Art & Architecture Trip - Day 6

Today was the most action-packed day we have had yet! After only one hour of German lessons and an hour of Koln history (which was very interesting), we ate a snack and went on the train to the Romisch-Germanisches Museum for a tour. The artifacts in the museum were interesting. There was pottery and glassware, reconstructed Roman tombs, mosaics and wall paintings. The artifacts made me feel strange - they are nearly 2000 years old. The arch to the entrance of the Roman city was inside the museum and we learned that the Romans only took about 20 years to build all of the city walls. We ate lunch on the Cathedral steps and then returned to the museum for the continuation of the tour. Upon its completion, we went to the souvenir shops around Dom-platz. I knew what one lady was saying in German and tried my best to answer her. I got several souvenirs for people at home. Late in the afternoon, we returned to the museum and met a new teacher, Herr Hesse. He took us into a workshop in the back of the museum, where we began to work on soapstone carvings. I had to try twice before I saw a runner emerging from the mass of stone... I look forward to the second session of carving so I can complete the statuette. At 2100, we all walked to Fort X, an old Prussian fort outside Koln to see a production by a group of actors with masks. On the way, we saw a group of people in a Karneval club dressed as cannibals. They played music and danced in the street in front of the pub (it belonged to their leader). At Fort X, the play began at 2230, after a delay. There was no talking in the play - there was only pantomime and the effects made by the actors and their masks. It was very good! At 2330, the play ended. Then, the thunder, lightning and rain began! We went inside a warm, dry building until midnight - then we were finally able to start back to JGH. We ran - very wet - to the subway station (almost a mile away). It was almost 0100 when we got home and we had visitors until 0300. Finally fell asleep at 0345... Auf Wiedersahen!