Sore from Das Party Bike!

Sorry I missed a day, friends! I meant to write a little something last night before I went to bed, but I'm afraid the Kölner Party Spirit still had quite a hold on me when I got home last night.

I went for my first run in this new neighborhood yesterday afternoon. There has been a lot of American belly-aching about the weather here (60s in the morning, lots of rain), but honestly I like a climate where I can go running at 3 PM in August and not die of heat stroke. I tend to overestimate my navigating abilities when I go for a run in a new locale, so when I saw a little path leading into a forest, I thought, Hey! Why not! At one point, I was starting to get a little nervous about getting lost forever in this deep wilderness, but then I noticed that all the trees were planted in straight, diagonal lines. Maybe not so wild. And then I noticed the Autobahn off in the distance. I guess I was not in danger of finding a giant house of gingerbread anywhere in that forest.

I went into my evening plans with great uncertainty. The activity had only been described as, "Well, it's this giant bar that you pedal around the streets of Cologne. BYOB, no glass bottles, see you at six!" I had a lot of questions. Which is the main reason I decided to lay down 20 Euros-I just had to see this thing in action. After experiencing the Party Bike (as it is called), I admit that it is hard to describe. One of the best moments of the night (or maybe Germany so far?) was pedaling down a crowded river walkway, singing along to electrocized John Denver, and attracting lots of perplexed looks from older Germans. I guess Party Biking is a growing craze in Europe, thanks to the open container laws, but we were still not a commonplace sight. We were a fairly rowdy road hazard once we moved from the river walkway to the streets, but I was impressed by how understanding most of the drivers were. Check out the website if you are still confused/intrigued.

I still have not taken any pictures, except for one of Congressman Jim McDermott, another guy from Seattle, and me in Washington DC, so sorry for all the text! I will try to make a bigger effort to snap some shots this afternoon!