Day 11: Hello Mr. Beethoven, may I please come in?

We traveled to Bonn, Germany on our 11th day of our trip. Those of you who are musically inclined will know that Bonn is famous because it is the birthplace of Ludwig van Beethoven. It also has some of the best shopping in the Westphalia area of Germany, so you can guess who did what. Since shopping isn't terribly interesting to blog about, I will share briefly about my run-in with Mr. Beethoven.

We went to the house where he was born. Erich was especially keen and knocked promptly on the door (as shown in the photo). Once inside, I explored the various rooms. Though I had actually been here briefly once before (on tour with the VYSO), I finally had the chance to see the museum in detail. I found particularly fascinating the collection of Beethoven's actual instruments that had been amassed. To hear actual pieces as they would have been played on Beethoven's own instrument is certainly a rare occasion.