Day 152: or The Day of Driving

The older kids summer kind of started today. They are for a week before they have exams at the end of next week. But seeing as their finals aren't college finals, they're acting like they don't have school for months. The 13 year old spent the night out last night and I received a text from him asking him to pick him up at the station after lunch. Odd. I hadn't been told by the parents that I had driving rights. Apparently I do. Somewhat at least. I ran to the car and freedom and off I drove for a full 5 minutes by myself. Glorious. I've always liked driving and haven't ever really taken it for granted, but being here has made it ever so clear again.


After I got the 13 year old, we headed home and ate lunch. The 17 year old was babysitting across the street so we both took our respective charges to the park. They are in the same class at school so it's an easy play date enough to make. When we got home the 15 year old and I made meatballs. First time for me and they turned out pretty tasty if I do say so myself. Snuck in a little cayenne again, without any complaints this time. Put the Kid to bed a little late, but no school tomorrow, so we're a little bit more relaxed.


After I was all ready to watch a movie with the kids, I got a call from a friend inviting me out. I wasn't sure how I was going to get there, but the Mom ok'ed the car and I was out the door. I had planned on staying the night, but with the car, my night was cut short. I've been coming off slightly unsocial, and I don't want to be. But I live with these people, ad not making them angry is kind of a priority. Later by normal standards, early in France, I headed home, driving a car.

Day 151: or The Day I Almost Forgot

I spent the day recovering from my trip and catching up on email and news from the weekend. I remember when I first got to France, not having my Blackberry was a very hard adjustment. Now I've become accustomed to life outside the house without internet but more than a day and I start to become antsy. Something about being unreachable makes me think something bad has happened and no one can find me. An odd paranoia, but one I feel every time I've without internet. In the States I don't feel it because someone I'm with is always reachable. But here, my friends don't know my family and my cell phone is useless in that way. This week is a short week because Thursday is a holiday. I travel next weekend to Stockholm and after that who knows. I'm taking this weekend off as far as travel but hope to see the other au pairs before everyone starts heading home.

Day 150: or The Day I Happily Showed The Train Police My Ticket

I woke up on the train as it was pulling into the Paris station. I've never managed to stay asleep with the commotion that occurs in the last 30 minutes but somehow, I managed. I hopped up and was out the door before everyone else who'd been awake much longer I'm sure. I needed to be back in Saint-Nom by, 11:30 to pick the Kid up from school for lunch. Starting today, I'm going to get him on Mondays and Thursdays for lunch at home with me. When I got to the next station, I boarded the train and got comfortable just in time to see a man make a mad dash for the door. This is a good sign there are train police, and sure enough, a group of 6 or so stood at the far end of my car. Since I was able to find my valid ticket this time, I sat there without worry. It's a much improved feeling to the last time.


I got home but missed the minibus that can take you back to town so I hoofed it up the hill just in time to get him. When I got to the school, one of his friends invited him to lunch, so off he went, with no reason for me to be there at all. I was happy to not have to rush home and make lunch though. I unpacked and checked back in to my real world. The rest of the day went smoothly and we began our very short week.

Day 149: or The Day I Said Auf Wiedersehen

I woke up today in a bit of a haze but managed to pack and get out the door on time. The Australian and I decided we would meet at 10am and go see the Pergamon Museum. The guide told us yesterday that it was a must see, so we relented. I of course missed the train by 3 seconds and ended up being 5 minutes late. bummer. I may run late on occasion in real life, but when it involves people I barely know, being on time is a politeness I try to keep up. The weather couldn't have been better this weekend. Perfect way to keep me walking all weekend. 

The Museum has reconstructions of many ancient buildings, including its namesake, the Altar of Pergamon. It's a pretty amazing place, especially when you include the Ishtar Gate and all the thousands of other, smaller pieces. We spent the next 4 hours walking around and listening to our audio guides. I probably would have left a bit earlier had I been alone, but instead we walked every inch of the place, so I think I got the gist.


Afterwards we walked to a small riverside cafe and grabbed a pizza. It was really good pizza and went well with my beer. It was a sunny afternoon and it almost felt like home. We sat there for a good while until it was time to head back to the hostel to grab my bag and catch the train. We said goodbye, probably to never see each other again. Interesting meeting people for 1 or 2 days and then just leaving. I've done it many times since coming to Europe and it's still odd to me. So far I've never spent a weekend travelling without striking up random conversation though, so all in all my solo travels were very successful. I got my bag, caught the train, and headed back to France.

