My four weeks in Germany exposed me to so much more than I had prepared for. Before arriving in Germany, I was confident that I would find my way around easily and there wouldn’t be any issues. I was certain that where I would be going couldn’t have been any different from where I had been before. I grew up traveling back and forth from Australia to the United States, and had also traveled to much of Europe with my grandparents. What I didn’t realize was how much effort and work they actually put into the trip. I was unaware of the amount of planning and double checking truly went into traveling across the globe until it was right there slapping me in the face.
After about 48 hours of packing, waiting, stressing, traveling, sitting, eating, and running around beating the clock, I arrived in Münster with absolutely no idea what I was doing. Luckily I had just received an email from my host lady with directions to my house. The bus ride was about 40 minutes, and it was quite uncomfortable with all my luggage and the constant turning and stopping. Little did I know that wouldn’t be the worst ride I would take.
I am not new to public transportation. Both my hometown in Australia and current city of Aspen have very convenient and consistent buses and trains covering most areas. The bus was my main source of transportation during much of my time in Aspen with the lack of parking in the city, and with saving money on expensive gas. In Münster, I had no choice but the take the bus. My host lady only had a bike, which she used. A walk would talk about an hour and a half if I wanted to get into the city. However, there were times when I enjoyed taking the bus from Münster back to my countryside suburb. Most of the times it was quiet and peaceful, and I was able to sit with my thoughts, or write about my day. The bus route was also quite beautiful, passing through farmlands, and much of the Altstadt.
What I wasn’t expecting about these trips to and from my house was finding out just how uncomfortable a ride truly could be on a bus. At any seat on the bus, you can be looked at. I am not sure if I looked out of place, or it was just normal to stare, but the starring happened quite often, and it was very unnerving at times. I was warned about this by a German lady I had talked to at the airport in Chicago before I arrived.
My discomfort at the beginning was short lived as I came to the realization that these people are just like this. Because of how a lot of the men act, many of the women put on a stone cold face when moving around the city amongst many others. I picked that up quickly when I would travel on the bus during rush hour. It is a smart face to put on when traveling anywhere, as sometimes the approachable looking people can become targets for the twisted and strange people that may be around. Don’t even get me started on that one homeless guy who always got on with his imaginary friend (Whom he spoke to quite loudly every time). I learned my lesson fast after being approached by a few unwanted weirdos.
The only other major piece of advice for the bus rides is that if you are on time for the bus, you are late. It has gone. This happened to me multiple times. But, that just means I have to work on my time management. A lot of thought and organization went into planning for going into town, coming back, what to bring, when to leave or come back, etc.
It was always quite stressful, and I was always pretty late (german’s hate that), so I’ve been working on my time management quite a bit and I think it has been working.