Europe Day 6 – Neuss, Germany
We meant to wake up at 8:00 am, but we forgot to change our alarm clock from London time to Western Europe time. There is a one-hour difference, so we actually woke up at 9:00 am. Sebastian told us the night before that he would pick us up between 9:00 and 10:00, so we took a shower and got dressed. I heard the phone ring, but I couldn’t find it, so that didn’t help. We sat around and waited for him until 10:30, when I finally found the phone. I tried to call him several times, but I was having the same success as when I was in Cologne.
At 11:00 am Sebastian finally called and I had the phone nearby. He running late (duh) and said he would be here in 20 minutes. I asked him to confirm his phone number. I didn’t realize I had to add a 0 to the front of the local number. Now I know. Vanessa and I headed over to the kitchen to have breakfast. Mr. And Mrs. Rosen had left at 8:00 am to go to work, but there was a ton of stuff in the refrigerator. Mrs. Rosen had left a Weckmann on the counter. A Weckmann is a large piece of bread you buy at the baker, which is shaped like a man and is holding a little corncob pipe. Vanessa made coffee and I had some orange juice while we waited… and waited… and waited.
Sebastian finally showed up around 12:20 am. Only 3 hours late. Not bad. We jumped in the car and took off for a very fast tour of Neuss. Sebastian knows a lot about the city, because he is on the City Counsel of Neuss. After about 20 minutes of driving around we jumped on the Autobahn heading towards Cologne. Sebastian made it a point to drive fast, and before long we were going about 100 mph. Cologne is only about 30 minutes away by train or car.
Once we were in Cologne, we parked the car and started walking though the streets. Throughout most of Germany, the town is built around the churches. Cologne has an enormous cathedral. It’s amazing. Inside, there is a golden casket, which holds the remains of the Three Kings (Three Wise Men). We walked the streets and went into several churches as we walked through town. In both Cologne and Neuss it is not uncommon to see walls and structures that are over 2000 years old. We stopped for lunch and I finally got to order Schweinshaxe, which is one of my favorite German meals. It is a pig leg, which is deep-fried with the skin on. It came with mashed potatoes and sauerkraut.
After walking through town we crossed the Rhine River and walked along the riverbank on the other side. It was getting cold and started to drizzle, so we headed back to the car. After another quick drive on the Autobahn, we were back in Neuss. We went back to the salon to Sebastian’s grandmothers apartment (next to and above the salon). They were having “Kuechen”, which translates as “Cake”. This is normally done only on Sunday’s but they had it yesterday as well. The family sits down together, has coffee or tea, and eats pastries. Afterwards, Sebastian took us on a walking tour of Neuss. This turn out to be much further than I first expected. We must have walked three miles. Every once in a while we would stop at a bar, have a beer or two, and then continue the walk. At one bar, I noticed they had a lot of stuff (flags, signs, etc.) from my favorite German beer (Diebel’s Alt). I asked Sebastian if there was somewhere I can buy this stuff as well. Sebastian asked the bar owner and within minutes I was given two drink trays from Deibels and a clock shaped like a Diebel’s bottle. All at no cost.
We continued our tour and stopped by one more bar before heading back to Sebastian’s apartment. We hung out there for a while listening to 80’s music and watching TV. Sebastian’s dad came by to pick us up and we headed back to their house. At the Rosen’s house we had a small informal dinner, which consisted of small open-faced finger-sandwiches. One of the presents I gave to Sebastian was a collection of CD’s with 100 American patriotic songs. He loves this stuff and he insisted on playing it on the stereo. I think he played every song, and the one’s he knew he would sing along.
We finished the night by showing them our wedding photos. By then it was 11:30 pm and definitely time to go to bed.
At 11:00 am Sebastian finally called and I had the phone nearby. He running late (duh) and said he would be here in 20 minutes. I asked him to confirm his phone number. I didn’t realize I had to add a 0 to the front of the local number. Now I know. Vanessa and I headed over to the kitchen to have breakfast. Mr. And Mrs. Rosen had left at 8:00 am to go to work, but there was a ton of stuff in the refrigerator. Mrs. Rosen had left a Weckmann on the counter. A Weckmann is a large piece of bread you buy at the baker, which is shaped like a man and is holding a little corncob pipe. Vanessa made coffee and I had some orange juice while we waited… and waited… and waited.
Sebastian finally showed up around 12:20 am. Only 3 hours late. Not bad. We jumped in the car and took off for a very fast tour of Neuss. Sebastian knows a lot about the city, because he is on the City Counsel of Neuss. After about 20 minutes of driving around we jumped on the Autobahn heading towards Cologne. Sebastian made it a point to drive fast, and before long we were going about 100 mph. Cologne is only about 30 minutes away by train or car.
Once we were in Cologne, we parked the car and started walking though the streets. Throughout most of Germany, the town is built around the churches. Cologne has an enormous cathedral. It’s amazing. Inside, there is a golden casket, which holds the remains of the Three Kings (Three Wise Men). We walked the streets and went into several churches as we walked through town. In both Cologne and Neuss it is not uncommon to see walls and structures that are over 2000 years old. We stopped for lunch and I finally got to order Schweinshaxe, which is one of my favorite German meals. It is a pig leg, which is deep-fried with the skin on. It came with mashed potatoes and sauerkraut.
After walking through town we crossed the Rhine River and walked along the riverbank on the other side. It was getting cold and started to drizzle, so we headed back to the car. After another quick drive on the Autobahn, we were back in Neuss. We went back to the salon to Sebastian’s grandmothers apartment (next to and above the salon). They were having “Kuechen”, which translates as “Cake”. This is normally done only on Sunday’s but they had it yesterday as well. The family sits down together, has coffee or tea, and eats pastries. Afterwards, Sebastian took us on a walking tour of Neuss. This turn out to be much further than I first expected. We must have walked three miles. Every once in a while we would stop at a bar, have a beer or two, and then continue the walk. At one bar, I noticed they had a lot of stuff (flags, signs, etc.) from my favorite German beer (Diebel’s Alt). I asked Sebastian if there was somewhere I can buy this stuff as well. Sebastian asked the bar owner and within minutes I was given two drink trays from Deibels and a clock shaped like a Diebel’s bottle. All at no cost.
We continued our tour and stopped by one more bar before heading back to Sebastian’s apartment. We hung out there for a while listening to 80’s music and watching TV. Sebastian’s dad came by to pick us up and we headed back to their house. At the Rosen’s house we had a small informal dinner, which consisted of small open-faced finger-sandwiches. One of the presents I gave to Sebastian was a collection of CD’s with 100 American patriotic songs. He loves this stuff and he insisted on playing it on the stereo. I think he played every song, and the one’s he knew he would sing along.
We finished the night by showing them our wedding photos. By then it was 11:30 pm and definitely time to go to bed.
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10:32 AM
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