Koln Koln Koln

Not a lot apart from classes has been happening in Maastricht over the last few weeks, and so I haven't really had much to write about, but last weekend I went with all the mac people here to Cologne (Koln) for a day. This is one of the best things about being in Maastricht; I can get to Germany, Belgium, and if I leave my stingy ways, Paris, in about the same amount of time it would take me to get from Agra to Delhi, or as from Saint Paul to Crosby, MN. I know that the globe that I have had since freshmen year makes it pretty obvious that Europe is not that big area wise - but I am realizing now just how small it actually is. One thing it is not, however, is cheap.
The Euro is a pain and every time it appreciates a little bit more, a part of my hopes for a grand European adventure dies. But I have finally decided to bite the bullet, and I am making plans to go to Prague, Berlin and Italy for the 2 big breaks we have from classes during the semester. This, along with other short weekend (and hopefully cheap) trips to places close by, will hopefully not leave me completely broke.

Now to what I really wanted to talk about - our mini trip to Koln. Since most of us were getting a bit stir crazy here in Maastricht, we went to Koln for a day last Saturday. The original plan was to leave at 8:30, but we actually only left the guesthouse at 10:30. It took us about 3 hours to get there, which included a 40 minute stop while switching from a bus to train in Aachen, Germany, a city about the same size as Maastricht just across the border. The first picture is of this weird sculpture thing we found on the street, in Aachen, with dinosaurs, and strange crustaceans.

In Koln the first thing we did was to go to the Dom Cathedral, right outside the main train station. It took about 600 years to build this cathedral and it is pretty spectacular. We walked in and around the cathedral for a bit and then began our treacherous climb up one of its towers. I don't remember what the exact height of the tower was, but we climbed over 500 steps, and it was painful. It was also a spiral staircase, and so for the most part I was completely dizzy. But we did finally get to the top and the view of the Rhine and Koln from there was great. We also got to see the largest working bell in all of Europe. The picture on the left is only one part of the cathedral, and you cannot see the tower that we climbed. The second picture is the view of the Rhine from the top of the tower, taken through the mesh that prevents people from falling to, what I imagine would be, a very painful death.

Apart from that we went to a few German beer halls, walked along the Rhine, and went to the Chocolate museum and got back to Maastricht before midnight.
There is one more thing I have to say - I do feel a little cheated by my study abroad program. One of the big reasons for leaving Macalester this semester was because I wanted a break from all the mac-stress, but I am now in this class called "Globalization and Inequality", which I think has been made harder for us on purpose. Or maybe Maastricht is just a harder university to study at. Either way, I am pretty sick at this point of our weekly projects which involve a group presentation and paper. Doing group projects once a semester is stressful enough, but one every week is really pushing it. And so right now instead of reading up on Amnesty International's position on an EU arms embargo on China for their violations of human rights, I am doing what I do best - procrastinating. I have convinced myself that what I am doing is still something worthwhile and productive. I mean catching up on the fourth season of Lost is very important for my mental well being.