Just rip it off — a review of German veterinary medicine
Following removal of the “claw.”
Rip it off, take it off*, cut you off**, flip you off***. There seems to be an underlying haste in this country, or at least in Köln, underscored by our visits to the vet — which I mostly appreciate.
Rewind a few months: Kaya has some weird fetal-looking claw growing from one of her toes. We go to vet, where her doctor proceeds to tear it off, glove-less, roll it around in her fingers a few times, shrug, say “huh,” stick it on a slide, and tell me to call back in a few days with the results of the “biopsy.” Only after this hasty maneuver does she put antibiotic ointment on the now-gushing hole in Kaya’s foot, wrap it in gauze, and send us off on our way. I was initially quite shocked, but Kaya is still with us.
Now, fast-forward a few months to last week. Breezy has a similarly strange growth on the lower part of her little peg-leg. So, we go to the vet, where the doctor — again, glove-less — squeezes it hard and … tears it off! Only this time she opts NOT to send it off to the lab because, “if it doesn’t grow back, it’s likely not cancer.” It has not grown back. Breezy also received an antibiotic shot and some friendly pats accompanied by, “Du bist ein gutes Mädchen!” (Repeat x 10, at least). (Translation: “You are a good girl!”)
Total cost per visit: Less than 30 Euros.
Compare this to the U.S., where we’d have to come back in a few days for a scheduled “surgical” procedure, complete with scalpels, rubber gloves, and all sorts of antiseptics, likely to the tune of $200-$300. What we get instead is German vet-the-ripper, but I’m surprisingly OK with it.
Yes, the dogs are my children, but they are also dogs. They roll in and ingest random animal feces. They inhale entire chicken wings. They swallow toy pigs and rubber chickens. They drink out of toilets and pick through the trash. They sniff butts. And, they walk around bare-pawed and naked even when it’s 20 degrees out and snowing.
And generally, the vets here are less expensive, more interested in natural treatments, and are not inclined to test every freckle (I swear, Breezy received a shot comprised of crushed maple leaves and pine bark to support her immune system one day).**** Plus, they are quite affectionate with the dogs (and speak English).
So, I’m not really sure what the moral of the story is. Perhaps that culture shock can sometimes just be shocking (hence the term), but in some cases, these other cultures might get it right (or at least not wrong). Therefore, I’m learning to accept.
Now, I’m still not sure how to handle the aggressiveness while waiting in line, nor am I yet accustomed to the supersonic grocery scanners. I’ll get back to you.
Notes:
*Human doctors in Germany pretty much always want you to take your clothes off. When in doubt (or when you don’t understand what they’re saying), just get naked.
**Cars here, at least on our street, are prone to aggressive maneuvers, particularly around our small “roundabout” (or rotary, as we call them in MA).
***If you (as a hypothetical German) get cut off or beeped at by another person in a car/van/three-wheeled miniature truck, you are likely to then run down the street screaming at the offender with both middle fingers up. My neighbor is a great case study on this one. (The term likely might be a stretch since I haven’t conducted statistical research).
****Dr. Meg, you are exempt from the criticism of American vets. But you are probably also not reading this.
The main canals, bike paths, and coffee shops of Amsterdam
Jeff and I took the train to Amsterdam in mid-November. It was just about a 3-hour journey, which makes it a shame it took us so long to get there.
Amsterdam is a colorful city in many ways: the flower markets and tulips, the streets and street signs, the doorways and bikes, and the people themselves. It is also a fast-paced city, with danger seeming to lurk at every corner, especially for those with a limited attention span and deficient ability to focus. Fortunately, I am still alive to tell the tale.
In stark comparison to the orderly ways of German drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists, the Amsterdam motto just seems to be “Accelerate when you can and go where you fit.” So, yes, you may be on a sidewalk, but beware — cars will go there. Also, like here in Cologne, the trains/”trams” ride alongside traffic in the streets but in places you don’t always expect. So, watch out!
Similar to Venice and Bruges (two of my favorite places), Amsterdam is a city with an elaborate canal system, built up with beautiful, narrow homes that are essentially soldered together one after the other. The city is also known more for its museums, art, and history than its huge buildings and monuments of architectural grandeur. But we all know what it’s most notorious for…and, while we obviously did not indulge in that, its presence was known to anyone with their olfactory senses in tact.
