So, folks, I've finally arrived in beautiful Germany! It is beautiful today. It's pretty hot out (especially for Germany at this time of year - keep in mind that air conditioning is not a common thing around here!) and sunny.
I'll give you all a run down of how my last few days have gone.
I rode to Atlanta with Tim Kolody who was kind enough to give up his day to drive me down there. He was a great conversationalist, which was great, but I was still pretty tired from getting about four hours of sleep each of the previous four nights from final preparations, so I'm not sure I was able to keep up with him.
In Atlanta, things started to get a little interesting. I was over the weight limit with both of my checked bags, so despite my efforts to keep costs down by shipping stuff on Monday (sorry Em) I ended up still needing to pay to send over an extra box. So for those of you who are at my level of ability of reading between the lines, this meant that I had to hoof it to find a box shop, and in the middle of ATL, repack my bags/box, then hoof it back to the British Airways counter to finish checking in, just at the one hour mark. I sure am glad that we left early enough to have a cushion of time.
So, needless to say, I made it to the gate just before they started boarding the flight. I ended up sitting in the middle row of several rows of this English high school/university age pops orchestra (complete with instruments and matching shirts). That was pretty neat. They really like the US, and one of the guys I talked to wants to move there.
On the plane to London, I stayed awake for dinner, and most of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe. Then I pretty much slept until we landed in London. Then, a short seven hours later, I flew to Hanover, where Steve and Celeste Brubaker met me. You may be wondering if all my luggage made it in one piece. Well, it all made it. But the box looked like it had been beaten up and torn apart (that may just be part of the new safety procedures, I don't know) but the only thing holding it together was the tape that had been wrapped around it. I'm pretty sure all the books that were in it are still there, but I haven't had a good chance to go through it yet.
We left the airport, and drove on the Autobahn for about four hours to Chemnitz, and on the way, stopped for my first German meal - Burger King. I spent last night (tonight, probably, too) at the Brubaker's, since we still don't have a key to my apartment. (The agent was in a car accident, and they haven't been able to get a hold of her yet.) I actually kind of like it. It's nice to be with people when you're in a new country/city.
Today the Brubakers took me through the city of Chemnitz, and I took some pictures. It is a very quintessentially East German City. I'll post some pictures in a bit. Till then, Tschuss!
2 comments:
cool! glad to hear the trip was not overly crazy. how do you pronounce "Tschuss"?
It's like juice, but with a tch- sound on the beginning (like Tchaikovsky). Here's an update, too - we got the keys to the apartment today, so I'll be able to move in this afternoon!
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