How Many Americans Does It Take To Catch A Train?

I'm splitting this post into two since it's pretty long and the second part is relatively distinct from the first. Enjoy.

So after safely arriving to Heidelberg and meeting up with Hal we went back to the place that she’s staying at, which was ironically enough a German frat house. The guys that are currently there were pretty nice and welcoming, and all knew a bit of English which made things a bit easier seeing how I know absolutely no German and can only pick up what people are probably saying when there are enough context clues around.

Thursday night I was pretty tired from traveling all day so we really didn’t do anything. On Friday after Hal got back from class we grabbed lunch and then ventured up to the castle that’s in Heidelberg and spent some time wandering around and such. Later that night we went out to dinner with another friend of hers at this very German place (a German place in Germany, go figure.) It was delicious. Also had my first real German beer, which again was delicious. I had absolutely no idea what any of the beers were though on the menu, so props to the waitress for pointing out her favorite one to me when I asked her for her opinion as to which one I should go for, she has good taste. Later that night we spent a little bit of time at the party going on in the basement for one of the guy’s birthdays, and then a few of us headed out and walked around town a bit.

Saturday we spent the afternoon at the biggest wine festival in the world, and one of the oldest. It was basically along the same lines as Oktoberfest, only with wine, not exactly as touristy (although there were plenty of English-speakers there), and definitely more room to breathe compared to Oktoberfest. It was a lot like a carnival only with a bunch of tents lined up serving a bunch of different types of wine, and the food was without a doubt 1000x better than any carnival you’ve been to. So to recap: great food, great wine, great company – it was ‘effin awesome. Once again I think America needs to take a couple of pointers from other countries. Of course, if they did that in the US, everyone would be a sloppy mess so maybe it’s better that we keep this festival in Germany.

I think the best story of the day comes from when we were trying to get home. We were slightly winging the train system, although we had a general idea of where to go (well, by “we” I mean them, I had no idea, the other guys did). But anyway, as the three of us are sitting there in the train in some in depth conversation, we completely missed where we were supposed to get off at. So, at the station or two after, we begin to realize this as the train is in the station. So, after thinking about it for a minute or two, we decide that that current stop we’re out is one we should get off of. So, we get off, casually walk over to the time table to figure out where/when the next train comes in to get us back to Heidelberg – well, the next train is on track 4, and leaves…. Now. So we look up and see the train sitting there on the other side of the tracks, and well what else do you do in a time like this other than book it to the stairs, run underground to the other side of the track, back up the stairs, and desperately start pushing the button to open the train door. Exactly. Only problem was, we were two seconds too late – the door wouldn’t open, and the train started to pull away. Bueno. But it’s ok, because well the next train should be there in another 15-20 minutes. So, after a minute or two, me and this other guy head to the bathroom, and when we come back, Hal is sitting down on the bench and there’s a train on the track. Not thinking anything of it, we both sit down as well. So here we are, the three of us, sitting on the bench, looking at the train in front of us. A few more minutes go by and the train pulls away. Another minute goes by and Hal looks at her watch and says that our train should have come in by now. In fact, it should have been in like, a minute or so ago. At this point, all three of us come to the conclusion that the train we were just staring at for five minutes should have been the train that we were getting on. Whoops. So, after hysterically laughing at our complete and utter stupidity, we wait another 15-20 minutes for a train to take us home, and make sure that we actually board it this time. But hey, makes for a good story right?

So, if you answered "3" to the question asked in the title of this post, you'd be right. However, no promises that it'd be the initial train you were hoping to catch.