First Month In Germany

Hi there! This past week marked my first month in Germany! So much has happened in that short amount of time! I am very much looking forward to the rest of my year here! 

Monday the 11th of August:

(one month since arriving in Germany!)

On this day we visited the BIZ (Berufs Informations Zentrum), which is a german employment agency. It has many resources available to young adults looking for jobs. Our CBYX group was able to work with their programs and find jobs and assess our skills for certain professions. It was very cool to see how easy and organized it is to get help to find a job in Germany. 

Later Monday night I went to the Universitat to see two silent films. There they show two films a night from the '20s from all around the world. Is is held in the courtyard of the Universitat and can seat 1,500 people. While the silent films are playing there is live music to accompany the film. I saw the films Valentin Auf Der Festwiese and  Die Bräute Des Alten Gauners. They were both good films and the music matched the films perfectly! This was such a fun night!

Tuesday the 12th of August:

After school we celebrated two birthdays by going to the Melbad outdoor swimming pool. Although the weather was slightly cold and overcast we had fun hanging out in the pool. Post swimming we got some Eis and chilled in front of the Poppelsdorfer Palace. It is the Summer home for the royalty that lived in the main palace (the University). 

Wednesday the 13th of August:

We had a normal day of classes but afterwards we had a guest speaker from the European Union. I really liked this presentation because it was interesting to hear the history and developments that evolved to create the EU today. We also had the opportunity to discuss big topics like Immigration, TTIP, and what the future of the EU could look like.

Thursday the 14th of August:

On this day we had an excursion to a very serious place in history. We visited and toured the EL-DE House in Köln. This building is known for being the Gestapo HQ and having a prison underneath. The history shown in the museum focused on purification, race, Hitler Youth, and other various groups that were active during the war in either support of the Nazis or against, like the Edelweiss Pirates who smuggled Jews.

prisoners wrote on the walls with pencil

12 people could be held in here

Think German. Buy German. Never the Jews.

People they were checking for German heritage

Friday and Saturday the 15-16th of August:

On Friday I went to Königswinter with two friends and crashed there so that Sara, Morgan, ad I could go to the Rheinau Flohmarkt in Saturday morning. On Saturday we made it to the market and it was packed. It started to rain but that didn't stop us and everyone else from enjoying the market. Around lunch time we headed out with the things we found and went to chill and watch a movie. At the Flohmark I picked up Avatar on DVD and we watched it in english, but later on I plan on seeing it auf Deutsche! Later that night we met up with some friends in Köln and enjoyed the night with some bier that is the the ''best Kölsch in Köln''. 

Time has flown by so fast and I cannot believe that I will be leaving Bonn and all of my friends in two weeks!

I have had a blast here, and there is still time to enjoy it before I go:)

Tschüss!

~Alexandria

Small Trips

Hello! This week there were fewer adventures, but they are still worth sharing! 

Monday the 4th of August:

In the morning we had class, but in the afternoon and evening we had some sessions with German students in the Konrad-Adenauer Program. We discussed similarities and differences in the education systems from America and Germany. Then we chatted over hamburgers sharing all sorts of stories and experiences in both German and English. It was very cool meeting German students that are our age and to exchange ideas and information with each other. Also it was a chance for me to test my German speaking skills. I still have a lot of work to do. 

Wednesday the 6th of August:

In the afternoon we went to an exhibition at the House of Geschichte that focused on food and the history of food in Germany.

A recipe book written by a soldier on Toilet paper

  

Bread

Waste in Germany

It was a cool exhibit and it showed recipe books, the transition to supermarkets, TV dinners, award winning Bier, Bread, and Sugar artists, external cultures that have influenced German cuisine, the amount of meat and Bier consumed in Germany. It was very interesting going to that exhibit.

Then later that night we had an interesting manners course and made crepes and waffles. 

There was plenty of nutella for everyone:)

Thursday the 7th of August:

Köln Tour!!! On our second tour through Köln, Hartwig showed us Roman walls, baths, roads, sewers, and floors that had been discovered below Köln, and are preserved to show the ancient history from the time of the Romans.

