The last time I wrote, I had just returned from a great 1st weekend with the girls (Leah and Sara) in Berlin. Since then, we were able to make a couple of other fun and exciting trips.

The weekend following Berlin, I met up with the girls down in Cologne. They spent the week down in Bavaria, checking out the Swiss Alps, among other things. So, when it came time to meet up with them on thursday evening, we decided to meet at the hostel I had reserved in Cologne. Everything worked out nicely and they were in the lobby of the place waiting for me when I arrived.

Our time spent in Cologne was really awesome. The Weihnachtsmaerkte (Christmas markets) were in full swing this time around which made it all the more fun (the weekend before, in Berlin, they were merely setting up the markets, so we didn't have a chance to check those out). Our first night there, Thursday, happened to be Thanksgiving! The three of us decided that it was only right to try and have as close to a Thanksgiving dinner as possible. So, we walked around a little bit, on the lookout for a good restaurant and, low and behold, we found a place called The Chicago Steakhouse. After a short deliberation, it was decided that this was as close as we were going to get (plus we were by that time very hungry) and we went in. It was a nice Turkey Day Dinner spent with good company, but it didn't even compare to the real thing back home. Despite these shortcomings, we made the best of it and had a good (and our first ever!) Thanksgiving away from home. The rest of the night was just spent checking out the various stalls at the Christmas market and enjoying ourselves. (Pictures: The main stage at the Christmas Market right next to the Cathedral, our Thanksgiving Dinner restaurant!, the three of us at dinner).

The first thing we did the next day was conquer the Cologne Cathedral (Koelner Dom) and all 500 or so steps required to get to the top. It was a pretty decent workout and the reward at the end was great. If you have never seen it, the Cologne Cathedral is really something to behold. It is incredibly large and just as beautiful. We also got to learn a little bit about it's history. During WWII, the entire city of Cologne was bombed, leaving it literally in shambles. Amazingly, the only thing left standing, for as far as the eye can see, was the cathedral. Here's a good link to get what I'm talking about: http://www.sacred-destinations.com/germany/cologne-cathedral-photos/wwii-bombing-cc-gordonr.jpg

(pictures: view of Cologne from atop the Cathedral, the three of us at the top, the Cathedral from ground level, the part of the Cathedral that we climbed - the tallest part!)

After returning to the safe earth, we had to rest our weary legs a little bit before setting out again. The rest of the day was sort of spent walking around, checking out things here and there, getting coffee occasionally, and getting meals. That night, we went out for drinks with a couple of British fellows who Leah and Sara happened to meet during their travels in Southern Germany. It was a fun time and a good way to cap out trip to Cologne.

The next morning we hopped on a train headed to Duesseldorf, where we would be spending the day/night (we could only get the hostel in Cologne until Saturday, so we kind of had to). By this time, however, we were all kind of tired from all of the traveling. So, long story short, the three of us pretty much were content with getting dinner and relaxing at our hostel with a dvd and some beers. From what I did see of Duesseldorf, it looked like a pretty alright city to me.

On Sunday morning, we had to once again part ways - seeing as how I had to teach for another week, and the girls had to travel for another week. So we said our goodbyes, I headed back up to Bremen, and the girls headed East to Baden-Baden for a (from what I heard) very luxurious time at the world-renown spa. The next time I'd be seeing my two friends would be the following Wednesday in Bremen.