Annual Beer Fest in Bonn

We started out Friday with visiting the Poppelsdorf Botanical Gardens near the Bonn city center. Andrew and I haven't been there yet and thought we would check it out while his mom and aunt were visiting. It was just a small area, but pretty and the best part was it was free! Once we left here, we went to the center of Bonn so Debbie and Michelle could buy some last minute souvenirs.

Later that evening was the first day of the Bonn Bierboerse. This is an annual event that brings many different countries to serve their beers and foods. We chose Friday night because we wanted to see the opening tapping of the keg and the fireworks (since we didn't get to see any on July 4th). Not only did we get to see the keg tapping, but also had a glass of beer from the keg, which we thought was pretty neat!

Since we aren't going to get to visit Munich (Germany) we decided we wanted to try one of their beers. They are famous for having the VERY large mugs of beer (1 liter to be exact). I would have to say this might have been my least favorite out of the bunch, but I did conclude that it helped my arms get a little more muscular in that short period of time. And no I did not drink all that beer!

We stopped by one of the food booths and all bought something by the name of nacken steak. It was a very well seasoned steak that was placed in between a bun. The coolest thing was how it was cooked. The grill was large and circular which rotated to cook all the meats evenly. It was absolutely delicious! While enjoying the world beers and great food, there was a band playing in the background which was actually pretty good (music from the Abba Survival Band).

We also were able to have a few Irish brewskies and I enjoyed a thing of cheese nachos. The weather didn't cooperate towards the end of the evening though. At one point it was pouring down rain, which left us stranded under a table umbrella, but surprisingly no one got too drenched! The rain was making me nervous because I didn't know if this would delay or cancel the fireworks. But luckily around 10:45 they started and it was worth the wait. It was kind of funny how almost every song they played while the fireworks were going off was from Michael Jackson.

This was the Germany event Andrew and I have been waiting for. We all had a great time and got a few souvenirs out of it (we kept a few of the different glasses the beer was served in). I am glad we chose to go Friday because there was not a ton of people there and the combination of the bands and fireworks made it great!

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To the Top of the Spires We Go!

Thursday morning we awoke and drove to Cologne, which is about a 30 minute drive from Bonn. The main reason of this trip was to go to the Koelner Dom (Cologne Cathedral) for Debbie and Michelle to view this massive piece of history. This would be our second time viewing the cathedral up close, and it is still just as impressive as the first time. We walked around the outside for a while and then quickly went inside. As Debbie and Michelle explored the inside of the Dom, Andrew and I decided we wanted to climb the 533 stairs to reach the top of the spires.

The spiral staircase wasn't big enough for two people and there was no air circulation, this only made us walk up quicker. We reached the top in about 6 minutes... that could possibly be superman speed! Once at the top, we could look any direction and have a different view. Church steeples and bridges were the most abundant. After viewing our wonderful surroundings, it was time to head back down the stairs. Going down was not as fun as people come up the same way you have to go down... and it just so happens that the entire population of Cologne was trying to go up the stairs. We finally reached the bottom and went looking for Debbie and Michelle.

As we entered the Dom again we noticed there was a prayer service taking place. Debbie and Michelle were able to attend this so that was pretty neat. Andrew and I were pretty hungry from exerting all of our energy for those stairs so we headed to McDonalds for a quick snack. We soon met back up with Debbie and Michelle, explored the insides a little bit longer and then headed out on the town to grab a bite to eat. We ended up at a Maggiano's to eat some delicious Mexican food.

Once we were refueled, we walked to the Alstadt (Old Town) to show Debbie and Michelle the city that withstood the wars. We walked throughout the narrow streets with colorful buildings for a while and decided it was about time to head towards the car. Next stop, IKEA!!!!

Anyone who knows me knows I LOVE Ikea and I have been wanting to go to a store over here in Europe since Sweden is where the store originated from. We found Godorf, which is a town between Cologne and Bonn had an Ikea, so that's were we headed. Even though the store was like any other Ikea I have been to, it was still cool going. Plus, Andrew, Debbie, and Michelle never have been to one. Once we were done looking around we bought some of the infamous Swedish meatballs to take home to have for dinner. Man, were those good!

After a good hardy meal we all did some relaxing and reminiscing. It was yet another successful day!!

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Meppen, Germany

We woke up Wednesday morning and had a delightful breakfast from our hotel. It consisted of the same foods we have had thus far for breakfast... meats, cheeses, breads, jelly, hard boiled eggs, coffee and orange juice. Once breakfast was done, we checked out of our hotel and walked to the cemetery near by to look for any long lost relatives. I would never think to do this back home, but cemeteries over in Germany are so different. They aren't scary or creepy... they are pretty and full of all sorts of colorful flowers. We came across a memorial grave full of about 30 cross headstones for German soldiers all with dates within a two weeks period. Dates from WWII... Andrew and I came across it first and we both got chills. It was so surreal and sad at the same time. There was also a WWI memorial grave we found a little later on. I also found another Munsch head stone. This time it only said Munsch family with no names or dates, but it's still another variation to my family name.

After walking throughout the cemetery, we went back to Meppen's center to walk around the different shops lining the streets. Andrew and I ended up going in one clothes store and I found a shirt that was more my style, so decided to buy it. It was probably something I could find back home, but it was just the idea of buying it in Germany. Once we explored the shops, we walked a little more just to see if there was anything we missed (which there really wasn't). By this time we were all pretty hungry so we stopped at a place called Kochlioeffel and enjoyed some more currywurst and great tasting fries with mayo. For desert we each bought a vanilla/chocolate twist ice cream cone and then headed back on the road towards Bonn.

While on the road there were so many sheep, cows, and horses lining the roads. Made for more to see than just green flat land I guess! We made it back to Bonn and had a stab at our second German dinner, just not so German... spaghetti! It was good if I do say so myself! Next stop is Cologne, Germany!

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