A month later update

So, this past month has been fairly slow for me (ok maybe this is a bit of a lie- I've been busy with everything and nothing). I got back from Phoenix April 13th, and since then, things have been a bit of a blur. Let me break down what April and thus far in May has been like.

So in my Deutschkurs, I've learned new words relating to common school items, such as pencil=bleistift, and their articles. I've learned some cafe talk, numbers, how to say who I am and where I'm from, we've just entered the world of past-tense verbs, and actually putting together sentences....EEEEEEPPPPPP.

I tried to make it to the cherry blossom street on Heerstrasse (arch of cherry blossom trees lining both sides of the street), but I missed it by 2 days or so while in Phoenix. I can see how amazing that street must have been. I did also get to see some trees blooming elsewhere in Bonn.

Heerstrasse

Heerstrasse

The weekend of April 26th, I went with Katia and her family to their weekend house in a very small village (think 4-5 houses) between Windeck and Walbröl, so small it's not even on Google maps. I had such a fun time, I learned (or attempted to) 3-4 new card games, one of which is Skat, Mao, and another game yet, that I don't remember the name to. The decks are different in that the lower cards we're used to (think 2-6) aren't there. The king, queen, jack and ace all have different names too. We also spent the weekend playing Uno and Skipbo..... we were a competitive bunch, and despite some no brainer misses on my part, I still managed to make a few wins.... did I mention I had to watch out for sneaky cheaters too? Beyond the many, many card games, Katia and I baked a strawberry cake which combined two recipes into one, and even then we made a few modifications. It took less time to consume it as it did to make it. 

Her family was so sweet, they also made vegetarian meals (completely unexpected for me). Some of my favorites were a tomato omelette, white asparagus with Hollandaise sauce, and potatoes. Another was penne pasta with a creamy tomato sauce (made from scratch), mmmmm was that good. One thing I tried, that I'm ok without is herring......icky. I also went for several hikes with her mother, and we also went to a Renaissance fair.

On Germany's labor day (May 1st) Katia, her brother, Franzi and I went to Kletterwald Hennef which is a ropes course with ziplines and other insanity (http://www.kletterwald-hennef.de/). I've never been as freaked out shaking like a leaf as I've been on a few of the sections (overall not too bad though). One time Katia had to push me off the platform on a bucket like device that you have to step in and then zip down the line and grab a rope, less you are stuck in the middle. Another time took lots of encouragement, over a rope/wood board swinging bridge with the wood sections about 2 feet apart each. 2 steps from the finish line of that one, I got stuck for about 5 minutes and the bridge was seriously shaking beneath my feet, so glad I made it past that. Ziplines= easy, ziplining while on an object (like a skateboard)=evil. Overall I made it over 4 course each with 8-14 elements each (as in 8-14 different rope obstacles). Fortunately (unfortunately for you), no one got a truly terrified face of me going across these suckers.

 May 1st is also a special day for the romantics. In a regional specialty that is a twist on the traditional May pole, called Mai Baum, during a several day period, guys are able to cut down a maple tree, and on May 1st, they attach it somehow to their girlfriend's home, decorate it with streamers and have a red heart with their girlfriend's name on it. These trees stay up for the entire month. Some were small some were big, but it was quite amusing to see the trees being dragged behind cars on April 30th.

This past weekend was spent buying a bike at the bike market, and shopping in the center of Bonn, I love buying tulips for my apartment. Did I mention I found French macarons? I also went to the river Saturday night to see the fireworks in an event called "Rhine in Flames" which happens every year on the first Saturday of the month, and 5 cities down the Rhine set off fireworks. By the time it hit Bonn, it was 11:30pm and coooooold.

Bonn's Hofgarten

Rhine river

Old University building in central Bonn

French Macarons

Rhine in Flames

This upcoming weekend I'll be going to Cologne for a day and who knows what else. The next month I will hopefully be out of Bonn almost every weekend. Lets see what new adventures await me. PS send postcards! I love decorating my apartment walls with them (I'll send you one if you send me one).