Getting the Hang of Things

With the start of class and a greater understanding of how to successfully be a Bonn resident, I think I was able to feel a little bit more comfortable with my new surroundings. Astrid has started integrating more and more German food into dinner, and I’ve loved every bit of it. I look forward to the stews and sausages that are waiting for me when I get home from class. Lots of cabbage, and I’m okay with it. I’m actually dreading going back to College Station, where I’ll be responsible for my meals again! For now, though, I just have to find lunch for myself. It’s a relatively easy task; there are countless restaurants surrounding us, from Italian to Turkish to “Tex-Mex” (I’ve been warned to never try it, and I don’t think I want to!). My group is quite adventurous, and we often find ourselves wondering what we had just ordered. One favorite is Döner, a Turkish meal that is basically a pita filled with meat and lettuce. It’s €3 and incredibly filling, so we don’t question it. Fun Fact: the Turks have a large presence in Germany after migrating to fill in for the labor shortage during the economic boom of the 1960’s and 1970’s. Their presence was intended to be temporary, but the workers stayed and today, the Turks make up the largest ethnic majority in Germany. History is pretty cool.

On Friday, we took a class trip to Aachen, Germany, where we visited the grand Aachen Cathedral. The cathedral is probably most famous for its association with Charlemagne, the Holy Roman Emperor from 800 to 814 AD. Aachen was the Emperor’s favorite residence and was the place of coronation for German kings for 600 years. The cathedral was consecrated in 805 AD and is a proud UNESCO World Heritage Site today, the first in Germany. The detail that went into the inside of this church was absolutely breathtaking, and I know that my pictures could never accurately represent the artists’ work. I just wanted you to get a brief glimpse of the beauty I saw. Inside the church is the Shrine of St. Mary, which is opened every seven years for a large number pilgrims. This shrine reportedly (I want to believe it, but I’m a bit skeptical) contains the four great relics: St. Mary’s cloak, Christ’s swaddling clothes, St. John the Baptist’s beheading cloth and Christ’s loincloth. This just blows my mind, and I’m not sure what to think about it… so I’m going to say that I was in the same room as the garments of Jesus and Mary, which is pretty neat. You might notice a lot of eight-sided architectural elements going on in the church. This is to represent the eighth day (Sunday as the sabbath), the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and the promise of eternal life.


 Going on a day trip to Aachen with the AIB also gave 7 of us the chance to have a closer train ride to Brussels, Belgium over the weekend. We took a free walking tour (which is the best thing you can do when you first arrive to a new city!), ate lots of waffles, chocolate, and fries. Fun fact: Belgium, not France, is the home of the fry. I didn’t learn as much history as I typically would like, but to just be surrounded by such grand, and particularly gothic-style buildings made me more appreciative of the years the city has seen. Brussels was originally very Dutch, but since gaining independence in 1830, it has since shifted towards the French. This leads to an interesting combo of the French and Dutch all over the city, with street signs, ads, and business all in both languages. Thankfully, most people spoke English, too. The city is also known as the “Capital of Europe”, being the HQ for the EU. It was interesting to plan this trip, given the recent events in Europe, and even in Brussels, and honestly, I was a bit apprehensive to travel there. Some people even backed out of the trip out of fear. However, the city itself was beautiful, the people were kind, and it was, above all, full of passion for life and delicious food. Maybe I was blinded by the food and missed the scary things happening all around us, but probably not. There was a large police presence, but I saw nothing else out of the ordinary. We were cautious (@mom) and Brussels was wonderful; I’m thankful that we were able to briefly experience its unique culture.