A Weekend Away

Saturday
was my first trip outside of the Bonn area so far (if you don’t count our train
slip up the first week) and it was to see Köln and its wondrous
cathedral. Now I’m no architect obviously, but the combination of sheer overall
size and amazing detail within made this one of the most impressive buildings I’ve
ever seen in person. After taking more pictures than most have ever taken of
any one structure, we paid €1.50 to endure over 500 steps of climbing to catch
the best view of the city. 533 steps down, one cut finger, and 30 pictures
later we were wandering around the city. Overall I liked the atmosphere, though
that may have had something to do with the impending soccer game that evening.
Must say I’m looking forward to a second (and possibly third) impression this
week.
Sunday’s excursion was definitely
a great full day once you got over the initial shock of having to be in Bonn by
7:30 (yes, A.M.). The Benedictine Monastery’s mass looked nice, though my
German skills allowed me to catch about three words total. After that I heard
the three most beautiful words anyone can ever say: “Free Hot Chocolate!” All
warmed up and ready to go, we headed to the Castle Bürresheim to go on
a very informative tour. Lunch was next, followed by our final stop in the town
of Monreal. Climbing up to see this last sight and others was a fitting ending
to an all-around good trip.

Fantastic Day(s)

Last Sunday, we all went to Maria Laach to attend mass at the nearby Benedictine Monastery. Although I could not understand everything that was said in the sermon, I really enjoyed the singing of the monks. The singing alone was worth getting up at 6 AM to make the 7:30 AM meeting time. It was also during this time that I realized how thoroughly European houses of worship seem to be decorated; every wall, ceiling, and support beam seemed to house a wonderful decoration.

Afterwards, we visited the Castle Bürresheim, which can be seen in the picture. We were given an informative tour through the interior of the more comfortable part of the castle, which was still pretty cold. I only wish that I could have climbed the castle’s tower and parapets as well.

After lunch, at which time I learned I do not like pesto, we went to the town of Monreal. In the town, we meet what appeared to be a stray orange and white cat. This cat proceeded to follow us as we went to explore and climb local ruined fortifications. We also strolled through the streets of this magnificently picturesque small town. There was even a home that seemed to have been hit by a cannonball a few hundred years ago. We could tell because there was a cannonball shaped object protruding from the outside wall. By the end of the day, I felt like four days had gone by.

By comparison, Monday and Tuesday are not worth mentioning.

Exploding Berliners

Wow what a weekend.  As this was the first weekend where we could travel outside of Bonn, almost everyone set out on adventures.  I was a part of the group that traveled to Köln (Cologne) on Saturday. The entire group is traveling there on an excursion tomorrow, but we wanted to explore it even more.  It was a bit of a last minute decision, as we hadn’t planned out much to do, but it ended up being a great trip. 

The first thing I saw after emerging from the train station was the cathedral, towering above everything.  I think this was the point in the trip where I began to get really excited.  Up until then it hadn’t hit me that I was actually in Germany (I know, I know, I can’t believe it took me this long either). Staring at that magnificent cathedral, I couldn’t contain my excitement or the grin that swept over my face.  The group of us proceeded to act like tourists by taking bajillions of pictures, including a (fail) jumping one on the steps.

The inside of the cathedral was just as marvelous as the outside.  I could go on all day about the many things to see in the cathedral, but I doubt that would be very appreciated, so I will keep it simple.  The stained glass windows were breathtaking, the ceilings dizzyingly high, and the priests annoyingly abrupt.  I only say that last one because at noon we were unceremoniously shooed out of the church so that they could hold a noonday prayer.  I did not mind so much as I had already made the lap around the church once, but I had to laugh at how tired the priests sounded.  They deal with people in and out all the time so I can’t blame them for being a little bit exasperated with the crowds.  I did have time to light a candle for my grandfather before we left the cathedral. Catholics have a tradition of lighting a candle and saying a prayer for loved ones in front of saints or relics, which I have always enjoyed participating in.  It is nice to think that he is over here enjoying Germany just as I am.

After exploring the inside, we decided to head out to lunch in the old town.  After walking around or a bit, we didn’t see anything that looked good until we noticed a group of people emerge from this slightly sketchy alley.  Upon further inspection it proved to lead to a courtyard of restaurants.  We found a pizza place and enjoyed a delicious lunch.  Afterwards we headed back to the cathedral to climb the tower.  We made it up to the very tip top and had lots of fun taking pictures in the tiny stairwells and passageways.  We had safely made it to the bottom and were looking at post cards when I noticed that my thumb was bleeding profusely.  I apparently had cut it on the hand rail and not noticed.  I cleaned it up and put a bandaid on it and eventually it stopped bleeding.  As Austin told me, you’ll always remember the places that you hurt yourself! I am not sure that is exactly the kind of souvenir that I wanted but it was fun nonetheless. 

After that we just explored the shopping district, where I managed to find a karnival costume for a decent price, and then headed home.  We accidentally took the train to the wrong station in Bonn, but managed to find our way back home somehow. 

All I all it was an awesome day.  I will leave you with this image: Berliner Heaven.  

Seriously, I have never seen so many Berliners in one place! Be careful though, Berliners have been known to become explosive during consumption, so take care when eating them so you do not end up with jelly everywhere like I did.

Tschüß for now!

How Much Colder Can it Get?

