Cologne Hotels
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Sounds of Cologne
Entry 27 of 61 | show all | print this entry |
(Originally Written December 4, 2007)
After walking around Cologne for the past few weeks, I've become quite enamoured with the many different sounds I've heard coming from within the city. Many of them are not much different from the sounds you would expect to hear in most big cities around the world. The everyday noise coming from traffic as cars, busses, and taxis quickly transit people around. A lot of the sounds here are much the same but there are so many more that make Cologne unique that it didn't take me long to realize that this isn't your typical big city.
The very first sound I heard when I arrived in Cologne was the church bell of the Dom Cathedral. It was beautiful and very loud! What I found most strange about it was the fact that it was ringing at ten past the hour. Most church bells I have heard only ring on the hour or half past the hour. Steve told me that this was a peculiar trait of this cathedral and he wasn't sure why. Oddly enough, I heard the bell ring again awhile later at twenty past the hour. It was almost as if the bell-ringer were taking a nap and rung the bell only when he happened to wake up. It was quite strange.
Since we've been in our apartment, we hear the bell of a church nearby ring every hour as well. I try to make sure I'm sitting out on the terrace every hour just so that I can hear the bell ring. It is such a pretty sound and it gives me a sense of peace and serenity. In addition to that, it always let's me know what time it is!
While Steve and I were walking around the city the very first day I was here, I heard another sound that really caught me off guard. I was the subtle jingling of bells. At first, I had no idea where the sound was coming from. It reminded me of the noise a buzzer makes when you are trying to gain entry into an apartment building. But after nearly getting run over by bicycles on more than one occasion, I quickly realized that these were the bells they rang to politely tell you to, "Get Out of the Way!"
Other sounds I found very interesting (which took me a while to pick up on) were the variety of different languages. My first day here I knew only two things...I didn't speak German, and everyone else did! But as I started paying more attention to the people around me, I began to realize that not everyone "not speaking English" is speaking German. Of course I couldn't begin to tell you exactly what they were all speaking but I knew that some were speaking French (because I took French in high school). I knew that some were speaking Spanish (because I took Spanish in college). And I knew that some were speaking some variation of Chinese/Japanese/Taiwanese (just by the way it sounded).
I also noticed that the German language sounds very similar to Dutch, Swiss, and Scandinavian. So much so that I doubt I will ever be able to differentiate between all of the different dialects. But what I found even more interesting, is that when Germans try to speak English to me they too have a difficult time trying to figure out what version of English we are speaking. Nine times out of ten they think I am British because they associate English with England. When I say, "No", their next guess is that I am Irish. I've even had a few tell me they think I am Australian because I speak so fast that some of my English words don't make any sense! When I finally tell them I'm from the U.S., they nod and that's about it. Some will ask, "From which part?" but most don't know anything about the United States other than the fact that George Bush is a jerk...they hate him over here! I guess I never realized that other people are listening to us speak as much as we are listening to them!
More sounds that I find to be very unique in Cologne are the trains. You will hear trains running everywhere in the city. In large cities in the U.S. like New York City and Washington D.C., subways are their main transit system. Because they travel underground, they are fairly quiet. But here in Cologne, the trains travel on tracks above the ground, so you can hear them all the time. Additionally, because they travel on the same roads as cars and busses, they are more obvious and their presence almost makes them seem louder.
Another sound that I'm not quite used to hearing but have really come to enjoy is music. Since most of shop entrances here come from either sidewalks or streets, the store owners use music to lure shoppers inside. On Friday and Saturday nights it almost sounds like you are walking from one nightclub to another as you shop from one store to the next. The most interesting thing I observed about it is this...the louder the music, the more expensive the clothes!
So, if the shops play the loud club music to draw the shoppers in, then what do the bars play to draw the drinkers in? That's easy...soccer games! Typically the bars and pubs with the biggest screen TV's have the largest crowds. And the larger the crowd, the louder the bar!
If there is one sound that I do not like hearing in Cologne it is the sound of police cars and ambulances. Sirens here are not like the ones back home. They are the shrillest, most deafening sound I have EVER heard and it makes my ears ring whenever they go off. They could be a mile away and it seems as if they are right outside your window. What makes it even worse is the fact that once the sirens start, they go on forever. They never seem to end. It drives me absolutely crazy!
Aside from the annoying sirens, all of the other sounds I've heard in Cologne I have really enjoyed. If I had to pick a favorite from the list, it would definitely be the sound of church bells. In Holland, we hardly ever heard church bells ring (even on Sunday). Which is quite surprising given the fact that Holland has so many churches. But as I mentioned, we hear them ring every night and it is such a peaceful sound.
Cologne is as full of sounds as it is sights and I'm equally captivated by both. Most people get so lost by what they are "sight" seeing that they forget to observe their other senses. Just as I did until I arrived here. But now that I am in a different culture, I have to pay much closer attention to my surroundings. And as a result, I end up paying closer attention to everything else as well. Everyday I hear something new and it is something I've really come to appreciate because before I came here, I never took the time to listen too much of anything other than the TV! Well, now that we no longer have that luxury (except for CNN, MTV, or BBC) I have no choice but to expand my horizons. Afterall, there is only so much financial news a person can take...
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