Blown to Atoms

Sticking true to my plan, I did not run on Monday or Tuesday, but I’ll write of my encounters nonetheless...

I wandered down the streets of Cologne searching for nothing in particular. Eventually I got thirsty and desired a German bier. I opened the door to a small pub on a corner and saw no one else inside save the German bartender. I exchanged small talk but he neither spoke English nor I German. I ordered two beers and tried to strike up a conversation…to no avail. Eventually someone else entered the bar. I envisoned chatting about German culture, but instead the man went, ironically, over to a computer/machine in the corner and played solitaire. I sighed, muttered danke shoen, polished off my beers and wandered back to my hotel room. I would have a long week ahead of me…

Timo, our German fixer and a native of Cologne, explained to me how the only building left in Cologne after the war was the dome of the cathedral. The rest of the city was blown to atoms when the allies carpet bombed the entire area in 1945. Looking around I would never have known, but its clear that after spending just a little of time here, that this place was devastated during the war. While reading the International Herald Tribune this morning I learned that German troops are deployed (Afghanistan) for the first time since the Second World War...something that is extremely anti-German culture/society.