There aren't too many things that I would consider worth waking up before 6 o'clock in the morning for, but the trip to Eifel this past Sunday is definitely on the list. (Of course, if you would have asked me when I pulled myself out of bed into the dark and cold weather, I probably would have told you a different story.) The first stop at the Maria Laach Abbey was an incredible way to start the excursion. The singing and chanting of the monks was incredibly beautiful and made me feel like I was back in the Middle Ages (and only a little bit like I was in Monty Python and the Holy Grail). The building contributed to this historical feeling as well, a picture-perfect Romanesque stone cathedral in the middle of rolling hills. Although I'm not Catholic, I definitely appreciated the opportunity to attend mass and observe how the Germans integrate a contemporary population and religious practice with a building and traditions that date back to the 11th century.

We had an unexpected hot chocolate break which pretty much guaranteed my good spirits throughout the cold weather for the rest of the trip. The tour of Schloss Bürresheim was really interesting, but like some others have mentioned, it rid me of my fantasy to live in a castle. I'll stick with a central heating system, thanks. After eating lunch, we began my favorite part of the trip, exploring the ruins near Monreal. I just loved how they were right on the outskirts of the town, with the old structures kind of watching over the new. It makes me really wish that America had a culture like that a thousand years ago, one that left massive structures to remind us it existed.

On a completely separate note, classes have picked up again for the week and we just got assigned our semester-long device design project in physiology. It seems like it's going to be another intense project like last semester, but I'm glad that it's underway nonetheless. This week also marks the first real difficulty I've really had in balancing work and travel. Between the procrastination of some work some and the recent assignments/presentations, I'm going to really have to work on prioritizing in order to make the most of this semester in regards to focusing on academics while enjoying the advantages of being abroad. Hopefully our group trip to Cologne tomorrow will provide the opportunity for both these educational and touristy experiences.

Oh, Andrea and I also got directions from our host family and stopped by the Haribo store after classes. Now I have a bag full of gummy bears and sour dinosaurs to offset the continued training for the half-marathon.

Amsterdam/Eifel Region

This post is in relation to events that happened towards the end of week 2.

A group of students went to visit Amsterdam this weekend. This place was something else entirely. The fact you're on the other side of the world really hits you when you're in a touristy city. I heard at least 6 or 7 languages being spoken, the architecture was old and beautiful, and they are much more social liberal than anywhere I've ever been. The views on drugs and sex are wildly different in the Netherlands. That's not to say that they are wrong and our American version of morality is right, they're just worlds apart. It's definitely interesting

to see all this take place. Needless to say, it was a fun trip. My fellow students and I bonded through our travels and getting lost in the city. You really have to depen

d on your fellow students while you're travelling. I mean

, if someone gets lost or separated, you can't have the mentality "oh, they'll just catch up with us later." If they get mugged or somehow lose their money, they're in a world of trouble. It's important to build strong group ties and develop a sense of unity among the fellow students. I don't think this is very hard for us Aggies though, we tend to have a fairly strong sense of camaraderie as it is.

Here's a picture of Seth, Chase and I at the Europub in Amsterdam.

Sunday the Bioscience program took an excursion to the Eifel region of Germany to explore some castles and visit a church. The church service was unique, they worship using tradition Gregorian hymns and chants. The castles were great! Although, our AIB director, Rainer, did a good job convincing me that living in a castle nowaday

s would be miserable: no central heating, no

privacy, rats and mold, the threat of siege, and everything in between. Nonetheless, it was still very cool to see the history behind the structures and how they made life a little more comfortable with the technology they had. The second castle we visited was more like ruins than a walk through exhibit. It was on the top the of a hill, so we had to hike up which was awesome for three reasons: I love hiking; the view was magnificent; a village cat followed us up and hung out with our group the whole afternoon. Visiting the castles was not only a fun way to spend the afternoon, but a good history lesson as well.

Here's the second castle. Small, but cozy.

Until next time, Tschus!

Cologne Weekend

Even though we're going to Cologne as a group this Wednesday, six of us went to Cologne on Saturday to explore. The first thing we saw of the city, right outside the Hauptbahnhof, was the Dom (cathedral).  After wandering around inside, seeing the sarcophagus containing the relics of the three Magi, and being shooed out of the nave by the clergy so they could prepare for the Daily Office, we climbed the belfry--all 533 steps to the top. The steps were extremely narrow and barely provided enough room for the two-way traffic they were supposed to facilitate. After we came down, we had a little fun with Reveille and went to a pizzeria for lunch. Next, we wandered around the shopping district and looked at a few costumes for Karneval. After another picture with Reveille, we took the WRONG train back to Bonn, and had a little fun figuring out how to get back home. Exhausted, we eventually figured it out and parted ways--a day well-spent!

AMSTERDAM & a monastery. Talk about a contrasting weekend

This past Friday a group of us decided to make a short trip to the infamous city of Amsterdam!! And to say the least it was pretty amazing! Amsterdam really did surprise me though. All you hear about is the "Red Light District" but there was SO MUCH MORE. It was actually a really beautiful city with amazing architecture and scenery. And the city was really clean. Also Amsterdam was such a melting pot. I felt like every time i passed someone walking on the street they were speaking a different language from the last.

While we were there we made a stroll down the red light district, went to the famous coffee shop, and went to the van Gogh museum. The van Gogh museum was really great!! Seeing the pictures and real life was something completely different from seeing it on a print. The pictures were almost three dimensional! We also discovered the waffles. And they were heaven. Probably the best thing i have ever had. SO good, that i had 2 in a day. haha. GUILTY.

