So my second date with the Kazakhstanian Blond Chick a.k.a German Grammar Nazi was canceled last Friday. When we met, she insisted that i only speak in German to her and she would speak in English. Which is fine, if she didn't mind me making mistakes every other sentence and her sounding a little frustrated.
But then when i received a SMS from her three hours before i was meant to meet up with her, saying that she was sick and asking we can meet some other time. I was almost relieved that our meeting didn't take place. I figured since she wrote her SMS in German, that immediately gave me permission to write back to her in English.
And because i don't have the guts to tell her that i think she's an overbearing Grammar Nazi that needs to loosen up, i told her that i was very busy with work [which is true] and if she wants to write back to me she can do so on the website that we both had signed up on.
I haven't received a message from her since.
But that's not what i really wanted to write about. That night J and i went out on a date. It had been ages since we went out on a Friday night, so we were both excited to indulge in a few drinks and see what Cologne had to offer.
Our original plan was to eat at some restaurant that one of his colleagues had recommended but upon arrival, the place was packed. And the thought of waiting for a table did not cross our minds, so we kept walking hoping that we'd find somewhere else.
And ended up at an authentic Thai restaurant called Halima Thogsi, which also had a framed picture of the King and Queen of Thailand above the doorway. I ended up ordering the Tofu and Vegetable Green Curry which was a bit spicy but was very tasty. J had a sweet and sour crispy duck which he said was really good too.
For dessert i ordered some sticky rice thinking it was going to be served cold and with some mango. But it turned out to be sticky rice wrapped in a banana leaf which was steamed with black beans and some sort of banana inside. It didn't taste so good though, so i only ate the rice.
Then just around the corner from where we were eating was Die Wohngemeinschaft - the bar that was set up to look like the interior of an apartment. And because it was a smoking club, patrons were asked to fill in their details and sign a form before entering. And in exchange we got a Smoking Club Identity Card.
The place was completely packed when we arrived but somehow managed to find two seats by the bar. It was a lot smaller than i had thought it was going to be We ordered our drinks and two tequila shots. When we ordered our second round of tequila shots, the waiter forgot to bring it. But when he remembered, he apologised and said they were on the house and we didn't have to pay, which i thought was very nice.
We then decided we wanted to see if there were any bars nearby that weren't so packed.
And after walking to the end of another street and cursing my high heels because my feet hurt so much, we eventually found a club called, "Einundfünfzig drink & b'eat" which basically translates into English as "51 drink & b'eat" - A place where one can drink, listen to beats and eat.
There was no cover charge but upon entering we see this beefed up guy and his waxed chest dancing on the bar counter.
We weren't sure if it was a lesbian bar since majority of the people in their were women and the waitress kept staring over me and giving little flirty smiles. Or it was some special night [which i then later found out was Ladies Night].
We stayed long enough for a vodka redbull, another shot of tequila and a lucky draw - which my number didn't get called out and so i didn't end up winning anything.
And to top the night off, we found ourselves at Stardust. A club better known for American table top dancing.
Yup, i went to a strip joint.
Before we went in though, J asked the bouncer if it was OK if women were allowed. Apparently, there are some strip joints that are strictly for men. But the guy supposedly, said that women are welcome and so are couples.
The ticket stubs weren't anything special. I'm guessing it's for the benefit of those who don't want others to know where they've been all night. It only cost 10 Euro to get in but drinks cost nearly twice as much than what you would find in an ordinary bar. For example a redbull vodka would set you back about 7 Euro and a simple beer would cost just as much.
Obviously, photos weren't allowed so i can only give you a short description of what i saw.
Let's just say for the rest of the evening i got to see women dance provocatively around a stripper pole. Some could work the pole better than others and others just bent over a lot and shook their booties. Some wore smiles on their faces, others looked really uninterested and one even had an expression that looked like she was in some far away place.
I observed men of all ages stuff fake dollar notes in their mouths, whilst the women squished their boobs together to grab the notes out of their mouths. One Euro was equivalent to one fake dollar bill.
Some men wore wedding rings and some wore business suits. Some looked like puberty just hit and then there were some who looked like they were regulars. Some looked excited each time their favorite stripper came out whilst others made crude comments and laughed.
A few had private lap dances in cubicles that could rotate to face the other side and some invited some of the girls to drink their champagne with them.
At one point during the night, i saw one of the strippers hiding in the bathroom stuffing her face with chocolate whilst i waited to go to the loo. She was on the phone with somebody and talking in a language i couldn't comprehend. I smiled at her and said hello before disappearing into the toilet cubicle.
Overall, i had a really good time despite not being directly involved in any of the activities. In fact, my perception of the place was it wasn't sleazy at all. I felt safe knowing that there were tonnes of bouncers every where keeping an eye out for drunk customers and any misbehavior.
But i couldn't help but think each time one of the girls would smile or wink at me, they weren't doing it because they liked me but because they were trying to lure me in so i could spend my money. But i wondered, how easy or how confident must one be to get men to hand over their fake dollar bills?
