Day 2 - Planes, trains, automobiles and very little sleep

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Day 2 - Planes, trains, automobiles and very little sleep

It’s kind of hard to figure out where Day 1 ends and Day two begins.

By the time we landed in Philadelphia we were tired. With only a couple hours of sleep and traveling we were exhausted and tired.

At this point during the travels you start to read each other a little bit and it was very apparent that we needed food immediately.

We walked from the concourse we landed at to concourse A. It was a bit of a walk but it was really an enjoyable walk through the shops that lined each concourse. I love airports. I love people watching. I the journey to get to your destination.

We decided on a little restaurant called Chickie’s and Pete’s. We all ordered a Philly Steak and Cheese, we shared a large basket of seasoned fries with cheese sauce and all ordered sodas for another shot of caffeine. This meal was exactly what we needed and the timing was perfect.

We found our seats in the plane and got settled in. Our seats are Economy seats. This is my second time overseas and this is the same kind of seats we had last time. Sure, I would like a more room but I really don’t mind these seats.

They brought us our little tray of food about two hours into the flight. They served us Swiss cheese with crackers, cute little side salad with tomatoes and a salad dressing like Olive Garden’s, dinner roll with butter, a chicken meal with gravy, couscous and vegetables and a very yummy brownie. Kim was sitting beside me and we were chatting that we really weren’t hungry but if they were serving we might as well partake. Kim did make a valid point, ‘she said, ‘I have a feeling that this might be the theme of the trip. You know, eating when we really aren’t hungry.’ I agreed. I’m pretty sure we will be eating our way from Munich to Stuttgart to Switzerland, France and back to Munich. Did I mention wine, with this flight wine is complementary with the meal. I’m not sure if that is on international flights only but I’ll take it.

After our second dinner that we really didn’t need to eat they turned off the cabins lights and we all settled into our seats and finally tried to relax.

As I finish this little section of the trip up my heart smiles as I look at these girls around me and I couldn’t be happier to share this experience with them.

Hello Munich and onward to Stuttgart!

My body is miserable! I never really got comfortable after they turned out the cabin lights. I slept a little here and there but I didn’t get solid sleep. I need a bed!!

We got off the plane and waited in customs for what seemed like forever. The girls got their stamp in their passports. Hot diggity!

Now onto trains....In order to get on the train to Stuttgart we needed to take the S-Bahn from the airport to the Central Station. We followed the big green S and we see a kiosk where we can buy a ticket that will get us to the station.

What we are finding out very quickly is that we do not have a single clue about how to read German and even the English translations are a little off. Thanks to Kim taking into consideration the little pictures next to the words we were able to only spend €24 instead of buying us each individual tickets for €13 each. So thanks Kim for saving us lots of Euro.

We find a nice worker on the S-Bahn platform and he gives us a map and tells us exactly where to go. When the train arrives he scurries over to us and points to the train and makes sure we get on.

The S-Baun is kind of like a NYC Subway but it travels outside and it’s very clean. We met a very nice young lady that helped us understand where to get off and told us a little about Munich.

We got to Central Station and I found it very similar to the station in Edinburgh. Lots of bullet looking trains, tons of food places and lots and lots of hustle and bustle.

With little sleep and the hustle and crowds and not knowing what to do next tensions are running a little high.

I finally print out our tickets and we go to our terminal. We load the train and we all find our reclining position. We will try to get a little rest on his two hour train ride.

The train pulled into Stuttgart and we knew that The Blume’s were going to greet us. You could see a little pep in Kim’s step as we got closer to the end of platform. She was so excited to see her sister. We all saw each other and the tears flowed.

After 30 hours of traveling, 2 planes and 2 trains we are finally here. I can’t believe it.

We stopped by the Stuttgart airport and picked up the rental car.

We got to The Blume’s house and now we are front porch sitting.

They are taking us to one of their favorite restaurants so pictures to follow.

Later,
O.

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