High heels, pink and yellow, and a lost camera

You ever worn high heels? Ever spent ten hours in them? What about ten hours walking through cobblestone streets in said heels? I have. Last Monday. I woke up and thought, "Yes, today I am going to spend ten hours exploring Köln in almost brand new high heels." Ok, not quite. But close.

You see Gisela and I were in Köln for the day and felt that we really ought to soak up the scenery and the sunshine. (Sidebar: Gisela is my pen pal of eight years or so. I met her for the first time three years ago so this was the second time meeting her. We get along great and as you might have guessed we have a tendency to follow through on seemingly brilliant ideas that are actually far less than brilliant.)

Anyways, the sun was shining and everything seemed so fresh and wonderful that we figured we'd dress up for our excursion. Skirts, blouses, scarves, purses, thin jackets just in case and of course, high heels.

As Gisela is studying in Köln so our first stop was the University. Secretly I had hoped for some stunning architecture or some equally admirable scenery. Alas, everything I saw was very square and practical. The sweeping arches and detailed ceilings that I'd become used to in Vienna would have been out of place here. It was nice, but not beautiful. It could have just as easily been the U of C campus.

After the university we walked down the Schildergasse towards downtown. Schildergasse seems to be Köln's Mariahilferstrasse - lots of shops, buskers and people milling about. We wandered through a few shops and had a salesperson try to sell us a whole outfit (dress, jacket, shoes and jewelery) but we managed not buy anything. As nothing really caught our attention we changed directions slightly and headed towards the promenade (the Rhein river flows right through Köln and there is a long promenade along the river bank).

By now we'd been on our feet for a few hours so we made a pit stop at an Eis Cafe (Ice cream shop - very common in Europe and extremely delicious) Don't like ice cream? I don't either. I can count on one hand the times I had ice cream last year. But in Europe? The ice cream is nothing like what North America has to over. You must visit an Eis Cafe in Europe - no exceptions - you'll be blown away by the freshness, the intensity and the variety of the flavours.

Gisela and I enjoyed our ice cream while swinging our feet over a low stone wall running parallel to the river. Before us was the promenade with people parading up and down in the sunshine. One fashionable couple caught our attention. The mother looked like she stepped off the runway in Milan - cream blouse with melted milk chocolate pants and pointy crocodile leather sling backs. Thick dark brown hair fell down her back. Her husband was even taller than she was and strode beside her. His hair fell just past his shoulders and matched his chestnut trousers. As an accent he wore a cherry blossom pink shirt. She pushed a stroller in front of her. He clutched an open beer bottle. A family outing - European style.

Finishing our ice cream cones Gisela and I strolled along the walk way. Every so often we stopped to snap a few pictures. The promenade is picturesque. There are a number of old houses that front the river and narrow little cobblestone streets that open out onto the promenade.

By the time we reached the pathway leading to the Kölner Dom the sun that had been warming our backs was now accompanied by a cool breeze. We slipped into our jackets walked up the stair way. For some unknown reason some 'brilliant' sculptor was asked to create a sculpture to greet tourists as they climb the stairs toward the Kölner Dom. For some reason this 'brilliant' sculptor decided to sculpt a slightly larger than life completely nude male gazing towards the river. Now. Michelangelo I can appreciate. But a slightly larger than life completely nude male statue...in pink with yellow hair?!? Right. Reminded me of the old dirty Ken barbie dolls you sometimes see in second hand shops. Personally I'm questioning the 'brilliancy' of this sculptor. Pink and yellow. Yes, as in faded (but definitely pink) barbie pink...with yellow hair. As you walk up towards the back of the Kölner Dom. Someone at the city development office was apparently not thinking quite clearly.

Both Gisela and I had been inside the Kölner Dom before so we wandered around outside and snapped a few pictures. Last time I was here there was a group of teenagers on Rollerblades who were using plastic Ikea tumblers as markers for a Rollerblade course. A group was there today. We watched as they raced through the course weaving in and out between tumblers. The vitality of the young people provided an interesting contrast to the heavy walls of the Dom. On the one hand was the colour and life of the future and on the other hand the firmly rooted traditions and cultures of the past.

Our feet were aching so we stopped at the tourist information centre for awhile and gathered interesting bits of information. Did you know that Köln has a hockey team? The Kölner Haie (Cologne Sharks). Unfortunately they had just played last night, otherwise we would have bought tickets. Another intersting fact - did you know that Köln at one point belonged to Napoleon's Empire? We gathered a few other facts, wandered throught the gift shop and then left.

Outside I realized I'd lost my camera. Oh no. Gisela and I emptied our purses and pockets - no camera. We said a quick prayer and started to retrace our steps. Did I leave it by the tourist information counter? No. In the gift shop downstairs? No. Oh no. Would I have to go buy a new camera? Gisela and I figured the only thing we could do would be to leave our names and numbers at the tourist information counter in case it was returned later on. One of the other service personnel walked past and overheard our conversation. She pulled her coworker aside and the two of them started grilling us about my camera: make, model and colour. Turns out someone had returned it. What a relief. Gisela was quite shocked - she's originally from Russia where nothing is ever 'found' - items just receive new owners. Praise the Lord for honest people.

Our search for the missing camera over, we headed back into downtown. It was already early evening and Gisela wanted to buy a few groceries before heading back to her apartment. My soles had been arguing with me for hours already and now Gisela's heels were complaining too. Instead of walking the 45 minutes or so to the grocery store and then home we took the tram.

Shortly after eight, we arrived at Gisela's apartment and collapsed on the bed. We laughed about our adventures and planed our next excursion - needless to say, next time we're going to think twice about wearing brand new high heels.

The view from the promenade looking in towards the altstadt Köln: the Romanesque style church Gross St. Martin (in the background are the towers of the Kölner Dom).

The front of the Kölner Dom. Construction on the Dom began in 1248 and continued on and off until the late 19th century.