In Cologne (koln)

I am sitting in the lobby waiting for G to come down for breakfast. The weather is as usual - cloudy, grey, rainy but warm. Sound like Britain Rachael? We have had the same weather since our arrival in Europe but then again, this is what Jan,, Feb., and March are like here. No surprises there.

Cologne is a crazy place at this time of year. We arrived by "sardine fish" train on Thursday morning around 10. Walking into the Dusseldorf train stn was an experience this day because it was full of young people already three sheets to the wind and ready to party. So, our trip to Koln was noisy and packed. I sat on my backpack the whole way. G was somewhere else on the train.
When we arrived into Cologne, it was to 10 000 people mulling about in the train stn and surroundings. All dressed in costumes (Halloween type) more lavish than any we've seen in Canada. G and I immediately S-bahn ed it out of there as our packs where just in the way for such a crowd. We finally found our hotel, dumped our stuff and went right back to the city party crowd to celebrate the beginning day of Karneval.
We got off the S bahn in the old city area and began to walk the cobble-stone streets with our mouths open. All around us were young adults, costumed, carrying open beer bottles, wine bottles, even full alcohol bottles from which they were drinking. All were drunk and loud and having a great time. The politztei were all over the place but so were many broken bottles under our feet. There were so many people that the garbage cans couldn't keep up so the bottles ended up on the street for us to step on and kick. I will never again forget the sound of tinkling glass under foot as we walked. Any tinkling glass will always bring me back to Cologne.
We walked and found a young group of sweet people - quite into the sauce, and partied with them for a bit as we drank beer and gluwein. It was an amazing experience to be a part of a breathing alcohol bubble. We later found the first of the 4-day parades. We watched with glee and caught several hand loads of candy - most of which we gave to the little kids around us - that was after I filled my coat pockets. We walked and aee some more and when we looked at our watch and were shocked that it was only 5 o'clock, we knew that it was time for us to leave. We were exhausted - getting old I guess.
It's inevitable. We could only imagine how much fun our own kids would have had being here.