Koln (Cologne)

I started my Cologne (English), Koln (German) tour in Mon. We started from the city landmark, Cologne Cathedral or Dom, a 17 century building. The cathedral is among a few buildings which survived after the heavy bombings of WWII. It was the tallest building of the world for four consecutive years, from 1884 to 1888. It’s a Roman Catholic cathedral. Everything outside and especially inside is magnificent.
Cyrus then took me to the busy part of the city, where the shops are located in downtown. Euro is the currency of the country like most of other European countries and I need $1.45 to get 1 Euro. So for this reason most of the goods are expensive but surprisingly many more aren’t!
Water is horrible here and has a very bad taste. So does its coffee! I haven’t found a good cup of coffee after 3 days so far! Burger King, McDonald’s and Starbuck’s have all stores here but I don’t even touch Starbucks in Canada and tried McDonald’s yesterday and it was not the usual tasty McDonald’s I get everywhere in Canada. I think it’s because of the water. After all Germans are not big fans of coffee as far as I see. Beer is their favourite. Sandwiches are smaller and more expensive than Canadians and are served with no dressing which is good for health but not taste!
Konrad Adenaer is the most famous German born in Koln I guess but I haven’t found anything but a simple statue of him so far. I might check again today.

(Photo: The main entrance of the Cologne Cathedral opens to the west)

Germany

The plane landed in Frankfurt International Airport after almost 10 hours of tiring flight the day before. That was one of the worst flights and landings that I have ever experienced. There was a stupid old probably Filipino woman sitting beside me, sleeping like an old dog during most of the flight. The passengers were mostly elderly people as Sonia mentioned before I fly.
The pilot circled around the damn airport at least 5 times to reduce his altitude and speed while I had one eye on the screen and the other one looking outside the window. Passport control and baggage claim and everything after that were very easy though. The policeman just checked the passport to make sure that it’s not forged and then I got my luggage with no delay and went to get my ticket to Cologne. I paid almost €68 for a first class train to the city. The train arrived at the station underneath at 12:09 and I got in. ICE is a very nice train. German railroad, Bahn actually provides excellent service. The train travels as fast as 287 KM and you feel nothing. I arrived exactly in Cologne city centre at 01:05 AM and I saw Cyrus shortly after I got off the train. I had already notifies him of the time of my arrival through the phone. We hugged each other. He seemed excited and overjoyed. I wasn’t so taken aback because I had seen him a few times through the webcam. Beside I’m in Germany for Germany not for him!

(Photo: I was sitting by the window and had the chance to look outside while the plane was circling. I saw so many electrical windmills and if you have a keen eye you can see a few above the wing. A considerable amount of electricity is produced through windmills in Germany in addition to nuclear power plants)

The Road You Make It Together

I've got so close to FF in last 3 to 4 months that if I don’t receive on-time reply from her, get really upset! She’s not only a beautiful girl, but also understanding, smart and kind. I don’t know how I fall for someone whom hasn’t been met once!
I believe that we all are born once and have to walk a road called life to the end and at the end is the end! That would be all. And people walk that way sometimes alone, sometimes with a companion, sometimes quickly, at times as slow as molasses, being spilt off a cup. Everybody has own way of walking through but eventually everybody one day needs a mate to be safe in this bumpy rood. I truly believe in that but I still think that I’m making a mistake goin’ to see her and probably marry her later. Nevertheless this might be the last chance for me!
FF told me her sister has been living in Germany for almost 12 years and she actually went there first with her family and claimed refugee. That’s I think a good girl to marry because she stands by her husband in the tough times of life. I might be in a better situation, if I was married at the time I started a new life in this side of the world or if I could have found someone for me in the last 6 years.
I know it’s exciting to see the family; relatives and friends after more than 6 years but at the same time have a bad feeling too. Not to mention it’s very good to meet a nice, pretty young girl who actually is waiting for me and has a feeling. The bad feeling which is scratching me from inside is because I know if everything goes well, I have to go there again next year. And that’s what I don’t like! The money I have to spend is not the only reason, although I have spent more than $1800 for the damn ticket so far, the feeling that I get by going back to the environment once I was trying hard to escape from, bothers me.
But I have no choice because I’ve made my mind and I’m leaving in less than a week. The other good part is spending 3 weeks in Europe which I will cover it day by day.

Eagle Watching

Village of Brackendale, a small community attached to Squamish is the winter home of Bald Eagle. People from everywhere rush to the village to watch Eagles. There’s one spot in Government Road by Squamish River. It gets really crowded specially in weekends. People bring their binoculars and extra giant zoom lenses and enjoy the views. Fortunately there’s no bridge to cross the river. So the other side is a safe place for wildlife. When I was in high school, I always wanted to have a camera and it took until I got my first job and then bought it and I still have it. Not to mention that the first thing that I bought using the money I had earned myself was a gift for my Mom.
Then years passed and I enjoyed my camera but then I wanted a zoom lens! And I still would like to have one. The lenses people in Eagle watching spot carry, God! is enormous. I mean it’s big and probably able to have a close up of the Eagle’s claw! So for that reason the photos I have taken from the Eagles are not good.
So if you’re going to B. C. and found yourself in Sea To Sky Highway, have your camera or binocular handy and stop by for a morning or afternoon full of Eagles. And don’t forget your lens, if you want a nice close up.
(Photo: The only reason that you can prove that this is an Eagle is its white head and sharp beak if you can see it in the picture! Oh! and by the way the other one is just a crow)

