Finally Arrived

I arrived in Munich a few minutes earlier than expected today. But before I get into that, I should explain a bit about the trip.

I met Mary at RDU after Matt and Mandy dropped me off. We breezed through security and were able to do the self check-in for the flights to print our boarding passes. I was rather impressed with myself being able to fit all of my belongings into carry-on luggage, and Mary was even more impressed. (Although the bookbag did take up some valuable real estate on the floor under my feet.) When we arrived in London, my times were all mixed up, as I’d had dinner and breakfast in the span of about six hours, and it still felt like about 2 am for me. I had a few toiletry items confiscated in London, due to them being oversized for carry on luggage (oops, didn’t know). But overall, the flights went smoothly and we arrived safely ahead of schedule.

Dr. Veltze met us after Mary picked up her luggage from baggage claim and from there we went to pick up our public transit cards for the month. The line was exceptionally long, so Dr. Veltze waited in line to get the cards for the whole group while I dozed and Mary read her book. Then, we followed the S signs to the “city train” (as Petra calls it) or “subway” (as Dr. Veltze calls it). (I’ve decided to simplify things and just call it the train). We rode for almost an hour on a very clean train with wonderfully friendly people to Pasing, a suburb of Munich. While on the train, I noticed some red poppies that reminded me of Italy and a few wind turbines, which I’ll have to inquire about later. From there, Petra (the library director) met us at the station to take us to our respective homes. Petra is incredibly friendly and even took me grocery shopping with her this evening, since her house is just one street over from where I am staying. She also showed me the way to the bus station to ride to Schloss Blutenburg, the castle which houses the International Youth Library.

The family I’m staying with seems quite wonderful. They’ve given me the “penthouse” at the top of the apartment with a small attached bath. The landlady (also named Petra) is fun and spunky. I’ve only met her briefly, as she was on her way out to her workout class as I arrived. The family dog, Alegra, has become my new buddy. She’s huge, but very gentle and craves attention. The cat (whose name I can’t yet pronounce or spell) is fun too, although she’s almost deaf, so you have to be careful about petting her without her seeing you. There is a wonderful little courtyard garden out back that I’m sure I’ll enjoy some during breakfasts.

The only real bit of trouble I’ve run into is that my laptop cord doesn’t fit the adapter I borrowed… so I’ll have to see what I can work out with classmates. I made sure that it fit my other appliances, but didn’t think about the laptop before I left home. Oh well… I’m sure I’ll be able to work it out.