From Deutschkurs to Gymnasium (Part Two: The Hells of Public Transportation)

The biggest challenge that I faced this week wasn't school. It was getting to school. Unlike the carefree days of Deutschkurs when I simply took one bus from Wetzlar to a bus stop just a few blocks away from my class in Gießen, I now have to take both a train and bus, then proceed to walk ten minutes to school. And I have to do all of this by myself since my host sister rides her scooter to school. 

My host mom and sister explained how my commute on Monday would work (it varies from day to day depending on when I have to be at school) but I was still unsure of how it would all work. Monday morning I arrived at the train station on time and made my way to the platform indicated on my schedule then proceeded to wait. It was ten minutes after the time my train was supposed to come that I realized that something was up. Looking at the time-table at the train station, I saw that I was in fact standing on the wrong platform, and I that had witnessed the train I was supposed to be on leave from the opposite track ten minutes ago. That morning, I ended up getting a ride to school with my host mom. 

The next morning, things went only slightly better. Tuesday was the only day that I had a full day of school. That meant getting up at 5:30 to catch a train at 6:30. Being awake before the sun rises has never been one of favorite things, and in the mornings I have one pace: slow. Tuesday morning was no exception. I typically try to be at the train station at least five minutes before my train arrives and I have a ten minute walk to the station from my house, so this means always leaving 15 minutes before my train. I'd been going along at my own slow morning pace when my host sister comes into my room and informs me that I have six minutes until my train comes. I grabbed my bag and my coat, ran out the door, and booked it all the way to the station. I made it in the nick of time; just as the doors on the train were closing, I squeezed my way in. Never had I been so thankful to be a runner.

Thankfully, the rest of the week I had successful commutes from school and back. That being said, I'm still not entirely comfortable with taking the train. It has occurred to me this week that I'm much better at navigating airports than I am using public transportation. 

This is the logo for the good ol' Deutsch Bahn, an intricate system that both amazes and confuses me.

P.S. For anyone new to traveling on the Deutsch Bahn, may I suggest you check out the DB app (titled "DB Navigator." It is a wonderful, life-saving app that you can use to plan your commute including what buses to take!

The app looks like this