Dance hall floor, also used for meals in Roman times

Roman Road made from hard volcanic stone

Standing underground  in a old stone Roman sewer

Roman walls

Ancient stone bath

We also saw the Rathaus (Town Hall) which as statues of important people on the outside of the building. We walked along the Rhein and saw brightly colored houses and also flood markings from 1996.

Rathaus

The mark on the wall shows the depth of the water  in 1996

Afterwards we visited Kamps to taste test their bakery items!

Everything was Delicious:)

Friday the 8th of August:

After a short day of classes, JT, Annie, and I decided to go to the Haribo store and the Birkenstocks outlet. It turned into a real mission. We ran into small surprises as we rode the 66 U-Bahn to Bad Honnef. We experienced a bus issue (the doors wouldn't stop opening and closing), track construction, detours, and rain. We looked on these things with humor and it made waiting and transportation confusion much more enjoyable.  Then later that night I stayed with a friend in Konigswinter. It takes a while to get there, and we had to hike up the lower part of the Petersberg Mt. but the view is gorgeous and completely worth it!

Saturday the 9th of August:

Went to school for an intercultural workshop. Then after a long day of activities and discussions my friends JT, Jonny, and I went to Köln to chill. Because we had another workshop on Sunday, so we didn't stay out late. We visited a special German Kneipe for a specific type of Kolsch Bier that had been made since 1883. Afterwards we went to check out a live Jazz Club. It was very small and crowded so we walked along the beautiful Rhein to the Hauptbahnhof. 

This week I really enjoyed all of the little adventures that I shared with friends!

Tschüss!

~Alexandria

Movie night, Midterms, and Bakery Testing!

Hello! This week I had so much fun, and I went to many different events and places that were amazing! I've had a pretty packed week and it was fantastic!

Monday the 28th of July:

After a day of school and some meetings, a group of about 8 went to see a sneak preview of a movie that hadn't been aired in Germany yet. The movie didn't start until 8.30 so we went out for some bratwurst. After chilling and walking around the streets of Bonn we went to the WOKI movie theater. This theater only has one screening room. It was rather large but it had a small stage in front, and the screen was covered by curtains. When the film was about to start the staff of the theater had a raffle and two audience members won prizes (I was only 2 numbers off!). Then the lights dimmed and the curtains were opened and the film 'Begin Again' came on. This is a lovely film and my friend Annie and I had a great time! Unfortunately not all the guys who came to the theater enjoyed the romantic comedy / chick flick. 

Tuesday the 29th of July:

This was a day of multiple excursion locations. First we took our mini coach bus to a Government Bunker. It was an important place during the Cold War era because it had been designed to protect against a nuclear bomb and the radiation. It is just outside of Bonn because at the time, Bonn was Germany's capital. We weren't aloud to take photos inside, but it was very interesting to seem where people would have slept, been treated for medical reasons, viewed the outside in a control room, and how industrial everything was. It was very empty inside because people had hoped never to need to use it for its actual purpose, so it had been prepped very minimally. Parts of it are kept up for the museum, but because it is underground it is very cold and not really usable for anything else. 

Vineyard on the hill on top of the bunker

Then after the tour of the Bunker we took our bus to Maria Laach, a monastery from the medieval times that is still used today. When we got there we found a Monk who answered some of our questions. We went inside and he let us go up one of the towers and into rafters of the church.

  

Stairway to heaven....actually just the roof

 After eating lunch there we visited the gift shop and left to our final destination. We arrived in the small town of Monreal. Though it was slightly raining we still enjoyed walking around on the winding cobblestone streets through the beautiful old buildings towards the ruins  on the hill. 

  

 The hike was nice but a little bit  slippery due to the rain. It was like the Amazing Race, trying to get to the top of the tower. The view was fantastic!

a different part of the ruins

A nice German Flag waving on top of the tower.

I made it to the top!

It wasn't too long of a ride back to Bonn but after all that I was most definitely tired. 

Wednesday the 30th of July:

Not much happened on this day. We had class in the morning and then tutorium (study hall) in the afternoon. We were busy studying for our midterms.

