Hello Friedrichshafen, my new home for the next 6 months. I’ve arrived safely, and have decided that I am defiantly a traveller. I flipping loved the journey here. The flight, train, boat...all of it, I loved being on the move, getting to somewhere new and exploring.
The flight was a short one and a half hours, felt like nothing compared to the flight back from Calgary a few weeks back. I’d barely gotten my book out of my bag and we were descending. OK, so that’s a slight exaggeration, but it did seem to go fairly fast. And it was nice to fly in daylight for a change. The past flights I’ve had have been in the dark; all my flights going to Tanzania, coming back from Calgary, and although going to Vancouver was in day light I was in the middle row so didn’t exactly get chance to look out of windows. But flying here I had a window seat, and there were hardly any clouds. It was beautiful. I sat and quite literally watch the world go by.
After arriving in Zurich I bought myself a train ticket and off I went to catch my train...which was double decker by the way. I’d like to say I went up to the top seats but seriously, if you felt how heavy my case was you would understand why I chose to sit on the bottom. During this part journey was the only blip of my travels here. As I understand naff all German/Swiss, I wasn’t exactly sure what the announcements said as the train moved along. And as I don’t actually know how to pronounce the places I’m going to, it made knowing when to get off a tad difficult. So I thought I’d ask the guy next to me when we stopped. I was like ‘do I get off here?’ (showing him my ticket in case he didn’t understand English, and making hand gestures as if I was playing charades and asking that questions was what my card said). And he was like ‘yes, yes’ (nodding his head vigorously), so off I got. But you know when someone tells you something, and your gut tells you ‘wait, that person is wrong, don’t listen to them’ ...my gut was telling me this. And so I ran down the platform a little, caught the eye of the train lady and asked her. Random Swiss man: 0. Steph’s gut feeling: 1. Back on the train I got.
After getting off the train for a second time, this time the right time, I caught my boat across Lake Constanse which took me right to Friedrichshafen. All that I had left was to find my hotel, and oh my gosh am I glad I found it without getting lost. Lugging a 29.2kg suitcase around, with a back pack going on for another 9kg, and carrying 2 coats is pretty tough going! I feel like I don’t need to exercise for at least a week now!
I’ve spent the rest of the day just chilling out in my new town. I kind of half expected to bump into other people going to bible school, but despite hearing out for a Canadian or American accent as I was wandering around I didn’t see anyone. Which in a way has been kind of nice; I enjoyed walking around on my own, exploring the town. I sat and ate pizza looking out onto the lake where you can see the Swiss Alps in the distance. It was pretty sweet. And on a slightly more random note, as I was walking around the town I came accross a man with a camel. Yes, a camel. Ramdom.
Tomorrow I have to get myself to the actual school. It’s a little bit out of the town I think so a bus is in order I think. I went to find the bus stop tonight so I have a bit more of an idea where I’m going in the morning. Fingers crossed I make it.
Being here makes me wish I listened more in German lessons. Seriously, I know nothing of this language. Guten tag, danke ...and that’s it; that’s my German vocabulary exhausted.
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