And a tour of the Red Light district was definitely in the top half of my list, along with Van Gogh museum (forgot the exact name) and the Anne Frank house (how cultural we are!). What wasn’t on my list, but that we greatly enjoyed included: a comedy show (in English), Indian food (the #2 restaurant in Amsterdam), and the Sex Museum. Yes, I’ll admit it, we went to the Sex Museum. But, it is an actual museum with educational significance, not a novelty shop. There were plenty of the latter elsewhere.
Here are some photos from the trip, more or less summarizing the experience.
Bikes, Bikes, Bikes
Here is a parking garage … for bikes!
Oh, so very Dutch.
Standing on the back of dad’s bike while talking on a cell phone. How very safe, indeed.
Canal Houses and House Boats
Canal homes and a houseboat.
Canal shot
Canal homes. These really beg for captions, don’t they?
And another…how cool.
And another one…
Houseboat and potted plants. Are you beginning to feel like you’re reading a children’s book?
Canal homes and a houseboat.
Coffee Shops
Seeds on every corner.
Oooh, dying for a reservation!
In case you had any questions.
Love the signage.
Self-explanatory.
Self-explanatory.
Street of temptation.
I love the guy who has caught a glimpse of me from inside the window.
Pancakes and cheese wheels! Oh, and Dutch apple pie.
That is a pancake with bacon!
Buying in bulk?
Cheese wheels bigger than your head.
Opened the trip with some Dutch apple pie!
Last day of pancakes. We had one a day.
So, this is not a pancake, but it is really amazing local food. Peas, bacon and an assortment of pickled items. Strange how amazingly delicious this was.
Cool Doorways and entrances
I want this door on my next home.
I almost fell into about a dozen of these.
Interesting church entrance.
The Anne Frank House
Waiting in the 1+ hour line. I love the expressions on people’s faces.
An amazing and somber place. In walking the floors of the home, you realize how absolutely impossible it must have been to keep quiet.
A view across the canal, opposite the Anne Frank House.
A view of Anne Frank’s house at night. Notice the blackened windows. This was required to help avoid/prevent air strikes at night.
And on a more positive note: flower shops!
Colorful flower markets right outside of our rented apartment. We purchased some bulbs. I’ll update you on the progress of actually turning them into flowers.
In short, Amsterdam was fantastic. Go there — explore, visit museums, eat pancakes.
Frohes Weinachten und Gutes neues Jahr!
New Year’s resolution number one: start blogging again. It’s amazing how awful we’ve been at this. Truly.
So many things have happened since we last blogged. We visited Munich, Nuremberg, and Amsterdam, experienced our first Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s in Germany, and had quite a bit of fun in the process. I will post pictures from our trips this week. Promise.
In the meantime, some commentary on the holidays.
Thanksgiving
Obviously, this is not a German holiday. I’m surprised they haven’t adopted it here, however, in the spirit of working less, closing grocery stores, and as an additional excuse for slacking in customer service. Fortunately, this is not the case because planning is not my forte. I was able to successfully purchase last-minute items on Thanksgiving DAY for my garlic mashed potatoes and bacon-grease infused green beans I took with me to our neighborhood Thanksgiving (with friends and a family of Jeff’s colleagues, of course). Despite missing my family greatly, this was one of the tastier Turkey Days I’ve experienced in recent history — likely because everyone brought their culinary A-game to one or two dishes! And who knew that pilots and their spouses were such a culinary bunch.
Following Thanksgiving, we had a smaller, more intimate German-style Thanksgiving, at which our half-German couple friends (Emily and Nick) cooked goose, with a side of purple cabbage and apples and dumplings. Quite Deutsch! Oh, I must not forget the chestnuts they added to the gravy (I love them; Jeff doesn’t). Mmm. mmm. We hosted. They did most of the work. I’m generally OK with that arrangement.
Thanksgiving with goose!
Goose, cabbage, dumplings — oh my!
Christmas
The Christmas traditions of the U.S. are pretty much German traditions, so being here is pretty awesome. To summarize things quite simply — Germans love and wholeheartedly embrace this holiday, so it’s quite festive! The best part, Christmas markets and Glühwein. Christmas markets (or, Weinachtsmarktes) are essentially these mini craft fairs, where local craftsman set up shop and sell ornaments, art, food, knick-knacks, etc., all while people walk around sloshed on warm, mulled vino. It’s pretty amazing.
On Christmas Day, Jeff and I enjoyed being together — with the dogs — for the first time, ever, I think. We indulged in a feast with friends on both Christmas day and New Year’s.
