Coming in at a mellow 2 months behind schedule is my first blog post documenting what has, thus far, been an unforgettable culmination of experiences. Fortunately, I have been keeping a written journal to keep track of the many wonderful European encounters I have had the pleasure of taking part in. That being said, let’s get this show on the road!
Bon Voyage America!
Previous to my departure I was blessed with the daunting task of moving out of my home in Bend. Moving rarely increases my stress level however, in this case, I found myself subject to time constraints and the pressure of packing up everything I would need for my stay abroad. Needless to say it was a repetitive process of boxing things up, realizing I needed something from a box, and digging through the mountainous retainer pile until I located the desired item. My inefficient process was the result of far too much schoolwork in finals week and the addition of excitement for the coming months in Germany. After an extended weekend in Bend, filled with excessive amounts of goodbyes, great friends, and farewell meals, I finally made it to Portland. I got in a solid skate sesh with my long time buddy Adam Fous and tested out the new fish eye lens I purchased for my camera. Considering my camera is only a few notches above a point 'n shoot I can affirmatively say the video quality far exceeded my expectations. One less thing to worry about! Below you can see a little edit I put together from our couple hours at Eggs Benedict Park.
After skating I was lucky enough to pull together all my close amigos and have a great dinner at their Portland Flat. Partying, wine, pasta, karaoke, and all around fun ensued leaving me with a less than satisfactory condition in the morning of my 16-hour flight across the pond. What can you do though? My approach was that of attacking the hangover. A short run and I was right as rain. Just in the nick of time I might add, as my next event on the pre-departure itinerary was lunch with my Grammy and Madre. After a wonderful meal on the Willamette with my two favorite ladies they taxied me to the airport and we said our final farewells.
It was bittersweet as I was utterly excited, apprehensive for the unknown, and slightly melancholy when I realized I would not be seeing them again for sometime. Auspiciously my mood was rectified once I passed through security and it finally hit me, “I’m on my own, the world is mine for the taking, and I’m SENDING it to Europe!” Considering I had synchronized my flight plans with my good friend and travel partner, Kade Hobin, I had the enjoyment of making my first international journey with a familiar face. Apprehension levels reduced. Thank god. Our flight was right on time although we did not get to sit together, despite our efforts. This in turn worked out to be a blessing in surprise as I was seated next to two extremely interesting blokes; a man from Stuttgart, Germany and another from Leatherhead, UK
The German gentleman was approximately the same age as myself, extremely quiet, and incredibly attentive. Jakob and I hardly spoke, despite the length of our journey, however when we did engage in conversation I found his questions to be absolutely focused and purpose driven. Little did I know at the time that this was a key attribute of German culture and that I would be regularly subject to it over the duration of my stay. On the other hand my British companion was incredibly talkative and we discussed everything from the Oregon coast to the commodity based economy that his hometown was built around. The fellow’s name was Patrick and he is the current editor of The Astorian. Besides being a hyper-intelligent individual, Patrick had a plethora of funny things about him that fueled both my entertainment and motivation in continuing our conversation. He brought a special pair of slippers that he always wears when traveling internationally, which made me quite jealous, and he loves Chronicles of Narnia.
This was perhaps the greatest hurdle between us considering I regard these movies as piss poor. He however stood his ground stating, “Where else can a chap get a fawn, a talking lion, and an ice queen all in one place?” The first thought that came to mind was my in my nightmares although I refrained from sharing. Next thing you know Overhead seatbelt lights were back on the sun was rising again, much too soon for my liking, and the captain was announcing our arrival over the intercom. AMSTERDAM TIME.
Despite jet lag I was far too excited to recognize my fatigue. Kade and myself were all smiles and the second we stepped off the plane we were hit with the harsh reality of culture shock and the understanding that everyone spoke a different language than us. Given that we only had a 6-hour layover I definitely had not entertained the idea of leaving the airport. Kade on the other hand had a whole different game plan. We were getting the hell out of there pronto. Awesome. Like a bull in a china shop we fumbled through a series of conversations landing us train tickets and an eventual arrival in the city’s main station. Let me just say this was the best decision we ever made. For my first international destination no city could have been more fitting.
We wandered the streets doing the tourist thing. Enjoying the unreal architecture, freakishly dressed street performers, and eclectic mixture of shops until we finally landed at a small restaurant on the main boulevard for lunch.
We lollygagged back to the airport, searched aimlessly through some shops, and decided maybe we should finally head to our gate. Upon arriving at the gate Kade and I both found it interesting that no one else was flying to Frankfurt. No sooner had we made this airheaded statement the flight attendant got on the loud speaker and announced “Flight to Frankfurt. Final Call. Gate closes in 10 seconds”. Looks like our previous evaluation missed the mark slightly. We got a great laugh as we narrowly made our flight to Germany.
After a short flight we made it into Frankfurt. We we’re finally in Germany! I was saturated with excitement at this point and was doing everything in my power to contain myself. It was comforting to see Kade was enduring similar emotions. We picked up our baggage with no problems and we’re supposed to meet our other friend, Josh, at the terminal however he was nowhere to be found. We decided it was every man for themselves and moved to locate the train station beginning our journey south to Bad Mergentheim. On our way to the train we randomly heard someone speaking English and all the sudden Josh appeared out of nowhere like Katherine Heigl's acting career. I couldn’t understand how this was possible but apparently luck was on our side. +1 to our wolf pack and we we’re off. After purchasing tickets that we thought would take us all the way to our new home we found that we could only get to Wurzburg, the closest major city to Bad Mergentheim.
Having missed the last train from Wurzburg to the Merg, plus our level of fatigue from traveling all day, we just decided to stay in a hotel for the evening and continue with our journey in the morning. After some beers, a great dinner, and a solid nights’ sleep we hopped the first train south. On the way we met a woman from Lauda, a small town near Bad Mergentheim, she was incredibly sociable and was happy to help us practice our Deutsch. This was a best-case scenario considering we had only just begun our studies! After getting down some basic phrases we parted ways and found ourselves at our destination. Having internet at the hotel the previous evening turned out to be a god send considering my incredibly awesome German student “buddy” skyped me our landlord’s phone number and address of the student residence. THANK YOU CARMEN! After locating our house on the town map we made a short journey across the tracks, met our landlord Frank, got a tour of the building, and got settled in! Mission complete. After this insane journey we could finally breath, so much for easing into it I guess! Now the real fun starts…
