We began our interesting adventure by getting on the
wrong train. Unknown to us, trains in
Germany are frequently late. We were on the
correct platform at the right time, our train was not! Another train was there. Since the train came at the time and place we
were expecting, we got on it. Instead of
the bullet train that we were supposed to take, we ended up on a local
train. The only way I knew that
something was wrong was because it was making frequent stops. Our train was supposed to be non-stop to Heidelberg. Once we realized we were on the wrong train,
we immediately got off. A wonderful girl
on the train helped us to figure out another sequence of trains to take to get
to our destination. A trip that was
supposed to take only 2 hours took 4.5 hours !
But the train ride was fantastic. We met so many people on the train and one of them gave us some chocolates that were filled with different liquors, one even had champagne in it! I will definitely be bringing some of them home ! Once we got off the train, it was time to find our way to our
accommodations. We were staying in an
Airbnb, so I put the information into Google Maps and after a few blocks we
found our host. Our room was great but
on the 3rd floor where it was a bit warm. Which brings me to the “ice thing”. Apparently in Germany as in Italy, no one
uses ice. You CAN find it, but it’s difficult
AND expensive ! Another interesting item
of note is that most stores do not take credit or debit cards. This makes things a little bit inconvenient
for me as I rarely use cash. Once we had
a “nap”, we went to a grocery store to get some food for the evening and for
sandwiches for our day tomorrow. We had
a very difficult time figuring out what each product was. Fortunately someone heard us talking and
walked up and helped us find the ham and cheese. They also helped us find plastic storage bags
which are not used very often. Another
item of note is that there are no canned goods!
People here cook daily and go to the store every 2-3 days for groceries. Part of this is just the lifestyle, part of
it is that the homes are so small here, especially in the cities. This translates all the way down to the size
of refrigerators and product sizes. You
won’t find a large jar/box/package of ANYTHING in Germany. (Similar to the UK) We also found it amusing that you can buy a mini-keg at the grocery store as well as any kind of alcohol you want. It's just everywhere. Another thing that
surprised me about Germany is that there is no CHICKEN, --in the grocery store
nor on menus of restaurants. It is more
likely you’ll find salmon, lamb, veal, pork, and beef. The only exception is KFC (Kentucky Fried
Chicken) which is very popular fast food here.
After shopping and eating some dinner we just collapsed and went to
sleep.
Here are today's pictures
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