We can back on Saturday night, then on Sunday we woke up TOO early. But it was so worth it. We attended mass at a monastery in the Eifel. Maria Lach. It is an 11th century monastery that is full of history and beauty. It was really a unique experience! Then we went to a castle, that was pretty neat. And went to Montreal, which is a picturesque town in the Eifel.

Overall it was a great weekend!! But reality soon starts because tests are coming up. Boo.

The Stairs are Making me Dizzy!

It feels like I haven’t posted in a while even though it’s been less than a week. This past weekend was pretty busy. On Saturday, a group of us decided to visit Cologne for the day. While we were there, we visited the cathedral and just perused the town. The cathedral was amazing. Both the exterior and the interior are awe-inspiring. After we had finished walking through it, we decided to climb all 533 spiral steps to the top. This was no simple task but I’m so glad I did it! The view from the top was breath-taking and I hope that we get to do this again on our next trip this week.

On Sunday, we visited the Eifel region as a whole group. Waking up at 6 AM was no fun but I enjoyed the trip nonetheless. We started off at the Maria Laach Monastery with a mass. Even though the mass was not in English, it was beautiful to see the old-style of the Catholic Church. Second, we visited the Castle Schloss Burresheim. It was interesting to learn about the different methods people used to protect the castles. For example, the twisting pathway to the center courtyard and the small openings in the wall so that they would be able to aim easily at invaders were measures of protection. In the next town, we stopped to have lunch and were entertained by the banter of two of the waiters. Last, we visited Monreal and climbed to the top of a hill where there were ruins of another castle. Sadly, I am a little afraid of heights so being at the top and making several daunting climbs were difficult, but I’m so glad I did it. We got some amazing pictures and it was fun being able to see the whole city from the top of the ruins.

I wish that we had more time during the semester just to travel to all of these amazing places. It is such a great experience to be able to travel abroad and learn about so many different cultures. I hope I continue to make trips around Europe while not losing sight of my academic goals!

Busy Weekend

So this week has been a lot of fun. On Friday on the way to the Hauptbahnhof Candy and I decided to go to the grocery store to get food for the train ride to Amsterdam. After we had chosen all that we wanted we had to wait in the line and scramble our way to the train station
and we arrived with about 10 minutes to spare. Safe to say that next time I'll be stopping at the store much earlier. The ride to Amsterdam was pretty amusing with everything that was going on but eventually Candy and I began to talk with the lady from Spain and she suggested we go to Seville and Paris. Looking outside the window on the train ride the landscape changed so much. All the buildings from Bonn and Cologne turned into flatland with single houses, trees and some farm animals. Amsterdam is such a beautiful city but the only thing I didn't like was how common the smell of smoke was. We walked around the town and wandered to the red light district while looking for The Bulldog. It was weird how close a church (I'm assuming it was a Catholic) was to an area with activities it looks down upon. Not even 15 ft from the end of the red

light district was the entrance to a snazzy looking restaurant with people dressed up drinking wine with candles on the table. It was such an unexpected combination of 3 different

establishments. All the canals that ran through the city were so pretty! There were even swans and ducks just swimming along both at night and in the day.

The trip yesterday to the Eifel was fun but cold. In the morning it was still pretty dark out when I got to the train station at Ramersdorf and when the tram showed up I ended in the cart with people on it who looked like they had just finished partying. I sat next to them and just waited and hoped they would get off before me. When they did get off 2 stops later I kind of felt relieved they were gone. On the way to the place we were supposed to meet there was a sticker of Superman on a trashcan. Useless picture but it was amusing to see.

The cat that followed us up the hill at Monreal was so adorable! I wonder what happened to it after we left?

Well that was interesting.

It. has been quite an interesting week, and just leaving it at that is very tempting but I will go on.

The house of history was incredible of course, mostly because when I think of recent German history I only think of one thing (ok maybe two, BMW's are pretty cool). That's not to say that I was totally unaware that Germany existed between WWII and now, I suppose I just never put that much weight into it, as us lazy Americans tend to do when it comes to other countries.

I have fallen into a pretty good rhythm here and I am happy to report that I can now order food with some semblance of success but now cooking has become the issue. As far as I have experienced appliances work differently over here, or at least they do on the third floor of my townhouse, they may be normal everywhere else. I'm not used to be able to set the stove burners on a temperature like 100C to boil water for pasta, I'm used to just low medium and high, the oven is different too and I may or may not have burned a few things already. Not having someone cook for me is certainly not a new experience but at the beginning of the program I was worried that at some point scurvy might kick in due to what was quite literally a diet of bread and water alone I've gotten most of my veggie vocabulary figured out, though I am still on a hunt for garlic powder, which as far as my family is concerned is its own food group.

While most of my original problems have worked themselves out, others are cropping up, namely an imminent laundry apocalypse as I run out of clean clothes. My host family's washing machine is broken and I dare not break any unspoken rules at a laundromat, not that I would know how to find one anyhow. I am being forced to wear suits until further notice as I am now out of t-shirts, Vincent can laugh all he wants about my silly hats too (that's right, I'm calling you out). Expect to be in awe of my professional air.

Luckily enough I will not have to wash any of my running socks or shoes anytime soon because I finally figured out my barefoot running situation. I have to say it was odd to be yelled at by construction workers as I go though, it felt like cat calls. Apparently everyone is training for a half marathon, but I'm just along for the ride really. As long as I get to revel in my weirdness I'll be happy, though handing it to the shodden masses would be very satisfying.