The New Year’s tradition in Köln, and all of Germany (I think), is to light off as many fireworks and other explosives as possible (unfortunately for us, this terrifies our dog Kaya and leads to explosive something else). In fact, commercial-grade fireworks are even sold in grocery stores the week leading up to Jan. 1.
We witnessed children blowing off smaller fireworks in the street in front of moving cars, and we saw one local almost blow off a hand (and maybe a face) by closely inspecting what he thought was a dud (it wasn’t). I think this article sums up the Germany holiday nicely: “New Year in Germany is full of suicidal charm.”
(For whatever reason, WordPress is not letting me upload photos and then text, so here are a random selection of shots from what I just described.) Happy new year! Hopefully I will blog again before next year…
Market at the Kölner Dom.
The markets are exceptionally crowded. Especially on weekends. I might have some permanently Glühwein-stained clothing.
Enjoying the markets with friends
Enjoying their new Christmas dog toy.
Attempting to get dogs in the photo! FAIL.
Jeff modeling his new sweater and PJ pants on our little Christmas “picnic” blanket.
Kaya and tree.
Christmas table “scape” — minus the food. I was really impressed with the layout.
Holiday party at the Pullman.
New Year’s — the aftermath.
Happy 2013!
Holy cow! An update.
So, we’ve been delinquent in posting. I guess you can say we’ve been busy, or not. Busy in Germany is different than “busy” was in the U.S. Some days, I honestly am at a loss for where the time has gone. Every day I spend at least 15 minutes translating. But, the remaining 23 hours and 45 minutes … I don’t know. Work, feeding, climbing up and down the stairs between our apartment and the laundry room, walking meine hunde.
The intent of this post is to serve as a brief update and launching board for the rebirth of our blog. And it’s mostly for family because certainly, no one else cares.
Ready?? Here are some bullets:
- In late July, Jeff and I visited Brussels, Belgium, and Bruges, Belgium. We rented a car and dragged the dogs along. I am honestly surprised Kaya survived the journey. Bruges was my absolute favorite, and it’s true what “they” say about Belgian beer and chocolate (and waffles). They don’t get any better. But what they don’t say is that people in Brussels are kind of mean. I don’t know — maybe it’s just me. I will elaborate more in the post (with pictures) to come!
- In late August, I went home to Massachusetts to see my family. My sister was (but no longer is) at home, so it was nice to be back in the house — all four of us. The entire Eckelkamp clan. In the process, I also got to spend some quality time with friends and family. Jeff stayed in Cologne/Europe because he had to work.
- Upon returning, we didn’t do much traveling. We’re actually kind of bad at that. I worked a lot, in preparation for a conference in September. In the meantime, B-rock came to visit for a design show, and we enjoyed some fine local cuisine/Kölsch and then ventured off to Paris. I would say the highlight of Paris was visiting the Moulin Rouge district. The “lowlight” was when I almost passed out in a Paris subway station whilst alone. That was scary. Pictures and a detailed post to come (but not of the two items I just mentioned).
- Damn. I just realized I still haven’t posted pics of Rome. I’ll get around to that too.
- The final summer months were quite enjoyable here in Cologne. The canine-related harassment has mostly stopped; however, I did encounter some old hags in the park who completely ridiculed me for my lack of German, after saying God-knows what about the dogs (“you speak ONLY English…bahahahaha….bahahahah….askfjal;ksjfalskdjfasljfalskf….”). I cried, and then studied German for about 4 hours. Other than that, we’ve enjoyed numerous cookouts in the park with our new Cologne friends. I am forever grateful for the amazing people in this city. Such a community!
- On the topic of Deutsche-lernen, Jeff and I have hired a tutor. Her name is Eva (pronounced Ay-vah), and she’s great. We meet once a week for an hour over Skype. She assigns homework in hopes that we’ll actually spread it out over the course of the week so the German language slowly seeps into our obstinate English-speaking brains. I tend to do a crash course during the three hours leading up to my weekly lesson, but I’m still learning … something. “Ich spreche ein bisschen Deutsch.” Ja. Put that in your Google translate.
- In September, I headed back to the U.S. for a client conference. I coupled a trip to Destin, FL, to visit Miss Stina, and then stayed an extra weekend to hang with Megan (who flew in from Louisville) and some local friends who I hadn’t seen in a long time. In addition to acting like a complete glutton, we also added one cultural stop — Newseum — a cool (you guessed it) “news museum” in DC. Very expensive to get in, but also extremely interesting. My favorite was the World Trade Center exhibit.
