The Malcontent

Next Issue: The Boys of Belzec

Let's play, "Which one of these does not go with the others?"

Someone should probably tell the boys at DNA magazine that crematorium does not mean what they think it means.

Samstag in Köln

Ah, Cologne.  I am sad to leave you behind, yet also very happy to get back to my own (occupied) bed.

I am air-blogging again from the plane, somewhere over the North Atlantic.  This has been a great trip, mainly because I have been able to take a little more time to be a tourist than usual, instead of working 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day.  Still, it wasn't enough.

I had heard that the people of Cologne were friendly, but that was apparently an understatement.

Cologne is fast becoming one of the major gay hubs of Europe, and it is threatening to dethrone Berlin as the gay capital of Germany.  There are two main gay neighborhoods, one of which, Rudolfplatz, my hotel is smack-dab in the middle of.  Conveniently, it is the younger and more twinkish of the two areas.  The other one (east of here, near the main bridge across the Rhine) is older, hairier and abounding with leather.  (Sorry, bears, them's just my tastes.)

On Friday night I went to a bar called "Ex-Corner."  (Thanks to the reader who suggested it.)  People there were exceptionally friendly, initiating several conversations.  I did my best to speak almost entirely in German to them, which most of the natives agreed wasn't bad for not having spoken it in about 15 years.

The bar was playing an interesting variety of music.  There was popular American stuff like "Hung Up," the ubiquitous Abba, and some older but fun American songs.  (Who knew so many Germans knew all the words to the theme song from "The Fall Guy"?!)  There was also a lot of German pop music that I had never heard.

Everybody sang along to almost every song, even the ones in English, and then when they would play these cheesy German ballads, it almost became like the stereotypical German beerhall (but without the putsch).  Everyone would grasp arms, raise their Kölsch's high in the air, and sway to the music.  It was a very cool tourist moment for me, and it felt great to feel accepted and part of the crowd.

We've all heard so much about how Europeans supposedly don't like Americans very much these days.  Maybe I was expecting them to quiz me about Iraq and whether I support the president, or whatever, but there was thankfully none of that.  Anti-Americanism might hold sway in some places across the continent, but not last night in Ex-Corner.  There were just friendly, fun people.

But how they drink all that beer and stay thin, I'll never know!

By the way, I really must find a way to take photos without making a spectacle of myself, because I need some visual proof that the men of Cologne, as a group, are among the hottest guys I have come across in any city anywhere.  But take my word for it, and considering penciling in some travel plans of your own.

A few tourist snaps follow after the jump.

The Scent of Gay Cologne: [Sniffs Airs, Walks East]

Wow, based on what I knew about Cologne, I expected to find a lively gay life here.

But who knew that I would wind up a short slog from Rudolfplatz, one of Cologne's hippest, youngest and cutest areas for the ho's and the 'mos.

I'm going to have to give whoever booked me this place a big hug!

I think I will try some reconnaissance in between my meetings for more active indulging later in the week.

(Still waiting for reader suggestions!  Tap tap tap ...)

Slingbox

Does anyone have any experience with Slingbox?  Good, bad, indifferent?  I know the video quality isn't as high as being in the living room watching it, but are there other limitations, such as what kinds of set-top boxes it works with?

One can only watch so much CNN International before you start to talk like Fionnula Sweeney.

Open Thread at 30,000 Feet

OK, this is quite possibly the coolest fucking thing ever. I am currently about 30,000 feet above either Nova Scotia or the Atlantic, and I am blogging. The only thing that's different about Typepad here is that, for some reason, I don't have the user-friendly "GUI" interface, so I have to do links, graphics, etc. the old-fashioned way. I used to be such a pro at HTML ...

Can I just say I love Lufthansa? The picture at right – assuming it shows up properly with my coding – made me very happy. But why in the hell can't American airlines follow suit?

I haven't tried an open thread before, and certainly not at 5:45 p.m. (EST), but I have had a couple of glasses of wine, I figure what the hell.

So what's on y'all's minds?? (Argh, turbulence ...)

Bis Später

OK, y'all, I'm headed out the door for Cologne, Germany.  I anticipate being much more successful blogging from there than from the jungle.

I'll post my poison-pen letter to my apartment's management company soon enough.

In the meantime, it's still not too late to tell me about the hot-spots (gay or otherwise) in Cologne, aside from the Dom.  Toodles!