Day 18
Today, I decided to go to Bonn, Germany. I had nothing else planned to do in Cologne so I searched for cities close by that were good to visit. Bonn was highly recommended. The train from Cologne to Bonn was only 18 minutes. These trains are very different from the Belgium and Swiss trains. The difference is a bit hard for me to describe but I much prefer the Belgium and Swiss trains.
I arrived in Bonn and began to look for the Poppelsdorf Palace. Google maps was taking me across the train station, but there was no way for me to cut across. I figured I would try again later so I went to the Markt. Bonn is a nice, small town. The streets are all cobblestone and there are barely any cars. The Markt is very small but the Old Town Hall is quite beautiful (pictured below). I ate some lunch at a local sandwich shop and headed for the Beethoven House.
I spent about an hour at the Beethoven house. This was not as exciting as I expected. I went all throughout his home and saw the room he was born in. There were also some other cool items such as his piano, writing desk, and a mask of his face that was created just after he died. I was taking pictures all throughout the house and when I got to the last room, a lady yelled at me for taking pictures. So, I am not sure if I was not supposed to take pictures throughout the whole home or just this one room. Oh well.
After visiting the Beethoven House, I went in a few clothing stores but did not buy anything. I then decided to try and locate the Poppelsdorf Palace again. Google maps took me right back into the train station so I asked for directions at the DB desk. The lady told me that there are stairs that take you under the station and out to the other side. I proceeded and had no trouble finding the Palace. The Poppelsdorf palace houses the University of Bonn and is surrounded by Botanical Gardens that contain over 8,000 different plant species. The Palace is beautiful and quite large. I'd like to know what it feels like to have class in there. The Botanical Gardens are huge. I walked around for a while and still do not see everything. There are so many plants. There was one part that was set up like a forest. I walked through and this forest reminded me a bit of home. The palace and the Botanical Gardens were the highlight of my Bonn experience.
One thing that I noticed in Bonn was that there were a ton of bakeries. They all have the same products though. Their bakeries focus more on the breads. You can get all different kinds of pretzels and sandwiches at these bakeries. These are very different from American bakeries. The equivalent of an American bakery is a pastry shop here. The bakeries are as frequent here as the chocolate shops were in Brussels. I have yet to find a chocolate shop in Germany though. This is a bit upsetting for my project but I am meeting with a chocolatier in Frankfurt on Saturday and I hope to gain a lot of insight from him.
It began to rain so I headed back to the train station. I took a 30 minute train back to Cologne and ate dinner in the train station. I had some schnitzel and fries at a fast food-like place. This schnitzel was not even comparable to the schnitzel I had at the German restaurant. It was about 4:00 so I headed back to my apartment. I have a lot of work to do tonight. Of course the first priority is to update my blog but I also need to shop for books for the fall semester, pack my bags to move to Frankfurt tomorrow, and figure out my train schedule.
I arrived in Bonn and began to look for the Poppelsdorf Palace. Google maps was taking me across the train station, but there was no way for me to cut across. I figured I would try again later so I went to the Markt. Bonn is a nice, small town. The streets are all cobblestone and there are barely any cars. The Markt is very small but the Old Town Hall is quite beautiful (pictured below). I ate some lunch at a local sandwich shop and headed for the Beethoven House.
I spent about an hour at the Beethoven house. This was not as exciting as I expected. I went all throughout his home and saw the room he was born in. There were also some other cool items such as his piano, writing desk, and a mask of his face that was created just after he died. I was taking pictures all throughout the house and when I got to the last room, a lady yelled at me for taking pictures. So, I am not sure if I was not supposed to take pictures throughout the whole home or just this one room. Oh well.
After visiting the Beethoven House, I went in a few clothing stores but did not buy anything. I then decided to try and locate the Poppelsdorf Palace again. Google maps took me right back into the train station so I asked for directions at the DB desk. The lady told me that there are stairs that take you under the station and out to the other side. I proceeded and had no trouble finding the Palace. The Poppelsdorf palace houses the University of Bonn and is surrounded by Botanical Gardens that contain over 8,000 different plant species. The Palace is beautiful and quite large. I'd like to know what it feels like to have class in there. The Botanical Gardens are huge. I walked around for a while and still do not see everything. There are so many plants. There was one part that was set up like a forest. I walked through and this forest reminded me a bit of home. The palace and the Botanical Gardens were the highlight of my Bonn experience.
One thing that I noticed in Bonn was that there were a ton of bakeries. They all have the same products though. Their bakeries focus more on the breads. You can get all different kinds of pretzels and sandwiches at these bakeries. These are very different from American bakeries. The equivalent of an American bakery is a pastry shop here. The bakeries are as frequent here as the chocolate shops were in Brussels. I have yet to find a chocolate shop in Germany though. This is a bit upsetting for my project but I am meeting with a chocolatier in Frankfurt on Saturday and I hope to gain a lot of insight from him.
It began to rain so I headed back to the train station. I took a 30 minute train back to Cologne and ate dinner in the train station. I had some schnitzel and fries at a fast food-like place. This schnitzel was not even comparable to the schnitzel I had at the German restaurant. It was about 4:00 so I headed back to my apartment. I have a lot of work to do tonight. Of course the first priority is to update my blog but I also need to shop for books for the fall semester, pack my bags to move to Frankfurt tomorrow, and figure out my train schedule.
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