Another gorgeous day in Germany, and I was sorely tempted to "miss" my flight. But, alas, all good things must run their courses and so my trip must, too.
I packed my bags, double-checked my room, sighed, and left for the airport.
Got there in plenty of time, which turned out to be a good thing. I went through security, which took some time, but you didn't have to remove your shoes. Breezed through passport control. My usual course of action, after security, is to find my gate, make sure everything is as it should be, then find food. Well, to my surprise there was a second complete security screening before you could enter the gate area, even though I had gone through a thorough screening five minutes earlier and was presumably already in a secure area. Once in the gate area there was no food or drink to be had.
Flight left 40 minutes late. A big 767 with a 2-3-2 seat configuration. I was in a two, and I had a row mate. He was a French guy who smelled really bad. Nine and a half hours later, the plane was put into a holding pattern near my intermediate stop, Newark Liberty Airport, because of severe thunderstorms affecting all traffic arriving and departing the airport. After about a half hour of circling, the pilot came on over the PA and announced that we were being diverted to Stewart Air Force Base because we were running out of fuel. Swell. At least I didn't notice the fetid odor of my row mate anymore.
We landed at the air force base, taxied to a far corner of it, and waited for about 40 minutes while we took on some fuel. We taxied back to the runway and were #1 for takeoff (there wasn't really any other traffic at the base) when the pilot came back on to say that all traffic to and from Newark had been "ground-stopped" due to further T-storms and that it would be another 30 minutes or so before we would resume travel.
Finally back in the air, we dodged some more T-storms and finally made it to Newark, 2 hours late (that was after having caught up the 40 minutes deficit we started with during the flight over the Atlantic). My connection to Manchester, NH was thankfully delayed, too, so I still had some time to clear passport control and customs before it took off. Thank goodness I didn't check any bags, which allowed me to be among the first to go through customs.
Made it through customs without issue. Found my gate for the Manchester leg of the trip. The flight was no longer delayed, it had been canceled. Lovely. Several other flights had been canceled, too, so the line at the customer service desk was worse than Disney during Spring Break, and without the sly animatronics and interesting things to look at. That got me thinking -- couldn't the airlines adopt a Fast Pass system like the rides at Disney for their customer service counters? I was starving (last food was a smallish sandwich and a piece of chocolate on the plane a few hours earlier) but I didn't dare leave my place in line.
It took more than 90 minutes to get to the service desk. No more flights to Manchester for the day on any airline. Two flights to Boston, but both were fully booked. It was about 6:00 PM at that point. There was a 7 PM to Boston and a 9:00 PM, and I could try for standby on either or both. Neither was looking too good, according to the service representative, though she did tell me that fewer people had already checked in for the 7 PM. I had jumped into the line reasonably early, so I would be relatively high up on the standby list. I rolled the dice on the 7 PM and took the hotel list the representative also offered to me just to be safe.
Well, the 7 PM was then delayed until 8:40 PM. I was dragging by this point, having been up for about 21 hours, and having deliberately not slept much on the plane to help assuage the effects of let lag when I got home. It was a fight to stay awake waiting for the boarding announcement and to see if I would get a seat. The plane started boarding at about 8:50 PM. Wonder-of-wonders my name was called and I got a seat. I think that's because I had checked in really early with the cute gate representative and I played really nice without overacting. It's the clerks who really run the world.
The plane finally took off at about 9:30, after the airline made sure every single seat was full -- it took them an extraordinarily long time to do it, with several trips by representatives through the cabin to look for empty seats. Makes me wonder what the computer system is for.
I had been in periodic contact with my Dad to keep him advised of my status. He was my ride from the airport and he was gracious about having to drive into Boston instead of to Manchester. The plane pulled into the gate at Logan at a little after 11 PM, thanks to a couple of delays on the tarmac.
My dad, and my mom, too (I had expected her originally, but I figured it was too late at this point, with her having to be in school early the next day) picked me up at the arrivals curbside and we headed to their place where my car had been stashed. My mom, bless her, had been thoughtful enough to bring a drink for me to guzzle down on the ride back to Lowell.
From Lowell I drove straight home, without even using the bathroom first. Ear to pillow at 1:31 AM on Friday, 9/30.
Probably one more post, as a summation of the experience, to follow.
Friday, September 30, 2011
In Munich, Day Two
Oktoberfest. I started the day sleeping in a bit, since the fairgrounds didn't open until 10:00 AM.
