself. Simon is going back to England on Tuesday, to attend a workshop, and so I’ve already asked him to bring back a multi-pack of Crème Eggs from the airport.

Now, I know shops tend to get ahead of themselves with their seasonal merchandising. However, this year Easter really isn’t that far in the future. In a fortnight the massive Shrovetide annual carnival of Cologne will already be in full swing. It heralds the 40 days of Lent. Then hey ho, what do you know? Easter will be upon us.

Marco, who loves ya baby?

2008-01-13T14:24:00.000+01:00

Today April and I went to the park to stare at the geese, ducks, swans, families, joggers, tramps and the crazy guy pretending to box with an invisible opponent...

While there I saw this piece of graffiti. Possibly one of the most romantic I have seen. If a bit illegal.

So many questions spring to mind. Who is Marco? What is about Marco that makes him so desirable? Did this piece of artwork win his heart? Did Marco and his admirer end up cohabiting and bickering over whose turn it is to walk the dog?

My little holiday

2008-01-05T19:59:00.002+01:00

I have been on a little Christmas holiday to England. Two weeks of chilling out with family and friends. With a lot of a) eating and b) drinking. The break was just what the doctor ordered. (To be truthful, he actually ordered a round of antibiotics to fight a particularly nasty bug I had. But that didn't stop me from carrying out a lot of b.)

It was April's first Christmas. She really enjoyed all of the attention. Oh - and the presents! She gave me a gift too: a few days before Christmas she started to say 'Mum'. I am assuming that she doesn't know what it means yet, but to me it means everything.

The Christmas period was also characterised by some silliness. Simon and I were invited to a 'murder mystery' party for New Year's Eve, which involved dressing up.

My character was supposed to be a dame, romantic novelist and lover of overstated clothes. Here is a photo of me dressed for the event. Hopefully the overstated part of my character - at least - comes across. Or maybe you just think I always dress this way.

It was fun to be blonde for a night. I found myself twizzling my golden locks round my fingers quite a lot.

Christmas Eve

2007-12-18T14:05:00.001+01:00

Here's something surprising about German customs that I've only just discovered: the main event of Christmas over here is the evening of 24th December ('Weihnachten' or 'Holy Night'). For them, 25th December is simply the 'first day of Christmas' and is a day for visiting friends and family.

On Weihnachten festivities begin in the late afternoon with the opening of gifts. Depending on the region of Germany, people either believe that gifts are brought by 'Christkind' (a fair-haired angel) or a figure called 'der Weihnachtsmann' (who looks more like our Father Christmas).

After presents have been unwrapped it is time for a hearty dinner - traditionally carp. Many families conclude the evening by attending a midnight Christmas Mass.

I often wondered how Father Christmas managed to deliver presents to the whole world in the early hours of 25th - now I know that he has der Weihnachtsmann and Christkind to help him and those guys start a bit earlier. It's that age old method of getting things done: team work!

The Medieval Christmas Market

2007-12-09T15:55:00.002+01:00

The Medieval Christmas Market of Cologne - a little montage of photos for your viewing pleasure. You might notice that the photos are a bit above my usual standard. So I'll admit it now. Simon took them, not me.

This market is a cut above because the traders have to dress up in ye olde cloaks and hats and there is an element of traditional culture here: one can see plays being acted out in old German. When we were there we saw a play which involved a pale man being pulled along in a cart - apparently the embodiment of 'Winter'; a real donkey, which hardly needs description; a slightly crazed lady wearing a pretend fox around her neck; and a hotchpotch of excitable peasant folk waving flaming torches and playing whistles. It was quite thrilling! Sadly, you will have to imagine this as we were too dumbfounded by the spectacle to realise we should be recording it for posterity.

You will notice though, that Simon did take a lot of photos of food stalls. Like the olde risotto stall...

More market marvellousness

2007-12-03T10:29:00.000+01:00

We went to a couple of the Christmas markets with friends yesterday.

We didn't let a little bit of drizzle (more like an all-day downpour) stop us having fun.

If ever you find yourself at a German Christmas market I suggest you follow these six simple steps to get the authentic experience:

1) Annoy stall holders by manhandling the goods: play with the puppets and model the hats.

2) Eat sausage based savoury junk food.

3) Eat chocolate based sweet junk food shortly after step 2.

4) Wash goods consumed in steps 1 and 2 down with a glühwein.

5) Feel a bit ill.

6) Go to play with toys and hats again.

There were quite a lot of wooden toys for sale.

Here are some wooden puppets entertaining tourists with their motor cycle display skills.

Not exactly friendly looking are they? In particular the puppets on the left who have blue irises and no pupils. Ice cold.

I must say though, that if the puppets are scary, at least the rubbish bins go out of their way to look cute and appealing.