- Now – back in Deutschland. Getting reacquainted with the time zone and trying to get organized for a few days of traveling next week. We’re thinking maybe Prague and Vienna, or Vienna and Munich. We’ll see. We’ll probably end up in Lisbon or somewhere completely different.
That’s all for now. Time to get some work done. More travel and random posts to come. My motivation is reborn.
Until next time…
Auf Wiedersehen!
“Because it’s Wednesday”
Two weeks ago I went through the painful process of scheduling Jeff a doctor’s appointment. I know, how wifely of me.
Today, I went through the even more painful process of attempting to reschedule it.
Spoke with receptionist, “Oh, well you will have to call back tomorrow. The ‘surgery’ is already closed today. Because it’s Wednesday.” Like, a-duh.
Oh, right. I forgot, it’s “halfday humpday.”
The end.
I’m going to keep this one short. Because it’s Wednesday.
Guten Tag. For Real.
It’s only 11 a.m., and the day is already living up to the common “guten Tag” greeting. And for actually having stepped out of the house and engaging in productive/social behavior, the highs are outweighing the lows….
It began with a brief low — waking up for a 9 a.m. doctor appointment. Sounds pathetic, I know, but I typically maintain a schedule that would be most suitable for an island time zone in the mid-Atlantic. Fortunately, this was followed by a high point — actually experiencing rush-hour train traffic with the rest of civilization and feeling like a pseudo-productive member of German society. (Also, by leaving early, the train was only 80 degrees and steamy, rather than 95 degrees and steamy).
Next, I skipped a few low points and went straight to a number of highs. This began with finding the doctor’s office, which was perfectly situated at the train stop. With about 15 minutes to spare, I had time to order a coffee — in German, a “milchekaffe” — and exchanged some pleasantries and smiles with the lady behind the Kamps’ counter. Happy Germans, happy Allison.
Second, the doctor’s office — recommended by two fine American wives — where people were pleasant and English-speaking. And(!), after reciting my phone number in German, I was told by the receptionist, “you speak good German!” Ha. “Yes, I know my numbers.” She also said she liked my gold shoes.
Next, she took my picture — “just like they do in American doctors’ offices,” she explained. (Not really, but I’ll just go with it.) “But unlike in America, you can smile in this picture.” So I smile, thinking about every other photo I’ve been required to present to German immigration officials, in which I’ve been told explicitly NOT to smile.
Off to the waiting room, where strangely, everyone greets you. Seriously, I entered the room to a chorus of “guten Morgens” from the other patients. This repeated with every person who entered the room, and eventually I joined the choir. I was fitting right in until they called my name out over the intercom in an English sentence. Seriously?! Do you think I can’t pick out the word ECKELKAMP from a group of unfamiliar words? There goes my cover.
High point/low point: Doctor is nice, and sort of cute. He also speaks English, and I don’t have to take my clothes off (Germany is kind of a “naked country,” and from the stories I’ve heard, and from what I’ve experienced, I was just expecting that I’d have to disrobe. Fortunately, nein). High point.
Unfortunately, they don’t have the prescription here that I need. In fact, the active ingredient, which I want as little of as possible, is only available in about 100 times my current dosage. Probably even more, but I don’t feel like busting out a calculator. In fact, the other ingredient in my ‘script doesn’t even exist here in Deutschaland. Low point.
Back to the train, where the KVB (basically the train police) actually checked my ticket, which was fortunately correct and validated. They check maybe 1 out of every 25 times I ride the train. Win! I’m so relieved, I miss my stop. Fail! Fortunately, the stop I get off on is right next to a “chemist” (or Apotheke), and the pharmacist speaks English. She was also the chattiest German I have ever met — asking where I’m from, telling me about her very “typical” American vacation last year — Phoenix to Las “Wegas” to San Francisco. I wouldn’t call that typical, but in her mind, it was. So I smiled and asked how she liked San Francisco, which happens to be one of my favorite US cities. I’m trying to rush the conversation because in most German business establishments, the person behind the counter can’t get rid of you fast enough. Not this lady. Chatty Cathy.
[brief pause – just spilled my tea all over the table.]
