Koln

Arriving into Koln (Cologne) was an experience as I told all of you in the last post. That train ride through the Alps was absolutely amazing; huge proud snowed peaks, wooden-house villages lost in some valleys with dark green pastures rolling through the wind, lakes that showed a furious turquoise color… it was way better than the “movies”.

My parents told I needed to go to the “dome” in Koln and have a coffee sitting down outside the building in a little plaza, since both of them had done it separately at some point of their lives. I thought it was a cool idea, so my first question was how do I find the “dome”. “You will see it”, both my parents said, “You can see it from everywhere”.

So, stupid Mo gets off the train looking for a “dome” of some sort. Walk outside the train station and this impressive church is right there, really tall and all… but my eyes are looking for a “dome”. Of course I am asking around and a couple of people laugh at me. The “dome” was not a dome, first it is called Dom (without and E) and it is this MASSIVE church standing in front of me.

The more I looked at the Dom, the more impressive it seemed to get. This building is huge, and you CAN actually see it from kilometers away, but what’s amazing is the architecture of it. I don’t think it has a “plain” side. It might be about 30 stories high and every inch of that structure has details carved in the stone, or figures, or Christian symbols. Luckily, it is so big that in World War II it was pretty much the only building that was not destroyed in the whole city.. Since it was the landmark that the planes used to find Koln to bomb it.
The tournament was different this week. The motto was “Winners Only”, so they change the entry requirements for the players from the “normal” requirements of a week-to-week tournament, making it hard to get in. There is not a full field, so there is no cut at the half point, which means everyone makes money at the end of the week. It was great to be a part of this tournament, there were some big names of the golfing world out there! I did not like the course that much, but hey… I am just an employee there.

Being in Germany, I was determined to eat some kind of Bratwurst (sausage), so I went in expeditions around the city to find it. Javier (Argentinian caddie who I have been staying with) joined me one night, and we ended up in this German pub, where I ordered my Schweinbratwurst mit Kartoffel.. Sausage and potatoes. You know the symbol surfers do? Where they extend the thumb and pinky finger? Well, my schweinbratwurst was 2 and a half of my “hang loose” symbols long. It was B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L!!!!
Another night I had Felipe invite me dinner, in honor of my newly-acquired 30 years of age. We went to an Argentinian grill and I had an awesome piece of steak… and one beer. The “problem” was that the beer came in a jug so big I needed my two hands to pull it up. One beer was enough if you can believe that.
We finished the tournament Sunday, Felipe played irregular, maybe we can cut on some mistakes in the near future and breakthrough with a win or something. I do believe he is close, but we will let time let us know about it. Felipe left the same Sunday night for Chile, so I was left alone. Moved to a hostel about a block from the Dom and Monday I decided to do the tourist thing and go out walking. The hostel had some maps with walking routes, I chose the purple one of course and off I went. At the beginning of my stay here I did not like Koln that much. Other than the obvious Dom, there is nothing else at plain sight, no big buildings, no green parks, maybe the Rhine river, but that was it. The walk opened my eyes a little bit, since I found some cool places, and some stupid ones too.

In the walkabout I ran into the building where the first “Cologne” was created… thus the name “cologne” we use to identify the fragranced water we use!!! I was feeling stupid again…

A little while after I ran into the 4711 house, which is the home for the “most famous brand of Eau de Cologne - 4711”. I bet you have either seen or smelled this one, it comes in a turquoise and gold labeled bottle? My grandmother used to have bottles of this in her apartment. Needless to say… very old.. HA. Why 4711 you might be asking? Because when Napoleon occupied Cologne he counted every house and this one was number 4711.

Then I saw a tall tower with the head of two horses sticking out… and a museum with a golden Ford Fiesta stuck on top, stretching wings bigger than Goodyear’s
I was feeling stupid AGAIN..

Some towers and walls later (built by the Romans, with pieces that date back to 50 AD), I ran into what was the tallest skyscraper in Europe when it was built in 1925. Nothing fancy, but inside… OH MY! The biggest, coolest, most complete, and amazing record store I have ever been to. I love music and this was (at some point of the afternoon) a little too much to take. I found so much stuff in there that I wanted I felt like a kid that was denied McDonald’s all his life and now when he is 12 he is going for the first time…. I WANT IT ALL NOW!!!

Yes, I did buy some stuff, more than what I should have, but way less of what I could have… maybe someday I’ll be back with a vengeance.

And last night was my last night in Germany, so how could I not go out and say good-bye eating some authentic German food. I asked in the hostel and they gave me a very good tip, walking distance. This time I walked away from downtown and the tourist area, and into the old cobblestone alleys of Koln, to find this restaurant Schrenkenkammer. Water was 2 euros, Cokes were 2 euros, beer was 1.40 euros

My kind of place

I asked the waiter for a big beer, “No”, he said “that’s in downtown for the tourists, we have just beer here”. Ok then, bring me beer. They brewed their own cold colds in there, and they brought them in small tall glasses. “It is better to drink in the small glass, keeps the beer your drinking fresh… you just drink more glasses!”. I liked Jurgen already. Then I proceeded to eat the best schnitzel ever! Pork tenderloin, breaded and cooked perfectly, moist and juicy, with caramelized onions on top and perfectly fried French fries. When I finished eating the plate I had a mix of feelings, you know, sad and happy because I was done. I could have FOR SURE eaten more, but I FOR SURE didn’t need it.

Oh yea! The beer was, in a lack of a better word, perfectly fresh and crisp and refreshing. Sooooooooooo good! (with a Forsh accent)

In the latest news, it has been confirmed that Felipe and Mark are playing the World Cup at the end of November. Which means I will be going to China!! I find that exciting and wanted to share that with all of you.

