First Seven Days Overseas

Having never spent time in a city or its surrounding area, the last seven days would have been overwhelming in the first place. Compound that effect with not speaking the first language of said city and not having Internet access often enough to translate things or bail myself out of trouble, and this first week has become very interesting.

For example, I boarded the train I needed to take from Bad Godesburg to Bonn, then fell asleep. I don't know which way it was running, but I do know I woke up in a railyard beyond Mehlem alone, after the "last station" call came. I wandered up and down the train before I opened a door, stepped outside on to the tracks, and stumbled on an employee of the train. He spoke English, thankfully; he proceeded to tell me that "normally, he would call the police, but in this case, I just needed to get back onboard the train and wait until it went back" up the line. Luck of the Irish, I suppose.

Speaking of the Irish, I flew to Frankfurt from Dublin. The Irish employees of the Dublin airport, the airline employees, and the Dubliners I met were all great. Pretty much what I would have expected, somewhere between American gregariousness and English courtesy. I'm excited about the opportunity to spend time in the city in a couple weeks.

The city of Bonn has been great. The food we were introduced to during our trip through the city is delicious, the city itself is beautiful, and the people have all been polite and helpful when I've had questions or needed to speak English. I like my host family a great deal as well, and the German culture as a whole. The politeness and reservation of the people here appeals to me. It seems to be a culture of great respect.

My favorite part of the week was the visit to the History Museum. The idea of parts of the city being built on top of Roman ruins is mind-blowing, and brings into perspective just how large and powerful Rome had been. The portions dealing with World War II and the Cold War were the most interesting for me. The story of the Berlin Airlift was one I was taught by a LT acting as a teacher this Spring, but hearing about the effect of this mission, and the impact those flights had, was very powerful for me. Stories of people appreciating the actions of the US Military don't seem to come often, and the respect the American people have here thanks to the actions of US Navy and Air Force pilots is refreshing and reassuring, especially for someone who might end up becoming a pilot.

The first week for me concluded with a day trip to Cologne. The larger city was still pretty and clean. The central station is just next to a massive cathedral, and is a short trip away from the zoo. Follow those locations up with a visit to the Chocolate Museum on the Rhine before backtracking to those locations and heading up, and you'll have a full and satisfying day as a tourist.