Observe the gingerbread style bin on the right hand side of this next photo.

It's raining this afternoon and looks set for the rest of the day so guess what I am planning to do later? That's right - I'm going to the Christmas markets again! Well, it would be rude not to eh?

Christmas in Cologne

2007-11-28T14:49:00.003+01:00

The people of Cologne really, really love Christmas. Each winter the city plays host to not one, but six Christmas markets. On sale are all manner of German baked sweet smelling goodies such as lebkuchen (gingerbread) and stollen (a bread-like fruit cake), as well as wooden toys, decorations and gifts.

The oldest Christmas market is at Neumarkt ('New market') town square and conveniently this is about a 10 minute walk from our flat. Perfect for an amble with a perambulator. So that is where I headed this morning, making the most of the low winter sun.

The entrance to the Neumarkt Christmas market (see top and middle photos) is guarded by two imposing toy soldiers.

At the markets it is traditional to try a little Glühwein - hot spiced red wine. This tradition is taken quite seriously: I visited at 11 am and the wine stand was already fairly busy...Mind you, it can get very cold here in December, so it seems like a pretty practical way to warm up frostbitten toes.

As I am not sure if I will still be in Cologne next Christmas, I am going to make the most of the markets this year. I shall certainly be partaking of some Glühwein on an up-and-coming girls' night out. I'd also like to fit in visits to the beautiful market in front of the cathedral and the Alter Markt (Old Market) located in front of the town hall. Should keep me out of trouble (ho ho ho.)

More about the Christmas markets...

How to make Glühwein...

Stuffed for Christmas

2007-11-18T20:04:00.000+01:00

I took a stroll into the city centre today. Nothing was open - it's Sunday - but I did come across something noteworthy in one of the shops...

The largest department store has just revealed its Christmas window displays. All I can say is that someone in the marketing team must have taken some unusual substances recently, for the theme this year is the very unseasonal - but exciting nevertheless - one of 'animals in the jungle'.

In each of three large windows visitors are afforded a rare glimpse of an animal utopia in which a small teddy can ride safely on the back of a tiger without fear of maiming (see photo); where a panther will fan a tortoise to keep it cool; where rabbits can feel at ease dressing up in feathers, grass skirts and spotted furs (Furs? Furs? Fake I hope.)...

Most of the beasties are animated via unseen wires and electronics, allowing them to achieve a whole host of impressive actions such as twisting and swaying and um, twisting and swaying...

It makes a pleasant change to the usual scenario I write about, in which previously animated creatures find themselves rather static, thanks to the skills of the taxidermist. These jungle critters never knew any kind of animation, until the marketing department brought them to life.

Martinsfest

2007-11-11T09:55:00.001+01:00

November 11th is St Martins' Day, or Martinsfest, as it's known here.

St Martin was the founder of the first monasteries in France in the 4th Century AD. He is the patron saint of the harvest and the poor.

Hard to believe, but as far as I can ascertain* , St Martin is represented by little bread men like this, which seem to populate the bakeries at this time of year.

I just couldn't resist buying one, once I'd overcome my initial 'What the...?' surprise at being greeted by this strange mix of dough, currants, red lollipop and ceramic pipe on the pastries counter at my local bakery.

Plus, my maiden name was Martins, so we have a connection, bread man and I - and I couldn't pass up the chance to be actively involved in Martinsfest '07.

Coincidentally, November 11th is also the official beginning of carnival season. The carnival season runs right through until February. (These people know how to party.)

Here is the bread St Martin later in the day, having enjoyed his festival and the start of carnival tremendously. Note that he is full of good cheer and (partially) legless.

*Via extensive research which included Googling and canvassing the opinions of my German teacher and our neighbours.

Plug and play

2007-11-06T16:57:00.002+01:00

We took our computer to an expert, who diagnosed, in layman's terms, that it was very screwed up and not really worth fixing. Perhaps note the confidence with which I predicted, in my last post, that we would be able to fix the computer. Ahem.

Anyway, it turns out that an invasion of fluff can indeed be terminal for a computer.

So we have bought a shiny new computer which is very fast and has a vast amount of gigabytage to fill up indiscriminately. It was fairly easy to set up. Though we are still going through the chore of reloading all of our old data and programs.

However, the new computer's arrival means that the old computer is destined to become one more lump of landfill. In an attempt to assuage the guilt we will try to re-use some of the innards where possible, like the memory.

Better to have loved and lost...?

2007-10-23T10:13:00.000+01:00

It is better to have loved and lost, than have never loved before.

I disagree, if one is talking about a love of the internet!

