February 27: Pipes in Köln

I left work at 2:30 and took a bus and train to Köln where I was going to pick up my Eurail pass. Düsseldorf apparently does not sell these things. Anyway, I made my way to the customer service desk in the train station in Köln after an hour long train ride. At the desk I picked up my ticket to Europe: 8 days of unlimited travel on all forms of train in France, Luxembourg, Belgium, The Netherlands and the Czech Republic. I shelled out a huge pile of dough for this baby but it would surely be worth while.

While in Köln I thought that I would take some time and explore the city. I had read that Köln has the tallest church tower. I will now quote one of my best friend in the world of technology, Wikipedia:

“The choir of Cologne Cathedral, measured between the piers, also holds the distinction of having the largest height to width ratio of any Medieval church, 3.6:1, exceeding even Beauvais Cathedral which has a slightly higher vault.
Construction of the Gothic church began in 1248 and took, with interruptions, until 1880 to complete – a period of over six hundred years. It is 144.5 metres long, 86.5 m wide and its two towers are 157 m tall.”

So I walked out of the train station entrance and was greeted by the single most menacing structure that I had ever seen. The Dom was EMENCE; it just kept on filling my field of view as I exited the train station. The travel guide that I have describes it as the “Mount Everest” of cathedrals. Years of pollution have left the outside almost pitch black which made it even scarier to look at. Inside was equally impressive with a massive vaulted ceiling. This is the only building that I have ever been into that has given me butterflies in my stomach just being in its presence, it is REALLY cool. Another interesting fact is that it was the tallest building in Europe until the Eiffel Tower was erected.

To continue my tale I walked around Köln for a while longer and stopped for the best falafel that I have ever had. It was so good I ordered another. I sat with an old guitar player from Chicago named Scott who was also all into the falafel. I bid him adieux and ventured on. I saw a pipe shop and, intrigued, I went in.

Inside I met a short guy from New Orleans with a green sweater vest and one of those old hats, with the floppy bit that buttons onto the brim of the cap, on. He would turn out to be the most interesting person that I would meet in this town. After the German shop owner failed at talking me into buying something this guy started. Personally I do not smoke but I enjoy the concept of smoking a pipe. This shop had two levels with all the walls packed with different types of pipe in velvet holders. In the middle of the room was a large table with all the varieties of tobacco laid out. He promptly asked what type of tobacco I was looking for. I said, I did not smoke but a few of my buddies in Vic did and I wanted to pick them up some eurobacco.

“well,” he began, “fruit tobacco is for beginner smokers,” as he unrolls a leather pouch with 6 or so expensive looking pipes, “as you get to be a more advanced smoker you move away from that and into something with more paprika.” All the tobaccos were colour coded and each had a number based on the blend that they had. “My favorite tobacco here is number 66, as you get more advanced you tend to strive for things like number 168. Number 168 has a more complex flavor that can easily burn the lungs of a beginner” This guy spoke of smoking like an Olympic sport, if it was a sport he was built like a champion smoker.

I left and had a relatively uneventful time at a local bar before I headed to the train to get a few hours of shut eye back home before I left to Prague.