I left the hotel at about 9:00, figuring on a quick breakfast at a cafe then a four stop subway ride to the fairgrounds. Another spectacular day weather-wise: bright sunshine and low to middle 70s. Great drinking weather.
Food, check. Subway ride, first two stops, no problem. I needed to change trains to a connecting line and I just missed the right train pulling out of the station. No fear, three other subway trains were listed on the electronic subway board for 8, 12 and 18 minutes away. Six minutes later there was an announcement in German only, something about something at the Hauptbahnhof stop, and the times on the board changed to 30, 33 and 36 minutes.
I happened to hear two guys talking in American English just behind me on the platform. I turned and introduced myself and they introduced themselves as Kenneth and Andrew from New Jersey. Couldn't make that up if I tried.
Here are Kenneth (right) and Andrew (left) at the Lowenbrau tent.
We chatted amicably for a while and we even consulted our city maps. We determined it would take at least as long to walk to the fairgrounds as it would to wait for the train. So wait we did, until the times changed on the electronic board again and a lady squawked more German at the crowd through the loudspeaker.
I devised a scheme whereby Kenneth, Andrew and I could hop an alternate subway line, catch a tram, and then arrive only a few minutes walk from Oktoberfest. They agreed the plan was sound and they decided to accompany me.
We made it to the grounds at about 10:45.
We made our way to the closest beer tent (really a semi-permanent hall), the Lowenbrau tent. It was fairly empty but people were starting to arrive in waves. Most of the tables you see in the fourth picture down had reservation signs taped to them; there was only a small area of unreserved tables. We found a free table, Kenneth ordered the first round, and we enjoyed our gigantic beers (they are one liter and cost €8.20 a piece). Ken and Andrew are aircraft mechanics and work for Continental. They deadheaded over to Munich for a couple of days of Oktoberfest (deadheading is the process whereby airline employees can hitch a ride, for free, on any of the airline's flights. The only limitation is that they must fly standby. In their case, they each got a seat in first class on the ride to Europe, a $3,000 value!)
After our first beer, we decided to check out another tent before things got too crowded. The next tent was the Paulaner tent, and it was livelier by half - the oomphaa band had started to perform. There we had another enormous beer. We were having fun at the Paulaner tent and were chatting with several other people at our table and the next one over, so we ordered another round.
I also had food - a half of a game hen with pan roasted potatoes, carrots and beans. Yummy. Later in the day, at another tent, I had a giant pretzel, like the one pictured to the left.
After the Paulaner tent I parted company with Kenneth and Andrew. Good guys, but I was drinking too much, too fast. So I wandered the grounds for a while, taking in the sights and watching drunk German guys in leather shorts try to compete at your typical carnival-type games.
Needless to say Oktoberfest was an amazing experience and brilliant for people watching. I did get tipsier than I had planned on which made walking a bit more challenging. The Oktoberfest brews may have been stronger than your average beer, or maybe it was the prodigious quantities (but I only had four steins of beer the whole day!). In any event I could have stood another day at the fairgrounds, but more than that would have been tough - I don't know how some of those guys do it!
When I returned to the hotel I discovered that the Wi-Fi was no longer working, so my apologies if you've emailed me or posted a comment and I haven't replied yet. In fact there were three Japanese businessmen at the front desk complaining loudly about the Internet being down. This post may not make it out until either the problem at the hotel is fixed, one of the airports tomorrow has free Wi-Fi, or I make it home.
I left the hotel at about 9:00, figuring on a quick breakfast at a cafe then a four stop subway ride to the fairgrounds. Another spectacular day weather-wise: bright sunshine and low to middle 70s. Great drinking weather.
Food, check. Subway ride, first two stops, no problem. I needed to change trains to a connecting line and I just missed the right train pulling out of the station. No fear, three other subway trains were listed on the electronic subway board for 8, 12 and 18 minutes away. Six minutes later there was an announcement in German only, something about something at the Hauptbahnhof stop, and the times on the board changed to 30, 33 and 36 minutes.
I happened to hear two guys talking in American English just behind me on the platform. I turned and introduced myself and they introduced themselves as Kenneth and Andrew from New Jersey. Couldn't make that up if I tried.
Here are Kenneth (right) and Andrew (left) at the Lowenbrau tent.
