This was my second visit to Cologne - home of my very dear friend, Micheal Gruenberger. I first visited Cologne last year when I connected with the Varekai tour in Amsterdam. Thankfully, it was marginally warmer in Cologne than in Zurich but still not T-shirt weather like Barcelona and Sevilla. Some of you may know I spent a year in Germany back in the very early eighties where I acquired a not-so healthy attachment to a certain Bavarian white sausage called the "Bockwurst" so of course, the first thing I did while strolling through the main train station in Cologne was to stop and devour a lovery curry Bockwurst served with the obligatory roll. Mein Gott, it was good to be back in Germany!
My visit to date has, thankfully, been very relaxing. Micheal had an engagement the evening I arrived so for the first time in a few days, I was able to put some order in my collection of rags that I refer to as my "hand luggage" and to catch up on my email (I actually started this email on Saturday night). Yesterday morning (and again this morning), Michael set out a breakfast table fit for a king (or should I say, properly, two Queens!). Smoked salmon, four types of cheeses, two types of meats, French butter (JM would have been proud!), pickled herring and a million jars of jams. What more can a guy ask for?
We both did some work the rest of the day (I'm still working on my essays for my NYU application due at the end of the month. Still no news from Columbia) and then set off to see a movie (The Reader...with Cate Blanchett who won a well-deserved Oscar for her performance). We then had a quick bite to eat at, predictably, a wonderful place called the Curry Sausage Express (I'm sure you will not be surprised that I picked the restaurant) where we met a beautiful young (28yo) friend of Michael's named Peter who is just completing his PhD and who has the body of a young god. Dear me, I don't think I know anyone any more who has friends under 30....do you?!!
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