The Globetrotting Geek

The Visa – Sunday/Monday – Day 150/151

December 26, 2012

Today was not pleasant at all. At 5AM I woke up with a jolt. *CRACK* *SMASH*, my head rolled backwards and my stomach dropped as the sound of splintering wood hit my hears temporarily disorienting me. The bed frame was in pieces on the floor and I was sure the landlord would not be happy.

Most of the day was spent in the house waiting for the landlord to show up as he said he would and soon I was out on the street, $150 USD out of pocket.

That’s all I’ll say about Sunday.

Monday morning I was up in the freezing Montreal cold at 5AM to get to rural Canada to the     US Consulate Passport Processing Center. A train to the end of the line, bus and cab later I was outside the doors at a godforsaken hour knocking madly, giving those inside no peace till after around ten minutes they opened the door to ask me what I wanted.  I explained my situation and after a number of tense minutes of bargaining they agreed to give me my passport back, complete with new F1 visa inside.

From there it was a race back to the bus station… could I make it by 9AM when the bus was leaving? Back with a cab, a bus, a tense train ride and a sprint through a kilometer long corridor to make it to the bus station at 8:55.

Much of the day from that point was spent on a bus, except for a brief and delightful coffee break midway at which point I purchased a pain au chocolat and a plain bagel that were devoured with a deep intensity.

Arriving in NYC at ~5:30PM I raced to the Bloomberg Building where a bunch of Glee Alums where rehearsing for singing carols at Rockefeller Plaza in the office of one Mark Glassman. Mark himself is particularly notable for two reasons, the first of these being his youthful demeanour and spirited manner, but next and more importantly he has been the playwright for the Glee Spring Show for twelve years! He is reaching C Erik. Nordgren levels of commitment! Getting inside involved a complex process including taking a surreptitious photo of me when I was least expecting it with a camera embedded in the wall.

 

The internals of the Bloomberg building were fantastic, ornate, yet somehow still office-like. A big highlight of the visit inside was the snack kitchen, accessible in a central location to all employees. Inside were mounds of free foods of all descriptions and even on Christmas Eve it was fully stocked. Snack we did. Next we rehearsed for a while and I as a newman was mentored a little by some of the older alums. Also very thoroughly convinced to join Voice of Gotham if ever I was in town for long enough.

From there we went to Rockefeller Plaza itself and sung to the crowd in pouring rain mixed with ice and snow for a good half hour. During this period our music soaked together making page turns impossible and my fingers froze solid! A highlight of the night was taking the Baritone solo in Winter Song, as I was the only Baritone around!

Freezing cold, I made my way back to my cousin’s once-removed and settled into the warmth for a nights sleep in a bed!

 

 

 

Monday – Day 32

August 23, 2012

Sleeping in a bit to account for the 2:30AM return home from the walk, we got up at nine o’clock to prep for the day. Following that it was out onto the streets again to see Heidelberg and the castle by day. During the walk Elisabeth was on her mobile phone an awful deal, eventually revealing that she had in fact ended up with a most romantic guy by the name of ‘balcony boy’ as attributed to him by the fact that she had slept on his balcony the night before arriving to Heidelberg. The name stuck, and for the rest of the afternoon she received more than a little flack from Damian and I.

Again we began the walk up the hill, and this time through the sprinkler system, to make it to Heidelberg’s premier tourist attraction.

Following the repeat walk all the way up the mountain to return to the castle, it was time to go for icecream in Old Heidelberg! This time at an organic bio-friendly icecream place that charged an extra fee for the privilege of feeling pleased with yourself over its environmental care. Next stop was a lolly shop by the name of Zuckerladen that Theresa’s boyfriend’s best friend had told me was a must see. Owned and operated for twenty-four years by the eccentric Marion Brecht, Zuckerladen is a minuscule boutique, tucked neatly away in a corner of the Old Town of Heidelberg. Hanging from the roof is a large posted with a graphic of a tourists on it: “No tourists allowed” proclaims the sign. Arrayed on the shelves are hundreds of varieties of soft lollies, from the sugary fruit to traditional black liquorice, if it exists, Marion has it.

