Bochum, Check!

I left Amsterdam in the morning and took multiple trains to Aachen Germany where I was meeting Anna Kohler (a friend from high school). I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. We hadn't seen each other since grade 12 (so like eight years ago). I didn't know how we would get on, but it felt very natural and like clearly time had passed but we could still hang out and chat like normal.

Anna took me around Aachen. We went into a dome cathedral. I've seen a lot of churches during my travels but Anna said this one was a must-see. It was beautiful inside! It was grand, high ceilings, domed archways, funky chandeliers, mosaic tile images, and touches of gold everywhere. We got lunch, sat in the park, and got ice cream. The whole time we were just chatting and catching up.

Anna doesn't live in Aachen so we got on the train to continue on our way. We stopped in Köln for a quick visit. We had a couple of drinks on the waterfront and I was able to see the cityscape and get a feel for it. Because of World War II the entire city was pretty much destroyed so there is a mismatched layout of buildings. I had my bags with me and didn't want to tour the city with them so off we went back to the train.

Cut to another 2-hour train ride and we arrive in Bochum. Anna dropped me off at my hotel because she was moving apartments and there was no place for me. Which I was okay with because having my own space for a few nights was honestly so nice!

Anna gave Bochum flack but it was a pretty cool city to visit. Definitely not a touristy town though so I relied heavily on Anna’s German to get me places. During the days I would arrive at Anna’s new apartment to read/ watch movies/ hang out while Anna studied for an exam she had coming up. We would hang out during her study breaks and in the evenings after she was done.

My first time trying to navigate to Anna’s place didn't go so well. She told me the address and I put it into my Google Maps without double-checking I got it right. It was a hot day and I had to walk 10 minutes in the sun to get to the place. I told her I was out front and waited another 5 minutes for her, she texted me she couldn’t see me and my first thought was “Oh fuck”. I sent her a photo of the door I was at and she replied it was 127 NOT 27! Needless to say, it was a humbling experience because here I was thinking my navigation skills had gotten so good only to realize I put the address in wrong… I did make it to the right street though! So I ended up walking 12 minutes in the other direction in the sun… and her place was a two-minute walk from the metro station if I had gone the right way the first time!

The first night we went out for dinner (me, Anna, and her boyfriend). I tried currywurst for the first time which is pretty much sausages covered in a curry sauce with fries and topped with mayo. Super good! In the lineup there was a guy who cut in front of us, realized he cut in front of us, but then continued to order and lay anyway. The staff seemed a little confused too which made us chuckle a bit. Afterward, we walked to Bochum’s largest bell which was on display in front of the government building. We caught a train to the steel factory which is also a park. So we walked through that and the steel factory was all lit up in orange and blue colours. It was a little eery. There were flashes overhead so a lightning storm was on its way. We heard some really weird noises down by the river. There were too many so it seemed like frogs but it didn't sound like frogs! It sounded something like chittering and purring. Needless to say, we didn't linger to see the thing making the noise emerge from the long grass. When I got back to my hotel I got ready for bed and got to watch the lightning storm crack overhead of my hotel. There were some really big and white flashes and the rain was bucketing down.

The next morning I went back to Anna’s place and she had another study day. We went for a walk through around her new place. We tried to go to the Coal Mining Museum but what a shocker it was all sold out for the day… I should’ve known with my luck! That’s okay because I still had time the next day before leaving to visit it. Instead, we picked up things for dinner because we were making homemade sushi! I cut up the veggies and prepped everything while Anna finished some more work and then we had fun making our sushi rolls. The sushi takeout Trisha and I got before our canal cruise included a siracha mayo to dip your sushi rolls in and it was so good so I tried to recreate that for our homemade meal!

It was a little chilly but we decided to eat outside. We created a feast and it was so good to finally indulge. I headed back to my hotel for the light because Anna and her boyfriend had apartment duties to take care of. No thunderstorm to put me to sleep but I did have a good night's sleep.

The next day I packed everything up again and headed back to Anna’s after checking out of my hotel. We went to the Coal Mining Museum which was pretty cool to see the evolution of technology. They stopped using the coal mine in the early 2000s I’m pretty sure. I also got in on a discount because I was able to flash a picture of my student ID card. Honestly, such a lifesaver because I’ve gotten into a few spots using my student ID! Highly recommend working the system if you can pull it off!

Anna walked me to the train station afterwards and made sure I would be getting on the right trains back to Trisha. Of course, things didn’t go smoothly but it all worked out in the end. Anna had told me not to take a train since the final stops I needed to get off at were cancelled. But when the train arrived at the station I was waiting at I thought “Oh they must’ve fixed the issue”… no no no the train was still running just it was still gonna be the second one I wanted to catch. No worries though. I would’ve had to wait at either stop so I got on the right train in the end. Coming back to Amsterdam was rainy and gross but I was able to navigate myself seamlessly back to Trisha’s building!

This was a shorter trip! Just a quick hi and bye to see Anna since I came at the literal worst time for her busy schedule. I’m so grateful for the time I get to spend with my friends who live abroad though!

So that’s Bochum! You probably don’t need to add it to your tourist destination since it’s not a big fancy city. Still lots of history and cool things to do and see if you know the locals!

See you at the next blog post!