The Arrival

Dave, Bob, and I got together about about 3 nights a week for about a month before leaving to set everything up for the trip: agree where we all wanted to go, plan the itinerary, check out expenses, buy tickets, etc.. In the ticket department, I got kind of lucky because my ex-girlfriend's father was a pilot, and she was able to get me a ticket at a discount. I'm only mentioning this here because certain things happened during my trip which are explained by this fact.

At the end, my flight was leaving on March 26 from Orlando to Newark to Munich. Bob and Dave would leave from Miami direct to Düsseldorf on the 30th.

Certain things didn't go as planned though. Once I arrived in Munich I found out one of my suitcases was lost and the airline didn't have a clue if it was in Newark or in Orlando. Of course I had planned on taking a train to Aachen ASAP so this was a total inconvenience.

After all that, I made it to Aachen in one piece, but with only one suitcase. I would just figure out what to do later.

What my Friends Heard

Approximate message date: March 28, 1994

YO YO YO!!!! It's me.. I'm alive... and in Deutschland!!!!

Hey guys... how's everyone? this place is awesome!!! I've been here for less than 48 hours and I already don't want to go back!!

The flight was sweet!!! On my Newark flight I got bumped up to first class... you likee??? but that was nothing compared to the Munich flight... hoho!!! I had my own tv screen next to my seat!! I ate lobster with california wine for dinner and then finished with a white russian.. AAWW YEAHHH!!!!!!!! GOOD QUALITY!!!!

Munich was incredible (at least what I saw of it - the Munchen women are sweet!!!!) I took the subway from the airport to the train station .. I sat in front of a couple.. the girl had just met her boyfriend at the airport ... and the first thing I hear from her is:

So, did you bring all my shoes and all my glasses so I have them?

WHAT!?!? I'm in a whole different continent, submerged in a different language.. and the first thing I hear is the Jerky Boys?? what the heck???

anyways.. the train ride from Munich to Aachen was sweet!! we rode through a bunch of major cities: Bonn, Cologne... we rode right by the Rhine.. oh man.. it was beautiful... Marc picked me up at the train station.. he's doing pretty good... he says hi to everyone..

well guys, I've only been here for a day... tomorrow night Bob and Dave come in to Düsseldorf... the day after we're picking up the car and visiting Amsterdam for a day, and then spending about 4 days in Paris, etc.. I'll write you again when I get back...

talk to ya soon...

Tips

• Don't lose your luggage. I was lucky because Dave and Bob brought my stuff with them, otherwise I would have been wearing the same underwear for three weeks.
• While in Germany, don't expect to find an icon of a little man or a little woman identifying the restrooms. WC is the designated term for this (it stands for watercloset).. I actually held it the WHOLE way from Munich to Aachen because I did not know this.. it was a 6.5 hour trip... bad things, man.. bad things..
• A large I (sometimes yellow) signals the information booths. Don't be shy.. they all speak english (and at least one or two other languages in most cases). You will find these at most train, bus, U-bahn (underground), and S-bahn (surface) stations. They are also found around the city. I don't remember exactly, but I think this is pretty much standard all across Europe.
• Take some time to learn important words, such as 'Train Station', in other languages. Most places have machines which take your money and give you a ticket just like a Coke machine. But you need to select the right route, and to do that, you must check out the route-map which is a bunch of lines in different colors looking like a plate of spaghetti. In german, 'Train Station' = Bahnhof, and trust me: you won't find a train icon.
• Buy a phone card. Every country I visited had it's own type of card, but they all follow the same concept: you pay a set amount for a card (cost depends on the number of units, like the newer american cards), but instead of having a PIN, you must look for the phones that will take the type of card you purchased. Then all you do is insert it in the slot and units are deducted from it as you use it. The cards are pretty neat themselves. The only complain I had was the fact that you cannot 'recharge' your card (once you're out of units either collect them, or trash them).