Week 2

I spent my first weekend in Cologne and Bonn (it was very hot). On Saturday a group of classmates and I went to Cologne by train. We got there early so we decided to go to the Cologne Zoo. The zoo was very big, so we did a lot of walking and I made the mistake of wearing sandals. After we walked through the zoo and saw all the animals, we took another train and bus to get to the Chocolate Museum. We were running short on time, so we made it to the tour a couple minutes late, but we were still let it. In the museum, they taught us about the history of chocolate and how to is processed in factories. My favorite part was probably the gift shop. They had the cutest souvenirs. I bought these huge chocolate coins, lipstick-shaped chocolates, cocoa liquor and these cute chocolate Euros.

On Sunday, my classmates and I visited the Museum of Natural History in Bonn. On the train ride there, we missed our stop…. We were standing by the door waiting to get off at the correct stop, but the doors did not open, and we had to get off at the next stop, turn around and get on the next train. There was a special event going on that day, so admission was free. I was surprised to see that most of the animals that were on display were real taxidermized animals. I thought they were just realistic models at first. After the museum, we made our way to the Melbbad pool. My roommates and I had asked our host sister if she knew of any pools in the Bonn area and she recommended that one. Our host dad had said to bring our student ID’s because there may be a discount. When we got there, the line was very long to get in. On the sign with prices we did not see a student discount listed, so I did not bother to ask if they had one. Samantha was behind me, so when she went to pay, she showed them her ID and asked if they had a student discount and it turns out that they did. So next time, I am always going to ask if they have student discounts, because you never know. That whole weekend was just too hot, so going swimming was a great way to cool off. The pool was freezing cold, so none of us actually swam. We just stood in the water, but it was better than standing in the heat.

On Monday, our whole class went on a site visit to Koblenz. There, we toured the Koblenz Theatre. I really enjoyed getting to go backstage to see what goes on behind the scenes. We got to see the carpenter’s room where they make the wooden pieces that go on stage. The tour guide also showed us the painter’s room, costume room, and hair and makeup rooms. My favorite part of the backstage was the makeup and hair department. It was surprising to see that the workers make the wigs themselves. After the theatre, we took a gondola ride across the Rhine to get to the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress. The view from the top was beautiful.

This week we also had German class, but this time with Hilda. We practiced introducing ourselves and learned how to count in German. She also taught us a fun song to help us remember numbers 1-10 where we had to march around the classroom.

On Wednesday, we had our second class site visit to Cologne. The tour guide which showed us around the city was so funny and I enjoyed the tour. One of the places she showed us was the Fragrance Museum, where we got a free cologne souvenir. This weekend I am going to Paris and I cannot wait to finally see the Eiffel Tower with my own eyes!