It was our first real experience in the city of Bonn. Jet-lagged, hungry, and some of us not understanding a lick of German, we braved our first encounter with Bonn, a city settled in 11 BC by the Roman Army. That was probably the only piece of information I understood from the entire four hour walking tour (in German) that we went on that afternoon. Even so, Bonn is a beautiful and intimate city that sits along the Rhine River and boasts many parks such as the Hofgarten, which gives Bonn its lush, green appearance. Historically, Bonn was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and was also the official seat of government for Germany from 1990 to 1999. Additionally, Bonn is very culturally diverse, with almost thirty percent of the population of a non-German ethnicity. As a result, the city offers a multitude of opportunities to witness these cultures thriving throughout the city.
As stated, for our first day in Bonn, the SABINA group went on a walking tour of the city for almost four hours. It was a hot day and by the time it ended, we were all pretty much done with trying to use our brains to decipher the language and fight off the jet-lag. After much debate, one of our student workers suggested we visit a popular biergarten nearby. Ironically enough, there just happened to be a biergarten right outside of our school, overlooking the Rhine River. Whoever thought to put a biergarten in the middle of the University area should receive a medal for such brilliance! Consequently, the visit to the Biergarten ZumRheiblick was the perfect way to end our first day in Bonn.
Written by: Laura Blackerby
Written by: Laura Blackerby
