Train Bathrooms

This post is actually about the day trips I've gone on with my friends and not about the bathrooms per se, but I made that the title because every time we travel on the train there always seems to be some problem related to the bathroom.

Our first trip was on March 21st, when we (4 americans, 2 Swedes, a Dane, a Hungarian, a Greek and a Columbian) went to Munich for the day. In Germany there are special train tickets you can get on the weekends: the SchoenesWochenendeTicket (which you can use for all of Germany) and then tickets specific to each state. The SWT costs about 35 euros and the state tickets 27 and up to 5 people can travel on one for an entire day, so it's actually a really good deal (if your group happens to be in multiples of 5). Anyways, even though I'd just been in Munich 2 weeks before to see my dad, I thought it would be fun to go again with my friends, especially since the ticket was so cheap. So, we decided to get up bright and early and meet at the train station in time for the 6:30 train. Well, that didn't quite work out, because what we didn't know is that some of the early morning buses in Tuebingen are what they call "Anmeldungsfahrt", meaning that if you want to take the bus at that time you have to call 30 minutes ahead of time and let them know, otherwise they don't run the buses. So basically half our group made it in time and the other half didn't, but it actually worked out ok because 5 of us left according to schedule and the other 5 left an hour later going on the same route; the first 5 stopped in Ulm to eat breakfast and wait for the others. Unfortunately, the train that we all ended up on was also the train all the soccer hooligans were using to get to Munich for the big game (Munich versus Karlsruhe). Although it was only 9:30 in the morning fans of both sides were already drunk and causing extremely long lines for the bathrooms. It was quite something to see them get on the trains carting whole cases of beer, and then have the riot police follow and stand menacingly in the doorways. Train trips in Germany are certainly something else. When we got to Munich it was very cold but fortunately not raining. We walked around the city center for awhile, then had lunch (the girls in an Italian restaurant, the boys in a beer hall. figures.) More walking around, then to a bar to watch the soccer match (Munich won). Most unfortunately, we were once again on the same train as the fans. The Karlsruhe fans were noticeably more subdued, but the same could not be said for the Munich fans. Also, our second train was rather small, meaning that we had to stand the entire hour and 20 minutes because there were absolutely no seats free. I think I would count being wedged into a hot overcrowded train with a bunch of drunks as one of the less comfortable experiences of my life.



Marienplatz again



paparazzi photos



so, where exactly are we??



English Garden...pretty even when everything is dead


waiting on the Swedes, as usual



we had too much fun with this statue


watching the game intently....and then losing interest


sitting on the floor of the train is so much fun! ....not


The next Saturday we went to Freiburg, which is in the Black Forest in southwestern Germany. We decided to not attempt to leave quite so early, so we made plans to catch the train at 8:30. Well, once again that failed, this time because the elevator in my dorm decided to jam and I missed the bus. However, the others just waited for me and we caught a different train 45 minutes later (and this one fortunately didn't have any soccer fans on it). The weather was drizzly and cold in Freiburg, which was really unfortunate, because we had wanted to go up this tower which is on a hill overlooking the town, but with the rain/fog it would have been pointless since you couldn't see anything. Still, Freiburg was an interesting city, not as big as Munich but still a lot bigger than Tuebingen. And the scenery going through the Black Forest was beautiful. However, on the way back we ran into a problem. Certain members of our group (*cough* Zsofia *cough*) reeeaaaalllly needed to use the bathroom. Unfortunately, this occurred while we were on a very small train that did not have a bathroom. We kept telling her "just wait til the next train" but then somebody looked at the schedule and noticed that the next train was also an "S-Bahn", meaning small and without bathroom. And we only had 2 minutes at the next station to switch trains, so she didn't have time to go in the Bahnhof. She said there was no way she could make it all the way through the next train ride, so she was just going to get off at the next station and wait an hour for the next train. Well, we didnt want her to do that alone so we decided we would all get off. We did and she immediately ran off in search of a bathroom. As the rest of us walked across the platform we saw the train that we were supposed to be getting on. And saw the "WC" sign inside. Much yelling and scrambling ensued as we attempted to find Zsofia and race back to the train. Fortunately, our other train had arrived several minutes early, so we were all actually able to get on the train before it left (I may have had to stand in the doorway to hold it open for the others and the conductor may or may not have yelled at me to quit blocking the door). But, we made it safely and punctually back to Tuebingen. The end.


