You ever have that moment during sleep that you can’t REALLY sleep because you’re afraid of missing your alarm clock? That’s what happened to Vero and I on the train. The train was stopping in Munich. We had to get off at Ulm which was two hours before Munich. I had visions of no wake-up call coming, no alarm clock going off…and us missing our stopover.
Interestingly enough, my iPad alarm did go off and I thought to myself “Very strange…where is our wake-up call?!”. Not impressed! Imagine if we didn’t set the alarm as a backup! We got ready to hop off the train in 30 minutes and then the attendant noticed us up and about and let us know that they were delayed and that’s why they never bothered waking us up. Doh!
Well alright, we sat around, had some breakfast that they provided (which was basically some bread and more bread from what I can remember). The time approached and we finally brought our bags to the door ready to hop off. I figured with so many travellers anxious to get to Munchen, they would just slow the train down so we could jump off! But that was not the case.
However, as soon as we walk down the train platform a bit, we notice two other travellers trying to get out of another car and it’s just not happening! They are frantically trying to open the door, and I try and open it from the outside, but to no avail. Vero and I looked in shock as the train started to roll away and there were two guys just looking at us with horror that they could not get off at their stop! Here’s to hoping they found their way back to Ulm!
It was quite early in the morning…6ish from what I can remember and we were already a good 50 minutes later than expected. Poor Philipp was probably wondering where we were. I saw his familiar walk down the platform and do not remember what I cried out, but I’m sure it was a brotherly call to arms (or beers)! It was great seeing Philipp again…we hadn’t seen him since we were in Brazil together. Latest update on Philipp is that he obtained employment with a company back in Germany and has moved to Ulm. Erica has also moved to Germany where she will take classes to improve her German language and then she is completing some studies in Munich (I believe…details are a little fuzzy now.)
We threw our bags into Philipp’s rental car (hurray) and toured around the streets of Ulm and caught up while fighting off some sleep. We arrived to his new apartment and found Erica excited to see us (as well as in some clothes that she had been wearing for a few days as her luggage had UNFORTUNATELY not made it from Brazil. Pretty shocking considering she had packed her entire belongings.) and a nice breakfast set before us.
Let me tell you something I love about Germany…they share a love of the things I love…which is basically meat and beer. Sure enough, spread out before us was an assortment of pastries and meat. While I had already eaten some breakfast on the train, I could not pass up this treat! I basically gained 17 lbs. by the time I left Germany. I’m sure of it. I think I had to pay for a larger seat on the plane.
Philipp’s apartment was fantastic. It was like I saw a transformation from Philipp the student I have known all my life, to Philipp the professional. His apartment was out of this world….leather couches, flat screen TV, hard wood furniture…all from Ebay! Philipp has opened up my eyes to the powers of Ebay. I never knew you could find amazing furniture on Ebay! I had a great ongoing joke with him pointing out stuff and asking if it was from Ebay (like his mustard or whatnot). Either way, it was like I was meeting a new man.
Speaking of this new man, he unfortunately had to run off to work for an important meeting with some clients. I had originally set myself up with a movie to watch (Philipp and I share love for the same types of films) but in the end, I decided to get some shut-eye before he got home again.
The blinds in his apartment are yet another piece of German engineering that has probably been around for 100 years, but was the first time I had ever seen something like it. Essentially, the blinds are built into the building, and you pull a cord on the inside and it descends a set of steel shutters. When they get to the bottom, it is complete, complete darkness. Even in the middle of the day! Why do they not have this in Canada?! Incredible. I have a video of this somewhere. It was better than the radio-controlled clock I found in 2005!
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More to come later.