HERE!!!

(originally written 29/12/2009)

Oh man!! I'm exhausted, but in a good way...I assume. My head is full of information...so much so that I doubt I can regurgitate one fact that I learned today, but I'll try my best.

I'' start with yesterday, Monday, December 28th. I arrived in Frankfurt, Germany and had to catch the train to Bonn. The train ride was calming yet adventurous. Ryan and I accidentally sat in first class and luckily weren’t kicked out. There was a German lady in the booth with us. She was so friendly (at least when compared to the mean Germans I had to sit by on the plane for nearly 9 hours). Although she didn't speak much English, she tried her best to tell us stories about the towns we rode through. Unfortunately, I only remember one story semi-well. It was about a woman named Lorily (forgive my spelling) who played music from the strands of hair on her head. The music drew men to her which led to tragedy...their ships wrecked. Interesting, right? Along with these interesting German stories was the beautiful German scenery. Sadly, there was only a small amount of snow left from the night before. However, the mountains, the Rhine River, and the historic little cities were amazing. Definitely eye-catching. There were even castles...real castles. Had to have passed at least four of them.

It was gloomy and rainy when we arrived in Bonn. Not too chilly. All the staff at AIB seemed nice. The dorm is comfty and my roomie, Maggie, is sweet. Having internet in the room makes everything much better. I was able to e-mail and chat with my family and friends, which is awesome. Dinner at a traditional German restaurant was different. The menu was in all German of course, making it all the more "interesting" to order. I was happy with my choice however. I had some kind of spinach chicken and a fruit sauce with ice cream for dessert. Wish I could remember the German name of my meal...but I doubt I would even be able to spell it. The serving sizes here are huge!! I was definitely stuffed by the end of dinner.

Today has been hard for me. For some reason I'm truly tired yet I slept well last night. maybe it's the time change. Got a lot of good pictures though, especially during the tour of the city center. Most exciting part of the day...eating a döner. Different yet kind of tasty...although not my favorite.

It's only my second day here and overall...Germany is amazing. This trip is off to a great start. Funniest thing I've learned so far...stare your neighbor in the eye when making a toast or you'll have 7 years of bad sex...YIKES...lol.