Cologne!

So! This weekend I headed up to Köln (Cologne) (again -- last weekend I was there with my parents for a day on our way up to Paris). So this time I took fewer pictures and such. The above was actually from the first time I went; Cologne probably has one of the cooler night skylines out of the German cities.

It turns out that there was a mussel festival on during the weekend! So for the two days, our lunch consisted of Kölsch (the local beer), and a thing of mussels. They were done in a broth that was really tasty!

The main reason I went though, was for a concert featuring the WDR Big Band. Maria Schneider guest-conducted a program of her own compositions. I have to say that it was one of the best big band shows I have ever been to. The WDR Big Band was great, and Schneider's compositions are simply awesome -- I'm not typically the kind of person to be persuaded to buy an album after hearing an artist in concert, but it's what I did this time! There's something about her compositions that stir something emotionally in the listener -- great horn harmonies and moving motifs. It was great stuff!