German 101
Yesterday (Monday) I eagerly boarded a train from Amsterdam to Berlin. I guess I thought the train would be easy. It was fairly straight forward until I got into Berlin. From there I managed to get myself on the wrong train and wasn’t quite sure how to get back. The 3rd person I asked for directions spoke enough English to help me out. I am eternally grateful. It took me just over an hour to find my hostel. I had finally made it and when checking in I heard the dreaded “I can’t seem to find your reservation” line. Uh oh. He followed that up by asking me which JetPak hostel I booked my stay with. Immediately I thought back to my email to the hostel requesting directions from the train station. I had received two replies with very different directions. I had simply disregarded the first reply as the directions actually included “Take the U-bahn to the end of the line and exit straight out. Turn left into the woods and follow the signs.” I guess I thought he was joking about the woods. It turns out that the hostel I actually booked at is indeed in the middle of the woods. For a mere 7 Euros more a night I re-booked myself at the hostel within the city limits. Whew!
Now that I found shelter it was time to move on to food. Of course, I’m not going to pay the prices they’re asking for on the train so I hadn’t eaten in 10 hours and it was definitely time. Just a few blocks away I found a cafe serving submarine sandwiches. Finally, something to eat that comes as large as my head. I popped in and ordered the 15cm (foot long) sub and packed it full. My German teacher would be quite proud of me. With a little stumbling I managed to order my entire dinner in German. I walked around town for a bit to explore the area around my hostel and then went back around 11:30 to crash.
I’ve come to the realization that I sleep, on average, 12 hours a day when I’m backpacking. I think it’s the high stress level I’m dealing with. Everyone at Fiserv is rolling their eyes right about now. I’m just kidding, this is probably the least stressful point of my life. Still, I manage to be sleeping half of the time. I woke up this morning to a warm sun (around noon) and got ready to get a better idea of my surroundings.
I found this great little cafe that had outdoor seating. Unfortunately, the entire menu was in German. This was a bit different than ordering a sub sandwich. I was pretty sure about this one item said so I went with that. At least it was going to be food and I was sure it came with coffee. When she brought the food out I realized the reason she questioned my order. It wasn’t because I mis-pronounced a word, but rather it was because I ordered a fruit platter, a meat platter, a cheese platter, eggs, and a hefty basket of bread. I guess it was supposed to be an item to share. Too late now, it was time to dig in. I’m sitting at that cafe table right now and I’m stuffed. I managed to finish everything except about 4 inches of the french loaf. I will admit that the raw egg was a bit strange but it was worth a try. I don’t think I could eat another bite if I tried.
It’s probably time to pay because everyone around me keeps staring. Maybe it’s my handsome good looks or, more likely, it’s the fact that there are 5 empty plates and a basket sitting on my table at the moment.
Thus far, I love Germany.
2 Comments
Definately your good looks!
JEFF!
I forgot that you knew German. Glad you are having a blast!