Sometimes life just surprises you with the most lovely generous people ! And so I caught up with a high school friend from so many years ago.
My best memory is probably we had a German class together. She excelled, I was waiting for class to end so I could gab to my friends!
Carla moved to Germany and played classical and other music as a professional violinist. She very kindly gave me train information to Bonn, her home, and picked me up! Oh we talked all day!!! And I wish we had more time. But there will be a next time!!
Bonn is a big surprise for me. A large sprawling city with so much history! Predominately the birthplace of Beethoven and more recently, candy king, Haribo! But Beethoven is pretty much everywhere! And why not!?!?
Bonn was the capital of Germany til the late 90’s. It was fun to get an in-depth walking tour of a beautiful city. And I learned so much!!
Carla is an excellent tour guide!! Many historic homes and buildings. She is a wealth of knowledge! ???
We were very lucky to see inside a few beautiful churches. Very different architecture but quite stunning! Not very crowded. Just a quiet elegance. The statues and artwork were a surprise. A beautiful surprise.
And some excellent Apple Strudel with Cream! Plus a few very interesting stores! We wandered into a thrift store for the rescue of animals! We bought!!! Just a few neat things.
Then a lovely Fondue dinner with Carla and her dear friend Costanza and a very cool pupster named Joya! I think we could have talked all night ! The Fondue was excellent! The company even better!!
What has amazed me is how the bombed cities of Frankfurt and Bonn (from WWII) have rebuilt and are very interesting! Modern downtown areas and numerous homes rebuilt in the old German style. Very quaint.
To get to Bonn, I took a fast train. How fast you ask? 300km = 186 mph. Very fast! Yikes! But new beautiful trains – so really a nice ride!! The trains are so plentiful in Europe that it’s very enjoyable and quite the experience!
Next time I’ll be sure to ask Carla to play her violin. What an extraordinary exciting musical career she has had!
I’ve enjoyed my time in Germany. And have met lovely people. Now heading home to Italy to bring in the New Year!
Wishing you the best in 2023!
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