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Other entries in Germany

Friends all around

Our first impression and feelings about Erftstadt were negative. we werent near the city center of Cologne, we were in a small suburb (and why would you want to be in a small suburb in Germany during the World Cup?), and the residents had been nothing but unfriendly and even malicious (read previous entry). but when we arrived at the house of Icking, everything changed for the better.

We had rented a room from Hubert Icking, the father of the family and an overall nice fellow with hard to read features. His wife Christine was sweet and helpful. she offered to do our laundry and gave us suggestions for activities in town. But it was their oldest son Christian, 22, who brought the most joy to our stay in Erftstadt because he was outgoing, hospitable, and understanding of our desires as guests in their country. There was also another son named Robin, 20, who we met later. after dropping our bags in our basement apartment, Christian offered to take us to the beer store. before we got in the car, he offered us some beers (which is not illegal in Germany apparently) for the ride. cheers to that. along the way, we got through the basic questions and answers and by the time we had reached the beer store, we were well caught up on the necessary information about each other (we were three post-college americans, he a mid-college german. thats about all you need to know about people, right?). hilariously enough, he took us to the exact same gas station where we had found someone to give us directions earlier that day! remembering the excellent beer special we had seen, we quickly made our purchase and were on our way back to the Icking house in no time.

back in the homestead, we gathered around the television in our rented room and drank beer while watching World Cup action. This is when we met the 4th and final member of the Icking family, Robin. we could tell that neither of the sons had a lot of confidence in their English but after using the cliched line, "trust me, your english is a heckofalot better than my __________(fill in relevant foreign language)" they seemed to lose their timidity and speak confidently. a little while later, some of Christians friends came over because the Icking house, besides being a quasi B&B, was also the hangout of Christians group of friends. perhaps it was the central location of their home, or Hubert's understanding nature, maybe Christine is a damn fine cook, but as one of their friends put it, "whenever i come over to their (Christians) house, the fridge is always full of beer. and back at my dad's house, all he has is......other beer." regardless of the reasoning, as the night approached, our basement apartment became more full of friends and good times. we greeted every new german friend with a beer and a smile and soon, we were all enjoying the company and the greatness of the circumstances. all these kids spoke great english and were incredibly friendly and welcoming.

When it was time for dinner, we decided to follow Christian's suggestion and order pizza from the best local spot. Nova started dialing and then realized he didnt speak German so Christian volunteered to order for us. When the pizza came, we found it had been appropriately dubbed, the best local spot. we noshed on our pies while watching futbol and drinking delicious beers. as the evening approached, we found out that the gang was going to a bbq/birthday party for a friend of theirs. we were invited to go but declined citing our long day of travel and a need for a day off. The germans marched off and we were soon abed, happy with the 180 degree turn our opinions had taken about this little town called Erftstadt.

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