We chatted amicably for a while and we even consulted our city maps. We determined it would take at least as long to walk to the fairgrounds as it would to wait for the train. So wait we did, until the times changed on the electronic board again and a lady squawked more German at the crowd through the loudspeaker.
I devised a scheme whereby Kenneth, Andrew and I could hop an alternate subway line, catch a tram, and then arrive only a few minutes walk from Oktoberfest. They agreed the plan was sound and they decided to accompany me.
We made it to the grounds at about 10:45.
We made our way to the closest beer tent (really a semi-permanent hall), the Lowenbrau tent. It was fairly empty but people were starting to arrive in waves. Most of the tables you see in the fourth picture down had reservation signs taped to them; there was only a small area of unreserved tables. We found a free table, Kenneth ordered the first round, and we enjoyed our gigantic beers (they are one liter and cost €8.20 a piece). Ken and Andrew are aircraft mechanics and work for Continental. They deadheaded over to Munich for a couple of days of Oktoberfest (deadheading is the process whereby airline employees can hitch a ride, for free, on any of the airline's flights. The only limitation is that they must fly standby. In their case, they each got a seat in first class on the ride to Europe, a $3,000 value!)
After our first beer, we decided to check out another tent before things got too crowded. The next tent was the Paulaner tent, and it was livelier by half - the oomphaa band had started to perform. There we had another enormous beer. We were having fun at the Paulaner tent and were chatting with several other people at our table and the next one over, so we ordered another round.
I also had food - a half of a game hen with pan roasted potatoes, carrots and beans. Yummy. Later in the day, at another tent, I had a giant pretzel, like the one pictured to the left.
After the Paulaner tent I parted company with Kenneth and Andrew. Good guys, but I was drinking too much, too fast. So I wandered the grounds for a while, taking in the sights and watching drunk German guys in leather shorts try to compete at your typical carnival-type games.
Needless to say Oktoberfest was an amazing experience and brilliant for people watching. I did get tipsier than I had planned on which made walking a bit more challenging. The Oktoberfest brews may have been stronger than your average beer, or maybe it was the prodigious quantities (but I only had four steins of beer the whole day!). In any event I could have stood another day at the fairgrounds, but more than that would have been tough - I don't know how some of those guys do it!
When I returned to the hotel I discovered that the Wi-Fi was no longer working, so my apologies if you've emailed me or posted a comment and I haven't replied yet. In fact there were three Japanese businessmen at the front desk complaining loudly about the Internet being down. This post may not make it out until either the problem at the hotel is fixed, one of the airports tomorrow has free Wi-Fi, or I make it home.
Location:Romerstrasse, Munchen, Germany
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
In Munich, Day One
As I mentioned in my last post, I arrived in Munich on Tuesday, 9/27, at about 10:15 AM. I went to my hotel, got there by 11:00 AM after a stop at the tourist information center for a map, Oktoberfest info, and a Tageskarte (one day ticket for U- and S-Bahn and trolley services). The hotel is in a great location - less than 5 minutes walk to the Deutsches Museum, and about 7 minutes to the Viktualienmarkt, where all the food is. A trolley stops right in front of the hotel, and the U-Bahn station is just around the corner. The center of town is just two stops on the U-Bahn.
See the sign for the hotel above the entrance? My room is immediately above it, with a balcony!
That's a Braeburn apple on the pillow, in case you're wondering. As you may recall from my last post, I couldn't check in immediately, so this picture is out of sequence. I did it for the flow of the story. Another first - the hotel gives you two beers in the mini fridge for free as a welcome! I would hope so, for $200+ per night (Oktoberfest hotel prices are ridiculous). Wi-Fi is gratis, as with all of the other hotels except in Heidelberg.
The people here are warm and friendly. They smile, they're animated, they are ready for fun. I saw a lot of people wandering about in their lederhosen and in bust-revealing dresses, a la the St. Pauli girl. Can't complain about that.
I had to take these pictures on the sly, to avoid any trouble. Just a quick snap of my shutter from where my camera hung from around my neck, casually, while I walked around the Viktualienmarkt after visiting the Deutsches Museum. I'll be all-out bold once I reach the Theresienwiese, the Oktoberfest grounds, tomorrow. I actually have an appropriate shirt, as blue and red checked shirts are de rigeur for the event (I have a blue one, which seems more popular anyway) and I have a great pair of docker jeans that are a brown akin to leather. I did look at some lederhosen as I passed by some shops, but I'm not going crazy for €130+.
