Week 1: My initial thoughts and how they were wrong

I had originally arrived to Germany with specific (and frankly, stereotypical) ideas on what I imagined Germany to be. Over the course of the week I have collected 5 generalizations about the country and its people that no one had informed me of before, or at least stressed.

1. Germany is very green
For some odd reason, all the media depictions had me to believe that Germany was entirely a fully industrialized country, with its suburban towns on the outskirts. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised by the small population and the almost barbie-doll like towns that comprised Bonn. Moreover, there are vast amounts of green land that span the entire country, with endless fields and sometimes, even mountains.

2. Germans love their bread
Keri, our study abroad supervisor, had mentioned to me that Germany had quite a few bakeries. The extent of how much bread Germans eat, was severely understated. Germans eat bread more than they drink water and the sheer varieties is incomparable to any other country I have visited to date.

3. Germans love their ice cream
As ice cream is my favorite food, I was brought into heaven this summer when I had noted how many ice cream shops there are. You seriously cannot walk more than half a block without running into an ice cream parlor, and the 1 Euro per scoop with a free waffle cone is truly unbeatable. I have somehow managed to integrate getting 1 scoop (and maybe even 2) a day, mixing and matching the flavors. Don't even get me started on the gelato.

4. Germans aren't always drunk
Now I know this is probably the worst stereotype I could have put on here, but how heavily Americans associate Germany with beer, I would have truly anticipated I would have seen at least a drunk guy on every street. Coming from a college town, it is a novel concept that people genuinely drink to have a relaxing fun time, and not to get..well plastered.

5. Germans don't really eat German food
Much to my surprise, Germans don't really eat only their type of food. I was hoping that I would eat lots of sausages, schnitzels, pickled kraut-like things, but honestly its a bit of a hunt to find authentic German food if your host family doesn't just feed it to you already. Italian food is by far on the rise, if it is not already over flowing the streets. American-type food and Asian food is also quite popular, except they find any excuse to pair a meal with beer.

Also, we went to Drachenfels Castle and I took some pictures that I thought were cool