I suppose the time has come to discuss Amsterdam, and as many have already mentioned, it is quite shocking to be in that sort of environment, especially after spending considerable time in CSTAT. I could say a lot about Amsterdam and how weird it is but all I could really do was be in awe of the architecture the entire time, at least until I went into the Van Gogh museum. It's odd that when people tell you that pictures of the works of true masters don't do them justice that you don't really believe them, I know I didn't, but it is undeniably true. Though his studies of sunflowers were incredible and positively glowed I probably stared at his self portraits for about an hour. If I was forced to describe what I thought his paintings looked like I would have to say that it looks how you might remember something after it's image has been warped by your feelings, or simply, your impression of an image, he was an Impressionist after all. I was very excited to see a variety of Monet's in the museum as well. I can't really say that I had a favorite artist going into the museum, but I certainly do now.

I suppose it'll technically be "next" week when I post this but I'll just blame it on missing the Bonn train station last night and heading on an hour down the line with Kyle and Mark which turned what was supposed to be a power nap into something else entirely after we got back from the Eifel today. Unfortunately my camera cable seems to be missing, so uploading my various photos of buildings might just be an issue, but what I can show you is my shopping list for this week. It consists of approximately 1 item and as you can see above my red jacket is started to look a little worse for wear.

Respect

OH YEA, Amsterdam.... and Cameron ruining the picture. Well, that's what he gets. Now he's the main focus of my blog.

Amsterdam this weekend was amazing! The city was beautiful with all the old buildings and the river going through the center. The Van Gogh Museum was also something I think nobody should miss! Of course, Amsterdam was also surreal. Not only because of the landscape, but the things that Holland considers to be "legal".

I don't know if everyone that goes to Amsterdam feels the same way, but I couldn't get over it! I was so intrigued by these people and their different state of mind. I realize prostitution and drugs are everywhere, but not literally in your face as you walk down the street. I could have written a document this weekend because of how curious I was over all these things.

I'm not entirely sure if my topic is becoming appropriate, so moving on to a funny story. On the way to Amsterdam on the train, the group sat next to some loud but funny, young Germans. Yesenia and I were sitting in front of them, so we weren't necessarily involved in the conversation, but just laughed along to what they were talking about. No, there was no need to eavesdrop since they were all talking and laughing extremely loud which was getting a couple across from us very annoyed. We knew the couple was from Spain since they were complaining in Spanish the whole time. The lady especially, kept giving evil glares back at the group and told them to be quiet. Her husband kept trying to calm her down, but I felt like this just encouraged her to try harder to get what she wanted. I'm pretty sure he was scared for his life since these German guys were not only intoxicated, but looked much bigger than him. The lady, on the other hand, could care less. She kept giving threats about throwing something at them or talking to a worker and after a while I was thinking she just enjoyed complaining. She eventually did go and complained to someone with no result, so tried to calm down and get some rest. When she realized this wouldn't work, she got up, opened her wattle bottle, and without looking back, swung what was left of it onto the group. Yesenia and I could not believe what had just happened. This lady might have been crazy, but she was also extremely brave! I felt sorry for the guys, but I just have to admit it was hilarious. And to that lady from Spain, all I have to say is: RESPECT.

Here's the best picture I found. Sorry Chibuzo, Dr. Wasser made me do it. He wants you on the front page of the study abroad office, as do I.    

Singing Monks and Castles

So, if I ever have enough money, I will not buy a castle, or at least a 12th or 13th century castle. Or maybe I will but only because I will have to protect myself from sieges from the peasants of the countryside and der fish, but that seems pretty improbable.

The Maria Laach was a beautiful sight to see. The simplicity of the Roman architecture, supplemented by the natural beauty of the volcanic stone, made for a stunning centerpiece upon a gorgeous lake. Also, if I can't find a job once I'm back in the states I can always come back here and sign up for monkhood! That's a last case scenario though.

Monreal was pretty cool but it wasn't the picturesque and quaint town that I was expecting from the German countryside. I'm not saying that the town was unpleasant but, I do think that it is more of a town made for the spring and summer tourists. Also, I felt like you could kind of see the forced qualities of the town, trying to be picturesque but not having that authentic feeling, or something like that.

Also, I think it was good that we went to schloss Burresheim, for the castle was a good example of how hazy the German and French borders were during the medieval times. The castle was in present day German territory but was eventually owned by French hosts, or at least I think that is right, according to the tour and my interpretation of it. Reiterating my beginning point though, the castle did not look comfortable, compared to today's standards.

Also, I was fortunate enough to go to a Bundesliga game! It was awesome. The atmosphere of the stadium was unbelievable. The away fans were hilarious. At the beginning of the game, FC Koln played their club's song and as a sign of respect, the away fans were raising their hands and flipping the bird. As the home players were being announced, each time a last name was called the home crowd would yell the player's last name but the away fans would just yell "ASSHOLE!" each time. For example, instead of Lukas PODOLSKI, it was Lukas ASSHOLE! And the game was fun too, but the fans were the best part.

Below, a picture of the bros. The +50 years members are apart of the gold club and get canes.

Activity Report

This last week, we visited the Haus der Geschichte in Bonn. At this museum, we were given a very brief lecture on modern German history in three hours. Also, on Saturday, I finally went to see the ruined castle that is visible outside my host family’s kitchen window. A picture of the site from the top can be seen to the left. A sizable portion of the fortress has apparently been converted into a restaurant. That same day, I walked along the Rhein for about 6.5 km before turning back. I believe I reached the outer limits of another town.

