Rainfall in Nordrhein-Westfalen

Tuesday began a bit earlier in the morning than I think most of us would have hoped, but we had a good start at the Heinz Nixdorf MuseumsForum (HNF), the world’s biggest computer museum. Exhibits covered topics from the beginnings of number systems, to the invention of the first computer, to the future of computing. They have a lot of old hardware on display, and it’s fun to track the changes in design throughout the years.

Our next main event was a presentation on artificial intelligence at the university. We talked about the application of different kinds of AI for games and discussed how it might develop in the coming years. When the talk ended, we all had a few hours on hand until the scheduled board game night. When most of our group returned to their rooms to nap, I wandered out into town to find Welt der Steine.

Welt der Steine, or “World of Stones,” is a cute little store that sells pretty rocks. I noticed it on my way to the hotel on Sunday and took a note to return. I bought four very nice rocks.

We opted to return to the university at night by foot, and it was very nice out. There was a light drizzle, with the sun just barely peeking out from a single corner of cloudless sky. I stopped a few times to take some rainy day pictures. Of course, board game night was pretty wild too. We stayed up a lot later than I expected, and I got really good at a game called Tichu despite still not understanding how it works.

A final note before the pictures: Germans don’t have Italian sausage or pepperoni on their pizzas, but they do have tuna.

HNF had the fabled “PainStation,” and no, I didn’t try it
That Wet Cobblestone Aesthetic

Out Here in Paderborn

I’m writing this now in my first morning in Paderborn, but it is my sixth day in Germany. I came a bit early and spent some time with a family friend in Cologne, where I did a lot of sight seeing and exploring. Navigating the country through subways, street trains, and cross-country high speed rails has been confusing, but I haven’t gotten lost yet! My high school German education has helped me out a lot, though most people I’ve spoken with knew plenty of English.

Paderborn is a lot smaller than Cologne, but in my less than 24 hours here, I have already come to appreciate it. There’s a beautiful park in the center(?) of town with water running through and around it and with lots of ducks. I’m already sold!

Here are some Choice Pics™ from my travels:

Cologne’s Famous Cathedral
The Chocolate Museum’s Fountain… of Chocolate
Eltz Castle