I am typing this from a wee hotel room hotel in Munich, Germany. Tomorrow, I will be typing from a (hopefully much less wee) room in PARISSS!!! I am so excited. Want the full details of my European tour?
View Europe September 2010 in a larger map
Weeeee!
I spent Thursday preparing for the trip by eating the rest of my food (chicken, homemade soup (!) and zucchini pasta(yum!)), packing and shopping. Yes, it is important to buy new clothes if you are going on a business trip to Europe. It is also important to borrow from your awesome roommate's stash of business attire and designer bags! And to adopt her too-small heels. Yeah!
When you fly internationally, you should be at the airport 3 hours before your scheduled departure. I never, ever break this rule. It often means I have a good 1-2 hours of empty time at the airport, but better empty time in Duty Free! than not enough time at check-in! I always say.
My flight (to Munich vai Paris) was scheduled for a 1:45 takeoff Friday AM and so a 10:45 airport arrival would leave me with plenty of time for check-in, duty free browsing, and my traditional buying of the Jelly Bellies (they're like 2 bucks at the airport! I buy a pack or two every time I fly and while eating them, tell each little bean how it was made and the cool state they are from.)(Just kidding. But wouldn't that make a great story for the person next to me? 'So how was your flight?" "Dude, I sat next to the craziest lady!' haha) Uh, so I don't remember where I was before that parenthetical tangent.... Oh right, so I thought I was leaving at 1:45 but I checked my itinerary around 10 PM (I had just finished packing my suitcase for the 8th time. Only one carry-on suitcase for 8 days!) and realized it said: 0045! oh no! WHAT HAD I DONE?
I was like, Roommate, I got the time wrong!
She was like, What's the rush?
I was like, 3 hours!
She does not believe in that rule, I learned, and so we pulled up to the airport just after 10:45 (I live 10 minutes away) and it was a MADHOUSE. You know how it is traveling in the US around the x-mas holidays? It was like that. (because it was the start of the Eid holiday and everyone and their mothers, brothers, and children were leaving the country!)
I waited 45 minutes to check in (You never have to wait when you're 3 hours early!) and then the lady asked me about my carry-on and was like, Uh, I'll need to weigh that.
It was overweight by 1.6 kg and she was like, You can check it.
And I did, even though inside I was like Nooooooooooo! I really hate checking bags. I packed a carry-on sized suitcase just so I wouldn't have to! But really, what other option did I have?
That was bad, but not as bad as the next thing she said to me: The only seat available is in the middle.
WHAT?? (Because my travel guy always books me an aisle seat!)
And she said, Well, let me check.
And 10 minutes later: A window seat. bada BING.
I made it to my gate just under an hour before take-off, and so I rewarded myself with Jelly Beans :)
Slept all the way to Paris, even though I was in the bulkhead. Do you want to know how I feel about the Bulkhead? Let me quote fellow short-person David Sedaris:
Thank you, David. I hope I run into you while I'm in Paris this week!
So, I slept uncomfortably, but I wasn't in the middle seat! (haha. I accidentally typed 'middle east' first.)
I arrived in Paris and they don't have a train to take you from terminal to terminal so I walked FOREVER to get to my next gate. It turned out okay, though, because I had a 3-hour layover :)
Then I slept all the way to Munich.
At the airport, I picked up my luggage and found a money exchange, and then had to figure out how the heck to get to my hotel. Would a taxi know the address? I asked the lady at information.
She said, Yes, but of course that is ridiculous, you silly little American, because a taxi will be 60 Euro and you can get there on the train for 10! Then she shoved a map at me and started helping the next person.
Alone?
Yes. I just want to sleep, and just sleep.
But is Friday! You are nice girl! You can go to disco and downtown. Why sleep alone? You can call me even!
haha. No, I really just want to sleep.
He told me of an American woman he spent a week with (he even showed me her business card). She cried when she had to go home. I asked him if he was sad, too, when she left. He said yes, but that he tells women he is just want the sex, not uhhh...
A relationship? I volunteered.
Right. My English is not so good. I didn't learn in school.
What? But I thought everyone in Germany speaks perfect English! How did you learn, then?
He smiles. 'Women.' He told me I will learn better from a man. A man from a woman and a woman from a man--this is the best way. A man from man or woman from woman--not good.
Or, I could take a class! That's another good way.
We arrived at my hotel. The meter read 62.70 (!!).
He wished me a pleasant stay as he handed me my luggage, and though he may have thought me a terrible waste of a Western woman, electing to spend the night alone in a hotel when I could so easily spend it with a stranger(!), he didn't indicate it. Just shook my hand and went on his way.
***********
Now I am off to see the city. I would leave you with a picture, but my computer is being funny and won't let me upload any :(
View Europe September 2010 in a larger map
Weeeee!
I spent Thursday preparing for the trip by eating the rest of my food (chicken, homemade soup (!) and zucchini pasta(yum!)), packing and shopping. Yes, it is important to buy new clothes if you are going on a business trip to Europe. It is also important to borrow from your awesome roommate's stash of business attire and designer bags! And to adopt her too-small heels. Yeah!
