A Long Weekend in Köln

We spent last weekend in the sun and heat visiting Köln. We definitely got a little nostalgic for all our favorite German treats. We stayed close by to Kaffeebaum (which was not on summer holiday) and made our way through the coffee selections. Even Myrna enjoyed herself there, as Anna gave her a creamsicle (after which clever Myrna led us back behind the counter to find another). Here's Myrna enjoying a glass of bubbly water after some ice cream in the Altstadt.

Other favorites included plum cake, only just barely in season. Here's Myrna asleep and oblivious as we enjoy some cake.

Other nap-time treats were enjoyed at Päffgen Brauerei. Remember when our blog looked like this?


We also had some new treats, now that we had a toddler in tow. We'd always seen the fountain on the Rhein, but hadn't ever used it before. It was a huge hit!

Myrna also reminded us of the many uses of staircases in art galleries while we were at our friend Noa's exhibition.

One of Myrna's new things lately is sharing and giving gifts. When we go the park, other day-care-acclimated parents marvel at Myrna's friendly overtures of shovels and sticks to other children. And that sounds all cute and such, but Sunday she "gifted" someone with a dead fly. This all went down when we were at a video shoot for our friend Latanya's music video.

But they say you can't go home again, and of course a lot of things in Köln had changed. We couldn't get any Belgian beer, due to the closure of the gourmet Belgian supermarket chain. Other favorite restaurants had changed management. Even the English school I used to teach in had moved. Things change... Returning to Stockholm, though, the baby ducklings in the pond behind our building were just as tiny and fuzzy as we'd left them, and we were glad that at least things didn't change that fast.