With The End In Sight...

On Friday night, some of my dormmates and I grilled out in the backyard of our dorm again. We sat around for a while, until it got dark and cold outside, cooking wurst and bread and talking. On Saturday, my mom's cousin, Gabi, and her husband, Mannfred, took me on a day trip to see some interesting sights. First, we visited Dernau, a small town hidden between mountains and surrounded by vineyards. The wine vineyards covered the hills on every side, and it was really beautiful. We walked through them and stopped at a restaurant on the top of the mountain. The restaurant was built after a famous architect whose name I cannot remember. But it was a Mexican style, bright orange and yellow stucko with smooth, rounded edges. After eating on the deck overlooking the vineyards, we drove to a little town called Ahrweiler that was quite old and had homes proudly displaying that fact. The homes were white cement with brown or black wooden panels crossing along the front, very much the stereotypical German style, and above the doors were the dates the homes were built. Next, we drove through Bonn, the old capital of Germany, and then to Düsseldorf. We stopped here, drank coffee/hot chocolate at a cafe, and took a walk along the Rhein River. The weather was beautiful with lots of warm sunshine and fresh breezes. We ended our adventure in Mönchenbgladbach, where Gabi and Mannfred live. We ate dinner at Palace St. George, a fine restaurant that was previously a church. The chef is a one star expert, and after visiting our table, he cooked us a delicious meal. That night, I watched a couple of movies with Christian and his best friend, Tom. Since they spent six months in California, we talked about the emotional rollercoaster that one rides in the last days before going home. One day I am psyched about going home, and the next day I am sad to leave. Of course, I am excited about going home and being with my family and friends again. But it will also be hard to leave this place and these people, since both have been a sort of home to me in the past three and a half months.