Learning of Bonn

Wow, I never thought I would say it, but dang do I miss warm, sticky, humid college station. I leave my house every morning here practically looking like the Michelin man but in dark neutrals and so so so many layers. It is not uncommon, and in fact actually is rather rare to find me wearing anything other than leggings under my jeans, a shirt under a sweater, two jackets, a beanie and a pair of gloves no matter where I am going. Safe to say this Texas girl is not built for dark, rainy, and cold Bonn. I suppose there is something to appreciate of the moody grayness of Bonn this time of year, it is after all rather consistent it seems… but I have not found that appreciation just yet – I’m still trying to feel my toes.

Anyways, activity wise I have been busy! We took a hike with Dr. Wasser and his dog Lakka (reminds me too much of my Golden back home Resi) through Bonn and up into the mountains just a few days after arriving – yes, I wore two pairs of pants and two jackets. Dr. Wasser, while a cardio physiologist by trade knowns at-length a great deal about art, culture and geo-political sciences. I suspect it stems from great company and a genuine curiosity about what is around him. And perhaps having an artist for a wife helps out some as well with that. A day or so after that we went to the Haus der Geschichte (House of History) in Bonn to learn more about our home here in the Rhineland and the context of the culture we will be immersed in for the next several months. We learned about political parties, Bonn being the capital of western Germany, old cars, key figures, the impact of WW2 and the rebuilding afterwards (ideologically and infrastructurally) and more. I had two most notable takeaways. In this now post-nazism era of Germany, the idea of nationalism and sense of pride for country is a very sensitive topic. There is a very real understanding and caution that comes from playing in to either out of fear of it snowballing into its former radical self. This sensitivity manifests itself in numerous ways but most curiously, at least in my opinion, is Germans will introduce themselves as “a European” long before they introduce themselves as “a German”. The second big takeaway was grammar matters. Apparently during Kennedy’s liberation of Berlin speech where he famously said, “Mr. Gorbachev tear down this wall” President Kennedy also attempted to issue a statement to communicate him standing in solidarity with Berlin. Kennedy said “Ich bein eine Berliner” which he thought meant ‘I am a Berliner’. What he should have actually said was “Ich bin Berliner” as ‘eine Berliner’ refers to a popular jelly-filled doughnut.