From Bonn to Berlin

Trip Start May 26, 2006

Trip End Jun 18, 2006

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Flag of Germany Bonn, Germany
Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Greetings from Germany. I'm sitting in an internet Cafe on Potsdamer Platzer (Square), which used to be no-mans' land in East Berlin, trying to fathom a German computer with German instructions and a German keyboard, which - among other idiosynchrocies - has the y and z kezs (sorry, keys - that could happen from time to time) reversed.

Landed in Frankfort very early saturday morning after only an hour or two of restless sleep, and had to get through passport control and transfer to cologne/bonn. Frankfort airport is huge. Luckily I had three hours. Unlike David and Bronagh arriving the night before, who had 40 minutes. Needless to say, they missed their connecting flight.

Having got some replies to my non-existent blog (actually, I just got the URL wrong) asking what the hell I'm doing in Germany, here's the story (those that know, skip to the next paragraph)

Bicycles in Bonn

. I was invited by a German NGO to visit Germany and meet with representatives of the liberal party in Germany to see how they run their political operation, particularly regarding media and public relations.

So much for the explanation.

Bonn is a really beautiful city. Although it was the federal capital of West Germany until re-unification, it has a small town feel about it - especially the central part which is largely dedicated to pedestrians. And bicycles. There are a lot of bicycles in Bonn.

Workwise, the tour started here with a workshop on the German federal and parliamentary system and presentations from the country delegations (SA and Tanzania) on their situations. Playwise, the highlight was drinking German Beer in an an Irish Pub (the James Joyce, no less) on Sunday evening.

On Monday we headed for Dusseldorf and the State Assembly of North Rhine Westfalia. We were literally in and out of Dusseldorf, so didn't really get to see much of it.

One unusual occurance is worth mentioning. After returning from the mens' room during lunch, David suggested I should sample their facilities. A bizarre thing to do, you might well think, but he had good reason. The toilets automatically flush and clean themselves as you stand up. The seat literally rotates through a cleaning sponge.

After four meetings and a tour of the State Assembly, we headed for the airport and Berlin, but that deserves an Entry of its own...

Bonn hotels Slideshow