19/05/2010
Finally I have landed in Bonn, Germany. I met Matis, who works for the study abroad company in Germany, at the airport and we caught the next train to the Cologne Zoo to get back on schedule. After running around the zoo like lost mice, we found the group in the old hippopotamus exhibit while they were in the middle of a tour. I was very impressed with Dr. Wasser’s ability to name all of the birds by both their English and German names. The tour proceeded with information regarding the new elephant enclosure and we observed the elephants as they returned from their pasture. We were allowed to view the elephants from a keepers’ station and two of the elephants decided to come over and interact with us. I really enjoyed meeting the elephants.
We then toured the Cologne Cathedral by rooftop. Not a good idea if one is afraid of heights. The emphasis was on the flying buttresses and the new stain glass window by Gerhard Richter. We were the last group to leave that evening and had to descend several flights of stairs in the dark.
After the tour, we entered a nice restaurant where I first began learning my “ABC’s” in German by reading the menu and trying to order food. The following day we visited a biological (organic) farm known as Gut Ostler. It was several topics of sustainable living and agriculture in action, which I was happy to see. The day continued with a lecture on homeopathy, an Italian restaurant, a historical tour of Bonn, and some bar hopping.
-Knut
(a blog by Greg Hoyt)
No comments:
Post a Comment