Today officially marks one week since I arrived in Bonn. I honestly think I have done more and experienced more in this one week than I have during any other summer of my life. I have had the opportunity to try completely new foods, talk to people who have lived completely different lives than mine, educate myself on the history of the region, and immerse myself in an entirely different culture.
The trip began with a tour of the city of Bonn. We got to see many areas of the town that would be convenient for us (the Hofgarten, the Friedensplatz, the Marktplatz). They were all super fun and full of life. I’ve had every one of my lunches as a restaurant in one of these places, and all of them have been delicious.
I’ve also had the chance to meet my wonderful host family, the Kreuzer’s. They consist of Julia and Franz, and their kids Leonhard (18), Clemens (17), Johannes (just turned 16), and Christina (12). They have been so gracious to me the entire time I’ve been here by opening up their home to me and truly allowing me to be a part of their family. We’ve had many wonderful conversations over dinner or ice cream trying to explain the little differences between German and American nuances and nomenclature. One of the funniest things I noticed was that my host brothers love corn pizza (literally pizza with corn as the only topping). After asking other Germans about it, they said they didn’t think corn on pizza would be a good topping. So I’ve concluded that corn pizza is the pineapple pizza of Germany.
We also had the opportunity to visit the House of History (Haus de Geschicte) in Bonn. It was a museum that explained the history of Germany post-World War II. This has been one of my favorite parts of being in Germany so far. In the US, we learned about World War II and then learned that Germany was split afterwards, but that was really the extent of it. However, at this museum, we were able to dive deeper into German history, and we got to do it IN Germany. It helped me appreciate where I would be staying and studying for the next 5 weeks.
On Thursday, we got to celebrate Ascension Day with the citizens of Bonn. Kids didn’t have to go to school, and many businesses were closed to celebrate Jesus ascending into heaven after being crucified. My host family ate dinner just like any family would in the US for Thanksgiving. They had some extended family over and we ate buffet style, grabbing many different foods from different dishes. I got to try raw herring for the first time, which was terrifying but incredibly rewarding. It was delicious! I explained to my host dad that in the US, we put a negative connotation around herring and we all generally think it’s gross, but I now know that we are wrong about that. Overall, it was very _____ to be able to experience a holiday that I had never celebrated before with a family that had celebrated it every year of their lives.
Friday came around, which was the first day of my excursion to Amsterdam. We got into the city pretty late, but we got to walk around and see beautiful scenery and lights everywhere we looked. On Saturday, we went to get a breakfast at a delicious pancake place called MOOK Pancakes. Then, we took a canal cruise around the city. It was the best way to see all of the beautiful sites of the city in the most relaxing way possible. We then went to a beautiful flower market, Dam Square (home of the Royal Palace of Amsterdam), and to the Heineken Experience. We were able to see so many different parts of the city and experience them in different ways. We got to be tourists, we got to be locals, we even got to do the Heineken experience alongside a Dutch bachelor party, which had its ups and downs.
Finally, our last day in Amsterdam was most definitely our most hectic so far. It began with a lovely breakfast at a Scandinavian restaurant, and then we went straight to the Museumplein, a huge park that holds the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, and the Stedelijk Museum. A couple of us went to the Stedelijk Museum, and a few others went to the Van Gogh Museum, and we both had an amazing time. At the Stedelijk Museum, Brenae and I learned that we are masters of pinball, so feel free to challenge us anytime. After that, we went back to pack up and go back to the train station. This is where the real fun begins.
Apparently, we went to Amsterdam on a record-breaking hottest day of the year, so the first train we got on was unreasonably hot, so we had to endure a one hour ride that made us feel like we were baking. Then, happy to get off the oven of a train, we enter the Arnhem, Netherlands train station to find out our next train had been cancelled. After talking to many of the train station attendants and making many phone calls to Dr. Wasser, we decided to hop on the next train to Düsseldorf, which was insanely packed, meaning we had to stand on the train for 2 hours. Then, we got on a train in Düsseldorf that took us straight to Bonn, letting us finally return 2 hours later than expected.
However, in spite of the stressful way the trip ended, we all had an enormously amazing time. Amsterdam was one of the most beautiful and friendly cities I have ever seen, and being able to visit there with my new friends I have met on this program made it even better.
I know this post was super long, but overall, I cannot wait to take on the rest of this journey. I miss my friends and family in the US, but Germany and Europe find a way to fascinate me every hour of every day. I’ve finally been able to plant my feet on the ground and figure out how to navigate this foreign place. Of course new issues may arise, but I know that I will still have the time of my life in spite of that.
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