Still not quiet over the jetlag business - 5.30am was never a reasonable hour to be awake at home! So today i changed cities from Frankfurt to Mannheim. Here is a rundown:
1. Public transport was a pain - I still cant believe i am here. At Frankfurt main station the platforms are REALLY long. First class carriages are at the beginning of the platform, second class at the end. I missed one train (from platform 9) then saw my next option left platform 3 in 5 mins. Made my way quickly to platform 3, then had to run from one end to the other. I still didnt have a ticket. But i was told i could buy one on board. Fortunately that was true. The trip was through some german country side - so green here! And lots of little white houses with red roofs...so quaint. Spent the time reading and writing a postcard to grandma dearest.
2. German people are reasonablly friendly. A girl my age and an old man helped me find my tram when i got to mannheim. The girl told me it was tram #3, which was just arriving. She got on. I didnt. Thats because I couldnt explain I didnt have a ticket so had to wave goodbye to that one. Then the old man who spoke no english was like 'why didnt you get on?!' (im pretty sure thats what he was saying, its amazing what you can pick up from body language, facial expressions and tone of voice!). I said "no ticket!". He worked the machine for me - what a gem.
3. Found my hotel (again with the help from some locals - I was one block off to the right). All the streets here are letters,(vertical)and numbers (horizontal), so each block is a letter number - my hotel = C6. I thought this would make it a lot easier to get around. Not so. Thats probably more a result of my poor orientation skills than anything. But i didnt get lost. Checked in to hotel room. Its going to be a cosy 2 weeks when my roommate arrives tomorrow! For now i am enjoying the solitude, and high quality bedding (compared to the hostel!). Spent some time settling in, and trying to get the net working. Obviously i succeeded.
4. Wandered around the streets of mannheim for 3 hours. It's quite nice. Lots of old buildings (i especially like the use of balcony flower boxes), a couple of big churches, and the paradeplatz in the centre has pretty awesome water feature and really beautiful bright and colourful flower beds. I love them. Saw my first vw bug and Aldis (so German). Also saw some people getting married at St Sebastian church. Tracked down a shoe shop that i had accidently stumbled across online which specialises in shoes for large feet. It took some time, but i found it in the end. And i felt like i had to buy a pair then because of all the effort i went to. This too took some time deciding - i've never had so much choice! I am also grateful that i am a small 43, and not a large size 45...that would just be terrible. More shopping - there are a LOT of shops here. Some department stores have lots of sections - including fresh flowers and stationery/craft supplies which is cool. The huge deparment store here - Engelhorn - is spread over three blocks. Impressive. But also expensive.
5. Grocery shopping: i love it! In the afternoon after a long video skype home, and some time facebooking I headed off to do some grocery shopping. I was going to make dinner and now i had a fridge. FUN. Went to the nearest shop, but didnt find much, so headed to aldis. Ahhh Aldis. It was like being home again (or perhaps when im home Aldis is like being in Germany...). Spent my time wandering the aisles and wondering what lots of things were. I steered clear of any meat goods because i just wasnt sure what goods they were. I also avoided the jarred sausages - still cant see how they would be delicious. Mostly I just wished I had more than a stovetop and one pot to cook with. My options were limited. Ended up with ravioli, and some fruit (strawberries and stone fruit are in season here - yum-o), and veges. (and chocolate...).
6. Back to the hotel. It was time to read the casestudy which I keep putting off (its 32 pages!!!). But i sat down at the laptop first to check some things. Then i turned on the tv to see what was on. Two and a half men looks funnier in German. Big Brother looks the same. Thankfully BBC news channel is in english. There was a pretty interesting show called "Click" which was looking at the use of technology in sports now. Some very cool iPhone apps are in the process of being made. It seems my casestudy will never be read...
Also looked up the info on how to get to the flea markets tomorrow. I had to get the clerk downstairs to interpret the site for me. She ended up being quite friendly (last interaction i thought she was a little rude, soon we will be friends).
7. Uploaded some more pics, watched some more news, still no casestudy reading...I can procrastinate even when i am in a hotel room by myself. Talent. then it was time to cook dinner. I cant believe how much mess i can make in such as small space (a sink, 2 stove tops). Tomato paste ended up on pretty much everything. Including our one teatowel. Whoops. I blame it on the lack of space, lack of utensils and other necessary equipment (i stirred the sauce with a knife, and I had no strainer, no chopping board, no bench, one saucepan, no chopping knives, 2 bowls...very well equipped...) Dinner was not fantastic, but it was fun to feel like i cooked something myself (but i dont really believe ravioli is cooking). Ate dinner. And now i am still putting off the dreaded case study. Sigh. I will read 10 pages tonight. Unless i fall asleep like last night...
I'll keep you posted!
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