Post Title

Personal

I managed to waste 2 1/2 hours on public transportation again this week. I fell asleep on the train and missed my stop. When I woke up, I was no longer in Bonn, but an old man started speaking to me in German. After I told him, "Ich spreche kein Deutsch," we proceeded to have a conversation. He was very surprised that I don't ride horses, though he continued to call me a cowgirl. He spoke about Obama and other political topics, but I didn't have much to say since I don't follow politics much. Eventually, he realized that he was on the wrong train and proceeded to tell me that I was as well. He then told me I had to get off to switch trains even though I was positive the train was going back to Bonn. After sufficiently stressing me out, he realized that I was right and I got back on the train. He left and then came back with a couple beers. I finally arrived at my stop after the train had gone out of the region and came all the way back.

So far, I have not done any personal travelling. However, I plan to go to Amsterdam with some others in the group next weekend. While Bonn is an interesting city, I am looking forward to seeing other parts of Europe.


Program

Kristin took us to Cologne on Tuesday. We first visited the old Gestapo headquarters with the Nazi enemy prison in the basement. The most touching part of the tour was the translations of the prisoners' inscriptions on the wall. Some were confused, some positive, some angry.

We then walked on top of the Cologne Cathedral, which was absolutely stunning. While it was cold and scary to be so close to the edge, every discomfort was worth the experience. I definitely would not have appreciated the cathedral as much had we not had the opportunity to walk on the roof.