Our last full day in Germany began a little early as we both were feeling the pressure of the tasks before us today. First thing when she woke up Mom told me she had decided would NOT be going out to Studentendorf, the housing area where she lived her Junior year of college. She felt the predicted heat (95 degrees) of the day would be too much for us to be out in. She was concerned about the length of time required to be in an U-bahn underground coupled with the diminished circulating air down there and wearing masks while on public transportation as reasons she felt we shouldn’t go.
I told her I heard her and if that’s how she truly felt, I’d respect that, but I’d be sad to be right here with her and not go. I Google Mapped it and found we could pick up a tram right in front of the hotel, take it a few stops, transfer to an S-bahn and stay above ground, transfer to a bus that would drop us right there. She thought about it while she was in the shower and said she had changed her mind, that if we could leave shortly after checking in for our flight tomorrow (needing to stay at the hotel for Wi-Fi, don’t ya know), and get back before the real heat of the day, that’d be ok. Before we showered we both did 15 min rapid result self-Covid tests, which both came back negative. Yay! We did final packing and took our luggage downstairs to leave at the front desk while we were gone.
The trip took less than an hour to get there. As we got close she started to recognize the area and some of the buildings. As we passed Studentendorf she pointed to it, saying “There it is!” Hurrah! We’d found it! We got off the bus, crossed the street and she was impressed that there was an Aldi on the corner for the students, saying there had been no such nicety when she was a student here. We walked a little farther and found a path into the complex. We saw a map that showed the building #’s and where the common areas are and listed where to find the laundry, dry cleaners, optician, doctor and pharmacy are. She was very impressed that they have all that now. I learned on this trip that she was among the first class admitted after the Freie Universität (Free University, free meaning it was in the West, not behind the Wall in the East).
She said she thought her building was #21, so we checked the map, followed the path and found it! I took a requisite picture of her pointing to her room. We wandered around the grounds and eventually found our way out and past the Aldi and to the bus stop. We counted stops and got off the bus at the S-bahn stop, Mexikoplatz where we sat for a few mins. waiting for the S1 back. We finally allowed ourselves to have some water from the bottles we brought with us, not daring earlier since we didn’t know when/where we’d be able to go potty. That’s been a constant this whole trip and I certainly have not stayed as hydrated as I do at home simply because we never knew when we’d find a WC.
The S-bahn ride was about 30 mins back and then we transferred back to a tram that dropped us right in front of our hotel. We claimed our bags and headed back to the tram stop and began our trip to the airport hotel. The quickest, most simple route was through the Hauptbahnhof, unfortunately, after our confusing, overwhelming experience last week. A tram dropped us off there and we easily found the FEX (Flughafen EXpress - the train that took us right to the airport, Flughafen). The total train ride was 45 mins. We ascended to street level and inquired about where the hotel was. We were directed outside where we found it immediately next door to the front door of the airport. Convenient!
Mom checked us in, we were given our room keys and when we got in the elevator and pushed 4, nothing happened. I tried again, same non response, the # didn’t even light up. Then I remembered the casinos in Vegas and having to swipe your room key to activate the elevator for security purposes. I did that and bang! The elevator responded and took us to the 4th floor. We found our room and soaked up the air conditioning.
After a few minutes of relaxing and realizing this was very nearly the end of our trip and the last major hurdle had been accomplished, I told her that I had read something on the Lufthansa website when we were checking in that had me a little concerned we needed to have a negative Covid test performed by an “approved” company prior to boarding a Lufthansa plane. We knew that the USA was no longer requiring this of citizens returning from international travel, but the wording of what I saw today led me to believe that perhaps Lufthansa *was* requiring it. We decided to head to the airport and ask. We decided while we were there we would look for something for dinner. We hadn’t had lunch yet.
Long story short, we do NOT have to have proof of a negative test prior to boarding tomorrow. Phew! We wandered around, looking for food options on the non-security side of the airport for dinner. We decided on a place that sold sandwiches, salads and drinks that could be eaten there or taken away. I suggested we’d be more comfortable back in the hotel room, which would lessen our exposure, too. We chose a tomato, mozzarella & basil sandwich on a yummy looking hoagie roll-looking bun with lots of seeds on it, a sesame bagel with turkey and alfalfa sprouts and a salad with tomato, cucumber, bell peppers and corn on a bed of lettuce. The clerk offered us a few different packages of dressing for the salad, saying that she thinks the Yogurt one is good, so we went with her recommendation. We got some wooden utensils and headed out.
Back in the room we spread our feast out on the desk between us, cut the sandwiches in half, dressed the salad and complimented ourselves on yummy choices. We unpacked and repacked and each sat down to blog with German soccer on the TV in the background. Going to bed tonight will be early. She says 8 pm, I’m thinking maybe 9 pm but I doubt I’ll fall asleep before 10. Up at 6 am and out of the room by 6:30 is the goal. We plan to find
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