The Meet-Up started in the coffee shop of the Bonn HBF. I arrived there at 10h and was quickly joined by Belinda at 10h06, followed by everyone else until the entire gang was assembled, Jen and Sparky, The Haddocks, Hamish, Christina and Husband, Heather and Friend, Andrea, Christina and then set off. Luckily, nobody had too much of a Deutsche Bahn ‘experience’ – which was a relief.
After a small ‘Welcome to Bonn’ talk and handing out brochures on Bonn, we set off for our first stop – the hotel so that we could drop off Jen’s car and so that the other overnighters, Christina, Jen and Sparky, could check in and then set off for Old Town again. We saw the Cathedral and other sights and then it started to rain. Upon reaching the City Hall, a lunch stop was requested by most, so we stopped at the restaurant right next to the city hall to fill the voids. I had never been to that restaurant before and it had been recommended by a Bonner I know, and it turned out to be a good choice. All of us were satisfied with our meals.
After bidding farewell to the Haddocks and Belinda, the rest of us carried on with the ‘tour’ of Bonn down the Bonn ‘Walk of Fame’ (yes, there is such a thing), past a few other sights, ending up on the Rhein – mingling and getting to know others along the way. We eventually ended up in what used to be the government zone, past the President’s and the Chancellor’s residences (the use of the present tense there is not a mistake) and eventually at one of my favorite museums, the Haus der Geschichte der Bundersrepublik Deutschland (The House of History of the Federal Republic of Germany) for a couple hours.
The next order of business was dinner. We took the metro back to the Universitat stop and then proceeded to my favourite restaurant in Bonn, Tacos (coincidentally also Andrea’s favourite). After a bit of conversation, dinner was ordered – and at the same time I received a call on my mobile from someone that I didn’t know. No problem, as that’s what Meet-Ups are about. Jennifer had been in email contact with Christina and had been given my number as a contact person since I knew Bonn. After arranging a place to meet, I asked Christina if she knew what Jennifer looked like, and she told me that she didn’t.
I left the restaurant a bit later to meet Jen and asked them to wish me luck in looking for someone that nobody knew looked like in a city of 313,000 people. Arriving at the statue in the town square, I didn’t see anybody who appeared to be looking for somebody they didn’t know, but that wasn’t a good strategy. Instead, I called her.
J: ‘Hi Jennifer, are you at the town square yet?
Jennifer : ‘Yes’.
[I look around and see someone on their mobile]
J: ‘By any chance are you standing in front of City Hall and wearing black?’
Jennifer : ‘Yes.’
J: ‘Turn around, I’m at the statue.’
She then turned around, saw me waiving to her, we met and I brought her back to the restaurant where we were having dinner.
A couple hours later, we left the restaurant and headed back towards the train station, but stopped out for one last drink. The place we chose was crowded and smoky, so we asked if they’d turn on the outdoor heaters so we could sit there, and they obliged. An hour later, we dropped Heather, Friend, Hamish and Jennifer off at the train station and the rest of us headed back to the hotel, arriving around 22h40.
Sunday was a bit calmer. Jen, Sparky, both Christinas, Husband and I had a delicious breakfast buffet at The Rheinlust and spent a couple hours talking. After more joviality and great conversation, we parted ways. Jen and Sparky sped off to the nearest Autobahn for something that you’ll have to read about on Jen’s blog, Christina and Husband headed off to spend time with family in Bonn and the other Christina (Mausi) and I headed across the bridge back to central Bonn.
The rain was falling, but Christina and I had umbrellas and were determined not to let that dampen our spirits. We attempted to go to the City Museum of Bonn, but were disappointed to find out that it was closed from 6 November to 6 December, but I had another idea. We headed through Bonn to Poppelsdorfer Schloss and went to a mineral museum there, which turned out to be a lot more interesting than I thought it would be. Upon exiting the museum, we made our way back to a coffee shop not too far from the train station and ended our day with a nice cup of tea.
Christina and I had a very nice out day together. We did a lot of walking and tons of talking and the conversation never lagged. Even though the day hadn’t turned out as I had hoped, it was still a wonderful day out and a great way to end Meet-Up weekend.
I was glad that usual Meet-Up suspects (Jen and Sparky, The Haddocks, & Christina) were all able to attend. Hamish is no stranger to me and life is always fun when he’s around. Belinda was the same gem I strolled around her town with a few months ago. Andrea is lovely and a dedicated mom. Christina was a blast, as was Husband (and he even tolerated our whining about his country), Heather is a former fellow Philadelphian that also shares my love for Eastern Europe and quite interesting to get to know - and Friend is a fellow cyclist and budding tri-athlete (who will be competing in an Ironman competition next year). Jennifer was full of life and a great conversationalist.
The Meet-Up is about camaraderie. It’s about getting something that we don’t get in everyday life. It fills an emptiness. It is one weekend a year when we can leave the hassles of everyday life behind, get to know the people behind the blogs we frequently read, see old friends and also meet new people. Blogging isn’t just about writing, it’s about sharing lives with people – the good and the bad.
Last year we had five bloggers. My goal for this year (as it is every year) was to increase the number of bloggers attending by one more than the previous year, and we ended up doubling it! Hooray!
All in all, I’d like to say that the Second Whiney Expat Bloggers in Germany Meet-Up was a success and am looking forward to the 2007 Meet-Up – wherever it may be.
Posted by: J
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