Jason's Daily Notes

Got up around 9am. Took a while to get ready. The South Korean girl was also getting ready. I learned that she was traveling to Amsterdam next (like many tourists who pass through this area).

I checked out at 11am sharp. I asked the guy at the front desk if there was a printer that I could use; he offered to just print out my document for me. How nice! I signed the document and emailed it to the office to help with my work visa. After that, I sat in the lounge for a couple hours, just checking up on things and preparing for my next viewings. Then, I needed to go – Martin was waiting for me in Duisburg.

I walked, all my bags with me, to the Hauptbahnhof, and then took the train to Duisburg. I arrived at Duisburg Hbf after only 18 minutes. Easy. I didn’t see where the tram was, so I just walked from the station to Martin’s place. It was like a 20 minute walk, and my arms did get tired from lugging around my bags. But it was no big problem.

I arrived, chilled at Martin’s place, and soon we went to Aldi to buy some food. Martin had a date that evening, so I planned to go out. But it turns out, his date didn’t show up. So, we cooked the chilli tonight (instead of doing it tomorrow).

In the evening, Martin had to write a translation, and I took a short nap. We then decided to go out. The choices were either a Uni party in Essen or an indie-punk-rock night in Düsseldorf. I was interested in checking out Essen, but Martin did prefer to avoid Essen (on the chance of bumping into someone), so he drove us to Ddorf. We were at Zapp, a club somewhat tucked away in a quiet quarter away from the city center. €6 entry. The front club was playing punk rock, including Pennywise and Beatsteaks. The music got worse after some time, but soon we discovered the back room which had Indie rock music. There were several good-looking girls there, including one who looked like the girl from An Education and a Taylor Swift lookalike. Lots of people wearing thick rimmed glasses.

My friends were in Vegas. My Berkeley peeps/family, Ty from Australia, and Jamie from England, were all in Vegas, actually.

Martin drove us back around 2am. We missed the exit on the Autobahn, which led to an extra 15-minute detour :/

Today I viewed 2 flats. The first was in Derendorf. I left the hostel a bit early and went to my future office :) and then walked from there to the flat. It was only a 10-15 minute walk. What a great location if I were to live there! The guy to show me the flat was about 10 minutes late. The flat is a 9-person house where each room is rented out separately. It wasn’t even that cheap. Oh well.

On to the next flat – it was in the south of the city center, in Friedrichstadt (just walking distance from the hostel where I was saying. I took the tram there and arrived pretty quickly. Since I was early, I walked around the area. There wasn’t too much interesting around, just a couple cheap and ethnic hair salons. I rang the bell and walked up to the 4^th floor, where Flo met me and showed me the flat. It was a nice 2-bedroom flat. He wasn’t sure if his flatmate would leave the furniture, nor was he sure if the move-in date could be moved up to April 15 for me. Flo seemed like a relatively quiet kind of guy, a medicine student, but I wouldn’t mind living there if I found nothing better.

That was it for the flat viewing. I stopped by a nearby kebab shop and got a lamacun with salad, and then I returned to the hostel. The two British guys (Sean and Steve) were still in the room. I went downstairs to use the wifi in the lobby. I ended up sending several new flat requests and just wating time online. Before I knew it, it was becoming evening.

I needed to make the use of my day pass, so I went out. It was still chilly, maybe 3°C, and cloudy. I walked to the Apotheke and bought more Aciclovir. I then spontaneously took the bus to the Rheinturm, the big tower that you see in so many postcards of the city. The weather was too cloudy for me to even consider going up; plus, the tower was already closed anyway. I then walked along the river, taking in the views of the city while fighting the cold biting wind. I walked through the city center and craved something warm to eat. I went to an Asian restaurant, Asia Lau or something.  It was a new place. I got some pho. Not bad.

I returned to the hostel. On the way, I stopped by Netto to buy a few things (bread and cheese) I was tired, so I turned down Shawn and Steve’s invite to join them for drinks. By 11pm I was passed out.

Got up. The guys were up. I searched for my transport connection. I called for a rideshare to Bamberg, but he wasn't driving that day. So, I opted for the train. Consi was playing more Fifa (doing a whole tournament).

I said my byes. A chimney sweeper randomly appeared at the apartment. Fabi walked me to the train station.

I got a €10 ticket valid for the area around Nuremberg. Took the slow train to Nuremberg. Sat backwards - got a little headache. I had about 25 minutes between trains in Nürnberg so I got a döner to eat in the small food court.

Caught the next train to Bamberg. It was full, but I got a (fold-down) seat. A lot of people got off along the way (Erlangen, Forcheim) and so I got a seat. The train was about 4 minutes late.

Met the rideshare promptly at 15:00 outside the train station. Riding in the car was a guy and 2 girls. The two girls knew each other. The girl sitting next to me (in the bitch seat) was named Anna. We chatted for a bit. But the conversation died, and me trying to be social didn't really work. We just fell asleep.

