HOLIDAYS! Oy vey. Where to begin? Well. First off, I arrived in Germany only to find out that my camera was out of battery. A failure of my blogger self, but no doubt a can paint a picture with a thousand words. So! I went to Germany! I have a good friend Patty who lives there, and have stayed with their very welcoming family on a number of occasions. They live in the west of Germany, in a rather obscure city called Herne, an hour or so away from Cologne.
I decided to take the train, and get a Eurrail pass, as the pass was about the equivalent of a holiday plane ticket. Or at least up front it was. The idea behind this pass is that you have a number of days in a number of countries where you can ride the train all day with the pass. Cool. I love trains! Then they added this thing where you need to get reservations for all high speed and long distance trains that have an additional price attached to them, based on how far you are looking to go. Ok, not as cool, but acceptable. Being the put together person I am, I went to the station (for you can't buy the reservations online) about a month before my trip to get the reservations I needed. I was planning on getting on a night train from Madrid to Paris, then get a train from Paris to Frankfurt or Cologne. I got the Madrid to Paris and and return reservation with no problem, but a lot of my Christmas cash, then was informed I had to be in Paris to get a reservation to Germany. Thats ok, I figured, there were many trains headed from Paris to Germany and there was no other way to get a reservation, so I would get one when I got to Paris.
The day of my departure came and I left on the lovely night train to Paris, excited to wake up to the beautiful city. I even figured I would have about 6 hours to explore if I could get a train later in the evening. I was very excited to go to Shakespeare and Co. and eat a croissant. I got to the station and went to figure out reservations. After waiting a complete hour in line, I talked (in Spanish) to the agent, who promptly informed me that I couldn't get a reservation to Frankfurt or Cologne. Or anywhere in Germany for that matter, not today or tomorrow or the next day (Christmas Eve). This left me stranded in Paris. He did not listen to my pleas that it was impossible for me to get one, he was decidedly unjolly. So I left, crushed and crying pitifully, not knowing what to do, having very little money, and just wanting to get to Patty's house. I decided to try another agent in English, to see if anything might change, I waited another hour in line, and got to the English (thank god!) agent. Who said the same thing. No reservations available for Eurrail pass holders. I could have bought a ticket for about 200 euro, but there was no way I was going to do that. As I started to cry (my under-pressure coping tactic) she said there was a faint possibility that I could go and beg the conductor to let me on. I had 10 minutes. I raced to the conductor and begged him to let me on, and he did! Of course with a hefty fee, but I was so happy and relieved to get there and not be stuck sleeping in the station for two days.
I spend a lovely Christmas with Patty and her family. They were originally from Poland, and spoke Polish around the house. Polish are reputed to be some of the most gracious and welcoming folks around, and this family certainly lived up to the standard. I was stuffed with food many times over, and learned how to make a number of dishes. We had a traditional Catholic Christmas, where the Kris Kinder brings the presents on Christmas Eve. Patty's nephew was there, who was 5 years old, and that added the right amount of excitement. We spent the rest of the days eating, drinking, sleeping about 11 hours a day, and relaxing in the perfect Christmas Holiday way.
When the time came for me to leave on the 30th, I was very wary of the train system, and decided to do a rideshare to get to Paris, about 5 hours away, because I knew I wouldn't be able to get a reservation. I was ready! I would even have the afternoon to spend in Paris! Of course, when I got to the station to meet the rideshare people, no one was there. We called and called and waited and waited. Desolate and furious I asked in vain about reservations to Paris. None. I would have to take a train to another city and beg the conductor to let me on again. If this didn't work I would be stranded in Germany for many more days. I needed to get back on New Years eve, because I had an American friend who was meeting me there, then we were going to travel together to the south of Spain. Nervous and scared I said goodbye to Patty, took a train to Frankfurt, and begged. Its times like these that I am very thankful to be an innocent looking young woman. Thank god he let me on. I made it to Paris, and was able to sit by the violet Seine for a half an hour while eating leibkuchen. I had a lovely conversation on the train home, and somehow made it to Madrid on time. Next blog I will tell you about my New Years and Andalucian adventures!
In the spirit of Christmas we made holiday orange jack o lanterns. This was my substitute for clove oranges and apples. And I like showing off my orange carving skills. They didn't believe me.
