Live from Cologne: an athlete's journey to Cologne

Live from Cologne reported by Jeffery Grimes, San Francisco

So far the trip has been a fantastic start. I feel glad that I came and fortunate that I could. I landed in Germany on Friday (July 30). The (United) non-stop flight from San Francisco to Frankfurt was seamless. Mercifully, given the length of the flight, I was upgraded to business class (but - alas - I couldn't have any of the free booze since I am not drinking for the 30 days before my marathon). Window seat. Good meals. Watched several movies. Slept an hour (which is unusual for me). We landed 30 min early. When the flight landed the flight attendant made the customarily announcements. He finished by wishing all the athletes good luck in Cologne. That felt great; very affirming.

While standing in line after entering the airport, I was reflecting on how easy it is for us as Americans to enter several countries; particularly Germany. We don't need a visa, no customs forms - nothing. Just a passport gets us through. There was lots of time between the flight landing and the train departing, maybe too much time. Perhaps I should have taken an earlier train, but it is better to have the cushion in case the plane gets in late. The train was only in the station in Frankfurt for exactly 3 min. They said it would arrive in the station at 11:40 and leave at 11:43. You could set your watch by how precise it was. The train ride was surprisingly fast - only 45 min. It was a schnellzug ("fast train" - up to 200 mph), like the French TGV. There are no stops b/w Frankfurt and Cologne. So the first time the train stops after I got on, was the stop.

The train station in Cologne is directly in front of the world-famous cathedral. Walking out into the open air after the plane and train rides, suddenly standing before the awesome site of the giant edifice of the Cologne Cathedral was a punctuated moment; not soon forgotten. A perfect welcoming to Cologne. Staying at a nice hotel (Pullman). Very modern and upscale. It is centrally located and so far I've done everything on foot. The bonus is that I have direct views of the cathedral from the windows in my room.

I slept for 4 hours then got up, showered and went out. I met some friends from Berlin (Mario & Robert) for dinner. As would be expected the city is FULL of gays (mostly men and I would guess that 90% of whom are either American or European). There was a very crowded street party in one section of the city that we just happened upon. There I ran in to a Lebanese doctor friend from San Francisco (Ilyas). He was with several Arab friends (Lebanese & Syrian) and a Russian and we hung out together until well past midnight. Now I'm feeling a touch of jet lag (that, and it is now past 3 a.m.) and will go to sleep.

That is all for now. Tomorrow is the opening ceremony!
Jeffery Grimes, San Francisco