Sometimes detailed just isn't detailed ENOUGH

The stuff in bold is the text I got from my Air BnB host regarding how to get to his place from the airport.  The other text is what I was thinking and how things ACTUALLY went down.

Now, if you have NO experience with German, then this will make NO sense to you, and you will feel EXACTLY as I did upon receiving this message from my host.  If you do have experience/knowledge of German, try to forget all that and pretend with me.

I had gotten a last second place to stay with someone through Air BnB and he seemed really awesome and gave me, what seemed like at the time, super detailed directions on how to get to his place.  

Alright, so with some construction this is going to be a mini journey but it should be enjoyable :). This will cost you about 3.50 euros as opposed to a 20 something taxi.

Awesome!  I appreciate that!  I can do public transportation.

From the airport you are going to get on the sbahn (above ground rail) and you will get on the RE7 (Dessau).

You will take this for a while till Ostbahnhof (a larger station).

Shit.  I don't know that word.  And where does one go to get on the "sbahn"?

Me to person at counter in airport: Where do I catch the sbahn?

Person at the counter points me in the general direction.  

Now, I am going to follow the stream of people to what looks like train tracks.  People are lining up to buy tickets.  Crap.  That means I should buy tickets.  

(So I stand in line and when I get up to the front of the line)

Wow, none of this is in English.  And I don't see the words "Ostbahnhof", "RE7", or Dessau anywhere.

To person next to me: Do you speak English

Person: Yes

Me: Awesome!  Can you help me?  I don't know what ticket to get?

Person: Where are you trying to go?

Me: I'm not sure, but this (show her the phone) is the information I have.

Person: (glances at the phone) Oh, you want this one (she pushes the buttons for a ticket)

Me: Thank you so much! (I put in my money, take my change and the ticket)

Phew.  Now, where do I catch this train?  This "station" is really empty.  Do trains even come here?  How can you tell which platform you need?  (I finally found a map or something that helped with this) But what if I get on the wrong direction?! (I look on the map, find the word Dessau) Ooh!  I know that word!  I need to follow that word!

(I go to the platform and wait for the next train, about 10 minutes but it felt like half an hour!)

(I get on the train and get off at the appropriate station and continue the instructions)

From here you will switch to the S5 (Hoppegarten) to Warschauer Straße Station. This is a major tourist hub so be prepared :). From here you will walk up some steps and cross a bridge that will end with some kiosks.

Riiiiiiiiight.  S5.  And what the hell is that weird "b" thing?

(I do some walking back and forth to figure out where to go, which direction I want and then I look again, just to be sure.

(Once off the train, there really only seemed to be 1 way to go, so I just followed the crowd and it did indeed lead me up stairs and across a bridge with some kiosks)

Cool.  This is all going ok so far!

You will take a right up the street and walk about 200 meters. There will be a Sparkasse Bank on your right side about a block up.

A what?  

(I walk about 200m)  

Is that a bank?  Does it say Sparkasse?  Is this a block, or half a block?  Oh, look!  A TRAM!  Where does it stop?  That's probably where I need to be!

Here there will be a tram stop on your left side. Here you will take the M13 going the direction of your right. I believe it will say Wedding on it. You will ride this about ten minutes and you want to exit at Möllendorffstr/storkowerstr.

It will be two stops after the frankfurter allee stop
Which is in front of a very large shopping complex.

I'm on the right tram.  Cool.  I didn't see any "Wedding" on it so I guess I'll just keep my eyes out for the stop names.  Weird freaking names.  German is weird.

(About 10 minutes later I do indeed pass a large shopping complex, and the stop called Frankfurter Allee)

Oh, thank god!  Ok, only 2 more stops then I get off.

(I ride 2 stops farther)

Wait, that isn't the right name?  Maybe he meant 3 stops?  I'll ride to the next one and if it isn't the Möllendorffstr/storkowerstr stop, then I'll get off and double back.  We seem to be traveling down a main road.

(The next stop is indeed the Möllendorffstr/storkowerstr stop, so I hop off)

From the Möllendorffstr stop you will exit and my building is the late one being renovated opposite of the stop across from the church:

Môllendorffstr (number hidden) Berlin.

It is the second door to the right of the ice skate shop. My apartment is the first on your left side, on the first floor. The front door is unlocked.

Thanks/ good luck and I'll see you when you get here :). Enjoy the ride and take in the view, you will be traveling from the south of Berlin to the east.

What?  What direction do I exit the train?  Do I cross the street?  Left or right dude?!  I don't see a church!  AND WHAT THE HELL IS CONSIDERED A "LATE" BUILDING?  Crap!  Everything is "under renovation!  Where am I supposed to go?!!!!!!  (this was all happening simultaneously, and without any order.  Needless to say I was on the verge of panicking)

(Deep breaths happen)

(Looking around.  Find a street sign.  It says Môllendorffstr.)

Ok, that is the street his building is on.  So I know it is along THIS street.

(I look around for anything that looks like a church, since churches tend to have steeples here and look relatively conspicuous)

Well, I guess I should just start walking and see what happens to the numbers on the buildings, or if there is a church or something nearby.

