4:00 AM | Posted in , ,
1/22/09

HELLO!

This is my trip blog/ journal. I will be keeping it on my computer, and posting it to http://mattgoestoeurope.blogspot.com/

Forewarning: I am not a good writer. I enjoy the liberal use of parenthesis, and commas to the point of bad grammar. My spelling is atrocious. I rarely proof read.
You have been warned.

I will attempt to keep the time in 24 hours because it will help me adapt better. I apologize if that forces you subtract 12 from anything.

This entry will cover the flight/ first day/ second day.

The flight was long, but enjoyable. The food was actually good. Which was a surprise.

The first day was jet lagged into oblivion. I look back on it as "The day that doesn’t exist because
I somehow jumped 8 hours into the future and I don’t know how, why is it so bright out?"

The second day is where the action is.
I started by riding the train to Bonn in the morning. I got to Bonn Hbf (the central train station of Bonn) around 9:30 and was a little early, so I waited for the group to get there for while. While there I noticed a few things, such as a Pizza Superhero, and German manga. Around 10, we started walking to AIB. Our building isn’t on the original campus, but rather it is a new building (or an old building) that they redoing as I type. It is very nice, and will be fantastic once they finish We took a tour of the city, and it was beautiful. Bonn is a wonderful city, it looks old enough to be distinguished, but new enough so that new buildings don’t stick out like sore thumbs. I have pictures, I will attempt to post them soon.

After our tour, We all decided to head back to our host homes and meet later to explore the night life of our new city.

I never made it that far.

I am new to this train system. However I am not surprised that I was the one to get horribly lost first.

Time: 17:00.
I first rode a subway train to Bornhiem, where I live.
Time: 17:30.
Once I got off the train, I realized that this was the wrong part of Bornhiem. So I rode the train back to Bonn.
Time:18:30.
I asked the man working the info booth which train I should take. He told me what time and platform it leaves from, but the train that showed up had a different name then the one he told me. I should have taken it anyway.
Time: 18:52.
I asked for the next one, he gave me the time, I realized that he had given me the name of the station, not the train.
Time: 19:32.
This time I got on it, and rode it, but never saw the stop he mentioned. I rode the train all the way to Koln.
Time: 20:00.
The next train to Bonn Hbf left at 20:52. I was stressing out like crazy. Here I met some wonderful people who were kind enough to help me out. Marike was an art historian/restorer who I met after we both gave a homeless man something. She gave an apple, and I gave 15 cents. We talked and I used her cell phone to try and dial home to no avail. I had been attempting to use payphones as well, but never got it right. She told me I had the number wrong.
Time: 20:52
On the train back to Bonn, We heard "Bornheim, Roisdorf" over the loud speaker. She said that this was the last stop before Bonn Hbf, and that it was probably my stop (it was.) I got off, and started making my way back home.
Time: 21:21.
I met another friend who helped me find my neighborhood. (It was dark!) And a little before 22:00 I made it home.

Big adventure right?

It wasn’t a bad five hours, but I wouldn’t want to spend another five like that again.
I am glad to be home, and now I know my trains X)

-matt
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Comments

4 responses to "First Post / First 3 Days"

  1. Joanna On January 23, 2009 at 4:23 PM

    Haha oh Matt...I don't know what you are talking about- you are a hilarious writer!

    That is CRAZY about the trains, I'm sure it will absolutely happen to me too, so don't feel bad. :)

    Glad you're having adventures! Can't wait to meet up!

     
  2. Anonymous On January 24, 2009 at 1:37 PM

    This is the third (count ‘um 3!) of trying to leave a comment on your blog! Also, when I told you earlier that I had saved it and not to worry, well, I had saaaaved a blank .doc after cutting the content in order to paste it to the comment box… =/

    I will try to reiterate what I said, moo moo~

    Well, as soon as I got the Facebook notification saying that you got a blog, I made sure to hurry-hurry and rush-rush to the CAO from the O&M building! I wanted to read it hoping there might be little tid-bits about things that you might have forgotten to tell me. SO 5 hours! I’m so sorry~ I would have been in tears~ I told my mom about what had happened to you, and she responded by relating a story similar (in her eyes--my mother’s that is) to yours. The year is 1970 (give or take), and her friend is riding the German train system. Well, this friend finds themselves suddenly on a platform, they don’t have any money or way of knowing what time it is or where they are. Apparently, they had been GASED asleep, robbed, and dumped totally unaware! All I could say in response to this was, “ How is that similar?! Don’t say unlucky things!” And of course I had to knock on wood! (-3-)

    Ooooo~ I miss you so much, and I hope that you have more desirable adventures in future!
    I love you!

    [Also, I am thinking of starting up my blog again. Although, I’m not to sure that it’ll be very exciting, or consist of anything beyond the antics of Momo!]

    I love you!

     
  3. Mom & Dad On January 24, 2009 at 10:51 PM

    Wow what an adventure. I'm just glad you didn't start an international crisis. I can see the headlines now "Student Lost on German Railway System. Congress to Call Hearings."

     
  4. jtlamkin On January 25, 2009 at 6:59 PM

    Wow Matt sounds like your already having an awesome time. You should have named your blog "Matt's misadventures in Europe"!

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