I might have to declare yesterday as my first day of real failure.
The day started early by making the short walk from the hostel to the train station to purchase my ticket to Augsburg. There were two direct options, I chose to take the 1:14pm option instead of the 9:48am one so that I didn’t have to rush around yesterday. Turns out I should have rushed.
I waited around shitting in the shade, then at the platform eating a pretzel for lunch. I was due to arrive in Augsburg about 4:00pm. And then about fifteen minutes before my train was due to arrive we were all informed that the train had been canceled.
Given that I am on vacation I shrugged my shoulders and found someone to confirm that I understood the announcement in German correctly. I then looked over my shoulder to see a young woman starting to cry because she had an appointment that she needed to keep. What was she going to do?
We all went to the Deutsche Bahn information window where they announced to us that we should rush to platform 3 to catch a train to Mannheim in order to then get a train headed to Munich (Augsburg is the station just before Munich). In case your German geography isn’t that great, Mannheim is in the opposite direction from Munich when you are in Heidelberg. I followed the crying woman because I knew she’d understand what to do.
In Mannheim I walked to the Deutsche Bahn information window where the woman told me that I should hurry to platform 8 to catch the train that was due to leave in five minutes. Fortunately I made it on time.
Fortunately the train was not crowded because technically I had no ticket for this train, and the fact that I had paid for a reservation on a different train had no bearing. I found a seat that had no reservation, and claimed it.
At one point in the journey I feared that I was supposed to get off the train and transfer to another, because the train backed out of the Stuttgart station into which it had pulled, on its way to Ulm and then Augsburg and Munich.
I made it into Augsburg after 5:00pm, found my hotel, and then went out for a beer and food. As I mentioned in yesterday’s comments one beer turned into three (large) beers. I ate another plate of Wiener schnitzel with fried potatoes and onions.
Admittedly I was a little inebriated leaving the bar. I walked around a bit, coming across the biergarten suggested to me by the hotel staff (oops), and then returned to my hotel at which I spent the rest of the night.
ITP Flickr Pic
“Heidelberg Is A Cycling Town” (Heidelberg, Germany)
These bikes were parked outside Heidelberg’s Central Train Station. I’m sure that more than a few of these have been abandoned, but still…
“Augsburg, Germany” (Augsburg, Germany)
During the short amount of wandering I did after eating dinner I came across this bar.
All I Wanted Was A Pepsi
My only desire after waking up from an unscheduled nap was a Pepsi. I would have settled for any sort of cola, actually. I could have forked over 2.50€ for the tiny soda in my hotel’s minibar, or I could have gotten dressed and gone out to a store to buy one, but instead I decided to punish myself for my over-indulgence. No Pepsi for you! Or me, in this instance.
I’ll be in Augsburg until tomorrow morning, at which time I will head to Vienna for the hash. Hopefully my journey will be less eventful than yesterday’s.
Have a great Thursday, friends.
Cheers,
Paulie [augsburg/de]
In my past visit to Heidlburg, I took a photo of the train stations bike parking lot, only there was snow! Some things never change..
So did you ever have to buy a ticket?
There were chores last night. We hear a rumor the hay man (hey man!) will be bringing a trailer load of hay and parking it rather than unloading it. I needed to clear off a side of the man cave so he had somewhere to drop it. The area had accumulated my lumber pile and other debris which is now stowed somewhere else.
Chore #2 was setting up the “new” king size bed. It does fit, but with some difficulty and a lot of difficulty moving that mattress! A very nice and not at all light pillow top. I have to say it sleeps pretty well.
-FP
After telling the train conductor that “In Heidelberg my train come not” (oops), she understood what I was trying to say, stamped my ticket, and then moved along.
Back in the hotel room. It’s currently 3:00pm and 86° F (the real temperature scale!) outside. Even though my room has no A/C (my booking skills failed again) the room is bearable using the provided table fan.
As of now I have walked eight miles, taken a few photos, had two 0.3L beers, eaten a dessert, and witnessed the unfortunate breakup of a young couple.
watching a breakup- that sounds interesting.
That DOES sound interesting! Tell us more!
It wasn’t that interesting. As I was walking down a street I saw two “kids” — a beautiful blonde woman and a handsome blonde guy — Germany, go figure. Had I been minutes sooner I may have seen them arguing but by the time I arrived he had his head in his hands walking away (crying?) and she stood there. A second later she walked off in the other direction, seemingly unphased.
I could only surmise that they’d broken up, and that she was the one who pulled the plug.
Coincidentally she and I walked in the same direction for over a half-mile. She had been wearing sandals, but took them off and walked barefoot on the warm cobbles of the street. Amazing.
Given that I figured she was newly-single I thought about as asking her to lunch, but my German failed me. (kidding of course)
I love that you are looking for a Pepsi – I found in Spain Coke & Pepsi we both available, is Pepsi more popular in Germany?
We went to spin class last night – 1 hour is such a long time on a stationary bike, even with an instructor that talks a lot & changes things up. But – I need to do it, since I can’t seem to get on my real bikes often enough.
Seems to be quite a few people that I know in Vienna, (learning this from the FB posts). How many people are registered for this event?
I have found Coke more often than Pepsi.
According to the website 771 have registered for EuroHash.
Served over ice?
I have not ordered it in restaurants, but have seen/bought it in stores and fast food places.
Seeing some pictures of a red dress hash going on in Vienna………. can’t believe you skipped that? (only sort of kidding)
The day after the last Red Dress I did I was carjacked. Never. Again! 😉
Pretty sure you wouldn’t get car jacked on this one. 😉
You never know, European criminals may force me into a car just so that they can steal it from me!
At 20:30 it’s 84° outside and warm in my hotel room. Hell, if I wanted this experience I could have taken a staycation at the ITP Estate! Stupid me for not checking about A/C.
I’ve only travelled to Europe in the Winter. Problem solved!
Indeed, since every hotel room in which I have been has had a heater.
It’s supposed to get up to 92 in Vienna this weekend. I hope to hell that the hash hotel in which I’ve booked a room has A/C so that it doesn’t feel as if I am in hell.
I hope you have AC as well…………..
can’t believe it is that hot. wow