(So I start walking.  The numbers don't show up regularly, and when they do they make NO sense so I end up walking up and down the same block about 3 times before I finally decide to just keep going.  I'm looking at each building as I pass it thinking...)

Is that a "late building"?  Does "late" mean old here too?  What about that one?  It looks kind of old.  But is that old for HERE.  Get out of the colonies Kathryn!  Think Germany!  Old is OLDER here.  But is he talking ugly?  Architecture wise?  I know shit about architecture.

(So I decide to continue walking in the direction I had come.  He did, after all, say to go only 2 stops.  Maybe that had been a mistake?  So I'm walking and scrutinizing every single building I walk by if it is "late" when I finally see a church)

AH!!  A church!!  Hidden in amongst these trees, almost on an "island" in the middle of this road, but whatever.  A CHURCH!  

(Now I start looking around with even more gusto)

Oooh!  That building looks like it is kind of old.  Oh, no wait!  That one!  Right across from the church, COMPLETELY surrounded by scaffolding, looks old, that HAS to be it!

(I walk to the building and find the ice skating shop)

ICE SKATING SHOP!  I never thought I'd be so happy to see sparkly spandex!  This has GOT to be the right place.  Ok.  What did he say, 2 doors down from the shop?  

(I check the message again)

Yeah.  Awesome!

(I go in the door and go up to the first floor.  There are only 2 doors.  I knock on the door on my left.)

God I hope this is the right one, but it is a 50/50 chance right?  

(I hear some moving around, the clicky toes of a dog..)

Oooh, dog is a good sign.  He has a dog!

(And the door is opened and there stands a person who could be my host)

Me: Jacob?

Jacob: You're alive!

So at this point, I've been surviving on adrenaline.  I'm tired, hungry and really want a shower.  Jacob shows me around and then shows me my room.  My OWN room.  After a week of hostels I have missed the freedom of having my OWN space.  He asks me if I'm hungry, I say an enthusiastic yes, and he says he has some left over (insert italian food thingy) that he can heat up.  It was SO good!

After eating I sit down to play with the dog and chat with Jacob and his roommate a bit before crashing.  When he realizes that this was my first day in Germany, with NO German experience he opens his eyes wide and said,

"Well, if I'd known that I would have given you TOTALLY different directions!  Wow."

That's right.  Wow.  I survived.  

I.  Survived.

Welcome to Germany Kathryn

Escaleras de Quito

I found this blog post saved as a draft from over three years ago, and it was practically finished.  Added one last picture and posted.  Sorry for the "out of order" ness.

Quito is in the valley of several mountains.  Everywhere I look there is a mountain or a hill that is towering above me or looming below me.  We had to climb a hill to get from the airport to the bus station.  We climbed hills in our search for hostels (several hills!).  

One of the hostels we checked out had their reception on the 5th floor.  While it was a beautiful view from there,  you had to go up four flights of kind of uneven stairs in order to even find out if they had room:

View from above at the annoying uneven stairs leading up to the fourth floor.

and then a spiral staircase (which isn´t easy when carrying a backpack):

Final flight of stairs to the roof!

The hostel we finally chose is about halfway up a hill: 

These stairs start on the street our hostel is on.  They keep going too.

and our room was on the second floor:  

First flight of stirs to our room

The kitchen and place to do laundry was on the roof, another three flights of stairs up from our room.

The restaurant we ate at a couple of times had very little space to sit and eat, so we climbed the stiairs to get to the upper floor where there were seats available.

Up to the second level of the restaurant

 The next day we decided to climb the towers of the Basilica.

These are the clock towers.  There is a slightly shorter one that we climbed as well.

It has absolutely beautiful architecture but some of the stairs used to get to the top of the towers were a bit, no, really horrifying.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, there were stairs, hills, slopes, and mountains everywhere.  Needless to say, my calves got quite a work out.

The glory of trains

Since I won't have reliable computer access for the foreseeable future, I apologize for the onslaught of blogging.  It is hard to type on a kindle fire without a keyboard.

I love the availablity of travel modes here.  Buses and trains that are fairly regular and on time (more than in the US anyway).  However, one big difference for me is that where you are going to "end" your trip is not the same place as where the bus or train is going to "end".  So this is my journey to York...

A little back story for those of you who don't know me that well: I like sleep.  I LOVE to sleep.  Also, if I am in a vehicle (car, train, bus, plane etc.) and am not driving, engaged in conversation or eating pretzels (don't ask) I will fall asleep.  In minutes.


My train left at 06.15.  And I was up late with my courchsurfing host the night before so I got about 5 hours of sleep.  This trip however requires 2 train changes.  So I fight to stay awake for the first 25 minutes, am successful and make the first change at King's Cross station.

I get off at the appropriate station and then onto the next train.  Again, I forced myself to stay awake, despite the gentle sway of the train.  As we near the station I'm supposed to get off at, I start to gather my things, but slower than usual.  The train stops, I'm still gathering.  I finish gathering and begin to walk to the door, but the door closes.  I push the door opening button but once they close, they are closed.  Damn.  So I sit down and take the train to the next station.  I get off there, cross to the other side, and wait the 20 minutes for the next train.

