Adventures in Deutschland: Day 42

Sunday was a cold but clear day. Unfortunately, we didn't have a lot of time to tour between checking out of our hotel and catching trains. We settled for wandering around the city center and looking at fountains and shop windows for awhile before walking Jesse to the train station. I walked Therese around the station looking at all the different food stations and shops while Todd and Jesse fondled some Cuban cigars at a tobacco shop. Eventually Jesse's train arrived (late) and we said our good-byes. We aren't sure if we'll see Jesse again. I hope we do - he's really nice, bright, and easy to talk with - but it seems like the closest we'll ever be is two hours away...

After seeing Jesse off we headed to the Augustiner Bier Hall for some half-liters and pretzels. The place is huge and very open with benches sitting on top of wooden kegs and long butcher-block style tables lining the walls. We may have ordered lunch here, but they had English menus that were translated a little too clearly. The "minced veal lung" and "pig's neck" just weren't doing it for me. We ended up eating chicken wings in the train station. I am now on a mission to eat chicken every chance I get since it doesn't happen too often. Therese also enjoyed a cup of banana ice cream which had been promised to her in exchange for eating lunch in her stroller.

The train rides back from Munich were very different than the ones there. In the ICE we once again had a little compartment, but this time were joined by a man and a woman who had not reserved seats but made sure to position themselves so that no one else would try to sit in the cabin despite the MANY people aboard the train. Otherwise this train ride was uneventful. The second train, the one that got us home, was very different. When we got on the train in Ulm, it was starting to get crowded but there were still seats open here and there. I was surprised by how many people positioned themselves or their things to dissuade others from sitting next to them. A few stops into this train ride, the seats really started filling up. Yet no one moved. Not even to take their purses off of the chair next to them. For example, their were four seats facing each other right behind us and the two ladies sitting there sat diagonally from each other with purses and coats spread out so that it looked like they were with husbands/partners. People sat in aisle seats instead of window seats to make it hard to see if the seat next to them was clear. This all seemed very rude to me. Then, at one stop, on came this much older lady who clearly had a difficult time walking long distances. Most of the seats were now taken by other people who had asked people to move their purses, etc., but there were still a few openings, but no one moved to offer her an open seat. She would have to stand (as others were). Todd, Therese and I shared seats so this poor woman would have somewhere to sit. By the time we were 45 minutes from home there were at least 10 people standing right in front of us, including a guy who was trying to read a newspaper with both hands despite the swaying train and towering right over us. It was not the most pleasant journey home, but Therese did really well and we did get to sit the entire time so I can't really complain. All it was a wonderful trip.