Around the World: Stuttgart

April 4, 1992

I didn't sleep very good last night.  The wiener schnitzel from the train station vendor lost the war it waged against my stomach and was ejected quite effectively in the early morning hours.  Once digestive peace was restored, I was able to get some sleep and dreamed about being home and receiving gift wrapped pieces of chicken.

?

My luck with trains strikes yet again as I start out for Stuttgart and end up back in Freiburg.  As soon as the train pulls into the station in Stuttgart, it starts pouring. To make the trip worthwhile, I seek shelter in a nearby pub and order "gulashsuppe" which makes me and my tummy very happy.

Not much else to do on this soggy day but head back to Mannheim.  Coincidentally, not only does the rain stop as soon as the train arrives at the station, but the sun starts to peek out from behind the clouds.

I met another hostel mate. John from Oregon is a food science graduate now working in Germany.  John knows of a pub and invites me to join him for dinner.  We join another group of three people we recognize from the hostel.  The music is good, the beer is great and the pub food is delicious.  Mannheim, where have you been all my life?

Made it back to the hostel exactly four minutes after evening lock out, but John and I were able to catch the desk clerk's attention and he very kindly let us in.

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"Fortune brings in some boats that are not steered."

~William Shakespeare

Around the World: Mannheim

April 3, 1992

I left Freiburg today thinking I was headed for Frankfurt, but I got on the wrong train and ended up back in Basel, Switzerland.  The mistake ended up giving me more choices.  There's a place called Mannheim which is half an hour from Heidleburg, and the hostel in much cheaper.  Frankfurt and Stuttgart are only an hour away.

The hostel in Mannheim is only a ten minute walk from the train station, a short distance from the US military base.  While I waited for the midday lockout to end, I wandered around the hostel grounds and found a kitchen, complete with a stove!  It's such a treat to be able to cook my own meals instead of searching for cheap places to eat or living off sandwiches.  My hopes were dashed when the doors unlocked and I learned the kitchen is only used by the staff.

There's just enough time to get settled and maybe try some wiener schnitzel from the vendor at the train station.

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"People are lucky and unlucky not according to what they get absolutely, but according to the ratio between what they get and what they have been led to expect."

~ Samuel Butler

Around the World: Going Postal

April 1, 1992

I woke up later than I had hoped to and almost missed breakfast.  It worked out better this way as I missed dining with the rowdy group of students eager to explore whatever it is they have come here to see.  Today's mission: Post Office.

Freiburg is a very pretty city, on the western edge of the Black Forest.  It's easy to get distracted by the view and easily lost.  After a bit of redirection and a few photographs, I find the post office.

The post master speaks no English, but fortunately, we are both fluent in charades.  With the help of the clerk at the adjoining stationary store, we wrap up the box with tape and string.  I bring it back to the post master who hands me customs forms to complete with German and French instructions.  I hand it back, hoping I've mailed it in the right direction.

The post master wants to know how I want the parcel shipped.  He holds out his hands like an airplane.  This option is very expensive so I shake my head.  He motions his hand up and down, like waves.  I nod.  The whole entertaining procedure cost me 36 German marks (about $24).

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"Every once in a while, someone will mail me a single popcorn kernel that didn't pop. I'll get out a fresh kernel, tape it to a piece of paper and mail it back to them."
Orville Redenbacher