So I go back to the CORRECT station, wait for the next available train, then get on that one.  I'm now running 45 minutes behind schedule.  Sigh.  Fortunately my couch surfing host, Simon, who was going to meet me at the station to give me a key, agreed to hide a key for me in his yard since I was going to be much later than expected.

So I'm on the longest leg of my journey now and REALLY can't keep my eyes open.  I have an hour to kill so I allow myself to close my eyes and drift off.  Yeah, yeah, I know.  Set a timer!  But I forget that the station I was getting off at was not the END for this train.

I wake up 2 hours later.  I'm almost at the station 1hr PAST my intended departure.  So, while I'm feeling well rested, I'm feeling rather silly.  Simon texts me to see if I found the key alright.  I fess up and tell him. He replies: "I'm laughing my tits off right now.  Sorry.  Hope it works out soon."

I get off the train, find the platform for the train going BACK the other way, wait 20 minutes, get back on a train and manage to stay awake for the hour it takes for me to get to York.

I got there 3 hours later than planned, I felt really silly but I learned.

Fortunately York was fantastic and it helped me to forget the ridiculus turmoil I went through getting to such a beautiful desitnation.

So what I have learned:
Set alarms.  Yeah, more than one.
Double and triple check the trains you get on.
Arrive early.
GET A FULL NIGHT'S SLEEP the night before an early train.
Set an alarm!
Be waiting for the door to open before the train has even stopped.
Oh yeah, SET AN ALARM!!!!!!

London Baby!!

London.  Big.  Enormous.  AND OLD!!

I decided to venture into London right off the plane, on 3 hours of sleep.  The phenomenal Julz had picked me up at the airport, took me to breakfast and in her usual level of enthusiasm agreed to go into town with me.  I had warned her that I wanted to do the touristy shit.  Big Ben.  The London Eye.  Find a phone booth and take a cliche picture in one.  She may not have been smiling as she put up with me, but let's face it, smiling is rare for her to begin with.

I owe her about 8 pints for putting up with me on one thing though.  I wanted to see platform 9 3/4 in King's Cross Station.  We got there and she pointed me in the right direction and then, there was a que.  Of course.  Granted we were there in the morning, so it could have been much worse, but still it was a good 30 minutes before I got to grab on to that trolly and imagine I was finally on my way to the Hogwart's express after receiving my letter of acceptance 20 years too late.  

Turns out they have made the platform into even more of a tourist trap.  Before the remodel apparently the trolley was just there, in the middle of a wall, no fuss, no muss.  Now it has a fancy sign and there is a new "9 3/4 Store" next to it.  They now have a staff photographer out there to take your picture and then you can go inside and buy your overpriced photo  in a ridiculous frame.  Now, they also had a SECOND staff member who put a scarf around your neck (of the chosen house) and then holds the scarf out behind you as the photographer gets ready to click.  

Now, let us paint a little bit more of a picture.  I am surrounded by about 35 avid harry potter fans, from all over, speaking multiple languages and then Julz who is less than enthusiastic about the long ass que we are in.  The photographer was Spanish and talked in a lovely Spanish accent with a little bit of a lisp.  As he got ready to take the picture, the second staff member was holding the scarf out behind the photographee, I would hear, in that lovely Spanish accent, "1, 2, 3 aaaaaaaaaaand scaaaaaaaaarf".  Yeah.  EVERY. DAMN. TIME.

Yes, I got a photo of me running through the enchanted wall.  Yes it was a blast.  Yes, I am still in love with Harry Potter.  However, I will NEVER be able to look at a house scarf without hearing that voice saying (over and over again) "1, 2, 3 aaaaaaaaaaaaaand scaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarf".

Lessons Learned

Some things I have learned in my travels thus far:

Roosters (gallos) that crow between the hours of 8 pm and 5 am should be turned into pollo (cooked chicken)!!

Weed whackers should be used only for their title purpose, not for mowing one´s lawn.

Having a gas station in town is not always a good thing.  The easier it is to get gasoline for your cars, motorcycles, dirt bikes, ATV´s and the like, the more they are used and the louder the town is.

Costa Rica may be beautiful, but it is expensive and the food in a restaurant isn´t that good. ( My host Mom´s cooking was amazing though.)

When crossing the boarder into Nicaragua you have to pay the taxes in two different currencies.  $10 (in dollars) and about $2 in cordobas (the local currency).

When you buy a ticket for a public bus, you are not garaunteed a place to sit.  A one hour bus ride seems VERY long when standing.

Making friends while traveling is easy, you just have to start the conversation with "so where are you from?".  New friends can make traveling an even more rewarding experience.

Having three different types of currency in your wallet is confusing.

Key boards in Latin America are frustrating.  The punctuation marks are in all the wrong spots!  Instead of an apostraphe, I get a {.  Instead of the @ symbol, I get ".  Instead of a semi-colon, I get ñ.

Jose doesn´t sweat unless dancing enthusiatically.  I think I hate him a little for that.

I really should just memorize my passport number.

Family is one of the most important things that a person can have.  I love my family, the true and the chosen members.

¡Los quiero todos!