The Deutsches Museum is a huge complex with dozens of exhibits focused on the history of technology, from primitive to modern. Of course, with nearly all of the museums I visited (or tried to visit!) some of the exhibits were closed for refurbishment, including the planetarium and the chemistry department. I understand that the exhibit featuring my brother is not quite ready.
But otherwise the museum was comprehensive and awesome. Here are pics of a few of the exhibits:
Exhibits featured the history of electricity, piston and water power technology, and wind power.
There was also a large aeronautical and astronautical exhibit, some of my favorite stuff. Here are some more pictures:
The space stuff was especially neat, even though several of the objects were reproductions (they obviously didn't have Sputnick in their collection). It was also interesting, from an American perspective, to see how the emphasis here was on the European Space Agency's contributions to specific scientific payloads aboard the space shuttles, and to the German contributions to the European module of the International Space Station.
There wasn't too much on early German rocketry, which surprised me, except for the V and V-2 rockets from World War II. They did have, however, one of Dr. Goddard's early liquid-fueled test rockets, so there's a tie back to Worcester for you.
I spent almost four hours perusing the exhibits, which also included an extensive maritime exhibit. Interestingly, in the section on the inter-war period, the placards explaining the models were at once apologetic and frustrated, with several references to how Germany had been limited at the conclusion of WW I to the size and scope of the navy it could have. The information also disclosed, however, some of the advances Germany had made to get around the interregnum restrictions.
After the Museum I walked to the Viktualienmarkt and had some dinner - a Paulaner Heife-wise bier along with a Kartoffelsuppe mit brochen (potato soup with bread). I treated myself to dessert, too - apple strudel with vanilla sauce and creme frais - yum!!
Following dinner I walked throughout the Marien-Platz and took in the sights, sounds and smells (sometimes the body odor can be horrific!) of the old part of the city.
Tomorrow will be Oktoberfest and my last full day in Germany. My flight leaves Munich at about 9:20 AM on Thursday, so this will be it. I'm unsure whether I'll post my Oktoberfest report tonight after I get back to the hotel, or after I land back in the US, but in either case I promise you'll have it!
See the sign for the hotel above the entrance? My room is immediately above it, with a balcony!
That's a Braeburn apple on the pillow, in case you're wondering. As you may recall from my last post, I couldn't check in immediately, so this picture is out of sequence. I did it for the flow of the story. Another first - the hotel gives you two beers in the mini fridge for free as a welcome! I would hope so, for $200+ per night (Oktoberfest hotel prices are ridiculous). Wi-Fi is gratis, as with all of the other hotels except in Heidelberg.
The people here are warm and friendly. They smile, they're animated, they are ready for fun. I saw a lot of people wandering about in their lederhosen and in bust-revealing dresses, a la the St. Pauli girl. Can't complain about that.
I had to take these pictures on the sly, to avoid any trouble. Just a quick snap of my shutter from where my camera hung from around my neck, casually, while I walked around the Viktualienmarkt after visiting the Deutsches Museum. I'll be all-out bold once I reach the Theresienwiese, the Oktoberfest grounds, tomorrow. I actually have an appropriate shirt, as blue and red checked shirts are de rigeur for the event (I have a blue one, which seems more popular anyway) and I have a great pair of docker jeans that are a brown akin to leather. I did look at some lederhosen as I passed by some shops, but I'm not going crazy for €130+.
The Deutsches Museum is a huge complex with dozens of exhibits focused on the history of technology, from primitive to modern. Of course, with nearly all of the museums I visited (or tried to visit!) some of the exhibits were closed for refurbishment, including the planetarium and the chemistry department. I understand that the exhibit featuring my brother is not quite ready.
But otherwise the museum was comprehensive and awesome. Here are pics of a few of the exhibits:
Exhibits featured the history of electricity, piston and water power technology, and wind power.
There was also a large aeronautical and astronautical exhibit, some of my favorite stuff. Here are some more pictures:
The space stuff was especially neat, even though several of the objects were reproductions (they obviously didn't have Sputnick in their collection). It was also interesting, from an American perspective, to see how the emphasis here was on the European Space Agency's contributions to specific scientific payloads aboard the space shuttles, and to the German contributions to the European module of the International Space Station.
There wasn't too much on early German rocketry, which surprised me, except for the V and V-2 rockets from World War II. They did have, however, one of Dr. Goddard's early liquid-fueled test rockets, so there's a tie back to Worcester for you.