Day 148: or The Day I Used My History Degree

I woke up in Germany, just an hour or so outside of Berlin. When the train arrived at the station, I had 30 minutes exactly to get to the meeting spot for the walking tour. I couldn't find an S-bahn map to save my life but I knew the stop's name and I knew what line to take. So when I found the train, I was't sure if I was going the right way or the opposite way. Also, I may have ridden illegally because I couldn't figure the tickets out in the 18 seconds I had to make all these decisions. I miraculously headed on the right train, the right way, to the right stop. Now  I wasn't sure where exactly we were meeting, but luckily the group was quite large and impossible to miss.

Brandenburg

The tour was very good and the guide was very passionate about Berlin. In the beginning, we stopped to have a brief history lesson of Berlin up until the Word War I. I answered a couple of questions that I thought weren't all that unknown and the a couple that were pretty impressive. When we started walking again, the guide commented that I seemed to know my stuff. Nice little moment for me.

Only picture of me in Germany, Jewish Memorial

The tour was about 5 hours long and I met an Australian who was also travelling alone. After the tour we walked through the Tiergarten and up the Victory Column. Quite a climb, but the view was worth it. We stopped for a late lunch at a small garden cafe and I was able o get my first bratwurst and beer of the trip. We headed back to our respective hostels, since I'd been carrying my bag around all day, and met up later to watch the Manchester United vs. Barcelona soccer game. The game was fun to watch, as usual and I left another bar known as "Caitlin from Texas". It's amazing the frequency in which that happens,

Tiergarten

After the bar we grabbed "curry-wurst". It's Berlin's popular late night or street food and I knew I'd have to try some. When I went to put the red pepper flakes on it, I didn't even pause to think someone wouldn't want theirs covered in pepper. Oops. He claimed he couldn't even see the anything through the peppers, which I took as a slight exaggeration. The food was good and I would definitely recommend it. But when is street food, after the bar, ever not good?

Day 147: or The Day I Left For Berlin

Travel days, you know the drill. I woke up and started preparing for my trip. I borrowed a backpack from the Mom so I was forced to pack light. I have a problem not filling whatever bag I have. But if I have a small bag, I still fit whatever I need into it. Since I will only be in Berlin for 1 night and probably walking around a bit with my bag, I was very thankful to have the backpack. I hung all the laundry up outside and took the Kid to school. When I got back, it was almost starting to rain so I pulled it all in before it all got soaked again. I understand not having a dryer and it’s really not that big of an inconvenience, but it will be nice to have one again so I’m not dependent on the weather.

I made myself breakfast tacos for a late breakfast and realized I’m already over halfway through the tortillas my mom brought. It’s going to be a sad day when there are no more breakfast tacos. The rest of the day went by quickly and before I was ready, I needed to rush to the school to get the Kid. It was raining and miserable and I was quite happy to leave it all behind. I packed up and left him with his brother until the parents got home from work. The train into town was easy and I made it to the station with plenty of time. They put the platform number up only 10 minutes before departure. I’m so used to planes that I get a little antsy not knowing where I’m going until the last moment. I boarded the train and settled in for the night. I shared the space with a English girl studying in Berlin. I didn’t bring a book though because of my lack of space and couldn’t wait until it was dark enough to fall asleep.

Also in our cabin there was a group of Spanish people. They couldn't manage the idea of sleeping in the right bed, so halfway through the trip, in the middle of the night, there was much commotion when someone else was tp join us. The Germans are sticklers for rules and don't understand jusrt sleeping in the empty berth. People assume when they leave Paris no one else will be joining us. But this is never the case. People get on all throughout the trip as the train makes its many stops. Nothing like hearing yelling Germans and police at 1am.

Day 146: or The Day I Could Think of Nothing To Write

After I dropped the Kid at school, I caught the first train into town. I wanted to double check with the train people about my upcoming trips and just thought I'd walk around a bit while I was there. The weather turned cold all of a sudden today and made me not want to leave the house at all, but leave it I did. It's amazing how used to weather you get. I can only imagine what the Houston furnace will feel like mid July compared to what I live in now. Not that I'm complaining after the winter I had.


The day went by without any hiccups and  I spent the evening preparing for my trip to Germany. I've signed up for a walking tour the moment I arrive basically because I have no clue where to start on my own. Some days, like today, I feel as if nothing happened. The good thing about the log is that I'll remember the day to day more clearly. The bad news for the reader is that sometimes the day to day can be pretty boring.