We arrived at the Stuttgart airport late in the evening after a
long layover at Heathrow (England). We wrangled all 15 of our bags off the
carousel, piled them high on the carts we purchased for one Euro each, and
headed to the car rental counter. Stuttgart is a moderately sized airport, so
it was relatively easy to maneuver, though the same can’t be said for the
European carts. Anyone who has lived in Europe knows what I’m talking about,
and anyone who hasn’t can duplicate the European cart experience at his or her local Ikea.
Car
keys and rental agreement in hand, Arnie positioned me in a strategic location with the baggage
carts, as he and Austin went ahead to scout for the car, a large BMW station
wagon.
 |
| Loaded up and ready to roll ... sans passengers! |
As you can see, all the luggage fit. But what about us??? Now what???
Fortunately, when I was in Stuttgart previously to house-hunt, I had
the opportunity to ride the trains. Emboldened by this experience, I suggested that Arnie head to the house to stow the cargo, and Austin and I would make our way via train to our soon-to-be-home-station, where Arnie could pick us up. What a great
idea! With all of our phones on their last bits of power, splitting up at
nightfall in a country where we don't speak the language and don't have a clue
about their protocols sounded like a fine idea! And that's just what we did!
Not wanting to lug those baggage carts back in to the airport, we
gave them away to a fella who was struggling with his own bags and looked like
he could really use a cart. He offered pay us, but we wouldn’t take any money
from him. He looked very surprised, and it was genuinely memorable to us how
pleased he seemed to be for this little kindness! (A few weeks later, we discovered why he was so happy. You will, too, in a later post!)
Without those pesky carts slowing us down, we were ready to get started
on our German adventure! We made a backup plan to meet at a predetermined
station every 15 minutes to ensure we would eventually find one another, and
off we went – Arnie in the baggage-laden auto, and Austin and I back in the
terminal to catch the train.
Buying a train ticket from the machine takes a bit more time when you
don’t know the system or the currency, but we muddled through this with
relative ease. As we headed down the steps to the platform, a train arrived!
What timing! But was it the right train? “No worries,” I told Austin, “Let’s
don’t rush this; we'll catch the next train. It'll be along in a few
minutes.” While we waited for the next train, we studied the rail maps to get a
handle on where we were going and what we need to do. We quickly discovered that we had, in fact, just
missed the correct train and the next one would not arrive for 29 minutes! What?! I thought
Germany was known for its fantastic rail lines! Oh, but it’s Sunday evening! Sunday – God’s day – the
day everything, except gas stations and bäckereis (bakeries), are closed. As I
would soon learn, this is the day when you can’t run your lawnmower, and trucks
are not allowed to operate in the towns! It is actually quite a lovely thing, but at that moment, it was incredibly frustrating!
The 29-minute wait tacked on to a 24-hour game of
international planes, trains, and automobiles provided time for reflection that
only compounded my feelings of wistfulness, excitement, and nervousness. As we
waited, I exuded a confidence and enthusiasm for the sake of my child that I
really was not feeling. I was anxious; what if something went wrong with our
plans, or worse, what if our backup plans failed? Arnie had given me some Euros, and I knew
that many Germans could speak at least a little English, so I wasn’t panicky,
but I knew that there was a possibility that the plans could unravel – that the trains might not run to our pre-determined point
at this late hour – and that ultimately, we could spend hours out of contact from one another, each of us worrying and trying
to anticipate what the other's next move would be. How long would Arnie continue to wait at that station? Should I take a taxi to that station, or
should I head for the hotel? Arnie had told me to take a taxi to the hotel if the plans went to shit, but the taxi scenario caused further angst because I had never used a German taxi. Where would I find one? What if we couldn't communicate well? What if he took us on the scenic route? Would I have enough money? What was the tipping protocol? I really did not want to explore this taxi possibility. Not this night. I had heard the trains (and Stuttgart in general) were
quite safe, but were all the lines
safe? At night? We were about to find
out.
Austin and I boarded the train and took our seats. I pointed out the onboard tracking system, and we both watched it attentively, careful not to miss our stop, even though the central station would be hard to miss. We de-boarded that train and moved through the central station, with me providing a primer of the train system as we hurriedly made our way to our destination platform. The U15 was not running to our station that night, but we boarded it anyway, knowing it would get us closer.
As the train worked its way out of the city and up the steep hills, we were able to relax a bit and look around. It was night, but we were still in the city, so we could still see buildings, shops, and people. Tired as we were, I was eager to show Austin something non-Texasy and exciting. "Oh, look!" I said as we approached the Olgaeck stop, "A casino! You won't see one of those in the middle of a U.S. town." As my eyes moved over the shop-worn front of the modest casino, it was the neon of the shop next to the casino that suddenly caught my eye.
It had caught Austin's eye, too, though he wasn't saying a word. How could he miss the shapely neon outline of the nekked lady - nips and all! - and the flowing cursive word "sex" in a color that can only be described as you-are-going-straight-to-hell-red!
"Well," I said, evenly, "you won't see one of those on every street corner in the U.S., either!"
After a brief, one-way discussion about prostitution being legal in Germany, the awkward conversation faded as the train continued its ascent, and I pondered the effect Germany - with its young drinking age and legalized prostitution - might have on my young man. This day was getting longer by the minute!
Shortly thereafter, the train finally reached the end of the line, we de-boarded and found Arnie easily. Somehow, despite my fears and the minor challenges of the day, everything had worked out nicely. We had safely flown across two continents and an ocean, all our luggage was intact, and we were together again!
I don’t remember the drive to the hotel, the details of the check-in, nor the dragging of bags and ourselves up to the room, but I know that falling into those beds and into the solid, deep sleep that comes from jet lag was the perfect ending to a long and exciting day and the perfect start for our new adventure in Deutschland!
As the train worked its way out of the city and up the steep hills, we were able to relax a bit and look around. It was night, but we were still in the city, so we could still see buildings, shops, and people. Tired as we were, I was eager to show Austin something non-Texasy and exciting. "Oh, look!" I said as we approached the Olgaeck stop, "A casino! You won't see one of those in the middle of a U.S. town." As my eyes moved over the shop-worn front of the modest casino, it was the neon of the shop next to the casino that suddenly caught my eye.
 |
| A representative photo - Olgaeck's neon is way sexier |
It had caught Austin's eye, too, though he wasn't saying a word. How could he miss the shapely neon outline of the nekked lady - nips and all! - and the flowing cursive word "sex" in a color that can only be described as you-are-going-straight-to-hell-red!
"Well," I said, evenly, "you won't see one of those on every street corner in the U.S., either!"
After a brief, one-way discussion about prostitution being legal in Germany, the awkward conversation faded as the train continued its ascent, and I pondered the effect Germany - with its young drinking age and legalized prostitution - might have on my young man. This day was getting longer by the minute!
Shortly thereafter, the train finally reached the end of the line, we de-boarded and found Arnie easily. Somehow, despite my fears and the minor challenges of the day, everything had worked out nicely. We had safely flown across two continents and an ocean, all our luggage was intact, and we were together again!
I don’t remember the drive to the hotel, the details of the check-in, nor the dragging of bags and ourselves up to the room, but I know that falling into those beds and into the solid, deep sleep that comes from jet lag was the perfect ending to a long and exciting day and the perfect start for our new adventure in Deutschland!
