Kiel Half-Marathon, Feb. 28

Last week Kiel had the biggest snowstorm it has seen in 8 years. But, do you think that stops Germans from getting out there and running a marathon? Heck no. In fact, I kinda think they prefer it that way. So, last Saturday, Britt and I headed to Kiel's waterfront so I could run a half-marathon. It was about 30 degrees F, windy, and snowing. However, 1600 runners were there ready to hit the pavement and run back and forth for 2 or more hours. The course ran along the water and was a 10K loop. I learned from some "friendly" German runners that the 1/2 marathon was around 22km and would consist of two loops around the course. My only complaint was that there were 2 drink stations, one on each end of the loop, so essentially you had to run about 10K to get a drink of warm tea (German Gatorade). For the runner's out there (Britt's dad, my mom) it was a lesson in "how far can I go being completely dehydrated?" Other than that I had a great run and received a funny homemade wooden necklace at the finish (a yellow snail). My finishing time: 2:11:15.4

One might think I'm just really enjoying my run, but actually I was just trying to say "hi" to Britt and my upper lip froze to my teeth.

Putting on my bib.

One of many cool pairs of German sport hosen!

The half-marathoners line up.

I was feeling a bit intimidated by my fellow runners, so YES I started at the very back of the pack.

On the home stretch.

Big finish! You can actually see the speed with which I'm traveling. I'm so fast I'm just a blur! Awesome.

Cologne, February 4 - 6

A group of us, tired of the grey Kiel weather, decided to rent a car and drive 5 hours to Cologne to enjoy the grey weather there and party with the Catholics during pre-Carnival weekend. Six of us and one dog all packed into a Volkswagon Passat Wagon and drove southwest, stopping in the town of Munster for lunch. Driving on the Autobahn is always a white-knuckle experience, especially when Michael is driving, but the Dorfs and Bergs just zipped by and we soon found ourselves in Cologne.
The famous cathedral, called the Dome by locals, is amazingly huge. Cologne is very old, 2,000 years to be exact, and was once part of the Roman Empire. Christian pilgrims flocked to Cologne for hundreds of years to get peek at ancient religious relics including the bones of the magi, three skulls and golden crowns. Unfortunately the cathedral and the Roman-German museum were closed for Carnival so we didn't get to see them from the inside but were still wowed by the enormity of the place.

The largest boquet of roses in Kiel, too big if you ask me.

This is Mel's "Ms. America" pic I took on Valentine's Day.

Here's the same town square in Bremen sans Mel.

This is M a day after the food poisoning episode in Cologne. We stopped in Bremen on the way home and this pic was taken from the town square. Doesn't she look pale?

Another gratuitous art pic of an empty alley. It's supposed to represent desolation and the declining nature of religion in Europe:)

Mel asked that I take this pic. She thought the buildings were cute.

Here's the cathedral from about a half mile away. It's freakin' huge, almost 500 feet tall and over 700 years old.

Stephanie was angry because Mel and I made fun of her gorilla coat.

Gratuitous art pic outside a bar near the Rhine river.

"Night clubbing, we're night clubbing". This is the gang minus Michael and Britt, heading towards the Dome in Cologne.

Mel and Xavier just love streamers and churches.

Here's Britt looking as happy as ever in front of some old church in Munster.