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!