Cologne Cathedral and Costumes

I was part of the group that ventured to Cologne this weekend, and I've got to say- it kind of blew my mind. I think I made the assumption early on that visiting Cologne (or I guess, Köln) wasn't really a big deal since it's so close to Bonn and pretty easily accessible. Especially in the context of some students going to Amsterdam for a couple days, I didn't expect something so much closer to hold the same attraction. That all changed about five steps out of the train station, when I first saw the MASSIVE cathedral looming overhead. I mean, my host family had mentioned the cathedral and I knew that it was on the schedule we'd planned for the day, but nobody said "Hey, so in Köln there's this giant monolith of a cathedral that began construction in the 13th century and has giant pillars and twenty-meter-tall stained glass windows." So yeah, I was impressed. After climbing a seemingly endless staircase, it was really neat to see Köln from up in one of the spires.

After the cathedral, and all of those steps, we decided to take a break and grab some lunch in the Altstadt (Old Town). We even toughed out the cold and rewarded ourselves with gelato for dessert. From there, we mostly just walked around the city. There was a sporting event later on in the day, and we saw lots of fans from both sides making their way through the city (identified, of course, by their red or blue team scarves). There were a lot of costume shops preparing everyone for Karneval, and we had a good time trying on some ridiculous discoveries. I'm pretty sure my favorite was an Elvis-inspired "king of rock" outfit complete with shiny gold spandex and glasses, but there was a lobster hat in close contention. What more could you want? I still have to come up with a costume, but Maylin (one of Andrea and my host sisters) offered to let us look through a bin of former costumes and wacky clothes back at the house.

On the way back to Bonn, we discovered that our interpretation of the train schedule was a bit off, and took an unintentional detour to a different part of Bonn before having to catch various trams to take us the rest of the way home. Luckily, we were able to figure it out, and probably won't make the same mistake again... no promises, though. Anyway, I had a lot of fun branching out from Bonn, and now that I'm a little more aquainted with Köln, I'm really looking forward to coming back with the rest of the group.

Tales from a Midnight Blogger

So, I think the events of today call for a pretty epic blog post. First of all, I got up early to run three miles as part of training for the half marathon that is looming in the not-so-distant future. I found my way out fairly easily; it was on the way back when I ran into trouble. Unfortunately I did not pay very good attention and missed a turn, so I ended up running about one mile extra as I jogged around my neighborhood, trying to remember how to get back to the street I live on. I finally found my way back by following the bus route.

A short while later, I was with five others on our way to Köln, in which we had an awesome time. We saw the cathedral and climbed up 533 steps, which was tiring but completely worth it to see the view. We collectively took approximately 1000 pictures of the cathedral.

Then we just had a good time, exploring the city. Again, it was on the way back that we ran into trouble. Since Chibuzo was there, we should have expected some bad luck with trains, but we were woefully unprepared for the fact that when a train says it goes to Bonn, it might not be a part of Bonn that we recognize. Luckily some members of the group are less inclined to panic and despair than others, and we were able to hop on a tram that took us exactly where we needed to go. Thus ends the adventures for the day. Or so I thought.

Little did I know that when I got home, during dinner my host mom would invite me to watch a movie, auf Deutsch, with my host sisters while she went to a play, in order to improve my German skills. We decided on Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (or Pirates of the Caribbean: Fremde Gezeiten). When their mother left, I was shown a whole new side of my host sisters, Janika (13) and Malin (11), including, but not limited to: Malin stealing Janika's banana and pretending it was a telephone (an endeavor in which I was enlisted to help when Janika attacked Malin in order to get it back); singing “We Are the Champions” together; excessive screaming on the part of Malin and barking on the part of the dogs; and not a little bit of insanity. Finally we settled down to watch the movie, which I actually understood a lot of (although that may have been more from body language than my increasing mastery of the German language), but I am still confused on some of the finer points (having never actually seen that particular movie in English before). Well, at least I got some practice in.

Who's Haus?

The experience is still in its
first stages, but now that we kind of have our routines, it’s a lot easier to
take in everything that’s going on here in Bonn. If there’s one thing I do know
at this point though, it’s that German folk music makes every class better! The
cardiovascular system and different health care systems are also interesting subjects
so I have no complaints as of now. Outside of class it’s been more of the same
adventures around town (though we did manage to keep the getting lost to a
minimum this week). Signing up at McFit seems like a good investment at this
point, but then any gym that costs 70 buckeuro for a semester might seem that
way. In other news, my streak of finding a new place to eat lunch every day is
also still intact for all who are following along at home.

The highlight of the week was visiting the Haus
der Geschichte on Wednesday. I’m not much of a history buff so it was a lot of
new information for me to take in. I thought there was an awesome amount of maintained
items from the past and was really impressed at the detail with which they
could recreate the atmosphere of those times. I must’ve taken a hundred
pictures (no flash) trying to capture all the different sections. As a side
note, Dr. Wasser should probably be a tour guide/ perennial Jeopardy contestant
as a side job with the amount of history he knows. No joke

Dr. Tour Guide Wasser

There were SO many small things about WWII that I had never thought about, that were shown at the Haus der Geschichte. I've never been one to enjoy learning about wars in school, so there are a few things I feel should not have been new, but a few of the exhibits presented entirely new ideas to me.
    I, for one, had never realized just how much propaganda and political advertisement the country had been subjected to in the during- and post- World War II timespan. I don't think that a square inch of the walls at the Haus was devoid of posters--propaganda, campaign posters, and politically-minded artwork all included.

