July 29, 2009

So, after an exhausting two weeks traveling around Europe we have finally come back to Bonn! Yesterday we went on a Rhine cruise which was nice and relaxing. Along the banks of the river you could see all the grapes growing for the wine that is made in this area. They still pick the grapes by hand because of the steep land the crops are planted on. During the cruise we passed so many little villages, each with its own castle. The castle we got to visit was Marksberg Castle, the only one that has never been over-taken or destroyed. I think it is also the the highest one of all the castles too, because we had to hike to the top of a mountain to get to it. In the Marksberg, many the rooms were as they would have been back in medieval times. The bedroom had a tiny bed in it which the tour guide explained was actually a double bed! She said that people back in the day would sleep sitting up because the laying down position was reminiscent of death. This was quite horrifying to me! I can barley sleep for five minutes on the train sitting up; i would have died of sleep deprivation! After a trip to Marksberg we went on a tour of a winery and had a wine tasting. We got to see the grapes that were being grown that day in action.

Today, a group of us went to the Haribo outlet store. I have never seen so many gummy bears in one place. There are enough gummy bears in that one store to feed a small town. They have open bins where you can go around and just taste every kind... I´m pretty sure I got the biggest sugar rush of my life.

Side note: In the last couple of days I think I have run into at least 5 if not more people from Texas and 3 of them have been from A&M.

AND Germans make the stranges pizzas...today I had broccoli, cheese, and ham. Another was tuna and pineapple.