I visited Paderborn and Aachen this weekend. It was cheaper and somehow took less time to take a route to Paderborn that involved several train changes, which meant by the time I arrived in Aachen, I had been on ten different trains.
As I'm sure you want to share the excitement of this journey with me, here is a run down- my top ten trains of the journey, in chronological order:
1. Stralsund to Rostock
Alarm set for: 06:30. Planned time to leave the house: 07:30. Train at: 08:00
Actual time I woke up: 07:25. I don't know what happened to my alarm clock, but after gazing blearily at the clock long enough to figure out I was meant to be leaving the house in 5 minutes, I grabbed some clothes, brushed my teeth, threw all my last minute packing into the bag, and hotfooted it to the station. At least I got there, and made my train.
2. Rostock to Hamburg
'Yes, this is the train to Hamburg, but today it's not going to Hamburg, it's only going to Schwerin. Everyone get off at Schwerin please'
3. Schwerin to Büchen
The unscheduled one. Thanks Deutsche Bahn, I really felt the one thing my journey was missing was more train changes. As they kicked us off the train at Schwerin, they told us the train on platform 2 was heading to Hamburg, but they didn't actually specify whether it would be stopping at all the stops the prevoius train should have done. As I needed to change at Büchen, a middle of nowhere place on the way to Hamburg, I just had to hope I was getting on the right train.
4. Büchen to Luneberg
I was very relieved to find out that I was on the right train to Büchen, however, it was very frustrating to be sat on the train, watching it get more and more delayed, and seeing the expected arrival time at Büchen get later and later. Once we finally got to Büchen, I had to run, and saw the doors close on the train just before I got to it. Luckily, after hammering on the button, they opened again, and the group of us who were about to be stranded all managed to get on. The rest of this train was spent recovering.
5. Lüneberg to Uelzen
After the last few trains, this one was extremely uneventful, but I was glad to have a nice smooth change and a normal train ride from expected start point to the expected end point. Even if I did have to sit behind someone who smelt very strongly of aftershave.
6. Uelzen to Hannover Hbf
I'm going to assume Uelzen has something to do with the artist Hundertwasser, as it was very nicely decorated with Hundertwasser inspired mosaics and sculptures. The sign on the platfrom said the train I was waiting for was running 5 minutes late, which gave me a bit of time to take photos of the best train station of the journey, but then the train went to 10 minutes late, which was exactly how much time I had to change trains on the other end. I just had to hope it would make up the time once I was on it.
7. Hannover Hbf to Paderborn
The train didn't make up the time, and the train manager announced our arrival in Hannover would be at 12:55, the exact same time my next train was leaving. A woman sitting near me had got up and gone to stand by the door about 20 minutes before we'd got to Hannover. At the time, I'd thought she was being a little bit excessive, but once we got to Hannover I kind of wished I'd done the same. Although I could see my next train was still displayed on the opposite platform, as if it still hadn't arrived yet, and I still had a chance of catching it, I got caught in the queue of everyone getting off the train, behind someone who decided to let everyone in the rows ahead get out first. While I generally approve of politeness and letting people out, it was so frustrating. I ran as soon as I got off the train, but I must have missed the train somewhere between going down the flight of stairs on platfrom three, and coming back up onto platform one.
I went to the service desk, and got the details for the next train to Paderborn, and then had an unexpected stop in Hannover Hbf for an hour. At least I was stranded in Hannover, which actually has shops, inside places and stuff to do for an hour, and not in one of the middle of nowhere places. Also, at least it was the last train before my stop in Paderborn, so at least the rest of my journey wasn't thrown off schedule. I got back on track an hour later, though the last hour on the slow S Bahn made me very glad to eventually get to Paderborn.
8. Paderborn to Hamm
I met Grace in Paderborn, and it was nice to see where she's living this year, and get a well deserved cup of tea. A while later, we set off to the station, where we met Ameer, and got on the train to Hamm.
9. Hamm to Köln
A run in with conservative German attitudes- Grace was lying across a double seat, stretching out after a hard weeks work. She wasn't getting in the way, and noone wanted to sit on the other seat, she was just not sitting in a very traditional way. This was enough for an old man walking down the train to give her a very dirty look, and then double back just to give her a dirty look again, just in case he hadn't made his feelings completely clear the first time. Even the German guy sitting opposite thought the old man was being a bit extreme, but Grace decided to sit up after that.