   In the early stages (before outright war) I had never realized that original goal was simply to relocate the Jewish population. This was, in part, orchestrated by the aforementioned propaganda; however, the populus didn't seem to need all that much prompting to kick out one of the world's all-time most persecuted religious groups. It was only after this first relocation attempt that they were actually taken to camps, not that this idea of moving the Jewish population "out of sight" was a good idea, at all.
    Finally, I didn't realize how much separation there really was--both culturally and ideologically--between East and West Germany after reunification. As one who has lived his whole life after "the impossible" happened and the Berlin wall came down, it has never seemed more than a tourist destination. It never really struck me as this truly impassable barrier that embodied the conflicting views of different governments, or a thing that gave so many people hope when it was torn down.
    Thanks, Dr. Wasser for the tour!

Days, Details, and Döner

Between having a full week of classes and visiting our first museum, I feel like this semester is officially in full swing. I really enjoyed visiting the Haus der Geschichte, especially because it covers from the end of WWII to near-contemporary news and development. I think sometimes museums get stuck trying to portray a particular segment of time or a certain event in a disjointed manner while the Haus der Geschichte provides context explaining why Germany exists as we see it today in 2012. The only real downside was not knowing German. Dr. Wasser did a great job of explaining the history of everything and sequencing it together with fun and interesting commentary, but there were so many cards and descriptions I wish I could have read!

As far as classes go, I'm really excited and kind of nervous to get started on my independent study. The VTPP students sat down to talk about it today, and there are so many topics and opportunities that sound really fascinating. I'm still trying to narrow down my area of interest and specific objective, but I really want to incorporate an aspect of being here in Germany into the physiological study.

I am also among the students beginning to train for the half marathon in April. Coming on this trip meant that I wouldn't be home to run in the "Cowtown" half marathon that takes place in Fort Worth every spring, so it's great that I have the chance to do it here. Plus, it's been a lot of fun running with a group and being able to seek encouragement from fellow Texans about being out in this cold weather! Hopefully by April, the weather will be pretty perfect.

My host family continues to impress with traditional German meals. I got to try liver for the first (and hopefully last) time, and we've had an assortment of soups, homemade breads and steaming main dishes in the past week. I have also declared döner to be my absolute favorite food here, and I can't wait to go to Berlin where it's supposed to be the best. It's going to be great.

Genau

So far, I have learned that germans absolutely love the word "genau" meaning exactly. And i made it the title of my post just to reiterate the fact that germans really do use this word in every sentence. Genau.

This past Sunday, I went with my host family to the Eifel Region, which is around 50 km away from Bonn. And this place is beautiful!! We hiked (Hike hard, Party harder), which germans love to do, and absorbed in all the great scenery of mountains and streams that surrounded us. Also we stopped by this beautiful cathedral that was centuries old. Inside was the alter that was really awesome. My host grandmother told me they made this alter unique by making the hands of the saints very rough to iterate how this village really worked hard for what they had. At the end of our hike we went to this Eifel restaurant and I had the BEST CHEESECAKE of my life. Sorry New York, but you lost.

Then this past Wednesday, Dr. Wasser, the future publisher of Wasser Encyclopedias (A-Z), gave us a great tour at German History Museum in Bonn from 1945-present. It was a great tour and what I really learned was that Germany had been through so much turmoil, but still always rose up again to be one the powerhouses. Also by learning german history I really start to appreciate Germany for everything it has to offer. You see that it isn't just a land of BMW's, but it is a land full of people who have worked hard through the turmoil they have faced, and has risen above and beyond expectation to succeed stupendously.

Most importantly, MY HOST FAMILY IS GREAT. They are so nice and really treat me like one of their own. They have a beautiful home and cook awesome food. I really couldn't ask for anything better! And also I'm so excited to continue building great relationships with people in the group!

PS. AMSTERDAM TOMORROW!!!!

Busy Bliss

What a busy week this has been so far. But I have still enjoyed it. I'm really starting to like my physiology class, regardless of how early I have to get up for it. On Wednesday we went to the Museum of History of Germany. It was quite interesting, especially learning about the post-World War II and how the two sides of Germany recovered. It was most certainly a humbling experience. Other than that not much has gone on this week but this weekend will certainly be an adventure! Some of us students will be going to Amsterdam on Friday and Saturday. I'm really looking forward to hearing some DJ's and going to the Van Gogh museum. And then the excursion to the Eifel region of Western Germany. The whole weekend will be quite an experience and I'll post a lot about it when it is over. Ciao!

The House of History

For all of the education we’ve received over the Holocaust growing up, I have never experienced something quite like this.  While the Haus der Geschichte did not focus solely on the Holocaust (in fact most of the museum was devoted to post WWII events) the few exhibts we did visit hit me pretty hard.  The boxes upon boxes that contained missing persons cards from this time astounded me.  Numbers are just numbers on paper.  The sheer amount of people lost during this time was unimaginable to me until I saw those boxes.  It was a great experience, being able to learn about German history from a German museum, not from a textbook or American perspective.  I was never much of a history buff, but it was fascinating to see how the events of the past have shaped the modern Germany that I have been experiencing.  The two hours spent in the museum were well worth the back and foot pain that came from standing in front of the exhibits. 

