Paine si "unt"

So two quick visits to Bonn and what did I see? Not much.

My first trip was last Sunday with a group organized with the Erasmus program (inter-european exchange). Mostly I met Turks. ... Oh and two Americans. And a Romanian. The first thing we did was go to the Haus der Geschichte, which contains a history of Germany from right after WWII to the present, and then we were loosed on the town.

 This is a picture of what I get the impression was a government building. Without a guide it is really rather hard to tell what buildings have significance and what buildings are just old. Thomas (the Romanian) and I stopped at a Currywurst stand in this square for a bite to eat. Then we went hunting for the Alter Zoll beer garden, where the other five or so people in our group were planning on eating.

 

 We reached the Rhine and turned right as the signage signified. We followed along the waterfront until we reached another sign pointing back the direction we had come with a distance marking of 700m.

 Back we went. Past this bridge, which has solar panels on this southern side (look for the blueish strip). On-and-on. Finally we Thomas asked a man sitting by the edge. He directed us to a beer garden 100m further north. There we went only to find it was the wrong one. THEN the girls in the group mysteriously produced maps, which had been asked for previously. Consultation concluded we never should have started north. South it is! Back almost to the sign post directing us north, we collided with another group of students from our trip and decided  to make our way inland. Tummies grumbling (well not mine), legs tired (but who cares on a full tummy), one more questioning finally led us to the "famous" Alter Zoll.  Rather unimpressive in Herbst. It would probably be quite nice in a crowded summer time.

 After a beer, we made our way back towards the Hauptbahnhof. The University was in between the two locations, providing this cool picture of a tree lined ally, University building in the background, large lawn to the left.

 And then this was just too neat of a picture to pass up. No idea what that building is.

 And what did I find in the Haptbahnhof? A person carrying a harp? I need one. It has come up with some different people that I play, but no one knows where I might find one. :-(

 We had a while until our train, so we wandered, and I saw these blue sheep.

 And here is some of the group: Cagri, Thomas, Miguel, Bura, Ali, and .... someday I may even get peoples faces in the picture, but for know I am happy with the knowledge that I have upgraded to including people in pictures.

My second trip this past week was for the DAAD North American Scholarship Holder Orientation. Aka, time wasting with a side of meeting people (well I learned a little bit more about DAAD, but most of the bureaucratic stuff they talked about was in the booklet they gave us). Off I went, missing two days of classes, but then again if they are going to give me money and they insist I come to a city for free food and a place to stay the night, who am I to refuse? After all the first rule of being a college student is "If there is free food you have to be there."

 And who should I expect to see there? BUTTERS (hence the title), or Keith Thomas, a fellow Techie, pie baker, and crazy rock-climber  I had forgotten Dr. Burleigh saying he was over here on a DAAD scholarship too, until I saw him during picture time.

Well after dinner, the people at my table sat around discussing various topics, which with the help of a pre-law philosophy major became very interesting. We learned from the waiter that there was no where really to go on a Thursday night, so we talked some more and then went for a midnight walk, were we found this amazing bridge (notice the people in it? In the future: FACES!).

Friday was breakfast, checkout, and a trip to Haus der Geschichte, with a guide who talked of what had happened more from a political standpoint than the personal what-people-lived-through standpoint of the previous guide. Then off to the city again.

 Obligatory picture of statue in square. (Note: this is Beethoven)

 Obligatory picture of Church.

 Pretty cool wall remnants with archway, circle tower on right, and remote controlled mobile advertisement display center. At first we just saw the display, and I could not figure out its behavior if it were autonomous, but then the man with the remote came up.

Here is a better picture of the University of Bonn as we make our way to the infamous Alter Zoll (different group of people). Really neat looking building. TU Dortmund is a new University, so on the plus side all the buildings are in one spot and are functional, but they don't have this old look.

I was trying to get a picture of some of the ornate figures. There is a road below and this passage over it.

So that was Bonn. Not too exciting, though I am given to understand that there is a Castle I failed to see either time, but historically significant in surviving the second World War intact enough to be a seat of government for West Germany.

In other news, I have an apartment I am sharing with an Iranian student in the same program as me. It is unrenovated and unfurnished, but after weeks of searching I just needed a place to settle in and use for registration formalities. With some cleaning and installation of lights it is getting better. I did go ahead and buy the most important thing for an apartment. A stove with oven. I mean I have a sleeping bag and pad, so I take my time finding a bed, and while a refrigerator is nice, the store is only a three minute walk, but how can I cook without an oven?

Exactly I can't.