So far Germany has been great! The first day went by very quickly. Once we arrived in Bonn our host families picked us up from the old AIB and our true study abroad adventure began.
The second day was a little confusing getting around. Thank goodness my host mom wrote me step by step directions to get to the bus stop and Bonn Hbf bus stop. Once I made it to the stop I realized I had no idea how to get into the station. It was at this moment that I realized having very little service in a foreign place was not the best idea. After a quick panic attack, I recognized Andrea Poters backpack. I caught up to her and she fortunately knew where to go. Thank you Andrea! We had a great day meeting Dr. Wasser, listening to Henning, and then ending the school day with a tour around Bonn.
Next I joined Savana and Lauren on their adventure to get SIM card. After going to T-Mobile and the Bonn tourist information desk (who had no clue what we were talking about), we found some kind of electronic store with SIM cards. Once they successfully had SIM cards we ventured around a little then went back to the train station. I walk alone to the bus stop. After asking several people, if they spoke English in broken German and if they had heard of the bus number I finally found my way home.
The rest of the week went pretty well with only a few little hiccups. I tried lots of new food, but still no traditional German food. My host family is vegan so I have learned several new recipes for different vegetable dishes. One of my favorites was sweet potatoes, carrots, and tomato sauce.
On Friday we traveled to Beigen and Markberg Castle. Both were incredible. Beigen looked like a painting it was hard to believe it was real. We then were given a tour of the museum by a monk! We learned about the clergy and Hildagarden’s influence of medicine hundreds of years ago. The best part of the whole day was touring the castle. As we walked around it was hard for me to believe that anyone actually lived there.
Once we made it back to Bonn, a group of us rushed to the train station to catch the train to Brussels. The train ride went really well until we reached our transfer in Cologne in which our train was delayed by an hour. We eventually did make it to Brussels which was already beautiful at night. The next day we went to the Grand Palace...there are no words that can describe what I felt when I saw all of the buildings. After taking in the amazing views we got waffles. They were so so so sweet!
We had no plan when it came to adventuring around the city; yet we somehow were able to see almost everything. We also managed to find a parade celebrating a Christian Spanish holiday. Coming back to Bonn our bus got searched by customs. Everyone was asked to get off the bus, stand in a line, and leave their bags in front of them. The customs officer then had a drug dog sniff all of our bags. Eventually we made it back on the bus and back to Bonn.
Cannot wait to see what happens next week!
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