I can’t believe that our last full week in Bonn has come to an end. I started off this week great with about a one hour nap on my flight back from London and then straight to class. But sleep is for the weak and I can do that on July 20th when I’m back in the states. After a morning of classes, we got to tour a famous Organ company and learn about the process of organ making. We got to learn about the different types of woods and the intricate process that it takes to make the huge organs that you see in cathedrals around the world.
I think their wait list was about 3 years long to have an organ made. In addition to building new organs, they also refurbish old organs which I find particularly interesting. They had an organ from the late 1700’s in their possession waiting to be restored.
Our Rhine cruise tour was also this week. We took a bus first for about an hour to the Hildegard von Bingen museum where we got to learn about the famous German Benedictine abbess, writer, composer, philosopher, and visionary. She is known to be the founder of scientific natural history in Germany. My favorite part was seeing the collection of old medicine tools in the museum and the collection of artworks from the top floor.
From the museum, we got to eat lunch along the river and get gelato before heading on the Rhine cruise. The water and scenery were beautiful and it was nice to relax in the sun. Once we landed, we had a short hike to another castle. We had a guided tour of the castle and all of the land as she told us about the history of the battles that were fought there. The view from the top was amazing!
After the bus ride back to Bonn, I went straight to the train station to catch a train to Cologne to see a 1975 concert. We got there just in time to hear the majority of the songs from the band. They played great and the people at the concert were so fun! I don’t go to concerts very much back in the US but I love them when I get to go! Next week, I’ll be seeing Blink 182 live in Berlin!
On Friday, we had class in the morning, and then a trip to the Cologne zoo! Unfortunately, I forgot my Eurail pass at home— no surprise. So, I had to miss the group train to go all the way back to Bad Godesburg to get my pass for the weekend. When I finally got to Cologne, I had to take the U to the zoo, and luckily the stop was right before the guy checking tickets got to me because I didn’t buy a ticket for the U… I guess I could have always used the “confused american girl card.” I got to the zoo just in time to have a special tour of the elephants that they have there. We got to feed and pet the elephants! It was literally a dream come true… I’m obsessed with elephants! Once we finished that, me and my group had to sprint off to catch our train to Oppenau….. It was definitely a great last full week in Bonn!
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