I spent almost four hours perusing the exhibits, which also included an extensive maritime exhibit. Interestingly, in the section on the inter-war period, the placards explaining the models were at once apologetic and frustrated, with several references to how Germany had been limited at the conclusion of WW I to the size and scope of the navy it could have. The information also disclosed, however, some of the advances Germany had made to get around the interregnum restrictions.
After the Museum I walked to the Viktualienmarkt and had some dinner - a Paulaner Heife-wise bier along with a Kartoffelsuppe mit brochen (potato soup with bread). I treated myself to dessert, too - apple strudel with vanilla sauce and creme frais - yum!!
Following dinner I walked throughout the Marien-Platz and took in the sights, sounds and smells (sometimes the body odor can be horrific!) of the old part of the city.
Tomorrow will be Oktoberfest and my last full day in Germany. My flight leaves Munich at about 9:20 AM on Thursday, so this will be it. I'm unsure whether I'll post my Oktoberfest report tonight after I get back to the hotel, or after I land back in the US, but in either case I promise you'll have it!
Location:Baaderstraße,Munich,Germany
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Transient Thoughts in Transit
I've been collecting various minor tidbits of information to share with my loyal readers, many captured by photograph, and others will be brought to light with my cunning prose (boy I'm full of myself!)
ON TRAIN TRAVEL
Trains are really the prime long distance choice for traveling within Europe. No security lines, there are plenty of options, and they're often at least as fast as air travel when you consider point-to-point travel time (and the fact that most European airports are 20+ minutes out of town, while the Hauptbahnhoffen are usually in the heart of the city.)
Every German train has a pamphlet entitled "Ihr Reiseplan" in your seat pocket which means "Your Travel Guide". It contains information about the services on the train you're riding and information about each stop, including connecting train service. In first class, there's also a menu in your seat pocket. The cabin attendant will go get your desired food/drink from either the Bordbistro (cafe car) or Bordresaurant, depending on which kind of car your train has. The diet Coke (called Coke Light in Europe) is not included with your first class ticket.
There are two ways to find your train while at the station. There are large electronic information screens, and there are also printed schedules. The yellow one is for departures, the white for arrivals. Each schedule lists all of the trains in a single 24 hour period for its particular station. It's kind of hard to discern in my dark photo, but the posters are about 30"x40" and the print is in 12 point Helvetica. That's a lot of trains, and this photo is from the smallish Heidelberg Hbf.
On each Gleis (track) there is also a graphical representation of each train that uses the track, and how the cars are configured. It's called a Wagenreihungsplan in German, but most people seem to refer to it by its French nom de plume - Composition de Train. Yellow is for 1st class, green for second. The difference between the two? Three seats across vs. four, more leg room, a free newspaper, seat-side food and drink service, and -of course - price. Once you're older than 26, you can no longer buy a Eurrail pass in second class; apparently you're considered old enough to have some money. The price differential wasn't that great between the passes, anyway. The larger difference is seen if you were to buy individual tickets.
Self-serve ticket machines at the Heidelberg Hauptbahnhof. To the left and rear are the ticket counters for personal service, the Reisezentrum.
BEDS, BATHS AND BEYOND
There's weird stuff going on in your continental European bedroom, and I don't mean what you might be picturing.
You don't get sheets, a blanket and a duvet as you would in the U.S., U.K., or Ireland. Instead, you get a bottom sheet and a duvet-like rectangle that has been slipped into a giant-sized pillow case. This becomes your combined top sheet and blanket/duvet. You'll also notice, in the first picture, that I got a double bed at this particular hotel. That just means that the are two single beds pushed up against one another - how romantic. The second photo is of my single bed in Frankfurt. The pillows are a little more square than we're used to, and that giant pillow/duvet/top sheet thingie isn't very wide -parts can get cold if you're not careful.
The good news is that bathroom sinks are pretty normal. Toilets are a little funky. They're deeper and often have kind of a shallow shelf in the bowl. Not to get too detailed, but I think the general idea is that solids will slide into the deep end while rectangular toilet tissue (yup, no one can seem to spare a square in Germany) hangs out on the shelf until the flush. And here's the fun part: the longer you hold down the flush button (there is no handle like we have) the harder, longer and faster the thing flushes. Yippee!
