Neue WG und der Kölner Zoo

So I suppose I have a habit of not updating sometimes, but really I have been waiting for something really exciting to happen, and the past couple of weeks have been pretty mundane for the most part, or at least not worth writing about on here.  So now, I wanted to put up a post on my new apartment, and about my trip to the zoo today!

About three weeks ago, I moved into my new apartment.  I had to move because both of my other roommates were leaving, and it was easier for us to find three people to take the apartment than it was for us to find two people and have me stay.  My reason for leaving wasn't because it wasn't working out, because everything in the old apartment was great.  In the long run I am glad that I moved, because I am in a really great place!  My rent is cheaper, the building is nicer, and I have great roommates again.  The apartment is student housing right by the university, and it is very roomy inside.  I have posted a link at the bottom of this post with the pictures I just took of my bedroom and some of the rest of the apartment.  There are five of us living here, and we all get along very well.  Most days after work, we are all cooking food together, and chatting for a few hours.  It is very much like a family atmosphere, and enjoy spending time together.  

Another thing about my apartment that I am thrilled about is having my flags on the walls of my bedroom!  Whenever I go to a new country or city, I always like to buy a flag from there.  Anyone that has ever walked into my bedroom in the past few years will know what I am talking about, because my bedroom walls used to be covered in giant flags from the world.  Now, I have about eight flags from my time here so far this trip, and have put them up on the walls.  They are great reminders of my travels, and they also remind a bit of home, because it feels like my old bedroom.  Check out the pics to see them on the walls!

Today was a fun Sunday, as two of my roommates, a friend from Scotland, and I all took a trip to the Cologne Zoo.  It was great fun, and was pretty much like any zoo, even though maybe not as great as the NC Zoo (for all of y'all back home!).  I got to take lots of pictures, since I haven't really gotten a chance to use my camera in a while, and got some good shots of some of the animals who were actually quite active.  Another benefit of going to the zoo, was that it really helped my vocabulary with learning how to say some of the animals' names in German.  We had a lot of fun, and came back to the apartment to cook dinner this evening.

That's about all that I have for this post.  I am looking forward to writing my next one, because this coming weekend I will be visiting my friend Anna who lives in Warsaw, Poland.  She says she is going to show me around Warsaw, and Krakow, and possibly her hometown.  It's a lot to fit in in a weekend, but I am taking the night train on Thursday evening, and will arrive Friday morning.  I guess I will have more on that later!

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New Apartment Pics

Amsterdam and Brussels . . .

Well I've been meaning to post about my weekend trip to Amsterdam and Brussels all week now. It has been a crazy few days with trying to work some extra hours, and also moving to a new apartment here in Koeln. Now, I am all settled in, and it's the weekend, so I have a moment to finally crack down on this.
To start things off, this was the second weekend that Kelly and Matt were here, and we planned out a trip for the weekend to see some new sites. We originally wanted to include Paris in our plans, but France, being the way that French people are, require reservations on their trains, which were all full. For the other countries, even if the train is full, you can still spread out on the floor somewhere and get to your destination. Anyways, so we had decided to take an afternoon on Friday and go to Amsterdam, and then spend the rest of the weekend in Brussels.
Since we were only in Amsterdam for a few hours, we didn't see a lot of it, and I am sure that there were many things that we had missed. We went there without any kind of plan, and after leaving the train station we found ourselves in the red light district by complete accident. It was different (that's all I will say on the red light district, because everyone already knows what is there). After finding our way out of there, we found ourselves pleasantly strolling along canals and over bridges since Amsterdam is made up of about 900 islands, much like Venice. The one thing that we did in Amsterdam that was really worthwhile was we visited the Anne Frank House. It was really fascinating to walk through the hidden rooms of the house, and be in the same place that Anne Frank wrote her famous diary. It was definitely moving, and before long we were also moving along our way to Brussels, Belgium, not really knowing what to expect!
Brussels is a very odd city to say the least. It is the seat of the European Union and so therefore, a very international city. Belgium has two official languages; French, and Dutch, and in Brussels, French was most prominent. People were very friendly and helpful, and the city was a blast to explore. Our first stop was in the Delirium Cafe after we arrived in our hostel. The Delirium Cafe is a world famous bar due to the fact that it houses the most beers in the world in one place. With a menu the size of an encyclopedia, the Delirium Cafe boasts almost 3000 different brews from around the world. We tried a few, and had a great time mingling with locals and other foreigners alike. The rest of the time we spent wandering around the city. Brussels is a beautiful city, but none of it's architecture seems to fit each other. A beautiful building would have an ugly building just added directly onto it, and that sort of thing. However, as in order not to disappoint anyone, I did buy some German chocolate, and I did eat a Belgian Waffle for breakfast. Both were delicious!
I had a great weekend, and after a long week, I have finally moved into my new apartment. I am living in student housing here by the University. It is a large suite for 5 people, and I seem to have great roommates. My room is bigger than before, I have a larger kitchen, and all in all better place for cheaper rent. It should be a good few months!
I'll be giving more updates soon! I am going to try and post in here more often. I also have some more trips up my sleeve within the next couple of months.
I hope all of you readers are well, and everyone from back home, I am thinking of you. Oh, and in case you thought I was avoiding the subject, the answer is "No, I didn't try any of the wacky weed in Amsterdam!" Y'all know me better than that!
I look forward to reading comments!
Leibe Gruesse aus Koeln!

Amsterdam Photos
Brussels Photos