A study in contrasts: Marie vs. Ian





There are tons of these mosaics in the streets in Freiburg. Lots of times they are related to the shop that they are located in front of (ex: the one of the right was in front of an apothecary)



of course, some of them didn't seem to be related to anything at all



my goal in life is to go somewhere that doesn't have a mcdonald's


the guy in the mask was handing out the brochures that Ade is holding. Now, I know most Americans are skeptical of Scientology and enjoy mocking it, but the Germans seriously have a vendetta against it. I don't know why, but they really absolutely hate it.


Hiding behind the umbrellas. And me standing over a "baechle" which are the little canals that run along most of the streets in Freiburg.



Center photo: anybody need some shoes?





Of course the weather turns nicer once we get back in the train.



Ritter Sport is the brand name of a chocolate manufacturing company in Germany. Their main factory/headquarters is about 15 minutes from Tuebingen, so of course Zsofia and I had to go there and buy way more chocolate than should be allowed.

Deutsch-Kompakt

Since I've been in Tuebingen I've been taking part in the so-called "Deutsch-Kompakt" course, which is a language prep/orientation course for international students. There's about 45 people in the class and about 30 of them are American, so it's way different than at the Goethe-Institute. I actually wish there weren't so many Americans, because most of them just want to speak English all the time, which is the opposite of what I'm trying to do here. But, not really a big deal, because I've made a lot of good friends in the course and had a lot of fun. Besides having normal class each day, we all frequently have "excursions" like going to Stuttgart, doing a wine tasting (that was awesome, btw), going bowling, etc. They also help us with the University paperwork and bureaucracy. For the record, registering for courses at a German university practically requires a college degree in and of itself. Grrrrr, it's driving me crazy, but moving on!

For one week (March 15-20) we went to this retreat house that's owned by the university. The retreat house is in this little village called Blaubeuren, which is about an hour or so east of Tuebingen. Ironically, this was probably the most fun week ever, despite being in a town of approximately 10,000 inhabitants. It was kind of like being on a freshman floor, because we all lived in a dorm together, all ate together, etc. They also had a lot of events planned for us, such as a tour of the cloister (Kloster in German) that's in town, a visit to Ulm (which is only about 15 minutes from Blaubeuren), a hiking excursion, and even an evening at a bar with the students of the local boarding school. That last one was a little weird, just because I don't think an American would ever come to the idea to send a bunch of 20-something foreign students to a bar with 16 and 17-yr-olds, but hey, that's the German way. It actually was fun to talk with the students, though, and it's always good to speak with native speakers.

The pictures below are from Blaubeuren and Ulm, but soon I'll post pictures of some of my other activities so far in Tuebingen and write a little about the day trips I've been taking with my friends. Bis dann!

The Kloster in Blaubeuren





This sundial was correct, but there was another one there that was about 2 hours off...not sure why



Some parts of the Kloster (like that fresco) are over 1000 years old


The beautiful altarpiece in the chapel


This is how I always pictured Germany in my mind (only sunnier & with leaves)


Our goal: hike to these ruins of a 10th century fort/castle (and try not to get killed along the way)


Finally made it!


I bet this view would be even better in the summer when everything isn't dead


The cathedral in Ulm and the ultra-modern "Stadthalle" next to it (apparently there was a lot of controversy about putting such a modern building next to the cathedral, the most famous landmark of the city)



Fun fact alert! The steeple of the cathedral is the highest church tower in the world. 768 steps to the top up a tiny spiral staircase = not so fun


resting partway up





The view was totally worth it (that's the Danube river and the "Stadthalle" from above)


It was almost clear enough to see all the way to the Alps!




The Danube and the first signs of spring! it was still pretty cold though, so don't be fooled


Backward jackets are all the rage. And this picture was in the greatest bar ever: tiny (about 3 tables) and the only other people there were these 50-yr-old locals. They were awesome though; they spoke Schwaebisch (the local dialect) and were super excited that we could speak german so well. It was quite entertaining.


In Tuebingen, cooking dinner together in my dorm's kitchen.


At the dinner all the Deutsch-Kompakt people had together the first week.