Take a close look at the tub surround in this first picture. There is no shower door and there's only a sink's width's worth of frosted glass to protect your modesty and the floor from the backsplash of your energetic cleansing. The second picture shows a wider screen, but note that it is foldable. All but my first hotel supplied soap and shampoo, but in the form of an all-in-one body wash and shampoo. You can see the dispenser behind the glass screen in the second picture, and both next to the sink and on the tub surround in the first picture.
There is never a shower head permanently mounted to the wall. Rather you have a bar permanently mounted, to which is affixed hardware to hold what I can only imagine is called a shower wand. It's detachable and you can spray yourself from all sorts of angles.
Here's what a light switch, an electrical outlet in use, and an empty electrical socket look like. Cut off on the extreme left of the photo is a phone jack - also different.
Many doors have a lip; they're not squared-off at the jamb. It makes it feel like you're not closing the door all the way.
I've had all sorts of different types of room keys. Actual keys, credit card keys, and this interesting one. Makes me think of the old computer punch cards before floppy disks.
The first floor of a building is the zeroth floor; the second is the first, and so on.
ET CETERA
1. I saw my first bicycle helmet in Heidelberg; actually, I saw two.
2. Heidelbergers are pretty laid back and friendly. One full day in Heidelberg was probably enough for me. None of the other attractions particularly interested me, but I did want to check out the castle and the old town.
3. Can you tell that I like the process of travel just as much as the destinations themselves?
4. The slideshow is now working on the blog website, and I've removed the weather information since I couldn't get it to update. The weather will be sunny and 73 for the remainder of my stay.
ON TRAIN TRAVEL
Trains are really the prime long distance choice for traveling within Europe. No security lines, there are plenty of options, and they're often at least as fast as air travel when you consider point-to-point travel time (and the fact that most European airports are 20+ minutes out of town, while the Hauptbahnhoffen are usually in the heart of the city.)
Every German train has a pamphlet entitled "Ihr Reiseplan" in your seat pocket which means "Your Travel Guide". It contains information about the services on the train you're riding and information about each stop, including connecting train service. In first class, there's also a menu in your seat pocket. The cabin attendant will go get your desired food/drink from either the Bordbistro (cafe car) or Bordresaurant, depending on which kind of car your train has. The diet Coke (called Coke Light in Europe) is not included with your first class ticket.
There are two ways to find your train while at the station. There are large electronic information screens, and there are also printed schedules. The yellow one is for departures, the white for arrivals. Each schedule lists all of the trains in a single 24 hour period for its particular station. It's kind of hard to discern in my dark photo, but the posters are about 30"x40" and the print is in 12 point Helvetica. That's a lot of trains, and this photo is from the smallish Heidelberg Hbf.
On each Gleis (track) there is also a graphical representation of each train that uses the track, and how the cars are configured. It's called a Wagenreihungsplan in German, but most people seem to refer to it by its French nom de plume - Composition de Train. Yellow is for 1st class, green for second. The difference between the two? Three seats across vs. four, more leg room, a free newspaper, seat-side food and drink service, and -of course - price. Once you're older than 26, you can no longer buy a Eurrail pass in second class; apparently you're considered old enough to have some money. The price differential wasn't that great between the passes, anyway. The larger difference is seen if you were to buy individual tickets.
Self-serve ticket machines at the Heidelberg Hauptbahnhof. To the left and rear are the ticket counters for personal service, the Reisezentrum.
BEDS, BATHS AND BEYOND
There's weird stuff going on in your continental European bedroom, and I don't mean what you might be picturing.
You don't get sheets, a blanket and a duvet as you would in the U.S., U.K., or Ireland. Instead, you get a bottom sheet and a duvet-like rectangle that has been slipped into a giant-sized pillow case. This becomes your combined top sheet and blanket/duvet. You'll also notice, in the first picture, that I got a double bed at this particular hotel. That just means that the are two single beds pushed up against one another - how romantic. The second photo is of my single bed in Frankfurt. The pillows are a little more square than we're used to, and that giant pillow/duvet/top sheet thingie isn't very wide -parts can get cold if you're not careful.
The good news is that bathroom sinks are pretty normal. Toilets are a little funky. They're deeper and often have kind of a shallow shelf in the bowl. Not to get too detailed, but I think the general idea is that solids will slide into the deep end while rectangular toilet tissue (yup, no one can seem to spare a square in Germany) hangs out on the shelf until the flush. And here's the fun part: the longer you hold down the flush button (there is no handle like we have) the harder, longer and faster the thing flushes. Yippee!