When you fly internationally, you should be at the airport 3 hours before your scheduled departure. I never, ever break this rule. It often means I have a good 1-2 hours of empty time at the airport, but better empty time in Duty Free! than not enough time at check-in! I always say.
My flight (to Munich vai Paris) was scheduled for a 1:45 takeoff Friday AM and so a 10:45 airport arrival would leave me with plenty of time for check-in, duty free browsing, and my traditional buying of the Jelly Bellies (they're like 2 bucks at the airport! I buy a pack or two every time I fly and while eating them, tell each little bean how it was made and the cool state they are from.)(Just kidding. But wouldn't that make a great story for the person next to me? 'So how was your flight?" "Dude, I sat next to the craziest lady!' haha) Uh, so I don't remember where I was before that parenthetical tangent.... Oh right, so I thought I was leaving at 1:45 but I checked my itinerary around 10 PM (I had just finished packing my suitcase for the 8th time. Only one carry-on suitcase for 8 days!) and realized it said: 0045! oh no! WHAT HAD I DONE?
I was like, Roommate, I got the time wrong!
She was like, What's the rush?
I was like, 3 hours!
She does not believe in that rule, I learned, and so we pulled up to the airport just after 10:45 (I live 10 minutes away) and it was a MADHOUSE. You know how it is traveling in the US around the x-mas holidays? It was like that. (because it was the start of the Eid holiday and everyone and their mothers, brothers, and children were leaving the country!)
I waited 45 minutes to check in (You never have to wait when you're 3 hours early!) and then the lady asked me about my carry-on and was like, Uh, I'll need to weigh that.
It was overweight by 1.6 kg and she was like, You can check it.
And I did, even though inside I was like Nooooooooooo! I really hate checking bags. I packed a carry-on sized suitcase just so I wouldn't have to! But really, what other option did I have?
That was bad, but not as bad as the next thing she said to me: The only seat available is in the middle.
WHAT?? (Because my travel guy always books me an aisle seat!)
You need to make your seat selection when you reserve, she scolded.
I was like, But my travel guy always books me an aisle seat! Is that really my only option?
And she said, Well, let me check.
And 10 minutes later: A window seat. bada BING.
VERY IMPORTANT TRAVEL TIP: BE NICE. Always. Even when you're freaking out because you arrived 2 hours early instead of 3!
This lady volunteered to find me a better seat (middle seats suck! especially on international flights!), and when I was in Prague in July, I was allowed to take on my overweight carry-on because I asked nicely. My mom's colleague has gotten upgraded to business this way several times. Nice, folks, is not over-rated.I made it to my gate just under an hour before take-off, and so I rewarded myself with Jelly Beans :)
Slept all the way to Paris, even though I was in the bulkhead. Do you want to know how I feel about the Bulkhead? Let me quote fellow short-person David Sedaris:
He was at the front of the cabin, in a single bulkhead seat, and I recall feeling sorry for him, because I hate the bulkhead. Tall people covet it, but I prefer as little leg room as possible. When I’m on a plane or in a movie theatre, I like to slouch down as low as I can, and rest my knees on the seat back in front of me. In the bulkhead, there is no seat in front of you, just a wall a good three feet away, and I never know what to do with my legs. Another drawback is that you have to stow all of your belongings in the overhead compartment, and these are usually full by the time I board. All in all, I’d rather hang from one of the wheels than have to sit up front.Taken from this piece, which is SO FUNNY. It also appears in his book, When You Are Engulfed In Flames (of which I have a signed copy. boo yaw) as Solution to Saturday's Puzzle.
Thank you, David. I hope I run into you while I'm in Paris this week!
So, I slept uncomfortably, but I wasn't in the middle seat! (haha. I accidentally typed 'middle east' first.)
I arrived in Paris and they don't have a train to take you from terminal to terminal so I walked FOREVER to get to my next gate. It turned out okay, though, because I had a 3-hour layover :)
Then I slept all the way to Munich.
At the airport, I picked up my luggage and found a money exchange, and then had to figure out how the heck to get to my hotel. Would a taxi know the address? I asked the lady at information.
She said, Yes, but of course that is ridiculous, you silly little American, because a taxi will be 60 Euro and you can get there on the train for 10! Then she shoved a map at me and started helping the next person.
Germans, I hear, can be a little brusque.
I paid for the taxi, because 1 it's not my money 2 I don't know how to use the train!!
****This part is, uh, a little on the 'adult' side. Under-18 year olds: ye be warned!***
As we all know here on this blog, I have a talent for attracting, ah, 'interesting' taxi drivers. Turns out that in Germany, they're a little more interesting than in Jordan.