The driver - Roland - drove really fast. He constantly pushed 200km/hr on the Autobahn. Awesome! What sucked was that there were many portions with a speed limit that slowed us down. We also got caught in traffic just outside Frankfurt.

The other 3 got dropped off just outside Köln. He took me directly into Düsseldorf and dropped me off right at my hostel. Nice.

I checked in. They wanted me to pay extra for bed sheets but I would just use my sleeping bag.

I walked around the city at night. The area around the hostel/Hbf was pretty sketchy. Yuck. I had a bad feeling that I would hate this city. :( Saw the famous Kö. Suddenly the stores were really posh. The city was still really empty. I wandered into the Altstadt.

It was my first night, so I definitely needed to get at least a drink. So I did - wandered into the first local-looking bar "kneipe" that I could find. I stood at a table and waited for the waiter to serve me a beer. An old woman sitting next to me noticed that I was alone and taking pictures of my beer when she said "sieht es so gut aus wie es schmeckt?" We then chatted, she told me about her partner in Canada and this and thet. SOon she invited me to join her group of old friends at the nearby table. Her name was Mariel (Mary-Elisabeth). And her friends were Rolf, Greta, Monika, and a few others whose names I forgot. It was really funny to just chat with them about whatever. Haha, my first friends in Düsseldorf were a group of 70-year-olds!

Had a burger at Burger King (and used the free wifi!), then hopped on a tram back to the hostel. Convenient. The city doesn't seem so bad as my first impression.

Organized a ride to Düsseldorf, leaving tomorrow, from Bamberg.

I searched online for something to help with my cold sores, and found that I could get a topical aciclovir gel over the counter. SO I went to the Apotheke and got that. It was less than €2.

Walked around the city some more. It was still cold. No sun. I walked to the mall, where I sat for a while (to protect my skin from the dry cold air). I then went to Nordsee where I had fish and chips.

I walked to the University, in the south of the city. The campus was big (for a German Uni) but it was also remarkably empty. I should have texted Fabian. I walked back through the Hofgarten and had a coffee mocha at a central cafe. Returned home, Fabi was texting me where I was - I though he would arrive home at the same time, but no.

Consi and Maxi arrived, and I helped them install a new green carpet in the hallway.

Evening - Fabi returned around 6:30. I cooked pasta, mixing the sauce with the leftover chili.

The Champions League game was on - Dortmund. We watched the first half at the flat and then left to Sophia's to catch the second half.

Then, Fabi and I went to the Kannape, a "dive" bar. There, we had some insane shots - the Totengräber, which included Stroh, a liquor with 80% ABV. Oh, the shots did not go down well. Sophia joined us later in the night, but we just then went home.

Still subject to the misery of my cold sores.

The guys in the house were up and out to uni early. I searched for a rideshare to Düsseldorf and found one leaving from Bamberg, which I need to get to tomorrow. Fabi returned and gave me his key. I let him out, got ready, and then went out myself. Right when I left, Sophia was right there walking by the house!

I ate at McDonald's (again), having a salad and a veggie burger. Then, I went to the apotheke to get some bandages for my sores. It was freezing outside, as I put the bandages on, my hands froze. I did a round across the city center. I passed through the Hofgarten again. I bought some supplies at Netto for dinner. I made chili.

Consi doesn't eat vegetables.

We watched Champions leagues football - Bayern 2:0 Juventus.

Sleep next.

Slept in a little bit. A girl whom I hadn't met came in and asked me for the key to let Fabi and Sophie in. Around 11am, Maxi (the 3rd roommate) returned and found me half-asleep in his bed. I quickly said hi and thanks for letting me sleep there. He was very cool about it. Like Fabi and Consi, he is the athletic type. (I learned that Consi, the swimmer, is addicted to exercise, lol).

Anyway, Liza (the name of the girl who woke me up) and Sophie were already making breakfast. We had a traditional "Bayerisch frühstuck" (Bavarian breakfast) of weißwurst and pretzels and (most importantly) weißbier. It was the first time I saw someone actually bake pretzels from scratch (sort of).

In the afternoon, we walked around the city. They showed me the brewery. We walked, looking for a place to grab an afternoon beer. We walked a bit out of town (to the west) and the places we wanted to go to were already closed. Sophie checked the way on her phone, and we wandered back to Friedrichstraße, where we did find a small tavern to have some beer in. I bought the round. Then, Liza went home (she had an assignment to do). We stopped by Sophie's place to pick up some board games then returned home.

Dinner was simply penne pasta bolognese, prepared (again) exclusively by Sophie. I don't know exactly why I'm being so hands-off, but I think I just feel so cringy (eklig) doing anything with my sores :X

We then played board games for the evening. The 3 of us played Ausgerechnet Uppsala, then Consi and Maxi joined us to play Nimme 6, which is a card game in which you put cards down in numerically and consecutively increasing piles and try to avoid collecting cards (you pick up a pile when it reached 6 cards). Scoring is based on the number of oxen on your cards. Consi was annoyed at my dealing style, so I let him deal the final rounds.

