Whimsy in Europe

It has been warming up over the past few weeks and I don’t think I have experienced anything better than a warm day in Europe. I have done my fair share of traveling here and seeing famous cities is cool, but all of that pails in comparison to walking around near Bonn on a warm day. Over the weekend I explored Schloss Brühl, a castle not too far from Bonn, and did some hiking in the Siebengebirger region. The best part, all of the infrastructure makes this all so easy.

I was able to get to both Brühl and Unkel, the town I started my hike in, by train and everything else in the area was very walkable. This allows for a lot of freedom of movement. If you see a restaurant, monument, or any other interesting landmark, you will almost always be able to get there on foot. It may be less convenient than a bus or tram, but I have found foot travel to be the most reliable mode of transport and my favorite. I love leaving my house and being able to walk to the Rhine River Trail, or anywhere else I would want to go.

I also find that Europe has a more whimsical atmosphere, especially for pedestrians. Seeing everyone outside enjoying the warm weather and listening to the birds sing is such a wonderful experience. The streets are also much less busy, making walking a much safer activity and a much more peaceful activity. I think most of the things that have already been said about pedestrians can also be said about bikers, as Europe is very bike friendly.

When I need to travel further distances, trains and buses are very convenient as you just get on and go wherever it takes you. You would need a ticket for any mode of public transit, but AIB provided everyone with a ticket that provides access to all regional trains and buses in Germany through VRS. It costs 58 Euro per month, but it is very cheap given how much people use it. A regular tram ticket would cost about 4 Euro for me to get to school, so going to and from school for about a week and a half would cost about as much as the VRS ticket. Either way, I love being able to hop on a train and going on a fun little adventure.

I also think that the sheer number of castles in the surrounding area really makes Europe feel so whimsical. There are five former castles near my house, and so far I have seen four of them. I have seen Schloss Drachenburg, Schloss Brühl, Schloss Falkenlust, Kurfürstliches Schloss, and Poppelsdorfer Schloss. Kurfürstliches Schloss and Poppelsdorfer Schloss are both owned by the University of Bonn which is really neat as they are making use of space that these historical buildings are taking up and they look really cool. The castles also look very different, and many of them are more of a Rococo style.

Overall, I think that Europe is such a whimsical place, and the infrastructure really reinforces and allows for this whimsy to exist. If you ever come over into the European Union, I would highly recommend walking around and just basking in the whimsy that flows through Europe.

-Owen B

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