Off to Rome and Italy my friends… until the next one Auf Wiedersehen!

M

Valencia to Crans to Koln

"You have one life to live; Marx teaches us to blame society for our frailties, Freud teaches us to blame our parents, and astrology teaches us to blame the universe. But the only place to look for blame is if you didn't have the guts to bring out your full self, if you didn't act on your desires, if you didn't take advantage of what was in front of you and live the life that was your potential."

- Joseph Campbell

End of Valencia's stories

So the Tomatina was a disgrace... but Felipe and I got up from the grounds of the defeated and carried on with pride! It took us a couple of days of barbecuing and sitting in his amazing terrace having cold drinks in his "spa" to recover, but like I said, we did it. Saturday we went to have lunch to Felipe's in-laws (suegros), in a town where about 160 people lived. Talk about rural Spain... that place was it! Anyways, Felipe's father-in-law, Donato, is well known for cooking the best "Paella" ever... paella is a very traditional spanish dish, where rice is cooked in a big rounded pan of some sort with different ingredients; seafood, meats, vegetables, etc. Donato made his paella over wood fire and all the ingredients where from his orchard or the hills behind his house.

These were Donato's ingredients: Chicken pieces (including the feet and liver), rabbit pieces (including the head), green beans, "other" beans, tomato puree, garden snails (YES snails!), rice, saffron, and beer.

After paying close attention to the steps in the preparation of the Paella, we sat down and ate. Of course, Donato made me sit down next to him making SURE I ate the snails.

Seriously though, it was THE BEST paella I have ever eaten.

We had some drinks and Donato offered me an authentic cuban cigar, so I smoked the Cohiba with him. Awesome!

Then, Saturday night, Felipe and I went to watch Valencia play their first game of the year in the Spanish soccer league. I hadn't been in a soccer stadium in so long... I enjoyed every minute! and "we" won 3-0. Just perfect!

After the game we went out. Valencia has what they call the "City of Science": a series of buildings near downtown built for cultural purposes. The architect of all the buildings is Calatrava, which I believe is the one in charge of building the memorial monument on ground zero (Twin towers in New York). The buildings are crazy in shape, but gorgeous, representing all the senses. One of the buildings is this long metallic web that hovers over as a roof, but since it is a web, it is seethrough. For summer it is perfect, since it is fresh and you can watch the sky and the stars. Under this roof there is some sort of a park, with bushes and palm trees and cobblestone roads to walk by, and in one end of this park they set up a pub/club with huge candles and multicolored lights everywhere. The setup was amazing.

Switzerland and Crans-Montana

Then it was time to leave for Switzerland. Woke up Monday morning and took the train from Chiva to Madrid at 9am. Since it was a regional train, it stopped EVERYWHERE and it took the train 5 and half hours to reach Madrid, when a normal train takes 3 hours. Again, the challenges of travelling throught Europe. The train left me on the opposite side of Madrid, so I took the subway. An hour later I was on the airport, where (OF COURSE) took the line to check in that had computer problems, and waited a nice hour and a half more to check-in. Took the plane to Geneve, then ran to the train station where I (obviously) got in the wrong track and I missed the train I needed to take to Sierre. I actually saw it go in front of my eyes.

Oh well, I took another one a little bit later, which took a little longer and I had to make a connection (with running included), but took me to my destination, so not THAT bad at the end.

...and there is when, while I rode that train for a couple of hours, that I had one fo those "Mo"ments: It was pitch dark outside, could not see anything, except yellow lights in the sky from time to time. They were not stars, but more like street lights... and I figured it out. I could not see it, but obviously I was going through the mountains, and the lights in the sky were towns, and they were so high I just started imagining how it might look like... and I had that peaceful feeling of how lucky I am for being able to do what I am doing now. Lost (pretty much) in the middle of some mountains I couldn't see, in a country I have never been, sitting on a train accompanied by myself and some good memories of friends and places. I could have been in the middle of the ocean and it would have been the same. At least I knew I was getting somewhere.

I reached Sierre at 11pm, and I was very lucky to find a courtesy car from the tournament that took me up to Crans. That was 45 minutes STRAIGHT up the mountain.

The next day I saw the mountains I couldn't see the night before, and I really have no words to describe them fairly. They were beautiful, the place was gorgeous, and all the environment made the course the most amazing course I've been, maybe rivaled by one I played with my friend/coach/ex-boss Ryke in Hawaii last year. Seriously, the pictures I took don't even make it justice. The view of the valley was incredible, and if you had a clear day you could see the numerous little towns up on the sides of all the mountains. You had to be there to believe it.

Crans is a rich people's getaway town. The stores, the restaurants, the cars, everything there was la creme de la creme. Because of that, I had to pass on the restaurants this time and stayed with my homecooking, so no report of the foods this time.

I do have new pictures posted on my facebook... on the album's "Europe 2" and "Europe 3" for all of you to check out, hopefully the pictures turn out to be good enough.

Then we took the train to Koln (Cologne/Colonia), Germany. Now that train through and out of the Alps was almost as amazing as Crans. Beautiful towns and lakes and snowed peaks and pastures and rivers and creeks. I am in need of more language to describe all these places. I can say that Switzerland is DEFINETLY a place I would LOVE to come back, and if given the chance, I will.

Mercedes-Benz Championship this week. "Only Winners" is the slogan that is displayed everywhere. The players on this tournament are the top of the top of the European Tour, and the field is limited to fewer players so there is no "cut". Should be a lot of fun!

email me people!

Mo