So, I'm officially in Leipzig. And very tired. And it's 3:30 pm here and 10:30 am in the states, but it feels like afternoon to me, and I'm told that's a good start.
I'll begin with detailing the hectic journey to where I am currently comfortably seated on a couch in an adorable apartment belonging to my host student, Aleks.
Ed & I arrived at the Cleveland airport, both with fathers in tow, around 1:15 - made it through baggage check & security by 1:40 at the most. Our plane was supposed to leave at 2:55 -- we finally took off shortly after 5 pm. This two hour delay completely eliminated our two hour layover in Newark, but our flight was supposed to come in at gate 131, and the flight to Berlin was at gate 126, both in Concourse C.
No such luck. We arrived in Newark in a different concourse, and then we had 10 minutes of Ed walking as fast as he could and me pretty much sprinting to keep up. Yes, we were bickering the entire way. We arrived at gate 126 only to be ushered in last minute to our plane...which then sat at the gate for another half an hour, but whatever. The flight was not that full, so Ed & I were able to sit in a three seat row by ourselves. The in-flight entertainment was pretty awesome - I watched CSI & played su doku =]. Unfortunately, the plane was one of the coldest experiences of my life -- it was around -26 degrees F the entire ride, as we were so high up I thought we were about to leave the atmosphere, and it was night until an hour before we touched down in Berlin. Also unfortunate was that the plane was blowing icy cold air into the cabins the entire ride. I wore two coats and a blanket and I was still chilled. I slept for maybe two and a half hours - Ed slept for a maximum of an hour, total.
We got into Berlin, collected our baggage, and went in search of a currency exchange. There, I was depressed to learn that $546 was equal to 386 Euro...I'm still a little sad about it. But, this is neither here nor there. After this depressing incident, we went to get a bus ticket for our ride from the airport to the main train station (Hauptbahnhof, for those of you learning German). We waited in line for 30 minutes at the very least, as many confused people were treating the ticket line as the information desk - unfortunate, as the ticket desk was situated right next to an information desk. Anyway, after a long wait and 2,80 Euro, we got on the bus...I promise to take many pictures of public transportation in Germany/EU, it's fascinating and wonderful.
We arrived at the Hauptbahnhof in Berlin, walked around for about 20 minutes trying to find where to check our luggage, did so, and then sat on a bench looking for a girl in our group, Rachel. We were supposed to meet Rachel at the baggage claim of her flight at 8:15, but her flight wasn't listed at the airport, so I could not find her. Turns out, she came into the OTHER airport in Berlin, but neither of us had thought of that. Following our failed attempt to locate Rachel in a crowd, we ate breakfast. Unfortunately, it was McDonalds, and my sausage and egg McMuffin had no egg, but in fact sausage, "special sauce", and lettuce. I'm still confused about it.
It was during breakfast that my body started shaking, and Ed & I decided we were going to need a nap. We walked around the Hauptbahnhof yet again, finally finding the information center (difference between US & Germany - info centers are neither obvious, clearly marked, or easy to find...) and then getting pointed in the direction of a couple hostels we might be able to stay at.
We walked for about half an hour before finding the "Helter Skelter Hostel", which sounded creepy to me, but actually ended up mostly wonderful. We were allowed three hours of nap time in the hostel for 10 Euro each, and we were sent into a comfortable and spacious apartment. Unfortunately, it was not heated, and it was a very cold nap. They also forgot to mention our nap to the people who had actually rented out the room for the weekend - they arrived early to leave their luggage and found us sleeping - I don't know who was more alarmed, but Ed slept through the whole thing, and I was barely awake, and it turned out fine.
Anyway, after our glorious nap, we returned to the Hauptbahnhof, where we FINALLY found Rachel! We sat around in what I must call the BK Lounge, as it was right next to a Burger King, and I mostly made faces at adorable children for about an hour and a half. I also sent an email to my mom & dad from a pay as you go internet service... it was pretty exciting. The y & z key are flipped on german keyboards (among other things, of course), so signing my name was interesting... and I probably looked like an idiot hitting one letter at a time on the keyboard.
We finally boarded our train from Berlin to Leipzig at 5:15 local time (about noon for you guys at home). Ed fell asleep almost immediately, and so did Rachel, but I read a book while the strange woman next to me was singing along to german techno music. We got into Leipzig at 7:30 or so, and my host student Aleks picked me up from the Leipzig Hauptbahnhof, gave me a short tour of the city, and let me take a shower at her apartment while she got food for our dinner. We ended up eating with her boyfriend, Johnathan, and it was pasta with a wonderful tuna, olive, garlic, and onion sauce that I will officially be making when I return because it was quite yummy. After dinner, Ed and his hosting student, Marie, called Aleks, and we decided to meet them at a bar near the city center (I think).
The bar is actually a recently rediscovered fortress, and is really neat, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I ordered ein bier, which turned out to be massive, and promptly felt quite sleepy. We stayed out to about midnight (7 pm @ home) and when we returned I fell asleep pretty quickly.
Today, I woke up around 9:30 and went to a welcome breakfast. This was nice, although unnecessarily long, and I enjoyed getting to know some more of the german hosting students. Afterward, Marie, Aleks, Ed & I went to a massive and confusing store where I got some essentials (such as a 7 Euro hairdryer) and now feel much more ready to really live here for 10 weeks.
Currently, I'm going to take a nap. Later on, around 6:30, we're going to meet up with Ed & Marie at the city center, before going to a party held at our student coordinators house (her name is Carolin, and it should be really fun).
I have yet to take any pictures, but I will start soon. Leipzig is wonderful, and I cannot wait to share it with everyone!
Alright, time for a nap - one more thing - tonight is time change for Germany, so after tonight, I'll be officially 6 hours ahead of you at home.
Missing youuuu all !
See, the cars are so tiny here compared to America. No trucks anywhere, and no SUV's. I like it - being here makes me feel like I'm being environmentally friendly, even if I'm not really doing anything. Even though the recycling system here is BOMB.COM - they can do all plastics, papers, metals - you get paid back for glass and some plastics, actually. You can also determine between "bio" waste and "restmull" - biodegradeable stuff is separated from the others so it does not sit in a landfill among things that cannot break down on their own. I love it.
This is the sea we visited on Sunday - see the blue sky? It was only out long enough for me to snap this shot. I didn't capture it on the camera, but all along the beach and pathways people were rollerblading and biking and such - there was even a little boy with the neatest proto-bike I've ever seen. It had two wheels, and the body of a bike, but it had no wheels, instead, the boy propelled it by using his feet and essentially running with it. Ed & I laughed, but apparently it is used to teach balance before putting the kids on bikes. Seems like I could use one, right?
Hi Killian =] this is for you. I love the little man sprinting to the exit, which is apparently underground in this department store. It's a weird thing to take a picture of, but it captures so much. I cannot really explain it, all I know is that this is one of the best things I've seen so far - even basically seeing every star in the sky on Ed & I's flight over the Atlantic. Well, not nearly as awesome as that, but still. And by awesome, I mean awe-inspiring. Should have taken a picture of THAT.
This is an example of the bar I went to this afternoon - you get to take off your shoes and relax on a glorified bed and drink. I had a drink called the Berliner Weisse, which is a Berlin beer you choose a syrup and add to the beer. I chose raspberry - it tasted wonderful. Anyway, about 9 of us went to this place, called Sol y Mar, after our orientation tour, and it was so much fun. I loved it. I want to take everyone I know there. Just sit back against the pillows, have a drink, and relax. Wonderful, wonderful. And for only 2,90 Euro, perfection.