This man never asked me to marry him, never demanded I sit in the front seat with him, and really never made me feel even a little uncomfortable. This is significant considering our conversation, in which he revealed that if he could 'to change' he would be German woman because girls can have--how do you call it?--'one-night stays' with many men--hundreds even!--and it is okay. A woman can approach a man in a disco and ask for a night and he will not say no. No man will say no to this! But if he goes to a woman in a disco and asks for a night, she will tell him, No! You are crazy!
I said, Well, you can say no! You don't have to say yes just because you were asked.
He said, No, you not understand me.
What he meant was: He wants to be able to sleep with any woman he asks. Men can't. But women? The woman have options! Except not a woman in Africa and Arab and these places. They are with man one time and get killed! No, I want to be German girl.
I said, No, it's not okay for a woman, either. If a woman sleeps with many men, she gets a bad image and she gets called bad names. (<--Broken English is an important skill to master, if you are one to travel a lot.)
He said, Maybe in US, but not in Germany.
(I guess German doesn't have a word for 'slut', or any of the other degrading-exclusively-to-women words like 'ho', 'bitch' and 'whore'. I wonder if it also missing words like 'pimp' and 'player'?)
He said, Why don't you have boyfriend?
I said, Why don't you have a girlfriend?
He doesn't want a girlfriend. (Just the one-night stays), and marriage is for much later.
When I told him I had friends my age who already had two kids , he could not believe it. I tried to explain that for some people marriage and kids brought much greater happiness than one-night stays. He couldn't believe that either. But maybe when he is 35 or 40. For now, just the one-night stays.
I changed the subject to talk about Munich. He said I was very near--how do you call it?--downtown and asked me what I wanted to do. I said, I have a meeting, and then I want to sleep. (I slept on both flights, but was still soooo tired!)
I paid for the taxi, because 1 it's not my money 2 I don't know how to use the train!!
****This part is, uh, a little on the 'adult' side. Under-18 year olds: ye be warned!***
As we all know here on this blog, I have a talent for attracting, ah, 'interesting' taxi drivers. Turns out that in Germany, they're a little more interesting than in Jordan.
This man never asked me to marry him, never demanded I sit in the front seat with him, and really never made me feel even a little uncomfortable. This is significant considering our conversation, in which he revealed that if he could 'to change' he would be German woman because girls can have--how do you call it?--'one-night stays' with many men--hundreds even!--and it is okay. A woman can approach a man in a disco and ask for a night and he will not say no. No man will say no to this! But if he goes to a woman in a disco and asks for a night, she will tell him, No! You are crazy!
I said, Well, you can say no! You don't have to say yes just because you were asked.
He said, No, you not understand me.
What he meant was: He wants to be able to sleep with any woman he asks. Men can't. But women? The woman have options! Except not a woman in Africa and Arab and these places. They are with man one time and get killed! No, I want to be German girl.
I said, No, it's not okay for a woman, either. If a woman sleeps with many men, she gets a bad image and she gets called bad names. (<--Broken English is an important skill to master, if you are one to travel a lot.)
He said, Maybe in US, but not in Germany.
(I guess German doesn't have a word for 'slut', or any of the other degrading-exclusively-to-women words like 'ho', 'bitch' and 'whore'. I wonder if it also missing words like 'pimp' and 'player'?)
He said, Why don't you have boyfriend?
I said, Why don't you have a girlfriend?
He doesn't want a girlfriend. (Just the one-night stays), and marriage is for much later.
When I told him I had friends my age who already had two kids , he could not believe it. I tried to explain that for some people marriage and kids brought much greater happiness than one-night stays. He couldn't believe that either. But maybe when he is 35 or 40. For now, just the one-night stays.
I changed the subject to talk about Munich. He said I was very near--how do you call it?--downtown and asked me what I wanted to do. I said, I have a meeting, and then I want to sleep. (I slept on both flights, but was still soooo tired!)
Alone?
Yes. I just want to sleep, and just sleep.
But is Friday! You are nice girl! You can go to disco and downtown. Why sleep alone? You can call me even!
haha. No, I really just want to sleep.
He told me of an American woman he spent a week with (he even showed me her business card). She cried when she had to go home. I asked him if he was sad, too, when she left. He said yes, but that he tells women he is just want the sex, not uhhh...
A relationship? I volunteered.
Right. My English is not so good. I didn't learn in school.
What? But I thought everyone in Germany speaks perfect English! How did you learn, then?
He smiles. 'Women.' He told me I will learn better from a man. A man from a woman and a woman from a man--this is the best way. A man from man or woman from woman--not good.
Or, I could take a class! That's another good way.
He just chuckled.
We arrived at my hotel. The meter read 62.70 (!!).
He wished me a pleasant stay as he handed me my luggage, and though he may have thought me a terrible waste of a Western woman, electing to spend the night alone in a hotel when I could so easily spend it with a stranger(!), he didn't indicate it. Just shook my hand and went on his way.
***********
Now I am off to see the city. I would leave you with a picture, but my computer is being funny and won't let me upload any :(
Ah well. Hopefully I can post more when I get back!
Much love,
This Little Traveler
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