Tuesday, August 7, 2012
iPhoto had quit unexpectedly. My internet connection also would not work even though Network system preferences said it did. Restarted the computer. Internet works again. iPhoto appears to have completed last night's upload successfully. Breakfast in the hotel room with groceries from Rewe City: spelt flakes, lowfat milk (1.8%), cherry yogurt, a banana. fyi: Google Translate translates "dinkelflakes" into "spelled flakes" instead of "spelt flakes"—funny. Yoga: standing warmup practice, strength practice. Weight training: push ups. Snack at Kamps: egg sandwich: 2 euros. Resolved my problem obtaining cash. Since arriving in Cologne, I had tried to get euros from several ATMs but they all declined my request. I figured out today that I was requesting too much money, and the machine was not giving the correct error. The machine would say "declined due to a technical error" but the decline was because I was asking for more than the limit. I guess the machine isn't smart enough to know the limit and convert the limit to euros so it displays a "technical error" message. Once I dropped my request down to 100 euros it worked fine. (I was requesting larger amounts because i was uncertain I'd be able to get more cash later.) I did self-guided walking tour #4 from Köln Guide, a well-designed guidebook and map that I found in my hotel's lobby where they have different flyers and guides for tourists. I started at Hahnentorburg and followed the tour counterclockwise past the shopping neighborhoods of Pfeilstraße, Benesisstraße, and Mittelstraße. Amerika Haus, Kölnischen Kunstverein (permanently closed?), auction house Kunsthaus Lempertz, Neumarkt Passage. Along the way I got a hot, salted pretzel and mineral water from an amazing bakery called Merzenich. I also ate a banana that I got at Rewe City last night. Passed the entrance to Käthe Kollwitz Museum (but didn't go in). Neumarkt Galerie. At Richmodisturm I wasn't able to find the two horse heads that the guide book mentioned. Encountered a L'Occitane en Provence and bought a 100-gram bar of verdon soap because the soap provided by Barceló is so disappointing. Went on a date with a nice guy named Juri whom I met online. We shared drinks at Cafe Rico: large fruit spritzer for me, cappuccino for him. He helped me with the purchase of a sim card at LIDL. We walked to the Rhine river while the sun set, then took the underground back to Neumarkt and transferred to an aboveground train. He recommended schnitzel at Bei Oma Kleinmann, recommened I try Peek & Cloppenburg for boys clothes, and called the C&A department store by its humorous nickname: Cheap and Awful. Bought loratadine and bandages at Westgate Apotheque. This pharmacy is unlike any pharmacy I've ever seen. The store is a large room at the street-level corner of a building with large glass walls. Inside there are some walls with items. In the center of the room there are some waist-level bins and displays with other items. The entire room is dominated by a grid of 7 by 3 giant flat-panel displays which are coordinated to be a single giant display showing eye-catching, pleasing animations of pharmaceuticals as well as ads and other information. I asked for loratadine and the woman behind the counter punched a few things into her computer, turned around, and picked up a box of loratadine that—unbeknownst to me—had slid down a metal ramp to her a millisecond earlier. Amazing. I made my purchases, then outside I said goodbye to Juri. I had planned to take a nap but didn't. Computed. Left my hotel room too late to easily get a late dinner—many places had stopped serving food. Finally found a place serving food: Barrios. I had a grilled shrimp salad which turned out to be huge—bigger than my head. It came with a small, multiseed baguette (weird). Food was spicier than expected, but I tolerated it by eating the bread in between bites. Service was good until the end when she disappeared completely for a long time. 4 other tables near me were also trying to leave but were trapped like me. On my way back to the hotel I notice a crowd of adults dressed for nightlife gathered outside of a place called Klaps Mühle. It looks like a nightclub, but outside it's decorated like a funhouse for children. I learn later that Klaps Mühle translates to nuthouse. I guess that makes sense. Tried completing the LIDL sim card online setup but was too tired, falling asleep at the keyboard. To bed.