I arrived in Cologne and found the tourist information bureau to start and got myself a map. After some directions from both an employee at the bureau and a random passer-by on the street, I did indeed find it.
Now I’d like to tell you that I did a lot of sightseeing in Cologne. That would be an utter lie. I mean to, I really did. However I was there for one purpose: a game show.
Back in May I wrote away to Wer Wird Millionar in hopes of getting tickets. Normally there would be a two year wait for tickets however after a few back and forth phone calls and emails I got a ticket! So finally the day had arrived. I got to the studio early, at 5 pm for a 5.45 ticket pickup. Interestingly, this is the first time I’ve ever had to pay for a ticket – 24 Euros (that’s about 40 bucks), not that it really mattered. It turned out to be a longer wait than expected, although they gave everyone a chip for a free drink. I kept mine… it was worth sacrificing a 2 Euro glass of sprite.
Around 7 pm we were lead into the studio. Everyone was assigned seating – and I lucked out once again. Second row, on the aisle, closest to the host and contestant’s entrance. SCORE! Plus it was within viewing of the “fastest finger” seats. The German version, unlike the US daily version, still has this feature. They use touch screens, no slapping of buttons.
The warm up comedian came out and was very entertaining. The lady sitting next to me said she was the biggest fan of Gunther Jauch, and just her mannerisms made me laugh. The comedian asked me why I was laughing and I responded with “I don’t speak German very much!”. To which he switched to English, and I explained that I was a Canadian who used to watch the show on cable in France. Which caused the audience to applaud, they were very impressed!
Shortly thereafter Gunther Jauch came out to much applause. He is a very respected celebrity in German and is great at presenting the show when I’ve been able to see it online. I was pointed out again by the comedian, and Gunther was amazed that I was in the audience to see the show. This would play well, as you’ll come to see.
The show started around 8 pm . The first episode started with a Fastest Finger question, as there was no carryover question. I had forgotten how long it took to record an hour long program (an hour, fact) as when I saw syndie Millionaire in NYC it went really quickly. Due to the camera shot, I was visible EVERY SINGLE TIME when a question got asked. Lucky placement I guess!
One of the coolest things that the German version started a few years back ago was the “Ask someone in the audience” lifeline, for lack of a better term. The contestant can have this lifeline, but they give up their second safe point (16 000 Euros), and must declare at the start if they wish to play this option. Everyone did during my tapings. If you think you know the answer to the question when the contestant uses this lifeline, you stand up, and if you are picked, you chat with them one on one. If you are right and the contestant locks in your answer, you win 500 Euros! Sadly I only knew about four questions the entire night (with the language barrier and all, you know) so I didn’t end up standing up.
After the horns went to announce the end of the first show, I was talked to again… they asked me if Canada was good at soccer. Well, I explained, it’s not that people don’t play, it’s just that we’re not that great! We also had a funny exchange to do with one of the questions whereby I revealed that the English version of the German word “pottashe” is indeed “potash” which indeed lead to mass hilarity in the audience.The second show went quite well as well. I was asked off the cuff during the show if I would recommend Alaska as a tourist destination… I don’t think it’ll make the edit though! No massively big winners, but I will make my German television debut on Monday, December 14th and then will appear in exactly the same outfit, having apparently slept in the studio on Monday December 21st. If anyone knows someone who can tape these for me, I would greatly appreciate it! Leave a comment at the bottom if it’s possible, thanks!
At the end of the show I was asked if we had a Canadian version of Millionaire – I responded that we only had two episodes broadcast back in 2000… once the comedian and Gunther realized that I meant two shows and not two seasons, they once again laughed hysterically!
It was my time to seize my opportunity. Gunther took pictures with all of that evening’s contestants, and then talked to the audience and encouraged them to try and get on the show. The comedian mentioned that I was looking to get a picture with him… and he said yes!
I’m not sure why it’s so blurry but seeing as I was the only person that was allowed to take the picture, I wasn’t about to complain! I got back to town around 11.45 pm, grabbed some dinner and got to bed.
The next morning, Day Quatre-Vingt-Cinq, was a groggy one. Got to the train station in plenty of time to find the Rail Europe office to make my final purchase of train reservations (including, thankfully, the Irun to Madrid trip on the next to last day) and take one sole tourist picture of Cologne:
This gorgeous castle was part of the décor around the train station. I look forward to seeing more of the city when I return in the future at some point!
My next stop was Hamburg. Julius, one of my former drama students, lived in the area and had invited me to come and visit if I so desired. It was very relaxing to get off the train and see someone with a Canadian backpack… it was Julius! We headed off to his house in the Rissen suburb, easily accessible by S-Bahn from the Hauptbanhof (main train station). Except for the switcheroo of seating at Blankenese (if you were sitting forwards, now you’re backwards!) the ride was nice and calm.
It was great to make the acquaintance of his parents again, as they were very supportive with any questions I had in regards to Julius when I was teaching him. Julius and I then met up with Joanna, his girlfriend, and we headed to the Christmas market at Altona.
Christmas markets are very much a tradition in Europe. Strasbourg has the oldest one, at 400+ years, and Hamburg’s area has many as well. The Christmas market is where you can buy locally made merchant’s wares, but it is also wonderful to go and sample the lovely food and drink. We started with currywurst (bratwurst with homemade ketchup and curry powder), moved on to gluhwine (GLOO-vine; warm seasonal wine), progressed to gelato, and then finally some creation which I’ve forgotten the name of although in essence it was little balls of dough, fried up like a donut, then covered with powdered sugar, which of course ended up all over you. Exciting though!
Day Quatre-Vingt-Six was my first “on my own” in Hamburg. After Julius and his mom had given suggestions on where to go, I ran with them. I started at the harbourfront visiting the tourist information booth, where, as usual, were full of information. One thing I had been recommended was to do a harbourfront boat ride. With your day pass, it is included! They run every 15 minutes and take about 30 minutes end to end, so I did a round trip.
The harbourfront is very beautiful, and I quite enjoyed my view. Next stop was Altona, for a return to the Christmas market, including some more currywurst! My new fave food on the run. I wrapped up the day in Jungferstein, which has the most Christmas markets per capita. I’m quite confident of that fact. So it was time to get some souvenirs!
Yes, there is a store in Hamburg dedicated just to Lego!
Vick.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment