Day 109

Happy Birthday Deanna!!!! On the walk to the Hofgarten, Austen and I saw a lonely Chihuahua with a life vest. As we crossed the bridge, it began to rain. Austen then proceeded to have a debate with me about whether rain and overcast skies were nice. I like them, he does not. We got to the Hofgarten early (no suprise there) so we went to go purchase coffee from the usually open coffee stand. Another suprise, it opens at 0800 and it was 0747!!! Yay!!! We went back to the group and waited until 0815 for some people who never actually showed up and I definitely could've got coffee in that timeframe. We got on the bus and drove two hours to Bacharach. I took a nap on Deanna the entire way there and it was wonderful. Once we reached Bacharach, Alexa, Deanna, Lois, Camella, and myself got coffee then hiked up to cathedral ruins that were constructed in the 1200s. We continued to walk around and stumbled upon a woodshop that had customizable signs. There was one with two turtles and a heart between them, and we immediately knew we had to get it for Dr. Wasser and his wife. The nice store owner burned two J's over the turtles' heads and we wrapped it up and stored it in Alexa's jacket. From there we walked along the river until our time ran out and we had to get on the ferry. After we boarded, a small group of us conglomerated on the top deck and observed the scenery while discussing the highs and lows of the semester. Dr. Wasser then announced that it was time for our History of Medicine final. He divided us up into the four houses, and I was in Ravenclaw. He would ask a question, and the first house to answer would receive five points. Ravenclaw won with 17 points, beating Hufflepuff who had 9, Gryffindor with 4, and Slytherin with 3. By the time out test concluded, it was time to get off the boat and go eat lunch. We had salad, schnitzel, and no wine :/ As soon as our plates were cleaned, it was time to hike up to Marksburg. A nice man named Raoul guided us on a tour throughout the castle. We got to see replicas of knight suits throughout the ages, weapons that commonfolk and soldiers used, and a torture room. Once our hour tour was concluded, we got back on the bus and drove back to Bonn. On the walk back home, we saw numerous people carrying giant birch trees covered in streamers. These were the Maibaums that would be placed in front of many females' houses overnight. I wasn't expecting them to be so tall, and the guys trying to drag them across the bridge were having a lot of trouble because of the wind. Dinner that night was a five course farewell meal. We had salad (without fennel and olives), spätzel, falafel, sesame potatoes, and schwarzwälder kirschtorte. It was one the best meals that I had eaten in Bonn. Karl, Gitti, and I spent the evening on the porch discussing the past semester and our favorite parts. After the table was cleaned, I went up to my room to study for my math exam the next day and get some packing done.

A view from atop the Marksburg

Maibaums!

THE BIRTHDAY GIRL