Caitlin

My Praktikum in Germany
2002-09-25 08:26:05 (UTC)

Oktoberfest - 1 - Travelling

Of course, I didn't wake up on time. This happens without
fail. I'm terrible at waking up, no matter how careful I
am about setting the alarm(s) and placing them on the other
side of the room so I have to get out of the bed to turn
them off. Although it never is "my fault," this time, it
really wasn't!! When I woke up in a panic four hours
later, I looked at the clock. The hands had stopped moving
just before it was supposed to go off, and of course then
the alarm couldn't ring to wake me up. Stupid battery!

So I missed my train. I took a shower to try to calm down
a little, called the Matschis that I would be arriving the
next morning instead of that night, and packed my things
and went to the train station. Because the ticket I had
bought was non-refundable and non-exchangable, I had to buy
a new one. I had luck; in an hour (which would be at 7:00
pm) a cheap night train would be going straight from
Cologne to Munich. Yay! Only €36, and I wouldn't even
have to switch trains. That was perfect... except that I
would be arriving in Munich at 1:30 am. I didn't want to
pass up this otherwise perfect offer for a minor detail, so
without any further thought, I bought the ticket.

The six and half hour train ride went very slowly. I
didn't feel like reading, so I listened to music for most
of the time. I tried to sleep, because I knew that the
night would be a rough one, but it was nearly impossible
for me. The train kept stopping, people kept walking in
and out, and others would sit by me for a stop or two and
then leave the train again. But I was relieved when we
were finally there, and the old familiar Munich station was
in sight.

I got off of the train, and started to wonder what to do.
I couldn't ask the Matschis to pick me up in the middle of
the night. They had to work the next day, (I thought). I
didn't want to waste money on a hotel room in which I would
spend only 6-7 hours, and besides, they probably don't take
in travellers at that time of night. I decided to spend
the night in the main train station. I curled up on a
bench with my bags, right next to the train police station
and tried to catch some sleep...




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