Potato Pie

Okay, so in my last blog post, I asked "How much colder can it get?", a question I now regret. Apparently, the answer is -20 degrees Celsius (factoring in a wind chill). However, the temperature is the only thing I have to complain about, and since it serves as a good excuse for frequent hot chocolate and coffee breaks, it even provides a silver lining.

I really enjoyed the group trip to Cologne! In contrast to the trip that a few of us took there a week ago, we had a lot of guides to explain the history of the various Cologne attractions, including the EL-DE Haus, the city itself, and the cathedral. I think that the inscriptions on the walls from the EL-DE Haus cells were incredibly moving. They were everywhere, and each little bit of scratching on the wall represented a different life and a different story. The picture to the right shows one that translates "You won't break me if I'm not willing." My favorite part of the day, however, was being able to watch the sun set from high up in the parapets of the cathedral. From way up there, we could see the entire city, as well as the amazing detail up in the spires of the cathedral. Simply amazing. It was also interesting to be able to see some of the internal structure and behind-the-scenes areas on the tour. Knowing that the cathedral began construction so long ago, it was weird to see the upper parts of the spires made with a steel frame, but it makes sense, considering it wasn't finished until the late 1800s.

Since I didn't have class on Thursday, I spent a really lazy morning and then settled down to do some schoolwork (unfortunately, I've been letting it build up). I decided to trek out to the university library near the old AIB building, but when I get there, the librarian wouldn't let me in, and kept on trying to explain what I assume was some kind of protocol I wasn't following. After exhausting my limited German skills and determining that she didn't speak English, I took the cowardly, American way out and backtracked to Starbucks, where I studied in peace. I'll have to figure out what I did wrong, and try the whole library thing sometime, though-- it always seems like I'm more productive out of the house.

This weekend, Andrea and my host brother came home to visit from university. To celebrate, the family decided to make a nice, traditional German dinner, and Andrea and I, like the good host children we are, volunteered to help. It was a lot of fun (although quite intensive in the potato-peeling department), and the result of our labor was a DELICIOUS ham and potato pie, eaten with a type of apple-cinnamon sauce/side. I'm really glad there's enough to eat leftovers. :) The training for the half-marathon has been continuing apace (pun intended) and I'm even getting relatively used to running in this weather. Since today's schedule called for a four-mile run, I was able to make it to a park near the river and run around there before turning back home. That pretty much wraps up this week. I'm going to try to navigate my way to church tomorrow morning, so I hope that's not too difficult. Until next week- Tschüss!