bonn, germany.

day 86 // sat april 7

It's always fun to be a tourist in your own city. Saturday was the day we had to say goodbye to Ris & Jarrod, so sad. We walked them to the train station and decided we would hunker down to get some work done. Well, that was short lived because about an hour later Jens texted and asked if we wanted to go to the Poppelsdorfer neighborhood and explore. The day was too pretty not to say yes—75 degrees and sunny.

We first walked across town to Poppelsdorf Palace. This is currently part of the University of Bonn. It hosts a botanical garden and lots of great lawn space for people to lounge. Jens had been telling us about this great Tibetan place. I personally had never had Tibetan food, but he said they made the noodles right in front of you and it was delicious. The place was really tiny, but with tons of character—my favorite type of restaurant.

After grubbing (for real) we continued our walk through Poppelsdorf. This is a cool area of Bonn I didn't even know existed as a student. There are lots of cool restaurants, cafes and beer gardens. Jens is a volunteer firefighter so he took us to his station, which is part of an old fortress (pretty cool). We wanted to stop by a well known coffee shop called Brews Lee, but it's apparently closed on Saturdays. Sad day. Instead we stopped at Fiddler's, an Irish pub. He took us through parts of the new University of Bonn campus. I didn't realize how big and how many students attended the university. Lastly we stopped by a bicycle coffee stand that Jens frequents often. Super nice guy that owns it.

It was a fun day!

day 87 // sun april 8

We went to a local basketball game with a few other faculty members from A&M that are also currently working at AIB. We all live in the same building so we meet up for pizza first. It was a fun experience to see how other culture experience sports. Especially coming from such a strong background like A&M, I wasn't sure what to expect.

bologna, italy.

This post is waaaay late—partially because I just am slow, and partially because I got SO SICK a few weeks ago. I started feeling funny late that Tuesday with a weird feeling in my chest. Wednesday I woke up and definitely felt achy, which we all know is not a good sign this time a year. By that afternoon I was sitting in class freezing to death (wearing my heavy coat and still shivering). I knew I probably had the flu. Thursday came around and things got worse. By the time Friday hit I knew I should see a doctor. She said I had the flu, gave me some meds for fever and stomach pains. Although we soon came to the conclusion that I had the nasty Norovirus rather than a normal case of the flu. The norovirus has all the same symptoms as the flu BUT with the addition of belly issues. All of that to say I was down for the count 5 days. My poor, sweet husband took good care of me. I was pitiful.

Now back to your regularly programmed entertainment.

day 43 // fri feb 23

Wade and I had an open weekend and were browsing for cheap flights. We saw Bologna, Italy. Not a place most people even consider because they are intrigued with Rome, Florence and Venice. But when we read that Bologna is a city for food lovers, we were in. It’s the largest city in the Emilia Romagna region, one of the most prolific food regions in the world producing products like Parmigiano-Reggiano, Modena balsamic vinegar, and prosciutto.

We flew Ryan Air—which is the worst. Please don't do it unless the deal is just too good to pass up. We have had much better experience with EuroWings, also cheaper but way nicer and timely. We got to the Bonn-Cologne airport around 4PM and then waited forever. and ever. Our flight was delayed, then as approaching the aircraft they made us check our backpacks... say what? Since when is that a thing? Like I said, just avoid if at all possible.

Once in the air the flight was less than an hour. We finally made it to Bologna but it was later than we had originally planned. It was also very rainy. We took a taxi to our Airbnb. It was a cute little place with great details. After unloading we quickly ventured out to see what we could eat at this late hour. We stumbled across a few places that were still open but nothing really caught our eye. We found one place that looked tiny and quaint. We walked in and the Italian owner sat us down. There were no menus, he just began reading off a list of options. I decided on tortellini and Wade a lasagna with ham. THEN he just kept naming things and we soon realized that was only the first course. We were giggling because our plan was to just "get something small," then head back. We embraced it and dubbed it our honeymoon meal. We even ordered desserts. When in Bologna, right?

day 44 // sat feb 24

The next morning came bright and early. We booked a tour with Italian Days and they were picking us up at our Airbnb at 7AM sharp. Early, but a cool perk of the tour we booked so we didn't have to try to find our on way. We were greeted with a couple in the van, then proceeded to pick up one other couple. We then drove out of town for about an hour. We arrived at our first stop: A Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese Factory. This place was nuts. We got to see the artisan cheesemakers making the cheese, and were walked through the process. Very cool to see. They had thousands and thousands of wheels of cheese.

Then we headed to stop two: Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena. We got to taste 12 year aged balsamic vinegar, and THEN they were like, "oh try this 25 year aged Balsamic Vinegar too." It was unlike any balsamic vinegar you have probably every tasted. Very good. When I thought it couldn't get any better they brought out ricotta cheese that was made that morning at our first stop and topped it with said vinegar. MELT IN YOUR MOUTH GOOD.

Our last tour stop was Prosciutto Factory. My least favorite for obvious reasons, but really interesting nonetheless. They had over 93,000 prosciutto which is insane. After the tour we did some tastings. Wade and I both really liked one that was truffle flavored. Yummy!

