Getting back to the Ciampino airport from our campground was an interesting experience. Our flight was at 10:25 AM, and I was planning to get up at 7:00, and leave by 7:30, so that Sarah and I would have plenty of time to get where we needed to go.
Turns out that we both overslept a little, and we ended up leaving by 8:30. We got to the central train station around 9:00, and only had an hour to get up to the airport before the boarding gates closed. We checked the trains, and none actually go to the Ciampino airport. We checked the busses, and all of them were booked. Our last hope was to wait in line for a taxi before we missed our flight. Luckily, the line went pretty quickly, and we managed to meet a group of three girls who were trying to get to Ciampino as well. We split the €30 cost amongst the 5 of us, which turned out to be a really good deal. We got to the airport somewhere around 9:50, and the boarding gates were closing at 9:55. We rushed through security, and jumped in the boarding line, just as it was starting to move. I breathed a great sigh of relief as the plane took off, fully aware that the second half of our journey was yet to come.
When we got to Frankfurt Hahn airport, we rode the bus for a couple hours to get to Frankfurt am Main, at which point we took a train back down to Darmstadt. It ended up being 16:00 by the time we finally arrived. I decided to work for as long as I could, and surprisingly, I got a lot done. The next couple of days at work were alright. I’m getting to know more people, I’m becoming more familiar with my project, and I’m getting better with navigating the city. So overall, it’s becoming more comfortable.
Friday, I was invited to a barbecue, on the occasion that it was a coworker’s birthday. This was a lot of fun, since we all brought our own meat, and there was potato salad and pasta salad. I find that I’m more confident with my German skills in a social atmosphere, but in a technical atmosphere I get lost pretty quickly. I went home and found the fraternity guys celebrating another person’s birthday. It was alright. I’m not really one to enjoy drinking, so I just kinda talked to people. The overall consensus is that most Germans appreciate when Americans try to speak German. Most of them say that German is not really an essential language, and are modest about their own English-speaking skills. I would contest that my German-speaking abilities are nowhere near their English-speaking abilities, but then again, they take English in grade school.
In other news, I finally found a gym that’s economical. It’s really far away from where I live, but not too far from where I work, so I think I’ll just go after work, then take the bus home. When I went on Saturday, it seemed pretty packed, but not too much so that I couldn’t accomplish some much-needed lifting. I’m going to try again on Monday, to see how full it is during the week. Saturday ended with a little hangout with the fraternity brothers, on the Herrngarten. It was nice to just relax outside on a nice day.
Sunday, I went to a Catholic church. However, the mass was completely in German, so I really couldn’t understand any of it. This is why I’m a firm believer in the Latin mass, because the exact words are spoken throughout the entire world. It’s very easy for meanings to be lost in translation.
After church, one of the fraternity brothers asked me if I wanted to ride bikes with him. “Sure!” I said, not knowing how serious he was about riding. We rode for probably an hour, and I had a lot of fun. If it weren’t for the really uncomfortable seat, I would have stayed out all day. We came to a place called Ludwigshöhe, which is the top of a sizable mountain. The view was incredible! We could see all of Darmstadt, and even to Frankfurt. The idea of trail biking had never really occurred to me as a fun activity, but that day’s trip convinced me otherwise. Although, I will say, that some of those hills were a little dangerous
Bis später!
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Tom Ziebro