Thursday and Friday were very emotional days; during the former, I said the most tearful goodbye to my family and endured about twelve hours, including layovers, in transit to Cologne. There were some minor setbacks while at the Munich airport, like the fact that I didn't have a frickin' clue where my luggage was located (already in Cologne, natch), but overall the flights went very smoothly. For the long flight from D.C. to Munich, I was seated smack-dab in the middle of the row--a French couple and baby on the left side, and an American couple who drank three little bottles of wine each on the right. The French couple were kind of awesome; evidently, they are teaching their toddler English, since the father easily switched from French to English when talking to her. That flight didn't seem too long, surprisingly.
I was so tired from traveling that I hailed a taxi from the Cologne/Bonn airport to my hotel. It was kind of neat. On the news, they were reporting more about Michael Jackson's death (auf Deutsch). Amusing. I spent the rest of Friday afternoon at the hotel, being so tired and homesick. Yeah. That was fun. Loneliness, yay!
I probably should take this time to tell you that I have never been on my own before. I lived with my parents throughout college, since it saved money, and have been out of the country with groups. So, I'm taking a ridiculously huge leap right now: I've traveled halfway around the world on my own, and I'm going to be living in a foreign country. This...probably isn't a good thing. This is probably too big of a leap for me.
But, we'll see what happens. I've got to try.
Today has been much better, apart from the fact that behind my hotel room lies a very. loud. techno. bar. KILL. However, I've done a lot (for me) today; I've navigated the U-bahn with sparkling success. I made it to the Hauptbahnhof and have discovered the area at which I need to be Monday afternoon, for orientation. I saw the famous Dom, which is glorious. Also, I browsed through the Museum Ludwig, whereupon I viewed such awesomeness as Picasso, KIRCHNER (yay!), Warhol, Mueller, Dali, and others. Hooray for modern art! Afterward, it was raining outside, so I stood under the awning and listened to a street cellist. Then, limbs heavy and throat dry, I headed back to the hotel to rest.
I know this doesn't sound like much, but for someone who's just getting hang of things on multiple levels, it's pretty cool that I'm doing this. So, there. :P
I also received a call (auf Deutsch) from Christi. She will be meeting me at the Celle train station upon my arrival. This takes a great weight off my shoulders, since I had been worrying about that. Yay! It looks like I will be staying with her until the L. family has finished renovating (?).
My phone-Deutsch SUCKS. Actually, my normal-Deutsch is dismal, too. That's not modesty. That's honesty. It's painful...
Now, to either get some rest or dinner. Since I'm not hungry (but I AM eating--that's for you, Mum), I'll probably choose the latter and just surf (while I can...concerned about Internet access later).
Dom!
No comments:
Post a Comment