So after our first week of classes, a bunch of us in the program decided that we would head to Cologne for Karneval for the weekend. We figured we would definitely go for the day on Saturday and left it open-ended whether or not we would stay the night and come back on Sunday. So we left Marburg around 11:30 in the morning on Saturday. One thing that was really cool is that with the Deutsch Bahn (German Rail) System is that you can buy what is called a Schoenes-Wochenende ticket for which you pay 39 Euro and you are allowed to travel anywhere in Germany for that day for up to 5 people....so if your math is as good as mine, if you have 5 people that means you pay just under 8 Euro a person....quite a bargain when you consider a ticket could have costed us around 50 Euro round trip. After a 3 and a half hour train ride we finally arrived in Cologne. Upon walking out of the train station my first reaction was something along the lines of "Holy Shit!" As it was hundreds of people wearing costumes and the majority of them all drinking. From the train station we set off on an adventure to find alcohol so that we could partake in the debauchery that is Karneval.
Side note: Karneval is basically Halloween but then add all the drinking involved with that and add it with the drinking involved with St. Patrick's Day, New Years, and any birthday...oh and throw in a parade with that.
After wandering around for about a half hour we finally found a grocery store where we could buy booze...and boy did we buy booze. Three people bought a mini keg to split. I bought about 6 bottles of beer and a bottle of vodka to split with another friend. The others bought their fair share as well. We then assembled back outside and started our day long bender. We wandered through the streets of Cologne drinks in hand and then we decided to meet up with one of our program's tutors, Raphael, who was also in Cologne. After about an hour and a half we finally found him and then we proceeded to go with him to his sister's apartment. From his sister's apartment we went out to where the parade was going through. And this is about where the height of our inebriation began to kick in as well. We, along with many other people joined in the parade and proceeded to dance, march, and drink even more through the streets of Cologne. The amount of people in the parade was amazing, it almost seemed as though the whole city had come out to this parade. Some interesting bits from the parade: a lady handing us sparklers and us going crazy with them, a man peeing through the parade (yes for real), oh and more drinking!
We finally exited the parade and decided to get something to eat for the first time that day at this quaint little German restaurant called McDonald's. After McDonald's we were all pretty worn out and pretty inebriated and thought we could try to catch the last train our of Cologne. So Kevin, Bri, Hillary, Chris, and I headed back to the train station to see if we could make it out. Alas! to our dismay we had missed the last train out and had to wait until morning. We figured we would try to see if we could find a cheap hotel or hostel but we were pretty much laughed at when we asked if anything was available or cheap for that matter. So we decided that we would just crash at the train station and catch the first train in the morning at 7:30. So we found an open spot to crash and I quickly passed out for a brief period of time. In my slumber I managed to miss a few exciting events: Bri singing for money (she got 6 Euro!) and then Bri being solicited for sex (not good). We then moved into a 24 hour bakery where the 5 of us took up an entire bench and each of us drifted in and out of sleep. In the bakery we were not the only Karneval-goers crashing for the night. If I could describe what the scene looked like, I would probably describe it as one huge walk of shame, with the majority of people wearing costumes ranging from pirates, nurses, Buzz Lightyear, Mexicans, and many, many others. Finally 7:30 rolled around and we made our way home. We arrived back in Marburg precisely 24 hours after we had left it. We all went home to our respective dorms and proceeded to sleep the rest of the day and night away.
Alright fast-forward to Tuesday night-my 21st birthday celebration. I met up with all my other IUSPers at the 2-minute-walk-from-my-dorm bar known as Schwartz-Weiss. I was immediately given a beer from my buddy Kevin and then sat down with other friends. Then my friends Bri and Christina walked in with a scrumptious cake and everyone proceeded to sing me happy birthday. I was given a lovely hat, a large shot glass, and a single shot bottle of absinthe (77.7% alc. absinthe). Throughout the proceeding hours I was given numerous shots and many beers. I'm not exactly sure how much I had to drink that night but from what I was told and what I remember I had a great time. At midnight I had the absinthe shot which was one of the most disgusting things I think I've ever had. I almost threw up after that one! I don't really recall the end of my night but some of the things that I've been told are that I went to leave, but I only made it as far as grabbing my jacket before walking back into the bar to do another shot with everyone. Apparently I thought that was a great idea. I then apparently proceeded to sing the "So Long, Farewell" song from The Sound of Music to everyone as I left the bar. All I know though is that I made it home safely and that I brushed my teeth and took my contacts out. Huzzah for good hygiene! The next morning was a bit rough as I slept through all of my alarms and then had to find my way to a fitness studio where our class was meeting for the day. I'm also pretty sure that I was still drunk when I woke up which probably didn't help me find my way. About 45 minutes later I found my way to the fitness studio where my class applauded for me and my teacher gave me a gift (a healthy snack smorgasbord that went along with the day's theme of being healthy....something that I ironically was not doing) After a days class I enjoyed a great lunch of currywurst and french fries and then went back to my room for a two hour nap. I then had to go back into town so that I could use the internet and was able to call my mom, dad, and sister all for free via google phone...which is awesome! I went home, finally got my internet set up for my room and then enjoyed a great night's sleep.
That's all for now. I'm gonna stay in Marburg this weekend and relax and work on a presentation for Monday (thankfully in English!). Not sure where my adventures will take me next, so until then...
Bis spaeter!
ps. I will add some photos later when I get on my other computer
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