Belated First Impressions of Germany

     Since I have not found the time to properly describe some of my first experiences in Germany, I thought it would be a good idea to elaborate.  One of the most striking features of this region of Germany (to me, at least) was how open everything felt.  This was a huge change from Rome where most things seemed so close together and the buildings and hills helped to hide the sky from sight.  That is not the case here.  The sky feels so different: it just stretches as a vast expanse above you.  This is noteable for me, at least, because I am not at all used to the open environment of any countryside.  It was an amazing feeling when a few fellow students and myself were taken up to the vineyards on top of the hills surrounding Bissingen.  From there, not only could one see the endless rows of young grape vines, but a large portion of the beautiful town as well.  I was fortunate enough to continue to see the city up close.  I was impressed by how much history there is in the buildings and features that we saw in just a short walk around.

     In addition to the amazing sights, the food that I ate with Scott P. and his hosts was delicious and extremeley filling.  We each got a large plate, and on top was a pizza of our choosing that filled the plate completely.  And why stop at a huge plate full of pizza?  We, of course, topped off the evening with a cone of ice cream for each of us which was even more savory than the pizza.  I'm fairly cetain that it was the best ice cream that I have ever had the privillege of consuming.  I suppose I should have taken a picture of some part of my culinary exploration that day, but I'm happy to tell you that the food never really lasted that long. 

     And, as usual, I am very much looking forward to continuing to see and learn about Germany as well as spend time with fun and aimiable people.  Also, as this last portion of the post was written after the Tuesday night concert, I sshould say that I thought it went very well and I had a lot of fun finally playing the trumpet again.  Can't wait to repeat our musical succes and continue to refine my impressions and conceptions of Germany.