a small town in germany

i am back in bonn for the first time in five years, a town that used to be home for a while a while back... i am stunned by how little has changed in 5 years, the only noticeable changes were that the greek resto round the corner is now an indian eatery and that the couple running the korean grocery store have become friendlier.

then as now, bonn is an affluent, orderly, administrative town for affluent, orderly, administrative people. suits and ties, expensive handbags, wealthy old ladies with nip-n-tuck tight faces, small dogs. fenced-off, well-kept front lawns. no alarms and no surprises, please...

at times, especially during the dark and dismal days of november-december, the strict bourgeois orderliness would become oppressive, "bonn jour tristesse" if you excuse the pun.

today however, the town is resplendent. a cloudless sky, a brilliant sun, majestic victorian houses, the first birds are singing and the first trees down by the rhine are in bloom. (never mind the fact that this should actually only be happening in two months time...)