My "first" weekend in Cologne

Hi all! I just realized that is has been a LONG time since I have posted, I apologize! Things have been a bit crazy here! A few hours ago, I took my final exam for my 5 week language intensive class. I definitely didn't ace it, but I'm confident that I passed the class :) And good news, I finally got over my sickness! I still have a cough, but that is something that I can deal with. My parents and Emilie are coming to Germany in a week; I am getting so excited to see them!
So this past weekend, was technically my first weekend in Cologne! I did stay one weekend with my relatives in Hurth, a suburb of Cologne, but I'm not counting it. It has been so nice to travel every weekend and see as much as I can, but I definitely was in need of a weekend to relax, catch up on sleep, and chill out. Little did I know that I was in for a big surprise! My friend, Alex, who is studying this year in Berlin, found last minute train tickets to Cologne for Sunday-Tuesday. He and I both found out that he was coming Saturday night! His train was scheduled to arrive around 12:30 pm, so I thought it would be logical if I leave about an hour early to pick him up. Boy was I wrong! There was a marathon in Cologne on Sunday, which meant that almost all of public transportation was shut down, bummer for me! So I ended up walking about 3 miles, taking maybe 5 trains, and finally getting to him about two hours later! It was all worth it though; it was nice to see another face that I recognized from Minnesota. We surprised my friend, Katie, who is also from the U of M and is also friends with Alex. Later that day, we climbed the Dom, walked across the Rhein bridge, and meandered through the Old City. This is when I realized that there isn't too much to do in Cologne for free!

This week has been pretty "normal" otherwise. I finished my German class, did my normal routine of cultural night on Monday (the Belgians made Fries and Meatloaf..delicious!), student night at a pub on Tuesday, etc. I have gone shopping a few times in the last few weeks; I am attempting to dress as much like a European as possible! Since I have been here, I've bought my first pair of fancy boots and skinny jeans! I was also very proud when I picked Alex up from the train station and he didn't recognize me at first because I dressed European..I took that as a compliment! Tonight I went to an international exchange student dinner. We each had to make a dish from our home country to share with the others. Two other Americans and I made ceasar salad. To be honest, its really difficult to find something easy, simple, and native to America. Most of what we eat comes from other places! Otherwise, it was a great dinner and I got to enjoy eating dishes from other countries. My fellow Americans and I are leaving for Amsterdam tomorrow morning. We will only be there for a night, but I'm definitely looking forward to it. I don't remember having the greatest impression from when I went last, at twelve years old, but I also wasn't in the right age category to enjoy the night life. I am hoping that this time will leave me with a better impression. I'd better get going; of course I have completely put off packing until the last minute! Tschuss!