Cologne, Germany

Cologne is not a beautiful city.  This is due the bombings from the 262 air raids during World War II.  It is a relatively modern European city with unexciting architectural design.  However, I thought Cologne was the bomb, pun intended.  It was a young city filled with rowdy bars and restaurants, the people where so cool and friendly, and the river and cathedral were actually beautiful.  My friend Denise, who I met in Morocco, was the perfect tour guide and knew all the hidden spots.

On Saturday, during the day Denise and I went downtown to perform on the street, but I ran into one small issue: there were already way to many buskers.  It seems that Cologne has been over run by street performers.  I counted ten on the few blocks that I walked down.  I tried to play a couple of songs but since I forgot my mic stand and the crowds were huge not to mention I was already in a competitive situation, I decided to give up after two songs.  In fact it is the first time this trip I did not make any money.  Apparently after talking to one of the musicians there are certain rules in Cologne.  First of all, you can not use amplification, but EVERYONE was using amplification, typical buskers.  The second rule was that you must start your show on the hour ending half past the hour.  Besides that feel free to play!