• Compare, contrast, converge •
[1½ MIN READ]
On a recent European trip that it was my good fortune to experience, one of two runs I was able to execute took place in Köln (Cologne), Germany. Köln runs alongside of the Rhine River and so did I.
The Promenade went out of town and, naturally, provided a distinctive view of the city. In one regard, it was a reflection of Main Street in Manayunk. I passed through a fair that had me dodging pedestrians and skirting the entire pathway to avoid the busiest portions.
It’s not an enormous city and the brick paving gave way to a sandy soil pathway before long. The path followed along the shore as I gauged the distance my body felt able to tackle (and my foot as I’ve made my way back from injury [iCandybyWangC.com]). I smiled and waved at a few other runners unsure of Germany’s running and social etiquette but rather unable to resist my own personality in tandem with this longstanding social experiment. The tally was about even with people who ignored me, people who noticed with a belated look of surprise, and people who managed to wave. It seemed like fewer people waved, but part of the experiment is doing the comparison.
Using a bridge as a 10km turnaround mark, I took a brief rest break while the city kept moving. Above me a passenger train traversed the river. As I turned back, a freighter did its own version of traversing when it reached the bridge virtually in tandem with the train and me.
Doubling back toward my start, another runner surprised me by smiling and waving first. I finished 10km feeling both properly me and properly European.
–CtCloser (Calvinthe), “Negative split or positive splat” #dothedue
FINE PRINT ¶Text and photos (unless otherwise stated): Calvin Wang (Wäng), CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (CreativeCommons.org). ¶Cross-posted: (1) Facebook JRC Growlers Group Run (2026’04’29’W Run Message), (2) GGR email list, (3) Cerebruns by CtCloser. ¶This website posting: Cerebrun with added caption and enumeration.
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