Cologne experience and the art of talking to strangers

How many times has your mother prohibited you from talking to strangers during your childhood? For me, several times. Two rules from my mom were quite simple: first (1), don't talk to strangers and second (2), certainly don't let any strangers enter your home.

While it might be useful to dictate these to your child, it certainly isn't helpful anymore once you are a grown adult. From time to time it's even necessary to talk to strangers as a grown-up. And this becomes even more evident when you're traveling alone in unknown places.

Last week I visited Cologne to spent my May Day holidays exploring the city for the first time with my Finnish cousin Jukka and his German fiance Verena. During my adventures I had two experiences of talking to strangers and I would like to share these incidents with you in the next bit.

My first encounter with a stranger was at the Bochum main railway station. I was on my way to Cologne and I went up to the track to see my train was 5 minutes late. Well, nothing new under the sun! However, I saw a relatively old lady then, observing the big blue info screen carefully for quite some time. Something in my head went like, "I should say something to this woman". And I couldn't believe at the moment that this simple act of initiating a conversation with this stranger would actually save my day.

So, what happened was that I said something to the woman, like: "Der Zug fährt 5 Minuten später?" (trans. "The train leaves 5 minutes later?"). I already knew the answer of course, but I guess my intention was just to find out if the lady was in need of help, while at the same time enhance my German speaking skills. The lady agreed with my statement, but then she pointed out something from the information screen that I had totally missed out. The train to Cologne was not only 5 minutes late, but it had also switched tracks to the other side! My eye had not caught this information from the screen and I ended up thanking the lady for pretty much saving my day. If I hadn't had the courage to open my mouth and talk to this stranger, the train to Cologne would have probably just passed behind my back without me even noticing it!

As a traveler you really have to pay close attention to the information boards. I was waiting for the train in Gleis 4 and the switch to Gleis 3 had appeared on the screen only a couple of minutes before the trains arrival. If I hadn't talked to that stranger, I probably would have been on my way to Munich that day! Afterwards, I thanked the lady and God for guiding my steps.

After that, I finally reached Cologne and found myself in a nice hostel near the main railway station. The day was full of activities and my second experience of talking to strangers happened during the night, when I returned back to the hostel.

There was a lobby/kitchen room in the hostel straight after the main entrance and I wanted to have a warm drink and plan my way back to Göttingen there before going to sleep. There was a couple of other individuals and a table group of four people in the room with me. I saw the the group had a deck of UNO playing cards on the table and once I had finished my businesses I kind of felt like playing a game with them.

However, I didn't just wanna storm in but instead, I started observing the situation a little further. "Let's see how this goes, maybe they'll invite me in if they start playing", I thought.

So, there I was carefully observing the situation and just minding my own business, until two British youngster came into the room and literally changed the whole game. They eventually started talking with the table group and suddenly, one thing led to another and soon all the people in the room, including me, were talking to each other and asking everybody where they come from etc. etc.

It turned out to be a fun little night, socializing with three British, two Swiss and two German people. We played one round of UNO until we were so loud that we were told to leave. It was hilarious!

The hostel used to be a church, which you can probably tell from the picture. There you can still see the pulpit at the back of the room, right hand side. This was the main dining room.

The place was called Jugendherberge Pathpoint Cologne, a youth hostel, so most of the young people were "taking refuge" here. It only costs 16 € per night and it's located right at the vicinity of the main rail way station. I can highly recommend it for any kind of traveler. The same dining room from another angle.

A picture proof that we actually played UNO. We actually never finished the game, so no one was declared as a winner (except some self-declaring idiots).

So, what are the life lessons we've learned today?

First of all, talking to strangers doesn't have to be a scary enterprise. You just need look the world with open eyes and let things flow naturally without putting any extra pressure on them. 

Secondly, establishing a good eye-contact is the key, especially in the second example. Without making an eye contact with the people I was going to interact with, I wouldn't have been able to create any kind of good connection with them. The goal is not to stare people down, but to be confident of who you are and give the people a little reflection on their actions and emotions.

Finally, you need just a little bit of courage and intelligence. It's not really hard to recognize what kind of people you want to talk with and in which kind of situations and what kind of people again you don't want to interact with. For me, I'm not like the most super social person ever, but I'm not the kind of person that hates people either. I like to be the intelligent observer somewhere in the middle that keeps a bit of distance, but also approaches when necessary or interested in.

Long story short, talking to strangers is a valuable and a good thing. Besides, we are not truly strangers to one another; we are made of the same flesh and blood and share the same reality after all. In an essence, we all have the same Creator. So, embrace your opportunities and keep it genuine and friendly. You never know what positive outcomes it may result to.

Now finally, a collage of some more pictures from Cologne...

Inside the Cologne Cathedral. 

 

 

The Romans were here first.

It's amazing how they have preserved some of these ancient monuments in the city from the historical times of the Roman empire.

The river Rein. One of the longest in Europe.

Lanxess Arena. My first time at a concert this magnitude. On the stage, Brings.

Kölner Zoo.

Panorama Tower.

How not to take a photo from the Panorama Tower. There is a glass in front of you and of course, it takes a reflection. You need to place the camera all the way against the glass to minimize it. Only a stupid tourist would not realize this while taking photos. I might have to go back there now and redo my photography.

Taking no longer than 632 years to complete, the Cologne Cathedral is of course the most magnificent sight in the city and attracts about 20,000 to 30,000 visitors daily. For me, it has also this bit of an intimidating look. I heard that the Cathedral is not owned by the government, but by the people who donate for it. So, I practically became one of the owners of the "Kölner Dom" by giving away a small coin.