Tag der deutschen Einheit

Today the Germans celebrate the reunification of East and West Germany back into Germany by not going to work. There aren't any official festivities like fireworks or parades, so I decided to celebrate the "Einheit" of my new temporary home by making a pilgrimage to Köln. (Or in English, Cologne, but as I'm trying to talk like a German, I'll use the german name.) Those of you who know me well know exactly why I went to Köln. The Dom. (aka. the cathedral. sorry. Get used to the occasional German word here and there.) The Kölner Dom is 700-year-old gothic cathedral and is my favorite spot in the Bundesrepublik Deutschland. You know how sometimes things aren't as great as you remember them to be? Well this was not one of those times. Our reunion was as happy as I could've imagined. In fact I was in luck. The church officials opened up the choir for public. This area is normally closed, so I was able to go to a part of the Dom I'd never been, which was a great treat. The semi-circular path goes behind the alter and choir. Along the wall, are little chapels and tombs of former archbishops. On the inside of the arc is the choir benches and the shrine of the Three Magi, the outside of which is plated in gold. Such an amazing Dom was build in Cologne because in the 12th century the remains of the Three Magi (yes, THE three Magi, or at least so they believe) were brought to the city from Milan. It immediately became a famous pilgrimage location and pilgrims brought money. But that was not the end of the new places. I shortly thereafter discovered the cathedral treasury, which is where the church stores all of the relics it's collected in the last 700 or so years. As you may imagine, there is some pretty amazing things, and for only a small fee, you too can see some of the pretty shiny things they've put on display. (What can I say, just another pilgrim I guess.) The only thing the reunion needed was for someone to jump up into the organ loft and bust out a Bach Toccata and Fugue. I was also fortunate that the sun came out, not something that it's been doing a lot of these last couple days, so the huge stain glass windows were extra pretty.
After communing with the gigantic stone building, I wandered down the Rhine and through the streets in search of a second Köln treasure: a glass of Kölsch. Finally I sat myself down in a Biergarten and had my 0.2 liters of the best beer in Germany (or at least the best beer I've had in Germany).
Otherwise this has a pretty slow weekend. The jetlag's really a bitch, so I've been sleeping weird hours, reading a bunch, and lamenting how boring German TV is. Everytime I turn it on, I hope for some dubbed american TV show. Anyho! That's all for now!