Germany
6, Alhana 0. I have given up any spare morsel of hope that transportation
around here will get better. I don’t know if it has to do with the fact that we
are on the very outskirts of the city, or if I just have really really bad luck.
The system itself is rather simple, but I cease to grasp the complexity of how
I keep running into trouble. You go to the bus stop, look for your route, wait
for said bus, get on said bus, wait for stop, and then get off bus. Simple
right? WRONG!
We go to the central station, look for our route, get on
the bus, and wait for our route to get off. Our stop is the last stop on the
route, so we know it’s not the wrong bus, since it has it not only on the signs
by the stop, but also right on the front of the bus. I don’t know if it’s karma
from when I was 5 and stole a toy car off of the ledge at Meijer, but the bus
stops and turns off 4 stops before it reaches its last destination. We wait for
a bit, and the bus driver stares, waiting for us to get off. I think his
patience is very much wavering, because the next look he gives is one that will
make even the Grinch cower. Great, we have no idea where we are...again. After
about a mile of aimless walking, trying to get home, we find a stop, and a bus
pulls up; we’re in luck! This one says it’s going back to where we need to go.
I say a prayer to make sure this one makes the trip up that monstrosity of a hill. The
bus starts to drive, and come to find out, we were walking the wrong way for a
whole mile. Oy vey, we would have never found our place at the rate we were
going…
The next day was another learning experience for the
books. You know, when you go to a country, you’d think someone would tell you
the rules of all transportation services provided, but hey, what the heck do I
know, right?
Note
to self: The bus does NOT open all
of its doors at a stop, you have to open the last set. Don’t forget that for
next time, stupid.
You guessed it folks; I am most definitely an idiot! We
were getting off at our next stop to get on another bus, but the doors weren’t
opening, by the time my other apartment mate, Hannah, told us we had to
manually open the doors, the other gateways off of this ride closed, and we
pathetically looked out of the windows in horror, while she watched us pass by
and laughed…really hard. We got off at the next stop and fast-walked back to
our stop before our next bus came. When we finally saw the bus stop, we also
saw the other bus that would lead us home. Oh shoot, if we missed this one, we
would have to wait another hour before the next one came, so we booked it. When
you run, you don’t realize how slow you really are, what with a 30-lb backpack
on your back, really tight skinny jeans, and Sperry’s to carry you there. I
don’t think anyone really understands what working-out and panicking means until
you’re about to miss your bus.
This was the 2nd time, and let’s takes a
moment to count them again, 2nd time Theresa and I made a spectacle
of ourselves today. I think the bus driver took pity on our pathetic lives and
waited for us to run onto the bus. He and everyone at the stop watched as our
little legs carried us to the bus. Good news was we made it; bad news was that
we had to endure a whole bus ride with Hannah laughing at our stupidity.
Stupid buses and their stupid rules. How in the world
were we supposed to know?
Life lesson:
Make sure you’re not with Hannah (or any travel buddy) when you make a fool out
of yourself. It will save you many nights of ridicule and harassment.
P.S. Sooner or later, you’ll be there
to witness their shame, and that’s when the real fun begins.
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