It wasn’t all that long ago I was stationed here in München with the Bundeswehr. Or maybe it was, since I had children in Grundschule and a daughter in University. Come to think of it, that was 1999-2001. But it seems like yesterday when I come back. That is, until I start looking around. Asian food options lead the choices at the main train station followed by the ever popular pizza. Würst and beer would have to be hunted down. The pedestrian traffic has increased in both numbers and diversity. Unlike 15-20 years ago, other languages than German are commonly spoken by individuals who are obviously not tourists.
I arrived early enough at the train station to enjoy people watching with my brain still feeling overstuffed from the morning lectures. My train was an EC (European City) that started in Klagenfurt (Austria) and ends in Frankfurt. Not being completely stupid, I had reserved a seat which turned out to be quite a smart thing to do as the train was essentially full from Munich to Stuttgart.
My change in Heidelberg was easy – Track 3 to Track 4. Then the dreaded Bahn delays hit. Five minutes isn’t all that much and wasn’t a problem for me. However, at two of the stops the translation essentially ran “All of the connecting Trains and Buses have left. We are sorry for the inconvenience….” If it was the last connection of the night – I would not exactly be a happy camper. One of the exiting passengers just patted his bike and grinned.
I’m in Speyer till Saturday with friends and not planning on doing much of anything. Brain rest and sleep? Maybe some coffee, but not tonight.