I guess at the end of the day everybody has to make a living someway or another.
But then when i received a SMS from her three hours before i was meant to meet up with her, saying that she was sick and asking we can meet some other time. I was almost relieved that our meeting didn't take place. I figured since she wrote her SMS in German, that immediately gave me permission to write back to her in English.
And because i don't have the guts to tell her that i think she's an overbearing Grammar Nazi that needs to loosen up, i told her that i was very busy with work [which is true] and if she wants to write back to me she can do so on the website that we both had signed up on.
I haven't received a message from her since.
***
But that's not what i really wanted to write about. That night J and i went out on a date. It had been ages since we went out on a Friday night, so we were both excited to indulge in a few drinks and see what Cologne had to offer.
Our original plan was to eat at some restaurant that one of his colleagues had recommended but upon arrival, the place was packed. And the thought of waiting for a table did not cross our minds, so we kept walking hoping that we'd find somewhere else.
And ended up at an authentic Thai restaurant called Halima Thogsi, which also had a framed picture of the King and Queen of Thailand above the doorway. I ended up ordering the Tofu and Vegetable Green Curry which was a bit spicy but was very tasty. J had a sweet and sour crispy duck which he said was really good too.
For dessert i ordered some sticky rice thinking it was going to be served cold and with some mango. But it turned out to be sticky rice wrapped in a banana leaf which was steamed with black beans and some sort of banana inside. It didn't taste so good though, so i only ate the rice.
Then just around the corner from where we were eating was Die Wohngemeinschaft - the bar that was set up to look like the interior of an apartment. And because it was a smoking club, patrons were asked to fill in their details and sign a form before entering. And in exchange we got a Smoking Club Identity Card.
The place was completely packed when we arrived but somehow managed to find two seats by the bar. It was a lot smaller than i had thought it was going to be We ordered our drinks and two tequila shots. When we ordered our second round of tequila shots, the waiter forgot to bring it. But when he remembered, he apologised and said they were on the house and we didn't have to pay, which i thought was very nice.
We then decided we wanted to see if there were any bars nearby that weren't so packed.
And after walking to the end of another street and cursing my high heels because my feet hurt so much, we eventually found a club called, "Einundfünfzig drink & b'eat" which basically translates into English as "51 drink & b'eat" - A place where one can drink, listen to beats and eat.
There was no cover charge but upon entering we see this beefed up guy and his waxed chest dancing on the bar counter.
We weren't sure if it was a lesbian bar since majority of the people in their were women and the waitress kept staring over me and giving little flirty smiles. Or it was some special night [which i then later found out was Ladies Night].
We stayed long enough for a vodka redbull, another shot of tequila and a lucky draw - which my number didn't get called out and so i didn't end up winning anything.
And to top the night off, we found ourselves at Stardust. A club better known for American table top dancing.
Yup, i went to a strip joint.
Before we went in though, J asked the bouncer if it was OK if women were allowed. Apparently, there are some strip joints that are strictly for men. But the guy supposedly, said that women are welcome and so are couples.
The ticket stubs weren't anything special. I'm guessing it's for the benefit of those who don't want others to know where they've been all night. It only cost 10 Euro to get in but drinks cost nearly twice as much than what you would find in an ordinary bar. For example a redbull vodka would set you back about 7 Euro and a simple beer would cost just as much.
Obviously, photos weren't allowed so i can only give you a short description of what i saw.
Let's just say for the rest of the evening i got to see women dance provocatively around a stripper pole. Some could work the pole better than others and others just bent over a lot and shook their booties. Some wore smiles on their faces, others looked really uninterested and one even had an expression that looked like she was in some far away place.
I observed men of all ages stuff fake dollar notes in their mouths, whilst the women squished their boobs together to grab the notes out of their mouths. One Euro was equivalent to one fake dollar bill.
Some men wore wedding rings and some wore business suits. Some looked like puberty just hit and then there were some who looked like they were regulars. Some looked excited each time their favorite stripper came out whilst others made crude comments and laughed.
A few had private lap dances in cubicles that could rotate to face the other side and some invited some of the girls to drink their champagne with them.
At one point during the night, i saw one of the strippers hiding in the bathroom stuffing her face with chocolate whilst i waited to go to the loo. She was on the phone with somebody and talking in a language i couldn't comprehend. I smiled at her and said hello before disappearing into the toilet cubicle.
Overall, i had a really good time despite not being directly involved in any of the activities. In fact, my perception of the place was it wasn't sleazy at all. I felt safe knowing that there were tonnes of bouncers every where keeping an eye out for drunk customers and any misbehavior.
But i couldn't help but think each time one of the girls would smile or wink at me, they weren't doing it because they liked me but because they were trying to lure me in so i could spend my money. But i wondered, how easy or how confident must one be to get men to hand over their fake dollar bills?
I guess at the end of the day everybody has to make a living someway or another.