After all the tours they say you get a "light lunch." Don't trust Italians. We had food on food. We went to a private room of this restaurant and they just kept bringing out food. There was tortellini, bolognese, bread, cheese, salami, more bread, and then dessert. Needless to say we didn't do much else that day due to our food comas.

day 45 // sun feb 25

One of the sweet couples we met at the tour was a local couple and recommended the best place to get a cappuccino and a brioche. It did NOT disappoint. Wade and I wondered around for a bit. It was raining at first then eventually started to snow. The snow was beautiful! Also I had like 3 cups of cappuccino that day because they are like 1,50 and SO good. I can't help myself. We found a little pizza joint for lunch that served by the slice. Wade said it was his favorite so far, although I'm more of a Neapolitan style pizza gal myself. We had an early afternoon flight back to Bonn.

Overall rating of Bologna was good! Definitely a food city, which we really enjoyed (and knew going in). Not as touristy as other Italian cities, which we also really liked.

prague, czech republic.

day 29 // fri feb 9th

Prague, oh Prague. You have stolen our hearts. Our first impression of Prague was much, much different than the vibe we got in Brussels. I came to Prague during my 2011 adventures and legitimately fractured my foot stepping off the train into Prague. Needless to say, I liked the city then, but it was slightly tarnished by the fact I had to hobble everywhere.

Wade and I flew to Prague via Eurowings for under €120 each. We were tempted with train tickets but they were more expensive and took way longer. We left the Bonn-Cologne airport at 1:55 and arrive in Prague at 2:55. So worth it.

Okay so preface: I had watched several YouTube videos about Prague and I kept seeing that you could get a traditional Czech meal for a good price at the cafeteria in the airport. It is where most of the employees eat, but is also open to the public. When we landed we were both starving so we thought we might as well try! It actually didn’t disappoint. I had a traditional Czech meal, which I couldn't pronounce. The total was around €10 for 2 meals, a piece of cake, and a soda. We left the airport via a short bus ride to the nearest metro line. Travel day passes were only around €5 a person, definitely a smart investment for this city! We got off the metro at our stop and it opened up to a beautiful square with a cathedral and the cutest line of buildings. We met our Airbnb host and he was very kind to show us the space. Nothing fancy, but the neighborhood made up for it tenfold.

We settled in for a little and then ventured out. Prague has amazing public transportation as mentioned above (like most all of Europe) but here specifically they have an above-ground tram, bus and metro system. All 3 of which are included in that €5 day pass. They also have the longest escalators I have ever seen! We hopped on the metro and took it a few stops down to Wenceslas Square. We wondered around a bit, bought some new socks for me-ha, and stumbled upon this big face sculpture that was pretty cool.

After a bit we decided we would head back to our neighborhood for dinner, but we took a tram back this time to see a little more of the city. We found a few good options, but we weren’t aware that almost all places here need a reservation. Boo! We finally picked a different place (it wasn’t our first choice) but it ended up being decent. Then we then found another little cafe to end the night with some dessert.

day 30 // sat feb 10th

You guys. I had a huge latte the next morning and it brought me so much joy. My morning coffee and quiet time are seriously the fave part of my day. We went to Costa which is a bigger chain of cafes (similar to Starbucks I’m guessing). I ordered a tiramisu latte and it was massive—it even had two handles! We enjoyed the slow morning and trekked to see some sights.

Wade and I’s travel style is to walk around and see what we find, hit the main points, then venture off the beaten path. We are also currently eating our way through Europe and I’m totally okay with that. We both lost quite a bit a weight last year, and don’t want to go nuts, but the food is SO good. Not to mention we average 10 miles a day on the weekend so I don’t feel too terrible. All of that to say, our weekend “to-do” lists include a few main sites per city, then really good food places! On that list today was Mr. HotDog. I found it via Instagram and knew I had to try it out. First all, I love hot dogs. Secondly, I love a good neon sign and look how cute! We then headed to the Lennon Wall, the Dancing House, Old Prague Square, Charles Bridge—all the main attractions. We had a pretty early night, just the way we like it.

day 31 // sun feb 11th

We woke up Sunday with 2 things on our agenda; the Prague Castle and eating at Eska. We took the metro to the castle stop then hiked, a for real hike through tiny streets, up to the top. The views were beautiful!

After the castle we headed off to find the restaurant I'd found online with pretty good reviews and a beautiful aesthetic. &&& Holy Moly! Eska was my favorite meal I’ve had in Europe so far. Here is a list of what we ordered:

Homemade sourdough bread with egg spread and radish
Sausages from Naše maso, mustard and a sweet horseradish
Crepes with homemade strawberry jam and soft curd cheese
Rosehip cappuccino—with homemade rosehip syrup that it was DELICIOUS.

day 28 // thurs feb 8th – day 32 // mon feb 12th

Karneval in Bonn!

On Thursday we met at the AIB to get everyone in the spirit of Karneval and to put the finishing touches on our costumes. They had music, face paint and Berliners (traditional Karneval goodies—aka jelly filled donuts).

We went to watch a parade in a neighbor of Bonn called Beuel. The parade was fun but so cold! We brought a bag to catch the massive amounts of candy that was thrown from the parade floats. I mean lots and lots of candy.

We got back from Prague on Sunday and Monday we went to the big Karneval Parade in Bonn. We met up with a few people from AIB and got a lot more goodies and more Hairbo than we could ever want or need-ha!