An American in Paderborn

If Gershwin were to have composed about Paderborn the piece would have been short, simple and have probally brought him ridicule. Its a nice small major city-village. That is going to need some explaining.


Paderborn is Germany's smallest metropolis. Its population is slightly over 144,000. It is about an hour from Dortmund (the next major city and start of the sprawling urban jungle known as the Ruhrgebiet). The people and city here are very charming in their own way, but it is very much a village in terms of shopping and activities. There is little selection in goods and everyone carries the same products. The city is also a melting pot. 10% of the population immigrated from former Soviet Republics. 10% are English soldiers and their families. The rest are Germans, Italians,Turks, Arabs, Slavs, Chinese, Thai, Africans and then me.


When I first moved here everyone thought I would be bored to tears. Anaheim, my birthplace has a population of over 300,000 and Orange County has everything a person could ever want in an urban environment. That said I feel very comfortable here, and am never left wanting for action. I seem to be a magnet for crazy events and a point of interrest for the locals.

This blog is going to document my life here in Paderborn, Germany; poke fun at myself and the people I meet each day. Just don't expect too much. Grammar will take second chair to the ramblings of my brain.