So got up late again (I'm only slowly adjusting to the time difference), and got ready for a simple adventure. I headed out to find a cafe where I could sit and if I was at all lucky, watch at least one of my tv shows. After showering I put on one of my flannels and my jeans (one of my usual comfort outfits) and decided since the sun was shinning I could leave my rain coat home. It was a beautiful day, still cold, but slowly warming up.
 |
| Looking out my window before heading out for the day. |
I thought about walking today, but another three mile walk to the mall (that's the area the cafe is in), wasn't appealing since my muscles are still stiff from lugging groceries around (pathetic I know, but I did the math and I walked over a mile carrying almost 2.5 gallons of water, plus other groceries). So in the end I decided that taking the train with my new transportation pass would be more fun (also it cuts down on the nearly hour walk to just ten minutes on the train).
 |
| The beautiful day at the train station. |
 |
| You can see house close my apartment building is to the train station, I took this pic while waiting for the train! |
I knew a head of time that most shops close down on Sundays here, but it was still really strange for me to see. There were a lot of people walking around the streets that make up the mall (I think I will eventually take a picture so you all know that I don't mean mall like the Alderwood mall, but more like how the stores are in Seattle. There are indoor areas, that feel like our malls, but a ton of the stores are accessed from outside). Restaurants stay open on Sunday, but that's really about it.
Talk about culture shock, I'm so very use to the American consumerism model. I mean, just before I left for Germany Dad had to run me to the store at midnight because I needed contact solution. I always had that option back home... And to realize that it isn't like that here, that everything really does seem to shut down on Sunday or by 8 pm during the week (not counting bars and restaurants), I am left feeling a bit odd. Even though it was rare for me to need something late at night, I always had the option of going to the store during the day, no matter the day of the week. Now, I'm going to have to plan on doing any shopping during the week, or longer shopping days on Saturday. A hard thing to adjust to (well not really, I didn't shop much back home lol).
Anyways, I did find a place to sit down and log into the internet (mine is oddly limited in my flat, so I like finding places I can log on elsewhere). It was a cafe, and it was busy. It seems though completely acceptable to sit for as long as you want while nursing whatever drink or meal you buy. I decided since I planned on using the internet for at least an hour I probably should buy lunch (I had found some basically German donuts when I first arrived at the mall, but it wasn't really enough of a meal).
So this is probably the most stressful thing I have ever had to deal with.... Ordering food off a menu I can't read.... Ahh, I'm a picky eater as is, so imagine my complete loss when I looked at a menu I had no idea what it said... So I picked the only thing I could read, and was normally a safe bet at home; a chicken Cesar wrap. Well long story short, never again.... Their idea of ceasar dressing was very similar to mayo, and it had these strange pickled tomatoes on it... I was so sad, but at least I had the brains to order fries with it and was able to eat all of those!
Before coming here, I always enjoyed going out to eat. I mean, everyone knows I'm absolutely in love with Olive Garden's endless soup, salad and bread sticks! But that seems to be another thing Berlin doesn't have, endless options (they don't have Olive Garden either, so hopefully Detroit does, because I so can't handle not having my favorite restaurant for two years, three months is bad enough). Anyways, soda isn't refillable it seems unless you are at a place like McDonalds. I haven't been into the Chinese Buffet I saw one day, so it may have refillable drinks, but no other restaurants seem to. Not even the iced tea at the places I have seen is refillable. It's hard for me not to be able to have a couple of teas or even waters with my meals. But since Germans don't really drink tap water, even getting a water refilled seems to be a pain! When I come home the first meal I plan to buy is that Olive Garden meal. I want to eat til I'm stuffed (with food from a menu I can read), and have as much Iced Tea as I want!
But though I wasn't as impressed with my meal, I did get a chance to be out and that makes time pass quickly. I was (after much grief) able to also watch one of my tv shows. You have no idea how attached to American tv I am (and that's saying something since I haven't had cable in my own place in two years). Watching tv online has always worked well for me, but here you can't access things like hulu (internationally not available is what the site says). So it took me a while to find my show, but now that I did I'm a bit more relaxed lol. Hearing something familiar, like the voices of actors you recognize in a language you know is actually very comforting!
Anyways, after I finished my show and as much of my lunch as I could eat I heading back to my apartment. The sun was still shining, and honestly I'm glad it stays light until about 8pm. I plan to see some of the school I'll be working at tomorrow, so I'm going to end today's story by telling you a bit about the things I missed today and what things I look forward too...
When the sun comes out, like it did today, I realize I miss simple things. I miss sitting in the sun during spring quarter with Shelby, on the small patch of grass outside our apartment we had together. I miss that we were stubborn enough to sit out on days that were just barely warm enough for sunbathing, and would shiver at times because of the wind. At the same time, I look forward to sitting in the sun here. There are so many parks that once spring really hits, sitting out side and reading a book will be amazing!
 |
| Grass to sit in (once it warms up) right outside my building. |
 |
| Here is the building, with a tree I think will be beautiful in just a few weeks. |
I miss that spring time meant outside time with Daniel. Like walks around the park, or if I was lucky and it warmed up, a trip to the lake. I also miss the times when I could go to Crystal's and play out in the yard with the kids. I got to do it on Easter, and I remember just how much I loved it... But I will have outside time here, I will have sight seeing and many sun filled adventures. Maybe if I'm lucky I will get a sunny adventure in Poland.
So while I miss much, I am looking forward to whatever this trip holds for me. I should probably sign off for the night, it's getting late and I have to be up for some teacher work tomorrow. Good night all, I hope reading this isn't too much of chore!
No comments:
Post a Comment