Mass Transit Master

Today, I started out with a shower in a very short shower. I'll post a picture later to show you how short (yes, even I had some trouble with it, as short as I am). Benny may be taking bird baths when he arrives. (Well, this picture doesn't quite do it justice, since I couldn't zoom any farther out and my back was to the radiator.) But I am completely grateful for the new experience. Breakfast was raspberry jam on bread and a banana. Then, off to the S-bahn (the train) to go to the library, Schloss Blutenburg.

I found my way to S6 and went the correct direction, then I found bus 56 in Pasing and took it to the Schloss Blutenburg stop (the last one, so thankfully I didn't have to decipher too much German from the automated lady speaking). I made it there, and then circled the block around the library for probably 20 minutes before finding the entrance. (Did I mention I had to ask two people before I could get directions to the entrance? The first was a sweet old lady who tried her best, but between her not speaking English and my not speaking German, we left it at "Danka" (sp), and I found a nice gentleman who spoke perfect English who guided me in the right direction.)

I waited an hour and a half for my friends to show up... they had a bit more difficulty with the transit system and ended up going the wrong way on the bus... twice. In the meantime, Petra relayed the history of the castle to me, we discussed the public and private education systems in the States and Germany, and she showed me around the castle and her office. (She also seemed to be enjoying the time in the sunshine and putting off her work a bit :)) Once Mary and Amanda arrived, we were off to Pasing to tour the little town outside the center city, and then on to Marienplatz. Marienplatz is full of beautiful fountains, green spaces, old buildings that somehow seem to have survived WWII, and beer gardens (I had a Coke). I spent much of my time here indulging my passion for photography, which has gone ignored for far too long, with the new digital camera. I also spent some time sketching today, so it was nice to have this time before the serious studying begins tomorrow.

A side note about the "green" features of the city. They are not too unlike those that are becoming acknowledged in the States, just more prevalent and it seems that the government has done a better job of stating and enforcing the importance of these. For example, in our house, the organic material is separated in the trash from refuse. Also, all plastics are recycled or returned to the store for some cents back. Glass is the same. Paper is recycled as well. Almost all toilets have a two flush system, where one flush starts the water and another stops it, so as to not waste more water than is needed. Recycling containers are in all train stations and are spaced throughout the sidewalks, etc. Additionally, you must pay for a plastic bag at most stores, so you often see people with tote bags or collapsible baskets for grocery shopping, etc. Since most Europeans grocery shop as needed, this is easy to handle with the public transit system (they're not lugging 10 bags onto the train). I did see a wind turbine on the way in from the airport (flughafen is the German word), but have not yet had the opportunity to ask about this.

I will try to post some more pictures tomorrow. Thankfully, Amanda loaned me her adapter, and it fits my laptop cord, so no worries about the adapter now. Long day and my legs are tired from walking, so off to bed.