One of the collections of missing persons cards and Cameron and I in the museum sitting in chairs made of shopping carts.

I too, have decided to train for the Bonn Marathon happening later this semester.  Today I asked my host mother about running routes and she directed me to this wooded area near the house.  I am really glad my host family lives in, as my host mother says, the green corner of Bonn.  The bus ride is a bit long, but it is so nice being able to run around the streets and into the woods.  I even got some greetings directed at me in German from other exercisers, which made me feel like a local.  The hills were a bit killer (back home the land is so flat) but I enjoyed exploring the village and different paths that wove through the area.  Hopefully I can overcome my low cold tolerance and be able to successfully run a half marathon!

On a side note, I haven’t seen any spiders in my shower since Monday, but I make sure I put my contacts in and check every corner before I turn on the water. 

Tschüsß for now!

Growing a food child

In our household, we eat a lot. We eat like kings. Each morning we walk into a full spread of various meats, breads, cheeses, jams, fruits and fruit juices, and even 6 different types of spreadable meats! My host mom makes it very apparent that she does not want us to go hungry. Every dinner we have a family meal with a new German dish each night. These mostly consist of things my own mother would cook back in the states but in combinations I wouldn't have even thought to make. And man, are they good!

Because almost every night is a completely new meal, this means that we must eat everything that’s cooked either that night or the next day for lunch, which turned into quite the chore a night ago, involving some kind of potato soup and sausages.

We took a trip to the getränkemarkt today, which means drink market in German. This was the equivalent to a HEB grocery store back at home. Our host mom took Cameron and me through the aisles showing us the different foods and explaining what things are while we grabbed stuff of the shelves. It was intriguing to me to see how everything was packaged in such small portions and how you couldn't even buy more than 6 thin slices of turkey in a package.

We also met a pretty cool local this week, Ritchie, who works at a sports nutrition store right near AIB and is also a trainer at a local gym call The Beez Neez. We had an awesome chat about the cultural differences between America and Germany and even about the local nightlife. I left with a bunch of protein bars at an awesome discount!

Friendliness, Reveille, and Geschichte

When we did some preliminary planning yesterday of our weekend traveling, it made me very excited to start going and seeing other places. Before I just had some vague ideas of where I wanted to go, but now that we have some almost-plans I can't wait to begin.

I'm also starting to settle into Bonn. I can mostly find my way around, at least the area nearest the AIB, and I already adjusted to taking the bus every day. I must admit, I thought I wouldn't like taking the bus, and I was nervous the first day, but it has been surprisingly pleasant and uncomplicated. I might even consider taking the bus more often when I get back to College Station; if I can manage it here, surely I can also manage in a place with which I am already familiar, and where I speak the same language?

During the past week I have slowly gotten more comfortable with my host family. I tend to be shy and reserved at first, so it usually takes me a bit longer to get to know people. In the last two days I've been able to communicate a handful of sentences in German. Today my host mom even teased me about the way I was holding my spoon, and as anyone knows, you are not really a family unless you can tease one another.

It has been really nice to spend time with a lot of the people on this trip. Believe it or not, before coming I was nervous about not really connecting or making friends with anyone (although I didn't want to say anything before, for fear I would sound like the reticent, painfully shy introvert that I sometimes am), but I was extremely happy to find that everyone has been very friendly, and I feel well on the way towards being very good friends with some.

Yesterday, I was given a huge honor. I am now in charge of “schlepping” Reveille around and taking pictures of her doing fun foreign things. Although I am afraid I have already experienced a failure in my duties (I did not bring her to the Haus der Geschichte today), I have introduced her to Joy and Djenga, the Border Collie mix dogs of my host family.

Speaking of the Haus der Geschichte, I really enjoyed being able to see things I had previously learned but from the German perspective, rather than the American perspective. I even got a little choked up during some parts, trying to imagine what it must have been like. When I got home I had a conversation with my host mom about it, and she mentioned that she had had a German History teacher who really pounded them with the fact that Hitler was bad. That reminded me of how sometimes in history classes I had felt guilty for past moral ambiguities that the US had committed, like Hiroshima or the Vietnam War, and she said that even though there are black spots on a country's history, it's still important to remember, which is basically what Dr. Wasser said earlier on the tour. Sometimes in history class I would feel almost ashamed to be an American, but I think it's still ok to have patriotism as long as you recognize the mistakes of the past and try not to repeat them, like the Germans with Vergangenheitsbewältigung.

New Stuff!

Ok so this week has been pretty interesting so far. Yesterday morning I saw a spider like the one Megan was talking about. I'm sure it wouldn't have done anything but I still don't like to see pretty large spiders near my bed. Class happened and afterwords I went with Seth to the Hauptbahnhof to get train tickets to travel this weekend and to be back by the trip on Sunday to the Eifel region. Today was the history museum and it was so interesting! I haven't seen any history museums like this one and the ones I have been to usually go back to prehistoric times and don't go all the way to modern times. I want to come back again to see what was up with the Guy Fawkes mask but hopefully it'll still be there if I go back. I only wish that the museum could have had more German history on WW2 despite it being a sensitive topic. The part it included on JFK in Berlin was neat and it's always fascinating to hear the voices of people you've never known and never will.

When I got back to the house I wanted to see if the handwriting was consistent between his different papers and I found the 's' was written the same way. That was a good self discovery for the day.

