IKEA and Stuttgart

The next day, Hannah and Rachel met me at my place again and we stopped for iced teas before heading to breakfast at a local bakery.

Here's my breakfast:

That tea was really delicious!!!

We stopped in the phone store for Hannah and Rachel, but found no luck there.

Then the time came for us to meet Zach and Jake at Hannah's for our trip to IKEA in Boeblingen. First we stopped in Hannah's room to use the internet, because at that point only Hannah and Jake had internet access. We caught a bus outside Hannah's building at the Nonnenhaus (nun house) bus stop to the Hauptbahnhof (main train station), where we caught a train to Boeblingen.

We took a taxi to IKEA and then the excitement began!

First we got in and started going the wrong way through IKEA. We were getting looks as we went against the masses (as it was really busy), so we decided to go back the real way. I bought a lot of stuff for my room, including:

1. Cork board
2. Linens to keep for less than what the Hausmeister would have sold us (as Dr. Malchow's had to be returned to him)
3. Laundry Basket
4. Silverware
5. Really cheap bowls, plates, and a mug
6. hangers
7. and a lamp

We then checked out and decided that we wanted to have lunch upstairs, so we went up with our big bags and sat at a table before getting in line at the cafe. The line was long and when Rachel, Hannah, and I got up there we knew what we wanted, which was a kids meal of pasta for only 1 Euro. We got up there and looked kind of confused as there were two servers up there, the first a man, the second a woman. The man asked us what we wanted, and we gestured that we didn't want anything, as we thought that he was one server and she was another. So he then yelled at us to get out of line, which we did. I was pretty mad at this point, because I just wanted my pasta. But, oh well. So Hannah and Rachel got Crepes filled with Nutella in the self-serve line, while I just had a snack, figuring that I'd eat when we got back.

We finished up lunch, and then took on the task of getting out of IKEA. Easier said than done. We tried to go down a flight of stairs which took us to the beginning of the store, so we decided to go back up in the elevator which took us back to the top of the stairs. So then we tried another elevator, but Zach and me accidentally got into the elevator that said parking garage, so we had to jump out really quick! We then got into an elevator that said "Keine Fahrt", which we should have realized meant that it wouldn't take us anywhere, but we got in anyway, feeling optimistic! We got into the elevator and the door immediately opened up on the other side through another set of doors. A couple with two kids got into the elevator, and at this point Zach started cracking up at the fact that we could not get out of IKEA, and we all started to laugh a little. The elevator then went down and opened up on the floor that the original staircase had taken us to, so we decided that maybe if we stay in the elevator, it would open up on the other side and we would be free!... Well, the people got off the elevator and looked at us like we were stupid and crazy because we were staying on. The door closed and nothing happened. We were in the elevator just cracking up, laughing hysterically, for about five minutes, as Jake kept asking if he should push the emergency button because we were trapped in the elevator. "How long do we have to be trapped in here before it is an emergency". We all started to laugh even more! Then we realized that nothing was really going to happen, and I started to get a little worried, until Jake noticed an open button right next to the emergency button, and the door opened upon him pushing it. We got out feeling like total idiots, but at least we survived the crazy IKEA elevator.

We then decided that we had better just go through the store to the registers and explain what had happened, and that we already paid for our items. We tried to pick two nice looking employees, and walked up to two women. Zach explained that we ate after shopping, we could not get out any other way, and that we already had paid for our things. The lady just responded that usually it was not allowed. Well we really played the dumb American card on that one. Oh well, at least we explained ourselves in German!

After we left IKEA, we wanted to find a bus or taxi that would take us back to the train station, but we could not find a bus stop, and there was no taxi in sight! So, we started to walk. I believe the meter said 2.3 km on the way to IKEA, so we walked 2.3 km back from IKEA. We carried our bags filled with stuff all the way! About half way we got tired and almost decided to take a bus, hoping that it would take us to the train station, but I said that it wasn't much farther, and that we should just walk!

Here's everyone minus me sitting at the bus stop! (My bag's on the right!)

We walked the rest of the way, and had to wait a little bit before our train, but we filled the time talking about our classes from previous years, and other random things. We got on the train which took us from Boeblingen to some other station, which we had to switch trains at to get back to Tuebingen.

When we got back, we took a bus to the Neckar-Mueller and had to walk to Hannah's from there. I should probably mention that my back, shoulders, feet, and shins (as I think I am getting shin splints) were killing me by this point, and I had no food in me! We dropped all our stuff off at Hannah's and then it was off to Stuttgart for the Wein Fest (Wine Festival)!

Stuttgart took about an hour to get to by train, but we got there and it was well worth it!

 I saw a knife that would have made Christina feel like a child on Christmas!

 Here was the church right next to the Fest.

 The back of Zach's head as I took a picture of the banners for the Wein Fest.

 More banners, and Zach's head.

 The main square-type place in Stuttgart.

 The castle and fountain in front of it in Stuttgart.

A very large pillar which stood in the middle of the area.

The whole Wein Fest had the feel of Kriskindlmarkt, so I imagine that Chicago did it's homework!

We walked around for a little bit, and Zach and Jake found a friend of theirs and said hello to her family. We then found a table and sat down for dinner. I am finding it hard to find things to eat, as was expected. Cheese is mostly an out for me, without tons of lactaid, and I am not a meat or salad eater, so that essentially wiped out everything on the menu. Plus, the exhaustion was getting to me and I was in so much pain that I was not truly hungry, but I did have a Coke, and of course a little German wine.

We bought a bottle of wine to split, the split was a little more in the favor of the others, as I did not drink much.

The entire group then took turns trying to force me to eat, so no worries mom: they've got that covered!

We also took the liberty of giving each other nicknames. Here they are:

Zach: The Whiner (Pretty self-explanatory, but he fights it and whines about being called the Whiner)

Jake: Misdirection (He always seems to lead us in the wrong direction!)

Hannah: Diva (She had to spend extra money on her sheets at IKEA, because the 3 Euro one was not colorful enough, so she splurged)

Rachel: Professor (She is always filled with random facts, and I am learning quite a lot!)

Me: Stubby (Sounds a little weird, but they gave me this name, because I am so stubborn and would not eat any of their food!)

The waitress we had spoke perfect English, and much to our dismay, switched from German to English when she realized we were American. We then found out that she worked at Kriskindlmarkt this past year, selling ornaments! What a small world!

I ordered a Coke at dinner too, and it came in such a small glass, but cost quite a bit, so I decided that I wanted to take the glass with me. I am, however, a wimp and tried to get Jake to take it for me, because I was too much of a coward! Rachel was finally the one who stole it for me, and thanks to her, I now have a very unique glass to remember my first Deutsche Wein Fest!

Here are our victory shots!

We got some group pictures, minus the camera-man, at the entrance of the Fest.

 The entrance to the Fest.

 Sign for the Wein Fest.

Another shot of the church tower, and also a lady stuffing her face.

We had some time before our train back to Tuebingen, so we walked around Stuttgart for a while longer, and talked for the whole time. We took the train back, and on the train, only four people can sit together in a section and one has to sit next to that group, so I took the turn off to the side. As we were loading onto the train a man came and sat down across from me. He stared at me practically the whole time and was definitely listening into our conversation. Thank you creepy German man for topping off a pretty fabulous day using the German public transportation system!

We got back safe and sound, and are meeting the Reutlingen students and Dr. Malchow tomorrow at the Neckar-Mueller, where we will have dinner with them!

I must say that today was definitely an adventure that I will always remember! I will post again tomorrow night, assuming that I can get onto my internet again! Talk to you soon!