Arrived! Settling in…

Well I’m here!!  My flight went out at 2:40pm DFW time, 9 hour flight, and I landed at 7:00am Frankfurt time.  I then zoomed through customs and somehow found the train station with very little struggle.  Advice #1 - when at an airport and you feel lost - stop moving and look up at the signs.  Airports have a million signs that tell you where anything and everything is.  So before you start freaking out, just stop moving and look up and you’ll find where you need to go. 

So I planned ahead of time that I would get lost in this huge airport in a different country and booked a train at 9:40, but was waiting at the train stop at about 7:30.  Advice #2 - for those who aren’t used to trains - just remember they are exactly like planes, but instead of gates they have tracks.   So first make sure you are at the correct train station by looking at the big signs with the station’s name, then find what track your train is supposed to be on and show up at least 30 minutes early just in case your train is early.  Then just read the boards that tell you what the next train will be and make sure it is yours. 

Anyways, the train was totally packed and so I just found a spot on the floor until enough stops had been made that people filed out to make room.  The train was a four hour ride to Hamburg, and I got off to see the lady, who’s apartment I’m staying in, waiting for me.  We walked to a bus for a couple blocks and then walked to the apartment.  Here’s a picture of the apartment from outside:

We are on the second floor with the patio.  Oh and see that weird statue, well Anette (the lady) told me that this is how I would recognize what building to walk into.  Here’s a picture of the weird fish/dragon close up:

Seriously, wtf?

Anyways, I got to the apartment and met the other girl (student) who was living at the apartment.  By this point I was so exhausted, due to jet lag, my body felt as though it was 6am when it was really 3pm.  So advice #3 - dealing with jet lag - my dad taught me this and it works well.  Instead of falling asleep for as long as possible, take a 2-3 hour nap.  This will let your body get a little rest to hold over until it’s a normal time to sleep.  Then you’ll get right into the flow of things  If you just fall asleep without an alarm, you’ll most likely wake up at 3am and be totally awake and have trouble getting used to the jet lag for a couple days. 

Anyways, I just downloaded Entourage from last week and will watch that before I go to sleep.  Oh and find me on skype - lanceob.  I’ve got my first language class tomorrow starting at 8:30.  So this is about it.. until my next post, God Bless! 

1 August 2010 · Comments

• Tags
• Germany
• Frankfurt
• trains
• jet lag
• getting lost
• Hamburg