I have managed to get a few extra opportunities to travel in Germany to areas that we had never planned to visit. I never thought I would get to travel for my job - as a teacher. It wasn’t really in the job description.
To make a long story short, I decided I wanted to try coaching for once. The differences of an international school from an American school are pretty major so I won’t get into that. I would like to mention one of the benefits. No, it is not that I get to chaperone 10 middle school boys on 6-hour train rides across the country. It has been this extra opportunity to travel. When we arrived in Neuss, I was excited to have a night away from the boys and go explore this small city. Very few of the international schools seem to be located near a city, but I was able to walk from the school to my hotel.
After settling in I made a quick move to go find toothpaste because it was 6:30 p.m. and German stores tend to close early. I instantly found a pedestrian street with stair-stepped roofs and a bustling after-work crowd. Every time a side street appeared, I turned down to see what it had to offer. There was an amazing diversity of places in the small area from the cathedral-dominated square to the green tree-lined river to the small Turkish town to a café filled plaza.
Spring was in the air with the fresh moist scent of flowers and tons of blooming trees. I realized this city was telling me a story. For example, I kept seeing old city walls. My guess was that Neuss had a good reason for having what looked like lots of protection in its past.
As always, my mind keep going back to my usual travel buddy and how I wished she were able to join me. Anyway, this teacher will keep goin’ walkabout. You can be sure to hear about the next adventure soon: Rome.
