Weihnachten Markts

Mood: tired
Stage notes: Neumarkt internet cafe; the street is filled with a Babel of languages

Christmas is fast approaching. As a result the Köln streets are filled with shoppers frantically searching for that final perfect gift. The Christmas markets here are filled to the brim with tourists, many of whom speak English. Every so often you can hear a German voice derisively speaking about all the ''tourists'' who come to buy overpriced German-made things.

I must admit, I have become one of these tourists today. A German and Iranian friend took me out for a night on the town. We sampled a significant selection of traditional German Christmas food, and browsed through the hundreds of stalls set up on the streets here in honor of the biggest shopping season of the year. The Köln Weihnachten Markts really are pretty. All of the stalls are decorated with white lights, and they stretch miles from the Dom through Neumarkt, Heumarkt, and along the Rhine. The air is filled with the scent of food and music is piped through the streets.

After shopping for a while, my friends and I found our way to a quaint coffee shop/antique shop and talked about things ranging from Middle Eastern politics to how to find a good spouse. We had a really nice time and I was able to finish up most of my Christmas shopping just in time to go home.