Köln aka Cologne

Serge and I are some Germany travelin' fools!  Our friend Brian flew into Deutschland from the US last weekend, so we met him in Köln, also known as Cologne for those of us (myself specifically!) who have trouble pronouncing the "o umlaut." I'm from South Carolina, y'all!  My mouth just won't form some of these German words properly! :-) Brian is the same guy that met us in Munich at the end of November, so he gets the Reinert Award for Most Frequent Visitor!  We had a wonderful weekend in Cologne, sightseeing, bar hopping, and visiting with Brian and another friend Nicole, who lives near the city.  Thanks for showing us a great time, guys!

This is Serge's "I-think-it's-this-way-oh-no-wait-it's-this-way-or-maybe-this-way" face.

 der Kölner Dom

This church is HUGE! And beautiful!!

die Hohenzollernbrücke über den Rhein

Groß St. Martin und Kölner Dom von der Deutzer Brücke 

Again on the Deutz Bridge, looking out at the Rhein River

This is my "Are-we-both-in-the-picture-and-are-we-blocking-the-view-and-which-button-do-I-push" face.

Café Rosenow, in honor of Ivan and Stephanie! :-) 

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Rosenow!!

Serge's first Kölsch Bier

Espresso Macchiato und eine Kugel Schokoladeneis = the perfect 3pm snack!

im Kölner Dom

I read somewhere that this is Germany's most popular landmark, with an average of 6 million visitors per year!

Why is there Polizei in the nativity scene??

Brian: "It's too big. I can't fit it all in."

Tater: "That's what she said."

Serge: "Seriously?! Even about a church?!"

First Dunkin' Donuts we've spotted in Deutschland!

If only it were a TCBY/Subway combo like in 5 points...

Brian and Serge enjoying some Päffgen-Kölsch in bar Nummer eins

Bierhaus en d'r Salzgass

I told Serge he looked like this kid to the left of him because they had on similar shirts, and his response was, "The only difference between this 8-year-old kid and myself is that his German is waaay better than mine." :-)

My amazing salad at Gilden im Zims with Bratkartoffeln and a fried egg on top.

Now that's a German salad!

Papa Joe's Jazzlokal

Enjoying the live jazz music

Martin's Bad?? :-)

Brian and his new buddies!

Probably laughing about their wild times in Salzburg :-)

'Sup?

Papa Joe's Biersalon

Checking out the music selection

"Errr rrrraaa eeerrrr rrraaaa  eeerrrr"

Go Cocks!!!

Making friends at the Irish Pub :-)

Hallöchen!

I couldn't stop taking pictures of the church! It's gorgeous!

1st time we've been to Starbucks in Germany!

Nicole, Brian, and Serge at Früh for lunch - one of the 6 times we ate that day :-)

Karneval festivities in Fischmarkt

Nicole's "secret" spot for a great view of Cologne... at the Chocolate Museum!

Thanks so much to Nicole and Brian for meeting us in Cologne and showing us the city! We had an awesome time and hope to see you both again soon!!