Maxi let me keep sleeping in his room. What a really nice move. I feel like I owe him (and the whole flat) now. Gotta think of something good.

I decided to join Fabi and his gf Sophia at church, since it was Sunday morning. I popped out of bed and quickly showered and dressed; no time to shave. Fabian was already wearing a dress shirt and nice sweater. I put on my best clothes, which barely matched his outfit. We didn't realize that the clocks had "sprung forward" - no wonder we were so tired.

My face was bothering me. The cold sore had totally blistered over, but there were already three more sores on my hands that were getting worse :X

We met Sophia at the church, which is old and right in the city/town center. It was my first Protestant service in Germany. The service itself was nice; I could understand most of it. There were fewer traditions/ceremonies. But there was a live band/choir, complete with trumpets. Overall, a nice experience.

Walked back to the apartment for some breakfast. Sophia seemed upset with something like us not having the right bread? I tried to counter this negative energy, but I couldn't help let it drain me too (especially with these disgusting sores on my face). Maybe she was disgusted with me too? Anyway, she prepared the food and I felt bad about it. We were mostly speaking in German, which bcame tiring after a while and I eventually just stopped paying attention to many things.

We had scrambled eggs and bread with lachs (salmon). Then we rested - Fabi said that we'd go for a walk, but he completely fell asleep and then had to leave for work. He had another big event with Jäger. He left me his keys.

I went out in the late afternoon, walking around the city center itself, taking some pictures. I made my way to the Hofgarden, and tried to enter Richard Wagner's burial site, but it was closed for renovation (this year is the 200-year anniversary of his birth I think). I ate at McDonald's - a salad, a veggie burger, and a chicken burger. I bought a veggie kebab to eat on the way home. (I wanted to have some veggies in my body.

In the evening, Fabi's flatmate Consi (Constantin) and I went out to a friend's place for some drinks. There, I met his friends Nik and Christian. We had beers, and shots of Jäger every 30 minutes or so. Two girls joined, Theresa and ___?, who were nice but seemed pretty superficial as well. Christian was asking me about San Jose, because he was going there for an internship soon. More Jäger, and since almost no one was in town (Easter/semester break), there was no desire to go to a club or anything. Consi and I returned home like at 1-2am.

Woke up around 10:30am feeling slightly hung over, so I chugged a good amount of water. I browsed online for a while; a random guy left Drea's room. I took a shower (because the shower was now working!) but later found out that it was leaking. Just before 12 I woke Drea up, because she graciously promised to drive me to Salzburg. She was still a little drunk, which made the drive interesting.

We listened to an Austrian version of Asher Roth's "I Love College" in the car. I said bye and found Salzburg's Hbf, validating my previously-purchased Bayern Ticket. I had 40 minutes to kill, so I walked around. I made my way to the river and got to peek upstream to the pretty city center. But unfortunately I didn't have time to go all the way there. I rushed back to the train station, with 5 minutes to spare, so I bought a baguette (since I wasn't feeling very healthy).

The regional train to Munich was mostly empty. I sat in a 1-seat row with a nice side shelf for me to lay my stuff on. I felt pretty uncomfortable with the cold sore on my lip and what had spread to my wrist.

After 2 hours, I got to Munich. Nico was still driving back Stuttgart (he had driven there to help his brother move into a new flat and to pickup a friend from the airport) but Oli was home and let me in. Oli had to soon leave for work (helping a disabled friend), but Nico soon arrived (around 5pm) with his friend Alex (from Tenerife but living in Cambridge). They had met in Cambridge.

Starving, Nico declared that he was making goulash. It needed some time to cook. Alex snacked on the brie they had bought. I had to leave at 6:30, so I snuck a bowl of it (the meat was still tough but whatever).

I said my byes (or, should I say, see-you-laters) and then headed to the hauptbahnhof. I bought a bratwurst to complete my dinner and made it to my train just in time. The train was completely full. It was Easter weekend, after all, and there was also a Bayern Munich game happening at that exact time. I walked all the way to the end of the train and managed to get a seat. People were sitting in the aisles. Groan. It was already dark, too, so I didn't have a view to enjoy. It was too crowded to get my laptop out, so I just sat and listened to music on my iphone and sent lonely whatsapp messages to friends. Within 2 hours I was in Nürnberg, where I changed trains - but I had to rush; the first train was 3 minutes late and I only had 4 minutes to make the next train. But I did make it, and I got a single seat. It wasn't as crowded. I was drowsy and falling asleep; the announcer said something about the train splitting and going into 2 different directions. I was only half awake as the train pulled into Bayreuth.

I called Fabian and he came to pick me up within 2 minutes (using his girlfriend's car). I was introduced to his epic Jägermeister apartment. (He and his flatmate work for Jägermeister and are huge fans). They let me have their flatmate Maxi's room since he was still away. We had a couple beers before finally going to bed around 1am. Yet again, I was completely knackered.