Adventures in Nordrhein-Westfalen

Things in Germany so far have been absolutely amazing! I apologize for the lack of information within the past few days (or more like weeks). I´ve seen so much and have been exposed to many new and wonderful things; I fear this post might be a long one. So, just as a warning, brace yourself for quite a lengthy read (if you dare).

But first, I now have pictures uploaded which you may view by clicking on the album of your desire on the dark-blue side panel. I will try to update these albums and add many more so that you truly can visualize what exactly I´ve been up to.

So, if you´ve already glanced over at the number of albums created, I´m sure you realize that I`ve visited quite a few places since my last post on the 12th of September. Starting at the beginning of these series of recent adventures within Nordrhein-Westfalen (the state of Germany in which I´m currently residing), on September 16th, Hildegard and I made our way into the Volkswagen and headed for the Autobahn. Afer 45 minutes we arrived in Düsseldorf (the capital city of this region)and soon found our main destination: Schloß Benrath. The surrounding gardens were gorgeous, but even more so was the Schloß (palace) itself. After touring the interior, my host mother and I took a ferry down the Rhine River to a medieval town called Zons were we enjoyed the lovely and nostalgic atmosphere along with the beautiful architecture.

Within Wuppertal itself I´ve also had quite a few adventures. On the 18th of September we went to the Zoo with other AFS students and I´ve also had the opportunity to visit many of the towns (e.g. Schwelm, Remscheid, Solingen) in the region surrouding Wuppertal.

My next large adventure occured this past weekend when Hilde, Janna, and I decided to go to Aachen for the day. The historical seat of Charlemagne´s empire, Aachen itself was a delight to visit. We were luckily able to have warm weather (actually above 60 degrees) and viewed the Aachener Rathaus (like a city hall). Touring the medieval building, we found many old portraits, the throne room, and even the Crowne Jewels of Charlemagne himself! Shortly thereafter we walked into some of the shops in the Altstadt (old town) and then headed to the beautiful and uniquely designed Aachener Dom (cathedral).

After a quick lunch in Aachen, we headed towards the amazingly beautiful town of Monschau, right on the border of Germany and Belgium (we even entered Belgium through the Autobahn for 4 minutes)! Monschau was truly the typical German town that is conjured up whenever one thinks of the nation. It had half-timbered plaster houses, cobblestone streets, baroque churches, and even a fortified castle (along with the remnants of a city wall).

Yesterday was spent touring the city of Köln (Cologne in English) with my host sister, Janna. This city is home to both Kölnisch Wasser and the Kölner Dom (the largest cathedral in Germany). After exciting the train station, we first headed to the Dom and even climbed the hundreds of steps to the top of the tower. As a reward, we received a beautiful view of the city. We also visited the shop where Kölnisch Wasser (cologne) got its name along with some other random shops along the way.

Today itself was spent in Münster. Early this morning, a friend and I decided on a whim to go to Münster and greatly enjoyed our time there. Everyone has been telling us about how charming this city was, and after seeing it with my own eyes, I can´t agree with them more! The Altstadt itself was scattered with churches and shops, and even outside of the downtown, the city was still beautiful (you´ll have to see the pictures to understand what I mean). So, with our cultural fill for the day, I headed back to Wuppertal and will return tomorrow morning to our Sprachschule (language school) for another week and a half of learning.

In about 10 days my time in Wuppertal is over, but I truly believe I´ve found a special place in my heart for both the people and the city itself. I look forward to meeting the Ottmars, my yearlong family, and beginning a relatively normal routine in the south German town of Schwäbisch Hall.

And so I leave you for now...with thoughts filled of all the adventures permeating within me at every second of my time here.

Until later,
Danny