Thursday the 31st of July:

MIDTERMS! Then after that we met up at the Bonn Hauptbahnhof to take a train to Köln (Cologne). 

This is what you see when you get off the train.

 The Köln Dom (cathedral) was started in 1248 and has been under construction/renovation ever since. 

It is built in the Gothic style. 

Outside there were a variety of street musicians playing music (marimba, accordion, and a mini orchestra). 

The oldest stained glass windows in the Cathedral. From the Medieval times.

Virgin Mary

The Köln Dom is known for many things, one of them being the Golden Sarcophagus containing bones from the Three Wise men. 

After going through the inside of the Dom we had the opportunity to climb the 532 steps up one of the towers. Is was very old, narrow, and full of people going up and down at the same time.

The view was beautiful
 

Inside the top of the tower

 After trekking all the way up, we came back down to participate in a Bakery Tasting. Hartwig, our CBYX Nacel Open-Door Program director, and tour guide gladly gave us many Köln delicacies from the Merzenich bakery. 

I greatly appreciated bakery goods after climbing the tower :)

 Everything was lecker (delicious)!  

After that we were all free to head home, and I took one more picture of the Dom. 

This was only our first of three trips to Köln.

Friday the 1st of August: 

In class we covered culture as a day to relax after taking midterms and climbing a massive tower.

After school some of my friends and I walked around and looked in shops. We found a really cool music store that I know I will be going back to :) Then later Friday evening, my friend Morgan and I went out for pizza at Tuscolo (Morgan had never been). Again it was absolutely perfect. Then we just walked around to the Hofgarten (University Lawn/Park) and chilled on a bench and talked. It was so nice just relaxing, talking, and watching a variety of event happen all at once on the lawn. I saw two young men speaking in sign language, girls dancing with colorful scarves, boys playing soccer, Frisbee, and badminton, a juggler, a band with guitar, bongo drums, and maracas, and a lot of people sitting with friends enjoying the beautiful weather.

After a while Morgan and I went to meet up with Jonny and Jon Tyler to go to a Biergarten on the Rhein. It was beautifully lit with lights strung through the trees. 

After relaxing at the Biergarten we went for a walk around Bonn :)

Saturday the 2nd of August:

After a very relaxing Friday my friends Morgan, Jon Tyler, and I went on an adventure to Brühl to the Schwindelfrei - Der Kletterwald (a high ropes course in a forest with zip lines!). We were there for three hours, climbing on different elements 10-20 km in the trees.The zip lines where definitely my favorite! 

After we were good and tired we had a small picnic and started our journey home. While going back to the Tram platform the sky opened up and it started to rain, thus beginning our adventure to get home. While it rained we stood waiting for our tram to take us back to Bonn. About 30 minutes later, it didn't come. So we decided to take a tram further away from Bonn to a platform where we walked around the Augustusberg Schloss and took a train from the Brühl Hbf back to Bonn. We made it to Bonn in the end :)

Later that night I went back to Bonn to see a Celtic Music Concert at  the Alter Zoll, but due to the weather it was cancelled, even though it was gorgeous outside.

So basically we went out for Spaghetti Eis and walked and talked, just enjoying the evening. Germany is definitely helping me to live in the moment and enjoy my surroundings, which happens to be beautiful Bonn.

Sunday the 3rd of August:

Today my Host Mom Rosi, my friend Justine, and her Host Mom Jutta and I went on a trip to the small old town of Linz. It is beautiful and has old buildings that date back to the 1400's. This area was not hit during the war so it still stands as it did hundreds of years ago. 

While we stopped for lunch it started to pour. 

Tip for anyone travelling to Germany: 

Always bring an umbrella, you never know when the weather will change.

Once the rain lightened up, we went to look in more shops and also stopped in a cafe for Eis, Eis Kaffee, and I had heiße Schokolade. It was delicious!

We didn't have to worry about the rain once we got onto a nice boat that would take us down the Rhein to Bonn.

We went past the Remagen Bridge

saw a castle

and drank some tea

 

It was an hour long ride from stop to stop to Bonn, so I took some time to write in my journal.

Today and this whole week as been so amazing!

Tschüss!

~Alexandria