Rheinturm und Aldstadt

Howdy! Surprisingly, you don't hear that around here too much...lol. Yesterday was fun: we explored Duesseldorf with our excellent EU tour guide, Dr. Wasser. We began the morning; er...afternoon with an introduction to the AIB staff and amongst ourselves. After that, we went on a tour of Duesseldorf with Dr. Wasser leading the way with his EU flag; hahahaha. Of course, its not like we didn't already look like tourists. We checked out the Rheinturm, which is a large tower similar to the Tower of the Americas, right on the Rhein River. We also visited these three building, each made from a different material, including aluminum, brick, and stone. Then we took the train into the Aldstadt, or old town. It was terribly hot, and our exhuberant guide refused to stop in the shade! Still, we all had a good time, though the favorite beverage of the day was water. Unfortunately, the Germans don't believe in ice cubes, so nothing is really, truly cold. After our tour, we came back to the AIB and had a Fourth of July dinner with our host families. There was traditional American food, as well as German food, and the whole place was decorated in red, white, and blue. It was really a nice gesture of the AIB staff, and certainly made us feel more at home. I had my first, and probably last!, taste of German beer. It was repulsive; far too hearty for me! After dinner, the families left and most of us headed across the Rhein to a bar called Monkey Island. The whole place was covered in sand, and there were volleyball courts and showers. It was on an "island" in the middle of the Rhine! It was pretty interesting. The place was absolutely packed, and there were four large screen televisions set up showing the Germany v. Italy game. Although their specialty was dark beer, we were able to find wine, cocktails, and other drinks, but no margaritas! The game was a lot of fun, but pretty exhausting. I left early with a group of other students and we made our way back to the Hauptbanhof; the main train station, and separated from there. I got back around 23:45, and after a quick shower, retired to bed. Today should be a little more laid back: we have vet med class, then german, lunch, cultural studies, and a scavenger hunt of Duesseldorf. Hopefully I'll be able to get some rest tonight. Tschuss!