Jülich - Day 1

We got in really late to Köln and a driver met us there to take us to the hotel in Jülich. He didn't wear a seat belt and at one point the speedometer reached 190 km. As I looked out the window I was pretty sure it was really fast but I was a bit too tired to do the conversion. I googled it later and it said 118 mph. I hope my eyes were deceiving me.

The cornflakes followed us again as did the rest of the granola, yogurt, meat slices and cheese. The hotel is in the center of town and the town is small so you can walk pretty much any where. Alan headed to the lab after breakfast and I wandered around on my own.

First up was the fortress and moat. Apparently it was designed so that the cannons at the time couldn't reach across the moat. By the time it was finished, the Baron who commissioned it was out of money and the shots could easily get across the moat. Poor fellow.

Alan and I met at the hotel at 2:00 and we caught a train to Köln to visit Stephan, a friend from Eugene that moved back to Germany after grad school. The first train to Düren was small , only two cars (Rurtalbahn). It is neat that they have such connectivity between the little towns though. We arrived in Düren and waited for our next train but it never arrived. We caught a train a half hour later and finally arrived in Köln. As we boarded, the entrances were packed with German fans (young fans) drinking and singing. This was not the first time we have experienced fans of Euro Cup 2008. We also were in Italy when they played Spain. The mood the following morning was telling of their loss. Anyway, we met Stephan a the steps of the Kölner Dom and he mentioned that he asked about the other train and apparently it had been canceled.

The Kölner Dom is incredible! We climbed to the top first. Yes, climbed. There is no elevator and it is a spiral staircase, 509 steps and 321 feet off the ground. The views were of course amazing and one can understand why it took over 600 years to build. There is so much detail. After a dizzying decent, we stopped inside the Dom and happened upon the orchestra and choir practicing for the night's concert of The War Requiem. We could not have been there at a better time. The sound was magical.

After the Dom, we ventured to the Lindt Chocolate Museum. It was closed, early, so that folks could watch the Germany vs. Turkey game. It was interesting to see the excitement for the game as we were in a German town with a significant Turkish population. We did get a chance to visit the chocolate store even though the museum was closed so we walked away pretty happy with some treats.

Dinner time brought us to the Kölsch brew house. The food is incredible. This was by far the best meal we had in Germany. Sausage and cutlets of meat with fried egg on top, fried potatoes, and a cabbage salad. Mmm...

After dinner it was time for us to head back to the train station and Jülich. We wandered the streets a bit more and watched the German and Turkish fans as the game started. A little bit of gelato, a couple short train rides, and a short walk later and we reached the hotel. Funny, even in tiny Jülich they were out in mass to watch the game. Our hotel has a pub connected to it and they were showing the game on numerous tvs, screens, and multiple speakers. Even with our windows closed we knew that Germany had won the game. There was fireworks and celebration all night. Go Deutschland!!