10. Köln to Aachen
Despite the excitement of reaching my tenth train of the day, (full sarcasm intended) everyone seemed to slump, and were hoping Dan wouldn't mind if we declared it was bedtime as soon as we got to his. We eventually made it to Aachen, and it was great to see Dan, and the weekend was really good fun- and yes, worth the 8 hour journey both ways!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Top 5 Reasons I'm Glad to be Back in Germany
Because positive thinking is good for you.
1. Houses insulated and heated to a sufficient German standard. Yes it is minus temperatures outside, and the howling gale is strong enough to blow headphones right out of your ears, but inside it's toasty and warm. I am much warmer than I would be at home/ in student houses in England, despite the actual temperature being colder over here.
2. A powerful shower. This is probably not German specific, but it's specific to my flat, and it's so much nicer than a weak shower that just drips on you, and takes about half an hour to rinse your hair.
3. Gritted pavements. There are laws in Germany, stating that houseowners are required to clear the snow and grit the pavement outside their house. Yes, I read about them, I was that bored. But it's such a good idea, despite the snow, I can actually walk around without the risk of cracking my head open or getting some other serious injury. So thankyou to all the German houseowners who go out at ridiculously early hours of the morning, and do their duties so that everyone can get around.
4. 'Getrennt oder zusammen?' 'Getrennt, bitte.' This little exchange when you ask for the bill at any place that you have eaten or drunk anything establishes whether you want the bill 'getrennt' -divided up into what everyone had- or 'zusammen'- everything together. If you ask for getrennt, they divide the bill for you, sometimes even print out separate receipts. It just makes it so much easier when paying with a group of friends, and avoids all the time you spend trying to read the bill, figure out what you had, and work out what to do when noone has the right change. As you pay separately, everyone gets change, and if there is a difference of opinion on whether to leave a tip or not, it's down to the individual, and they can tell the waiter to take as big or as small a tip as they feel appropriate. It would be great if this caught on in England.
5. Going to the Bäckerei. Uninspired choice, but it is nice to go in and get a few Brötchen to eat with your soup, maybe even treat yourself to a Nussschnecke or a similar baked treat. And this isn't even starting on the many variety of Frühstücksangebote-mainly becuase I am yet to have one this year. But yes, fresh bread, good place to get change for the bus, and one of the few places open on Sundays. What's not to like?
So there you go, I may be exiled in Germany, and it may be freezing outside, but it's not all bad!
I quite like this top five format, if anyone has any suggestions on what to make a list of, I'd be happy to hear them!
1. Houses insulated and heated to a sufficient German standard. Yes it is minus temperatures outside, and the howling gale is strong enough to blow headphones right out of your ears, but inside it's toasty and warm. I am much warmer than I would be at home/ in student houses in England, despite the actual temperature being colder over here.
2. A powerful shower. This is probably not German specific, but it's specific to my flat, and it's so much nicer than a weak shower that just drips on you, and takes about half an hour to rinse your hair.
3. Gritted pavements. There are laws in Germany, stating that houseowners are required to clear the snow and grit the pavement outside their house. Yes, I read about them, I was that bored. But it's such a good idea, despite the snow, I can actually walk around without the risk of cracking my head open or getting some other serious injury. So thankyou to all the German houseowners who go out at ridiculously early hours of the morning, and do their duties so that everyone can get around.
4. 'Getrennt oder zusammen?' 'Getrennt, bitte.' This little exchange when you ask for the bill at any place that you have eaten or drunk anything establishes whether you want the bill 'getrennt' -divided up into what everyone had- or 'zusammen'- everything together. If you ask for getrennt, they divide the bill for you, sometimes even print out separate receipts. It just makes it so much easier when paying with a group of friends, and avoids all the time you spend trying to read the bill, figure out what you had, and work out what to do when noone has the right change. As you pay separately, everyone gets change, and if there is a difference of opinion on whether to leave a tip or not, it's down to the individual, and they can tell the waiter to take as big or as small a tip as they feel appropriate. It would be great if this caught on in England.
5. Going to the Bäckerei. Uninspired choice, but it is nice to go in and get a few Brötchen to eat with your soup, maybe even treat yourself to a Nussschnecke or a similar baked treat. And this isn't even starting on the many variety of Frühstücksangebote-mainly becuase I am yet to have one this year. But yes, fresh bread, good place to get change for the bus, and one of the few places open on Sundays. What's not to like?
So there you go, I may be exiled in Germany, and it may be freezing outside, but it's not all bad!
I quite like this top five format, if anyone has any suggestions on what to make a list of, I'd be happy to hear them!
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