So, it’s been a good Morgen. And for all the bitching and moaning we do (i.e. “Mind your own business”), the good generally outweighs the bad. And next time someone yells at us for strangling our dog, or decides to aggressively hip check me as I sit on a stopped bike on the sidewalk, I will try to just extract some sort of positive interpretation. For example, Germans really love dogs; apparently, this trumps the more socially accepted notion of “mind your own business” or “dogs are dirty and shouldn’t be allowed in restaurants” in the U.S. The latter has been quite enjoyable for Kaya and Breezy.
As for hip-check on the sidewalk, I’ll have to think about that one a little more. For now, I’ll just conclude she was a cranky human being, with her nationality having nothing to do with it.
“Erdbeer-Rhabarber” Pastry
Strawberries (Erdbeeren) are in season and they are soooo delicious. There’s a pick-your-own-Erdbeer place down the street, but we haven’t bothered to actually do the picking since there are also fresh-picked strawberries delivered right to the local Rewe.
Another food here that’s quite popular with the Germans — rhubarb — which has the coolest German translation: “Rhabarber.”
Anyway — what to do with this combination but make strawberry-rhubarb pie?! Well, sort of. Because I began this endeavor at around 8 p.m., I opted to buy pre-made pie crust. Unfortunately, this was not to be found in the local grocery store! With only puff pastry and pizza crust to choose from in the refrigerated section, I figured we’d give strawberry rhubarb puff pastries a try. And they were quite delicious!
Here’s the basic recipe, adapted from AllRecipes.com:
Ingredients:
- 3 cups cut up strawberries (about a pint)
- 3 cups diced rhubarb (about a pound). Make these pretty small.
- 1 cup, plus a couple tbs, white sugar
- 1/2 cup flower
- One egg yolk
- Butter (about 2 tbs, I guess)
- 2 rolls of pastry (or two sheets) — a.k.a. Blätterteig
Directions:
- Combine 1 cup sugar with 1/2 cup flower.
- Add dry mixture to chopped fruit.
- Stir and let mixture sit for about 30-45 minutes. This part is important. Don’t let impatience get to you.
- Cut pre-made puff pastry into about eight 5″ by 7″ rectangles (4 per sheet).
- Add strawberry rhubarb mixture to center of each puff pastry rectangle. Divide evenly.
- Add a couple dollops of butter to the top of the fruit mixture before sealing the pastry.
- Fold over the edges (so your pastry now resembles a small burrito) and seal with water (should have 1-1.5 inches of pastry overlap)
- Press the top and bottom edges with a fork to seal.
- Brush egg yolk over top, sprinkle with sugar, and cut some slits in the top to let steam escape.
Cooking:
- Arrange pastries on parchment paper or tin foil on baking sheet.
- Cook for about 25 minutes in a 190-200 C oven (about 400 F), until tops are golden brown.
- Let cool for at least 15 minutes.
- Serve with vanilla ice cream.
Enjoy!
Strawberry rhubarb pastry. Please forgive the awful camera shot. And the fact that I’d already taken a bite.
at home
allison has done an excellent job of keeping everyone up to date with things around germany. i’ll give you a little insight into what i think of all this too.
the weather
it does rain a lot. it seems like few days go by without some kind of rain happening. and yes, there are many kinds of rain. thankfully, the real good soakers seem to be a little more infrequent. most of the other stuff is just drizzle, spitting, sprinkles, whatever you call it. all in all though, the weather here is great. it’s the middle of june when we should be hiding indoors, cuddling up to an air conditioner (in atlanta at least). we spend all day and night with the windows open. but, cologne is at 51 degrees N latitude, about equal to Calgary in Canada. so the weather seems fine considering that.
the dogs
some germans do in fact dislike the way we are attempting to train our more active dog. at first, it is quite surprising to have some perfect stranger stop you and chatter away (or yell from across the street) in german while pointing at the dog. i’m getting to where i can understand more and more every day and certainly when they start dropping ‘hunde’ (dog) and ‘polizei’ (police). the only thing i can assume is that all of these people that have had an issue with us are certified dog trainers and can tell from 5 seconds of interaction between me and my dog that i’m an insensitive human who doesn’t deserve a dog. i tell you what, kaya (the active dog) can pull me up a hill (granted a small hill) on my bike. me and my bike weigh about 235 pounds together. though she is small, she is mighty. i’d love to see some of these older ladies that have chastised me hold on to her for a little ‘walk’, especially when kaya catches sight of: another dog, a bird, a blowing leaf, a rabbit, etc… but, we are in their country, so i bite my tongue (not that i’m the type to talk-back anyways).
