President Bonn

... So viel ist schon passiert, so wenig habe ich bisher erlebt. Neue Freunde, eine 2te Familie und ein ganz anderes Leben erwarten mich hier. New York, meine neue Liebe! <br><br>Jetzt, mit mehr Zeit und Muse widme ich mich dem langersehnten Lebenszeichen. :) <br><br>Viel Spaß beim lesen!<br><br>

... and often erotic) replicas of the tower out of cardboard boxes. Resteraunts waving nearly identical English-printed menus competed for business. And tourists of all races, religions, and languages took funny pictures with the leaning tower. Katie and I were no exception.<br> After a flight, a high-speed train trip (costing 28 Euro EACH), and a very heated German debate with an evil, soulless, hateful train employee who couldn't seem to grasp the ...

... then went back to the hostel and read and made some dinner. We planned to do a nice walk into the forest from Freiburg the following morning but it was pouring rain so we packed it in and headed to Cologne.<br>We were thinking of doing a day trip from Cologne to take a boat ride down the Rhine. However, when we set out on the train from Freiburg to Cologne we found that the trainline runs right along the Rhine on the most interesting section according to ...

... follow. Already we're making plans for an amazing American-style Halloween!<br> I hope everyone is doing wonderfully! I miss my friends and family terribly, but am absolutely loving every minute on this great continent. It will be several weeks before friends leave and things calm down, but I will write again as soon as I can, to not only tell you more adventures, but give you a little taste of how my day to day life is working in Germany. I send my love, and will write soon!<br>

... started in 1248 but not finished until 1880. At that time it was the tallest building in the world.<br>It was awesome inside with the high vaulted ceiling and beautiful stained glass windows. It has a golden alter which contains their relics, supposedly some of the bones of the Three Wise Men.<br>This afternoon was the time to pack as we arrive in Amsterdam tonight. We&#8217;re in the first group to leave tomorrow for the airport and have to be ready by 5:45 a.m.<br><br>

... visited baby Jesus. The cathedral took over 600 years to complete. Its twin towers used to help guide allied pilots on their bombing raids in WWII. Unfortunately the cathedral was damaged during WWII.<br><br>The cathedral was huge and inspiring. Its high vaulted ceilings held in place by flying buttresses, along with the beautiful stained glass windows, left me ...

This is not a great adventure, more a welcome back.<br><br>It is great to be back in Villiprott to visit our old friends since the 70ies. Now I have been staying with them for two weeks and we have done a lot of different things. This part of Germany have many interesting places to visit, both nature and culture.<br>

... and Amsterdam in Netherlands. Philip and Lawrence both took their cars over for the tour, with highlight of the Nürbergring racetrack. As they say, what happens on tour stays on tour, but we had a brilliant time. Here's a few pictures and video's from the Germany part of the trip, courtesy of Elias, who had the commonsense to bring a camera.

... hotel staff was exceptional, and I would thoroughly recommend Am Romerhof to anyone visiting Bonn, who doesn't require plush minimal aesthetics. Taxis in Bonn seem to arrive almost before you have ordered them and the speed they drive at means you often arrive long before you have departed. Well, I suppose most of them ARE Mercs, not ...

... and hear about this business. They are the people that own DHL and deal with the mail system in the country. Mail is privatized here. The building was an engineering marvel with all of the environmental stuff they put in the design. The building is actually transparent. Well we are off to Soest to visit a school today. A three hour train ride.