Why are we always running? (Köln)

Last Saturday, Adriana, Lara, Taisy, and I went to Köln. As a mentioned in my last post, you can get a good deal on train tickets when you buy them for a group of five. For 46 Euros, a group of five people can travel anywhere in Germany for one day with unlimited use of public transportation. We only had four people, but that only meant that we each had to chip in 11.5 euros rather than 9.2.
Lara and Adriana met at the Gießen Bahnhof and bought the ticket, and when the train came through Wetzlar, Taisy and I got on. We were on our way a little after 10 and we got to Köln at about 12:30. The train ride was pretty uneventful. We had to make a pretty tight connection in Siegen, but we made it thanks to a flat out sprint from one train to the next. Which begged the question Taisy and I ask our selves nearly every time we're together, why are we always running?
After arriving in Köln, the first thing we did was visit the Kölner Dom because it is literally right next to the Hauptbahnhof (Main train station). The Dom was so breathtakingly beautiful; I have no idea how humans are actually capable of building such things. All of the pictures I took don't seem to do it justice. I could never even manage to capture the whole thing in my lens anyway… so I bought a nice postcard.

A group photo in front of the Dom.

A photo of one tower taken from the South side.

Fun facts:

• There is a shrine behind the alter of the Kölner Dom witch holds the bones of the Three Wise Men who brought gifts to the baby Jesus.
• The Kölner Dom is Germany's most visited landmark, attracting about 20,000 people a day.
• It is the largest Gothic Church in Northern Europe and has the second tallest spires.
• Its two large spires give it the largest facade of any other church in the world.
• It is 157m (515ft) tall and I climbed 100 of those meters.

There was an opportunity to climb up one of the towers, an opportunity that of course we were going to take. Lara had already done it once before so she opted to meet up with us afterward. Once we started climbing, we didn't blame her. Most of our ascent consisted of a very narrow spiral-staircase, not for the  claustrophobic or acrophobic. Tired and slightly dizzy, we reached the top where we got a 360 degree view of Köln from 100m above the earth. Many people had written their names on the walls there, and much to my surprise, I found mine and my brother's name side-by-side. 

On our way up.

Finally made it! I'm pointing to where we are standing in the Dom

Must be fate.

*Note: With the exception of the photo of the South tower and the photo of mine and my brother's names, all photos here have been shamelessly stolen from the lovely Taisy. I left my cell phone containing all my pictures at a friends house this weekend. I will add some of my own photos when I get a chance.*

After we made our way back down, we met up with Lara again and went to the Weihnactsmarkt for lunch. There was a ridiculous amount of people there. It was pretty unpleasant having to push through the huge crowd of people. That being said, it's one of the best known Weihnachtsmärkte in Germany, the food was good, and I did a little bit of Christmas shopping for my Americans. 
Around four o'clock, Adriana and Lara met up with a plethora of other Latin American exchange students. Taisy and I hung around for a bit, but due to my Spanish being out of practice and Taisy's nonexistent, we decided to split and go to the Schokoladenmuseum Köln. 
With a vague idea of where it's located, the GPS in my phone, and the help of some strangers, it didn't take us too long to find the museum. Although it may have been quicker if we just followed the strong, heavenly scent of German chocolate wafting through the air. 
Upon paying our entrance fee, we were each given a tiny chocolate bar which was made right there in the museum. We learned just about everything one could learn about chocolate. There were exhibits on everything from the origin of chocolate, to the plant it comes from, modern production, and everything in between. The museum was complete with a tropicarium filled with cocoa plants, a small scale versions of machines used to produce chocolate, and chocolate fountain. Taisy said it reminded her of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and I have to say that I agree. The only thing I could have possibly wished for was more time to experience the whole thing… well that and more free chocolate.

The glorious chocolate fountain

Eventually we had to leave to meet up with the others. But not until I spent eleven something Euros in the chocolate shop, not for me, but to send back to America. Mom, if you're reading this, I guess you might have a clue what is coming to you in that package I sent.
We were running a little bit late for our designated meeting time with Lara and Adriana, so yet again, we found ourselves running (and pushing through large crowds of people).
Before we had to leave, we wanted to try the local specialty beer of Köln called Kölsch. Luckily there was a grocery store right in the train station where you could buy it. As we were looking around for something to open the beer with, I happened to see the time on my watch. "Umm, hey guys, our train leaves in four minutes and we don't even know what platform to be on." You guessed, this comment sparked another sprint to catch our train. At this point, I can't say I'm not used to it.
Once we got to our platform, we saw that the train was completely full. People were reluctant to let us on since they were already packed in like sardines. One of the others suggested that we just get the next train, but we knew that wouldn't get us home until almost midnight. We ended up just kind of forcing our way onto the train. We had to stand most of the way back to Siegen, which my tired feet didn't agree with, but it was an awful lot better than hanging around in a train station for a few hours.
This time our connection in Siegen was even closer because our train from Köln was running late. We arrived at the station at the time that our second train was supposed to be leaving. On a wing and a prayer and a good healthy sprint, we managed to catch our train. The remainder of our trip was much more relaxed, save for some rowdy soccer fans that boarded the train for a few stops.
We finally reached Wetzlar, and by the time I walked home I was just ready for sleep.