1:45 PM | Posted in
Hallo!

New, albeit short post.
I am writing as I wait for everyone else to finish lunch!

I had bread/ cheese. Some might call this cheese bread, but I call it divine! It was fantastic.

So, what has happened since we last spoke? Well, I went to Colone and saw Colone Cathedral. It was amazing! google it. It is biiigg. And then some. I have been trying to post pictures, but I am having trouble uploading them directly to this blog.  I must find alternate route!

Also we went to Colone Zoo yesterday. Zoos are Zoos no matter where you go, but this one had something you would never find in an American Zoo. Raccoons!! For serious, they have raccoons in their zoo! But its not so weird when you think about it. Because Raccoons are strictly in North America. So they are exotic here. Funny right?  

We went to the zoo because we are building a Vertical Zoo as a studio project. I am not sure how I feel about this, because it sounds very architectural and not VIZ at all. But we shall see.

Anyway, I'm gonna sign off now,
-matt


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4:00 AM | Posted in , ,
1/22/09

HELLO!

This is my trip blog/ journal. I will be keeping it on my computer, and posting it to http://mattgoestoeurope.blogspot.com/

Forewarning: I am not a good writer. I enjoy the liberal use of parenthesis, and commas to the point of bad grammar. My spelling is atrocious. I rarely proof read.
You have been warned.

I will attempt to keep the time in 24 hours because it will help me adapt better. I apologize if that forces you subtract 12 from anything.

This entry will cover the flight/ first day/ second day.

The flight was long, but enjoyable. The food was actually good. Which was a surprise.

The first day was jet lagged into oblivion. I look back on it as "The day that doesn’t exist because
I somehow jumped 8 hours into the future and I don’t know how, why is it so bright out?"

The second day is where the action is.
I started by riding the train to Bonn in the morning. I got to Bonn Hbf (the central train station of Bonn) around 9:30 and was a little early, so I waited for the group to get there for while. While there I noticed a few things, such as a Pizza Superhero, and German manga. Around 10, we started walking to AIB. Our building isn’t on the original campus, but rather it is a new building (or an old building) that they redoing as I type. It is very nice, and will be fantastic once they finish We took a tour of the city, and it was beautiful. Bonn is a wonderful city, it looks old enough to be distinguished, but new enough so that new buildings don’t stick out like sore thumbs. I have pictures, I will attempt to post them soon.

After our tour, We all decided to head back to our host homes and meet later to explore the night life of our new city.

I never made it that far.

I am new to this train system. However I am not surprised that I was the one to get horribly lost first.

Time: 17:00.
I first rode a subway train to Bornhiem, where I live.
Time: 17:30.
Once I got off the train, I realized that this was the wrong part of Bornhiem. So I rode the train back to Bonn.
Time:18:30.
I asked the man working the info booth which train I should take. He told me what time and platform it leaves from, but the train that showed up had a different name then the one he told me. I should have taken it anyway.
Time: 18:52.
I asked for the next one, he gave me the time, I realized that he had given me the name of the station, not the train.
Time: 19:32.
This time I got on it, and rode it, but never saw the stop he mentioned. I rode the train all the way to Koln.
Time: 20:00.
The next train to Bonn Hbf left at 20:52. I was stressing out like crazy. Here I met some wonderful people who were kind enough to help me out. Marike was an art historian/restorer who I met after we both gave a homeless man something. She gave an apple, and I gave 15 cents. We talked and I used her cell phone to try and dial home to no avail. I had been attempting to use payphones as well, but never got it right. She told me I had the number wrong.
Time: 20:52
On the train back to Bonn, We heard "Bornheim, Roisdorf" over the loud speaker. She said that this was the last stop before Bonn Hbf, and that it was probably my stop (it was.) I got off, and started making my way back home.
Time: 21:21.
I met another friend who helped me find my neighborhood. (It was dark!) And a little before 22:00 I made it home.

Big adventure right?

It wasn’t a bad five hours, but I wouldn’t want to spend another five like that again.
I am glad to be home, and now I know my trains X)

-matt
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