It's been a Week?

It's partly really hard to believe that week one of the trip has already come and gone, but at the same time it's also hard to believe how much has already happened since leaving the US. To start, the journey to Bonn did not go completely as planned as my flight had to make an emergency medical landing in JFK. I had flashes of Grey's Anatomy iconic (and tragic) plane episodes as I listened to the pilots ask for any doctor/nurse practitioner/EMT to come to the front of the plane. But hey, already I added an extra experience I wasn't expecting and can now say I have been to New York... kinda.

I have to admit, upon first arriving to Bonn I instantly wished I could repack my bags. The heat and humidity were nothing that I was expecting/packed for. Not surprisingly, the no AC situation took a couple days to get used to considering the weather is comparable to that of Texas. My first impression of the city was that it was much more modern and typical "big city" like than I was expecting. The vision of Europe I had in my head was nothing like the reality I was faced with. I was also shocked with how difficult it was to find any traditional German food to eat in the city. So far I've really enjoyed how much the locals seem to be outside, whether it's sitting under the trees in the Hofgarten, enjoying a drink at the many tables and umbrellas set up all over town, to strolling along the Rhine. This is something I wish Americans would do more, rather than just bouncing from place to place, activity to activity. There seems to be an emphasis on really enjoying one's surroundings and fostering personal relationships here, habits that I hope I bring with me when this journey ends.

The first weekend of the trip, a group of us took a trip to Belgium to explore Brussels and Bruges. Pretty much all I knew when boarding the train was that I was beyond excited for a Belgian waffle, and it did not disappoint. American waffles are officially cancelled for me because nothing can compare to the delicacy of the Liege waffles in Belgium. The architecture in these cities was astonishing. It's so hard for me to comprehend how structures like these could be built 600 years ago without modern technology. The attention to detail and intricacy of the buildings was something I could not get over. I have never seen anything like it, it truly was something out of a fairy tail. The buildings looked pictures in story books and fairy tales. Pictures really do not do it justice and I'm so thankful I got to go visit these cities.