10 Days in Cologne !

As a teacher, I don't go on many business trips. OK, so perhaps my life is a sort of continuous business trip, seeing as I live and work in France. But regardless, from time to time, it's nice to have a break in the routine and do something different. And that's just what I had the opportunity to do a couple weeks ago.

When Fabrice (the director of Écolangues, one of the places I work) asked me if I'd be interested in going to Germany to teach an 8-day intensive English class, I didn't require much convincing. I've always liked Germany, and was immediately excited about the opportunity to spend a couple weeks there.

Fabrice has been taking teachers to Cologne for these workshops for many years, to train interns working for WDR, the German TV and radio station. He uses an interesting teaching method which includes songs and games in a learning environment that is deliberately different from a traditional classroom. It took some time for me to get used to some of the teaching methods, but overall it was like a combination of camp and Up With People. I had a small group (8 people) who were very receptive and quite motivated, and overall it was a really positive experience for me.

I lived with a host family, which was fun. Although I worked long hours (9-5 plus a 1-hour commute each way on the tram), I did have the chance to discover the city a little. I was really impressed with Cologne. It's easy to get around, the people were very nice, and there are a lot of parks and green space. I could even leave my host family's house, go two blocks, and arrive in a huge park. I went for 3 runs while I was there, and could even have gone 15 km through the park, all the way to the Rhine (although I didn't go quite that far).

Things I like about Cologne:

• The Chocolate Museum! (need I say more??)


• Kölsch (beer from Cologne ... mmm!)


• The Dom (Cologne's beautiful cathedral ... see photos here)


• Garten Eden (yummy Chinese and sushi restaurant)


• Ganesha (yummy Indian restaurant, friendly staff)


• Brauhaus Sion (brewery and restaurant ... I finished a big meal with an apple streudel the size of my head!)


• the Rhine River (very pretty ... see photos here)

hmm ... is it me, or do the majority of those things have to do with food and drink?

So was there anything I didn't like about Cologne? Well, there was one day that was brutally hot, and I longed for some good old American air conditioning. Other than that, there was just one thing ... Philipp wasn't there! It was hard to be away from Philipp for so long. Luckily, my host family had internet and unlimited telephone service to France, so we did get to talk and write. But in addition to missing him, I worried about what he was eating. I prepared and froze several meals before leaving, knowing that he wouldn't cook for himself. He'd be happy eating cereal for two weeks!

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We finished the classes on Friday, July 4. Instead of heading back to France right away, I had arranged to spend the weekend near Cologne, with a friend and her parents. Katrin was an exchange student who spent 6 months with my family in New Hampshire when we were in high school. It was so nice to see her and her parents again (I'd seen them one other time ... in 1995). And they were such gracious hosts! We had lots of good food and good wine. (from the photo below, you see that the area is surrounded by vineyards). We went for a long bike ride and a drive in the mountains, and Katrin and I walked along the path through the vineyards. It was a wonderful weekend, and I continue to send a big VIELEN DANK to them all!