However, one does not simply pick out their desired sweets for themselves! Marion must come and select the ideal mix for you, by the amount you desire to the flavouring you like. “Sweet or sour” he proclaims in a questioning tone. I reply sour and he walks back and forth along the shelves selecting his finest.

When it comes time to pay he points to a large cup with three oversized dice inside and asks me “two of the same or all three different?” I reply two of the same (despite later calculating that it has worse odds) and sure enough the dice turn up: 2-2-5. I am then presented with a selection of ‘candy’ prizes and leave the store well fulfilled.

After a brief snack back at Damian’s place we set off to see Heidelberg University. Another forty-five minute walk and we come to the Max Planck Institute, which I am most excited to see.

Next we stop over at Damian and Elisabeth’s University for a little look around and food and drink. As we start to walk away to go back home, the previously sunny sky opens up on us and floods the path. We retreat to underneath a flimsy umbrella on the side of the path and huddle together as hailstones begin to pelt down on the hot ground.

As the storm started to pass, the beating sun was so strong that sheets of steam rose from where there were previously puddles. The air became thick with moisture and the air quickly reheated, to make for a most uncomfortable next section of our walk.

The next point of interest along our walk was a bear, simply placed in an enclosure along the side of the road.

After stopping to take a photo I asked Elisabeth for a little help on my Russian (she’s originally from Novosibirsk) in order to wish a dear friend back home Happy Birthday in her mother-tongue. Following a good few minutes of practice I had it down and made the call home, feeling quite ebullient to connect a little with what I was missing back in Melbourne.

When the phone call ended I looked around and we were now in a field of corn, in an agricultural region of the town.

Next followed a discussion of the ability of an individual speaking the German language, to make long words simply by joining together nouns. My first try ‘beenenfleisch’ meat bee meat but things only took off from there. Eventually we managed to put together the hideous ‘hauptüberapfelbluttransportsystembeamtenaufsichtsbehörde’ which is something along the lines of the receipt for the transportation of the main commander of the super-apple blood army.

After arriving back at Damian’s at about 6PM I tried to check in to my iceland air flight online. Unfortunately, the flight was not appearing, online the connection to NYC. Thus as I started to stress I called the airline (closed), STA Travel (closed) and then resorted to pulling my hair out. Damian’s parents then mentioned to me that there was an STA branch in fact just down the road. Rushing to the branch before my train to Hamburg, I hurriedly asked the girl at the desk for help. She reassured me that it was just the computer systems playing up and that I was to inquire about it at the check in desk.

I packed my bags and the three of us traveled by tram to Heidelberg Hbf and said goodbye.

The next part of the day is in the post that follows, and will cover both Monday night and Tuesday. My long day of travel to the states.

Sunday – Day 31 – Part 2

August 22, 2012

Sunday afternoon and it was time to head off again! Stopping at Alexanderplatz for a quick vegan Bratwrust made for a tasty pre-lunch snack and then it was off to the Hauptbahnhof (main station) for a train to Heidelberg.

 

Boarding the train was a somewhat difficult procedure for me with all my bags, and, I soon found out that on a busy train such as the one I was taking, it was necessary to have pre-booked not only a ticket but a seat reservation. Above every seat was listed the passenger for whom it was reserved and without such a reservation I was forced to sit on the floor for six hours. To my discomfort, the area of the train on which I was able to find a spare bit of floor was un-airconditioned and Germany was experiencing its hottest day all year. The train ride was most uncomfortable but well worth it when I saw Elisabeth Schafer’s (of ISSI 2012) smiling face coming down the escalator at Heidelberg’s Hbf (Hauptbahnhof).

From there I met Damian, a friend of hers from ISSI 2011 and it was off to his place to put down my bags and have a little late dinner. After dinner at about 12 o’clock we set out ‘a walking the old city of Heidelberg, including to my joy, the old castle. There is not much I enjoy more than walking a city in the early hours of the morning. The castle was near deserted apart from a few drunk teenagers, and the old city was beautiful to behold. I was eager for the morrow when I would see it in daylight.