First 3 days ...

I arrived safely in Germany and was pretty busy from the time I arrived. I was definately grateful for Thorsten picking me up from the airport as I would have had a pretty hard time carrying my luggage on a train. If you have no choice but to go on a train, I would highly suggest filtering your things like crazy and down to one easy to lug around luggage. This can be tough if you are planning to stay long term.

So what did I do one day one? Well we got hungry and ended up hitting a McDs on the way from Frankfurt airport. But the highlight would have to be finishing a German's children's book called "Die kleine Raupe Nimmersatt (The Very Hungry Caterpillar) by Eric Carle" in a sitting with the help of Britta. I know it may seem silly but it felt like an accomplishment when one is still adapting to the a new surrounding.

Day 2 was a bit more about adapting and learning the train system. We had a lunch date with Christine in Karlsruhe (about 30 min on S-Bahn train) from Baden-Baden (where I am staying in). Thorsten knew that I wanted to learn more about the transport system here so we took the S-Bahn there and back. I got a bit confused understanding the system as I did not have a map. There was one - similar to the one for the London tube but everything including the info centre booth was closed because it was a Sunday. The most interesting thing about the S-Bahn is that at any time, the carriages of the train can split off to another line. Yup, you heard me - it can split off. So if you happen to be on the second carriage but want to continue onto the same line, you would have to switch to the first carriage. They do announce this, but you would have to be fluent in German. I ended up asking Thorsten to give me the words to recognize so that I would know OR always stay in the first carriage :) Also, sometimes the S-Bahn does not stop at all the stops, so you would have to press the button near the doors so they will stop for you. Again, this would be announced. The system is definately effecient once you get the hang of it. The long distance trains like the ICE or RE will usually go directly to the main HauptBahnhof of each city where you would eventually have to take the city trams or buses to get around.

Day 3 was a very crappy rainy day. It was cold. I know, I should not be complaining about the cold here when Edmonton will be going to -30°C. But I can't help myself, I am a weakling when it comes to cold. Thorsten laughs at me (being a Canadian and not being able to take the cold) as it is only 6°C here but it feels more like -10°C. This must be the humid cold people talk about for European fall and winter. With the cold and contant drizzle coming down, it was hard to take my SLR out for photos. Unfortunately, I left my point and shoot. I only took a couple of evening shots. I really wanted to take photos of the Weinachtsmarkt (Christmas market) in Karlsruhe, but they are still in set up mode. Hopefully I will get some shots when it's up and running :) Most of the day was spent at the KIT (Karlsruher Institut für Technologie) brushing up on my German on my own.