Dec 25 – Dusseldorf to Lubeck -- Another night of not sleeping great. I couldn't wait to get up to unwrap presents! But there were none. So I got up and went down to the breakfast in the hotel lobby. A collection of lonely people -- me and two other dudes were eating by ourselves at a hotel breakfast buffet on Christmas morning. So sad.
Breakfast now consumed, I went back to room to pack and head next door to catch my train. Relaxed walk to the train. It was on time. Found my assigned seat, threw my huge bag on the luggage rack and found my seat. Sitting next to a girl in all black, sitting with her arms crossed. I guess she doesn't want to talk to me and I doubt I could have given not only my inability to talk to girls but she also couldn’t understand my German since I know so little. I am sitting back to enjoy my ride now as I type this…..
{Record scratch……} I almost made a huge mistake. I got off to change trains at the Hamburg station but it was the wrong Hamburg station. I luckily realized this as I was walking down the train platform. I had passed maybe 2 or 3 trains, realized I wasn’t supposed to be off the train yet so I jumped back on the adjacent train car before it took off. Got to the next stop and hopped off. 10 minutes later my next train on to Luebeck showed up and it was so packed that I had to stand by the food stand for the 30 minute ride. While I was standing there, an American woman came up and asked the guy selling food if she could have a fork or knife (in English). He ignored her. She saw some knives in a cup by the counter and while touching them asked the snack guy if she could just have one of those. He grabbed the cup and put it away on a cabinet out of reach while saying something in German. She said "I don't understand" a couple of times while the guy ignored her. Another guy standing near me told her, in English, he said “I need those knives for my customers”. Wow. That dude was a hard ass. So she said something sarcastic and walked away.
I got to my hotel at around 430 and it was already dark. The sun sets before 4 up on the Baltic Sea. Not that anyone ever sees it. It’s always cloudy and rainy. I think I saw the sun for less than 5 minutes in my 9 days over there. I got settled in to my hotel, talked to my bro and dad/step mom on FaceTime to wish them a Merry Christmas, then went out into the city to explore. It was pretty dead but there were lots of churches and closed Christmas markets to see from the outside so I did. I then walked along the river back towards my hotel and came upon a bit of activity. A few stalls in a small Christmas market were open as well as a very small ice skating rink. There were three people on the ice and maybe 10 people watching. Here’s two pictures from my night time walk – one of the city gates and the Luebeck Dom that you will see me talk about tomorrow.
I got back towards my hotel and still hadn't eaten dinner yet. I went to the train station to get some food. All the stores were closed. I went to Smileys pizza nearby but no one wanted to take my order. It was like I wasn’t even standing there. So I stopped at the gas station, got a Mountain Dew and some evian, and went back to the hotel. The guy at the front desk ordered me some Chinese and had it delivered to my room. A traditional Christmas meal of lo mein noodles and veggies. Ate it, talked to mom on FaceTime, and it was time for bed.
Merry Christmas!
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