Our PC broke stopped working over the weekend. The reason? Erm, it overheated because it was invaded by fluff. Nothing to do with my housekeeping skills, I am sure…

Now, I am not even so worried about our PC breaking, for we will find a way to fix it. I am bereft because the consequence is that I now have no internet access from home. I am making do by borrowing access to the internet from other people and entrusting Simon to check my emails. Not having the internet makes me nervous and panicky. I have withdrawal symptoms as it is so useful to me, for so many reasons.

Anyway, the upshot is that blog posts are likely to be less frequent until we get our PC fixed.

Pilates

2007-10-17T12:31:00.000+01:00

Pilates: ‘The attainment and maintenance of a uniformly developed body with a sound mind, fully capable of naturally performing our many daily tasks with spontaneous zest and pleasure.’ (Joseph Pilates)

Pilates: ‘Laying on the floor, straining to hold one's body in a series of unnatural positions, trying to remember to breathe and wishing the hands on the gym room’s clock would start to move round more quickly.’ (Victoria Harris)

I have started doing pilates once a week. I am going with friends and we are taking our babies as there is a crèche. I face three major challenges:

• The most exercise my body is used to is reaching down to the bottom drawer of the freezer to get out the ice cream. Hence I am woefully under-equipped in the muscle tone department.
• I do not understand my teacher as she, of course, speaks in German. Now, she may be a very good teacher, but I wouldn’t have a clue. I just copy the moves and hope that she doesn’t catch on that I am not following the more philosophical aspects of the art.
• Even before pregnancy I doubt people thought I was of ‘sound mind’.

A taste of autumn

2007-10-07T16:04:00.000+01:00

I say a taste, but I wouldn't recommend you eat this type of mushroom.

We visited friends Claudia and Robert in Eindhoven yesterday. The four of us pottered about filling time with gossip, eating, drinking, window-shopping and a walk in the park. Simon spied this incredibly fairytale toadstool while we were on our walk. Doesn't it just herald the autumn to you?

Marathon

2007-10-07T15:35:00.000+01:00

Today was marathon day in Cologne. We went along as our mate Rhod was running in it and we wanted to help his good woman, Anna, cheer him along. Here's Rhod looking impressively lively considering he had been running for two hours by this point!

Rhod and Anna used to live a five minute walk from us in Essex. Rhod now works in Cologne during the week, so Anna comes out to visit sometimes - it's a fantastic chance to catch up.

Here is a picture of us, having done nothing whatsoever. We take things at a slower pace.

Incidentally, this photo was taken shortly before I decided I needed a second lunch - watching all those athletes working so hard made me hungry. I had already eaten scrambled egg on toast at midday, before watching the runners, but after seeing Rhod reach his two hour point we headed home (April needed her bed), making a stop at McDonald's...

Tag der Einheit

2007-10-03T13:16:00.001+01:00

Today, 3 October, is ‘Tag der Einheit’ (literally, ‘day of oneness’). It is a public holiday to celebrate the reunification of Germany and has been in place since 1990.

It probably seems pretty weird to UK readers that there is a public holiday midweek. But that’s what it is like here. There is no such thing as a Monday 'Bank Holiday'. Holidays here happen to celebrate anniversaries of events, religious or secular, and therefore the day of the week on which they take place can shift.

There are lots of public holidays compared to the UK. Technically, not being employed at the moment, I don’t benefit so much from this. Except to say that it is nice when Simon has a day off and can be at home.

All public holidays in Germany, apart from Tag de Einheit, are set by the federal states. This means you can get the situation where our area (North Rhine-Westphalia) celebrates All Saints Day on 1 November (Yay, less than a month until the next holiday!) but it isn't celebrated in Berlin. There are 11 public holidays per year in North Rhine-Westphalia, which is pretty good. Bavaria has the most of any state, though, with an exciting score of 13 days. In England there are only 8 per year. I think the Germans have the right idea myself. A little bit of extra time to chill...

Bikes are not the only fruit

2007-09-28T15:31:00.001+01:00

Something else I've noticed about the people of Cologne recently...they don't just limit their two-wheeled-human-powered transportation methods to bicycles. Oh no. Grown-ups can also be seen regularly utilising:

• rollerskates
• skateboards
• and push along scooters

Apparently there is no shame in it. Perhaps it even passes for cool?

Today, while I was waiting at a pedestrian crossing with the pram, a man in a black suit (ie unmistakably a grown-up) wheeled up beside me. He pointed to some buttons on the pram's handles and asked whether they were brakes. Er, no, I said, with a note of confusion in my voice. Firstly they weren't. Secondly, why on earth did he feel it was a normal thing to ask a lady he'd just met at a crossing?

Then I was confused again as he hopped on to his push along scooter and sped off. Perhaps he was grateful for his chosen mode of transport - after all, it meant he could get away at speed following his embarrassing question...