So the family I live with consists of the mom and two daughters who are 14 and 11. When my sister was that age we would butt heads plenty of times however not like these two. They get along perfectly fine and the first day I got here they were talking happily amongst themselves in German and then they would switch to Spanish but then last Friday they started to argue and they argue in German so I have no idea what it's about. Their brother came from Paris and every time they argued he would tell me what it was about and it's usually over clothes since they tend to share. Yesterday night however was the worst fight so far. The sisters were yelling at each other in German and the fight ended with the younger sister crying in her room. After that they haven't fought since but I was super curious to what was going on. Despite these arguments I really like living here. The mom is so sweet and is patient while I try to properly phrase things in Spanish and the sisters have talked to me about music and places to go around in town. The mom's cooking is so delicious and I eat healthier and less meat than I do back home.

There's a surprising amount of graffiti here. It's fun to see all the different things people have added throughout town.

Honey Chips

I started off this week with one class on Monday, two classes on Tuesday, and one class and a tour of the House of History on Wednesday (today). The picture on this blog post is at the museum. Needless to say, I have not been extremely busy academically. However, I have found other ways to spend my time. Yesterday, I decided that I am going to attempt my first ever half-marathon on April 22^nd in Bonn. Honestly, I’m nervous about it. I started running today only to find out that I am out of shape (big surprise). This endeavor is not going to be a walk in the park!

In regards to life at home, things have been somber. Our host mother’s mom is in the hospital now so she has been spending most of her time there with her mom. Hopefully everything turns out well and she gets better soon. In an attempt to make things a little brighter, Kathryn and I bought some yellow flowers from the market to brighten the house.

On a happier note, I am very excited for the week of February 6^th because my grandparents are coming to visit, and then that weekend we are traveling to visit my cousin in Switzerland. It’s strange that I miss my family this much already so I am definitely happy that I will get to see at least part of it soon.

Also, Kathryn and I made a video tour of the house we are staying at. It was impromptu so it came out a little funny. If you want to see it, it’s posted on our facebooks! I have also discovered that Honey Chips cereal is delicious.

P.S. Anyone reading this is more than welcome to join us in training for the run!

The Food!

So my host family tried to trick me into eating black boar liver, and they succeeded. Surprisingly, though, it was wunderbar! Also, that's my new favorite German word, wunderbar. There was also some spaghetti looking meat that was also very delicious, the texture of the spaghetti meat was funny but it was still good. I must say, the Germans are very resourceful. It has been strange eating here since there meals are almost opposite to what Americans eat. The breakfast here are very small, cereal, bread and jam, or just cheese and bread. I have been fortunate because my host mom has been making me four eggs with vegetables and ham! And my host brother is kind of jealous... But we manage. The lunch is apparently the biggest meal here and then dinner is a small meal, maybe some  bread and cheese with a fruit. For me, though, I have a large lunch and leftovers from my host family's lunch, for dinner. I feel fortunate to have the big meals, made for an American, but for some reason I am yearning for more of a German diet, except for breakfast. Maybe just three eggs instead of four, but still.

So, since we are in Europe everything is more expensive some other students and I have been thinking how to make money while we are here. There must be something that we can offer, as Texans or Americans, that can be of service to people here. All of my thoughts have been around bringing Texan food to Germany, like what if there were a BBQ place in Bonn? I'm pretty positive that that restaurant would be a hit here, but I don't think it would be sanitary to bring a grill to the center of Bonn and start making BBQ and selling it to random people. Along with this idea, I've been thinking about cool restaurant or  pub names, inspired by the Billa Bonn. Think about this, Schlitter Bonn, Bonn Apetit, Bonn Voyage, or some other version of the false cognate with the french word bon. Until we come up with a really good idea, it looks like we are going to have to budget our money in order to do all of the things we REALLY want to do. yay.

As for the travelling, there has been none of that yet. Yesterday we did collaborate on our schedules to see where we would be able to go and when, I think it went pretty well. The only problems were trying to figure out when everyone could go to the same place at the same time, and needless to say, we had to compromise on some dates. We still are not finished but I feel like we have a better foresight of what we will do. Deuces!

I think the picture below is a picture of little jarred liver. Looks the same as what I ate but could be different. Tasty, right??

Last week I mostly just took my time to settle into the area. I unpacked and saw a little of Bonn, which happened mostly through planned tours. The most memorable part of last week was witnessing the inside of the church near the Münsterplatz. The picture is of the church's back. I did not see much of my host family last week because they seem to usually be pretty busy or resting from being busy. I did not meet the father in the family until almost a week after coming here. I will explore more this week.

It's tourist time!

So today a small group of us had a chunk of free time in the middle of the day between classes. We decided, what better time to act like tourists and take all those typical pictures of the city?

Here is a picture of us in front of the Cathedral in Bonn! Even though we have already taken a tour of the city, it was really fun to walk back around and get to take pict

ures of the parts we like best.

All the picture taking worked up an appetite, so we decided to grab some lunch. I was dying for some pasta so we looked around for a little while until we could find a place to sit down, that didn't look too terribly expensive. We ended up eating at Pendel which had all sorts of stuff, but most of us got pasta. It was hilarious to see everyone trying to figure out what to order, because everything on the menu was in German. I ended up

getting a yummy bowl of pasta with spinach, mushrooms, shrimp and alfredo sauce. it was fantastic! Stay tuned for more!