My first weekend

Last weekend was my first in Bonn and it did not disappoint. On Friday, I discovered the art of wine making. Before this trip, I would’ve laughed at someone calling wine making an art. I thought it just a simple recipe, one that can be followed fairly quickly. I could not have been more wrong. While the landscape was beautiful, I was more blown away at the process of wine making. There were so many steps that I could not understand how anyone could possibly follow them. Every part of the wine experience had to be considered. The kegs were not just big barrels that were laying around. The wood served a purpose, to give the wine the wine a character. Every step presented opportunities for tinkering, creating an endless possibilities of wine flavors. While I do not particularly enjoy drinking wine, I could not help but marvel at the incredible process. I was actually expecting the tour guide to go into detail about how different bottle corks played a substantial role in wine flavor!

The next day, I was out and about for the AIB scavenger hunt. After my host mother dropped me off, I waited outside to see what the study abroad office had planned for us. While the wait outside was long, at least the pretzel bread we got was great! Once we finally started on our scavenger hunt (or should I say guided tour), I toured around Bonn. Here I saw many different monuments, including my personal favorite, the spoons. Each spot had significant meaning, or was and important part of Bonn. After we were done, we returned to the AIB for our dinner. Here I tried my first taste of Spider-Man (at least that’s what I thought when I first saw the bottle), or curry ketchup. It was an incredible mix of the smooth taste of ketchup with a hint of spice. Later, I went out into the city, meeting some friendly Germans who were more than happy to show our group around the streets of Bonn. This experience showed me the friendliness of the German people.

On Sunday, exhausted from all my travel, I chose to spend the day indoors. I felt like having a relaxing day, one without constant walking. While it was a bit boring, I can safely safe my batteries are recharged for the week ahead!