Day Three: Köln

We woke up this foggy morning and headed straight to the Kölner Dom to climb the over 500 stairs to the top of the tower.

To the top!

The beginning of the winding spiraling staircase to heaven

About halfway up, they let you break and take a look at the massive carillon.

Then as the spiral staircase comes to an end and you think you've reached it, surprise! More stairs...

But in the end it's all worth it

We walked around the caged walkway on the top, before heading inside the tower for a picnic lunch.

A beautiful view through a window on the way back down

We reached the bottom, having walked in total over 1100 stairs!

We headed inside to check out the interior

Is that a bird? A Plane? Superman? No! It is an organ!

We left to head to the Chocolate museum, on the way passing the City Hall building

We also wandered through the old market area, with cobble stone streets and old time signs

Why yes, that is a tree statue of golden cocoa beans that sprouts chocolate!

And why yes, you do get a free sample!

I love Lucy moment?

The Ludwig museum and Philharmonic building with the Kölner Dom in the background.

Stereotypical German Train Station!

Kölner Dom detail

We had dinner at a Kölsch Brauhaus

Waiting for our Kölsch beers and delicious traditional food!

I had "Himmel und Äd" - a traditional dish of black pudding pancakes, topped with caramelized onions and over a bed of mashed potatoes, served with Applesauce.

That night, we went to the Kölner Opera to see "Die Csárdásfürstin" by Emmerich Kalmán, we were surprised to be ushered into a room with tables and chair, lit by small table lamps, instead of a traditional opera house. We were in for a treat!

Our amazing "front row" seats thanks to the amazingness of student tickets! The stage was divided into two main stages (left background of the photo, part that looks like stairs) connected by a runway-like stage (center background, the yellow part), the center of which was crossed with another runway leading on one end to the exit and the other to a stage housing the orchestra. The entirety of the stage was bright yellow and enclosed by deep purple curtains with yellow romanesque columns (background of the photo, behind the woman)

This production of Die Csárdásfürstin played with expectations and preconceptions, in a not only a modernized production, but a Drag Show production. The plot is fairly simple, Edwin, an aristocrat from Vienna, falls in love with a Gypsy dancer from Hungary, Sylva. She is to go to the States to perform and his family wants him to return to Vienna. This test of their love ends in their engagement, until of course Sylva learns of Edwin's prior engagement to his cousin, to which he is still bound. They split up and go their separate ways as the curtain closes on Act One.

Act two begins with Edwin, back in Vienna, unwillingly courting his cousin, while his parents plan to throw a ball and formally announce their engagement. Sylva has just returned to Europe and is in Vienna. Knowing that Edwin's parents do not approve of her, she schemes and plans to attend the ball as the "wife" of her aristocratic friend Boni. Boni plays along and hides her identity. Then it gets fun, as misconceptions and lies are brought to the breaking point and through various twists of the plot, they arrive at an end, that you will just have to see to find out. Or look up on Wikipedia if you want to spoil the fun.

Either way, this production was particularly interesting because, as I said, it was not just an opera, it was a drag show. Sylva was played by a man in drag and the other dancers, were also men in drag. And although Sylva's arias lacked an operatic quality, the other singers easily picked up the slack and most of Sylva's arias were accompanied by hilarious dance scenes, one would expect in an over the top drag show. But the drag did not just serve as a fun way to keep us entertained, it served to modernize the prejudice of the family, implying they didn't approve of Sylva because she was a drag queen, rather than because she was Hungarian. Several key directorial choices pointed this out toward the end, with Sylva taking off her wig, thus exposing her real identity in a dramatic moment, silencing the entire room (which was fairly rowdy, since most people were enjoying drinks at their tables and the atmosphere was such that the crowd interacted with the players, an audience member even being asked to go on stage and take a photo at one point). Honestly, this was one of the most creative and exciting productions I have ever seen and a memory not to be forgotten.

Note: if you ever want to see the fun flashy costumes, the lovely drag queens or anything else I have talked about, I bought the program and have photos!!! Just shoot me an email!