the apartment
this is coming along very nicely. we have lots of pictures up on the walls now, carpets on the floor and finally, light fixtures on the ceiling. and yesterday (june 21) we finally got our dining room table after about 7 weeks of waiting. we had to compromise on the chairs as the ones we wanted wouldn’t be ready till august, so we just got some different ones. and the chairs we ended up with are better anyways. we only have two barren walls left to cover. unfortunately, one of them is about 25 feet long so the options are many. i’m sure allison will come up with something.
drivers license
this is a new development. we have recently had access to another couples’ car and it has been nice. we can get big bags of dog food and not worry about carrying them to the train and then home. we can get bigger pieces of furniture or more importantly, bigger quantities of beer in a single trip. also, the next time a vacation comes along, we won’t have to bum a ride to transport our pooches to the kennel….again. so, there is a process to getting the license here. 1. get current license translated to something that is meaningful to the german authorities. 2. attend a first aid course (6.5 hourse in length) designed with drivers in mind (theoretically offered in english but the rumor is it’s all in german). 3. study for and take a written test (average study time needed – 15-20 hours). we’re hoping that is all that’s required of us. some folks have to take actual driving lessons (about 10-12 lessons, 1 hour each). we’re hoping that won’t apply to us. the lessons are determined by which US state you come from. and then there is the car. they have a couple car-sharing programs here in cologne. i’m hoping that’s going to be a good option as neither one of us is really interested in acquiring a car here in germany. we’ll keep you posted.
the language
hmmm. it’s a work in progress. my schedule doesn’t really lend itself to regular classroom attendance so most of my study is done online. there are a few good programs out there. unfortunately, with no instructor or grade to worry myself with, the study time is elusive. but i can understand more now than even after my 4th year of US high school german. unfortunately, that doesn’t mean a whole lot.
we promise the next post(s) will contain stuff about our trip to italy last month. just had to get caught up first.
ersten Haarschnitt
Haarschnitt is an awful sounding word. But that’s what I got today. My first German haircut.
I’ve been putting this off for many reasons — (1) I am afraid to make phone calls in Germany; (2) I am afraid of German hair stylists, mostly because I’ve seen some of the ‘dos around here; (3) I am a procrastinator and would rather drink wine and watch past episodes of Dexter.
My first experience was pretty positive. Lovely English-speaking hair stylist, great head massage, pretty decent haircut. I lost 10 cm of hair, but it’s basically what I wanted. Also, they offer free coffee and tea, which I will definitely indulge in next time, given the “preise.”
Let’s just say this hair salon was kind of like the steakhouse of hair salons, with everything a la carte, including the “hair lotion” …
- Just a cut = 6-oz filet
- Blow dry = hair “style” = side of something expensive with, say, saffron
- Hair “lotion” = a glass of house vino
When my 33-Euro haircut turned into a 57-Euro haircut, I quickly realized it’s because the haircut was 33, the blow dry was 19, and the “hair lotion,” which I didn’t ask for (but that my stylist described), was 5 Euros. 5 Euros!
All in all though, I am happy. And I will pay the “preise” again just so I don’t have to step out of my comfort zone and find another salon. I’ll just be sure to read the menu.
das Wetter
I find it strangely coincidental that the German word for weather is “Wetter,” because truly, it could not get any wetter than Cologne (at least since we’ve been here).
Now, I’ve always loved the rain — slightly less now that I have two dogs.
This is what it looks like getting lost in the rain while walking a dog in Cologne. (This was taken in March).
But the rain makes it easier to focus on work, gives you an excuse to snuggle up and read a book, makes it acceptable NOT to go for a jog, but I’m over it. For so many reasons. One being that I get around by foot or bike.
For my fellow expats, it appears we have more to look forward to in Koeln. I pulled these stats off the World Weather and Climate Information page… apparently JULY is the wettest month of the year. Really? Really?
The facts:
- The months June, July and August have a nice average temperature.
- On average, the warmest month is August.
- On average, the coolest month is January.
- July is the wettest month.
- April is the driest month.
(Source: http://www.weather-and-climate.com/average-monthly-Rainfall-Temperature-Sunshine,koln,Germany.)
The last two bullets are absolutely shocking. Don’t put away those rain boots yet!
On the bright side, I may be more motivated to stay inside and study German.
Ha.
A European Adventure 