Dig the Hole, Steal the Minaret

A. J. came here for the first time after he had gotten back from his trip-vacation-holiday(!) I was there earlier because I knew if I had not been to the house, there would have been advices coming to me, with a loud tone!
So here I am, sitting on an empty pale of paint, cleaning trowels by rubbing them together (what a thoughtful job!) and A. J. steps in, wearing a big smile. I was quite surprised but didn’t show my emotions. We greeted and got back to work immediately. He didn’t say much about the house and what had been done by me. Then when he found a minute, he showed me a couple of suitcases he had brought to me for my trip and again surprisingly showed me the souvenir he had! I was again surprised because I didn’t expect that and they didn’t have to. That was very nice. It's always nice you realize that there are people, just a few people in this world of more than 6 Billion, who care about you, even if that’s just a little. A box of chocolate bars or a bottle of beverage might not worth much but triggers an emotion. I, happily got that for the second time again today and that was when I checked my phone and found out that there's a message from my Danish cousin asking if I was going there or not this Jan.
Then what happened was quite interesting: A. J. has had a problem with one of his contractors and we were discussing the issue with him after the work. The guy said that he had bought a lot for almost $400,000 and for that he works 7 days a week! And A. J. told him about his assets and debts in exchanges. I was sitting quietly and was just listening to those two idiots! Sorry to call them that but I have no balls to buy a lot, not even a popular vehicle in this country because I know if what happened to me in 2006 just before Christmas, happens again while I’m financing a car or paying mortgages, I’ll be screwed up completely. Jeff, another guy who does electrical wiring and other kinds of crappy jobs, has bought an apartment recently too. He has dug him in a shit-hole, like most of the people in North America. But I believe that I should dig a hole and then steel the minaret so I have somewhere to hide it.
Here, it’s so fucking hard to make a few bucks but money easily slides off your fist! Everywhere you go you’re tempted to spend your money: They offer you credit cards, buy one get the second one for half price, we pay your first three payments, house mortgage and many other deals(!) but the fact is they just want you to be a consumer and that’s all because that’s how Capitalism works: presenting new products and producing and manufacturing more and encouraging people to purchase more. There was news last night saying company X actually spend more money to market a product than research and development of it! I won’t get tempted and cheated by none of them, as long as I can.

Anyway I'm goin' too far. They where talking and talking and they were both wrong, A. J. because he first trusted him and then didn't the guy because he was so stubborn and a complete moron (Imagine someone who does a labour job 7 days a week to pay of a big load of money!) and finally it was A. J., the soft-hearted guy who gave up and accepted what he asked him!

'08 Is Here

I haven’t written for awhile because nothing special happened in the last 2 weeks. No Christmas. No New Year. I just downloaded a few nice Christmas songs and enjoyed listening to them. It was just me either going to work and do a little or be at home in front of the TV or computer’s screen. It was snowing pretty much every day until the Dec.31! I had a little plan yesterday. I wanted to get my photos, do a little shopping for Mom and Brother, watch AVP-Q and then come home a little late but instead just got the photos and did only a little shopping and got back early.
First because I was just by myself but the main reason was lack of a reliable vehicle. The damn van is to slow and also hard to drive. Beside I fear that something might happen in the highway or when it’s parked. So I did nothing and just like most of the days of my life, was a waste of time.
But after all the days after Christmas and New Year is so horrible. I feel so bad; especially there was not much fun for me. There’s no Christmas tree, no Christmas light and no people rushing to shopping malls and stores. It’s like a hangover after a good time you’re having in a party or a bar. The aftermath tastes so awful. I was going to Calgary to spend a week in there before I fly to Europe but cancelled as a result of being over budgeted.
Then I did a little search on the net. I looked for a small pick-up truck. I was looking, at the beginning for a 2-door but then realized if Mom and Brother join me and I want to take them to places, it would be impossible and extremely uncomfortable for them. So I switched to 4-door and checked all major manufacturers: Ford (Ranger. Opps! Ranger has no crew cab! Then try F-150), Toyota (Tacoma), Dodge (Dakota) and Oh! I forgot GM! I should get something less than $20,000 and it’s very hard to find because I don’t know what will happen in the next few months and whether I will be having income. But at the same time I have to make a slightly comfortable atmosphere for my family when they are here. So here’s what I got after my little web investigation:

Ford F-150 $22,199
Toyota Tacoma $27,075
Dodge Ram 1500 $21,995
GM Colorado $29,255

But why I chose to buy a pick-up instead of a sedan is that I can’t afford the nice car I want, let’s say a Prius or any car more than $20,000 and I also rather not to buy a used one because I’m not a mechanic. So buying a small Pick-up enables me to drive around a brand new vehicle while at the same time I can take my bicycle wherever I want and enjoy my rides. The above table shows that eventually I’m not able to buy a crew cab pick-up. So I won’t as long as I don’t have to!

(Photo: I just didn't want to leave this post with no photo. This is taken in near Squamish just a few weeks ago and developed and printed by London Drugs which didn't do a good job, I believe)