Montag, 21. Mai 2012

Week 2

Week 2 consisted of more tours and history. We visited the original capital of Germany, Bonn which is a short train ride away from Köln. One thing I have noticed is how developed the public transportation system is. Cheap plane flights can be found or a train can be taken to almost anywhere. Also a tram is always running so you can go anywhere in the city you want in a decent amount of time. I will miss this coming back home. In Bonn we toured a museum which went through the history of Germany. Through this and talking to the locals Hitler and that part of Germany's history is a soft spot conversation wise. Many people are ashamed and do not like to talk about such things. We also got to tour the Ford production plant that is in Germany. From this experience I discovered how strong the automotive industry is in Germany. I realized that most of the cars we see on our roads are not of national origin. At the end fo this week my roommate and I traveled to Prague or Praha to visit a friend in the Czech Republic. I thought that the German language was difficult but Czech is even harder. Also the currency was different once again. The exchange rate was even more bizzare. I think it was about 20 dollars to one crown. I felt pretty rich pulling out thousands of crowns and feeling completely fine about it. You could tell a huge difference between Germany, which is western Europe, and Czech Republic, which is inbetween Eastern Europe and Western. I read that Prague is stuck right in the middle not conforming to either side. The infrastructure was very different and the people were even more diverse. We got to ride a paddle boat around the river and even got to witness a Czech musical being produced. I got to hike up to the highest point in Prague and see the entire city from a bird's eye view. Very beautiful sight. After our hike we got to see the John Lenin Wall. Around the time of the beatles western music was banned under the communist rule. When someone painted a huge mural of Lenin on this wall it has continued to be painted over and continually changes. Prague was the third European country I have visited which almost more states that I have been to back home. My journey continues for a couple more weeks. Cheers

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