Planes, Trains, and Automobiles OR No fat postmen in Germany

So this is it. My last day in Germany.

It was bound to happen but I got a little sad last night cleaning and packing up. Now it's starting to look more like the room I remember seeing when I first arrived tired, hungry, and jetlagged.

But I leave tomorrow and it's taking all of Germany's public transportation to get me there. I first catch a bus from my place to the train station. Then a train from Regensburg to Munich. Last I'll pay a ridiculous amount of money for a taxi to get me to the airport. Then the plane will fly me to Frankfurt, where I shall wait.

Also, I was under the delusion Frankfurt was my only layover. I'm not quite sure anymore. The most recent email notice says it's the only one, but my account on the site I booked with says I'll be chilling in Philly for about an hour and a half before actually getting to Nashville. I honestly don't know.But as long as I get on a plane going to the states it's all going to be okay. I'll figure it out.

Also, while purchasing my one-way ticket for Munich today I saw one of the mailmen out and about on their bike, delivering mail. And it hit me. All the postmen I've seen delivering mail here always have bikes with backpacks and baskets. No motorized mail transportation, no fat postmen. It's amazing.

I've spent the last week trying to decide what to do with this last blog about Germany and I've come up blank. I suppose it should have something like a life lesson at the end or I should talk about how I've grown... but I honestly do not have those type of writing skills. That and my laziness is a factor. It's just hard. There're so many things to talk about that it would be hard to express it in a sentence. Well, maybe not. I will once again miss bakeries. Why the town I reside in cannot have a small bakery chain is beyond me.

But I have nothing I want to say specifically. Generally, I'll admit this. I had no plans or expectations for this trip. I decided to apply for this study abroad program on a whim and within a week of hearing that they were short people, I had applied and paid all of my fees, not knowing what I would do about my responsibilities at home or what would happen to my plans for graduation or... anything. I just decided to go and I left. And for those curious, the only major source of money I had on this trip (besides small family contributions and my meager savings from over-working myself at Wal-Mart this past summer) was my financial aid. That was it. I still traveled (although not to the extent of some) and I still ate well and tried new things and did a bit of shopping and all was well.

But all good things must come to an end, as it has been said over and over. And so this is ending. I'll go visit my neighborhood bakery soon and take pictures of where I've lived but for the most part, this is done. I came here scared and unsure and more than a little confused about the two dots over some of the vowels in the words I was seeing everywhere. But now I'm here, same place but further along in time and I can successfully ask for a pretzel politely.

And so, this is it. I'm here and a better person for it. Maybe. I'm never quite sure on the quality of myself, however I'm sure lots of things have been put into perspective now. Maybe not everything but some things.

So there you have it. The end.

Until I'm return, cheers.