Take a close look at the tub surround in this first picture. There is no shower door and there's only a sink's width's worth of frosted glass to protect your modesty and the floor from the backsplash of your energetic cleansing. The second picture shows a wider screen, but note that it is foldable. All but my first hotel supplied soap and shampoo, but in the form of an all-in-one body wash and shampoo. You can see the dispenser behind the glass screen in the second picture, and both next to the sink and on the tub surround in the first picture.
There is never a shower head permanently mounted to the wall. Rather you have a bar permanently mounted, to which is affixed hardware to hold what I can only imagine is called a shower wand. It's detachable and you can spray yourself from all sorts of angles.
Here's what a light switch, an electrical outlet in use, and an empty electrical socket look like. Cut off on the extreme left of the photo is a phone jack - also different.
Many doors have a lip; they're not squared-off at the jamb. It makes it feel like you're not closing the door all the way.
I've had all sorts of different types of room keys. Actual keys, credit card keys, and this interesting one. Makes me think of the old computer punch cards before floppy disks.
The first floor of a building is the zeroth floor; the second is the first, and so on.
ET CETERA
1. I saw my first bicycle helmet in Heidelberg; actually, I saw two.
2. Heidelbergers are pretty laid back and friendly. One full day in Heidelberg was probably enough for me. None of the other attractions particularly interested me, but I did want to check out the castle and the old town.
3. Can you tell that I like the process of travel just as much as the destinations themselves?
4. The slideshow is now working on the blog website, and I've removed the weather information since I couldn't get it to update. The weather will be sunny and 73 for the remainder of my stay.
In Heidelberg, Part 2
The Altstadt is the really old part of town, chock full of cobblestones, churches, tourists like me, shops and cafes. I spent a good three hours here, and I even bought a zip up sweater jacket. It's definitely menswear, but it zips from the wrong side. There are a ton of shops throughout, and the old town spills into the city's main shopping area to boot.
A view of the Schloss from the Altstadt.
Approaching the big old church whose name I forget - too much bier.
The main Marktplatz.
A little side street.
Exploring each nook and cranny was half the fun. All of the little side streets intersected the Hauptstrasse (High Street), so I meandered back and forth to maximize my exploration.
I'm off to Munich tomorrow, which is properly called Munchen, at 06:57, arriving, after a train change in Stuttgart, at 10:14. I'm hoping to check into my hotel, upload the blog entries I know you're waiting for, and head to the Deutsches Museum, which is the number one museum I wanted to see in Germany. I should be able to walk there in five minutes from my hotel. I'm also going to try and check out the Marien-Platz, in the center of town, and enjoy dinner in the Viktualienmarkt (food market) which is packed with food stalls, cafes and restaurants.
Wednesday will be dedicated to Oktoberfest.
***UPDATE*** I saw no fewer than 50 herren und dammen wearing traditional Oktoberfest outfits between the Hbf and my hotel. I couldn't check in right away so I've left my roller bag and I'm heading for the Deutsches Museum after a quick mittengassen (lunch) at a cafe across the street from my hotel. Thus the lateness of this post. Sorry to have kept you waiting.
A view of the Schloss from the Altstadt.
Approaching the big old church whose name I forget - too much bier.
The main Marktplatz.
A little side street.
Exploring each nook and cranny was half the fun. All of the little side streets intersected the Hauptstrasse (High Street), so I meandered back and forth to maximize my exploration.
I'm off to Munich tomorrow, which is properly called Munchen, at 06:57, arriving, after a train change in Stuttgart, at 10:14. I'm hoping to check into my hotel, upload the blog entries I know you're waiting for, and head to the Deutsches Museum, which is the number one museum I wanted to see in Germany. I should be able to walk there in five minutes from my hotel. I'm also going to try and check out the Marien-Platz, in the center of town, and enjoy dinner in the Viktualienmarkt (food market) which is packed with food stalls, cafes and restaurants.
Wednesday will be dedicated to Oktoberfest.
***UPDATE*** I saw no fewer than 50 herren und dammen wearing traditional Oktoberfest outfits between the Hbf and my hotel. I couldn't check in right away so I've left my roller bag and I'm heading for the Deutsches Museum after a quick mittengassen (lunch) at a cafe across the street from my hotel. Thus the lateness of this post. Sorry to have kept you waiting.
Location:Heidelberg,Germany
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