Day 60: Koln, Germany

Day 60 was an uneventful, cloudy, and occasionally rainy day. First, we walked through a river front market (similar to a string of garage sales, which was a little interesting). Then we took a one hour Rhine cruise where we never lost sight of Koln.

Our next stop was the beer hall (Gaffel Haus) that we couldn't find yesterday. The Gaffel Haus serves Gaffel Kölsch, an example of the typical style of beer of the region. In stark contrast to Munich beers traditionally served in thick liter mugs, Kolsh is served in tall, skinny 0.2 and 0.3 liter glasses. The beer is still good (not as good), but the barkeeps have to work a lot harder to keep filling all the glasses up.

One bachelor party in Koln had a great idea. Part of the party was a 6-piece oompa band (horns, big drum, cymbols) that played as they moved between bars. The party traveled by bus at first, but were on foot later. We kept running into them playing music (not at the bars, but on the streets between the bars). It was funny to see a band member smoke with one breath and play a horn with the next. Crowds would form and people would dance and clap along.

We also saw a big Iranian "Where's My Vote" protest. We can't believe the election troubles started way back when we were in Nice. We also can't believe we're still hearing about Michael Jackson on CNN International (he died when we were in Cosenza).