So, this past weekend found me in Amsterdam and Berlin, two amazing cities that I really enjoyed. And, we took buses between the cities, which meant some really, really long bus rides. Here are my notes from those bus rides.
Part 1: Prague to Amsterdam
0:20 - Every bus I get on reminds me of the PWILD buses. Alas, I was not mooned as we departed.
2:45 - German rest stop toilets are strange, all cold metal and automatic sensors. Unsurprising, really.
7:10 - Frankfurt looks cool as hell, but maybe that's just because it's Germany. Also, am now rid of my seat mate, a Mexican tourist who persistently exhibited his dry, tense cough. He is probably carrying the plague.
7:15 - There is a large green stick-figure statue next to our bus [in my notes I drew a picture, which unfortunately I cannot emulate here]
7:30 - Frankfurt has an "Airport City," part of which is under construction and most of which just looks large and industrial and imposing. Featuring an Asia Snack Box!
10:00 - Bus hot chocolate is surprisingly good. So are the sandwiches I made (despite not knowing the intricacies of Czech food vocabulary). The yogurt-covered granola bars, though? Almost too strange
12:30 - Playing cards, eating berries, and puzzling out some minute mysteries. Will have to get LMans to tell me a few of hers for future bus trips.
13:30 - The German countryside: restful farmland, the occasional wind farm, plenty of animals and adorable villages, and gigantic structures for energy and phone lines.
13:35 - Also, there are a lot of strange, experimental buildings.
13:50 - I've seen a lot of people on bikes.
13:55 - Also, I think we are in Holland! No idea when that happened. So maybe that wasn't German countryside...
14:05 - There were chickens innocently pecking around in the local park we just passed.
14:45 - I have no idea where we are, but the road runs along the water and the scenery is surprisingly pretty, despite the large industrial buildings, the clouds and the rain.
14:45 - We're in Rotterdam!
14:50 - A book suggestion from The Economist - "Inheritance," by Nicholas Shakespeare. Will look into it!
15:10 - The bus' toilet is bad-smelling, and I couldn't get the sink to work, but otherwise functional.
Part 2: Amsterdam to Berlin
23:15 - Not as swanky as the first bus, but I like its no-frills efficiency. And it left early: a plus?
23:25 - The chicks behind Ali and I are bitches. You are not allowed to tell me that I can't recline my seat. Nice try.
23:30 - I already miss the nice lady with the free hot chocolate from the last bus. We were pampered...
23:35 - The driver's radio music is not a plus.
3:50 - I wish we still measured in leagues. I have no concept of the distance of a league, but I have no concept of the distance of a kilometer, either, and league sounds cooler.
4:10 - The traffic lights were really bright in Hanover. Also, have moved to my own seat. Ka-ching!
4:15 - This bus smells like fish.
7:30 - Whelp, our bus just arrived 2 hours earlier than we though it was supposed to. An uninspiring but efficient trip.
Part 3: Amsterdam to Prague
13:50 - Didn't have an ISIC card, didn't have a printed ticket, didn't want my bag to go under the bus, didn't know my seat number - I am the bus problem child.
13:55 - Also, Kieran and Lauryn made it! We were worried.
14:20 - We think they're playing one of the Ocean's movies, based on the actors, but for whatever reason that does not make me want to watch and find out. George Clooney's hot, though.
16:15 - Just woke up in Dresden. The bus still smells like B.O., and someone up in front of me (potentially the driver?) is listening to some seriously obnoxious, soundtrack-like music, and Friends is on the TVs. But Dresden looks gorgeous, despite having been bombed like crazy, so I'll have to come back in the future and explore.
16:20 - And now the air/fan machine above my seat just roared to life. Oh wait, just stopped, thank God. Can now listen to the foreign soundtrack music again!
Well, that's where I stopped taking notes, as I watched some thriller movie about Anthony Hopkins killing someone for the rest of the ride. But, there you have it! Now you kinda know how it feels to take absurdly long bus rides. Will probably talk about what I actually did while in Amsterdam and Berlin at some point. And I'm going to Munich tomorrow! Such a tough life.
Part 1: Prague to Amsterdam
0:20 - Every bus I get on reminds me of the PWILD buses. Alas, I was not mooned as we departed.
2:45 - German rest stop toilets are strange, all cold metal and automatic sensors. Unsurprising, really.
7:10 - Frankfurt looks cool as hell, but maybe that's just because it's Germany. Also, am now rid of my seat mate, a Mexican tourist who persistently exhibited his dry, tense cough. He is probably carrying the plague.
7:15 - There is a large green stick-figure statue next to our bus [in my notes I drew a picture, which unfortunately I cannot emulate here]
7:30 - Frankfurt has an "Airport City," part of which is under construction and most of which just looks large and industrial and imposing. Featuring an Asia Snack Box!
10:00 - Bus hot chocolate is surprisingly good. So are the sandwiches I made (despite not knowing the intricacies of Czech food vocabulary). The yogurt-covered granola bars, though? Almost too strange
12:30 - Playing cards, eating berries, and puzzling out some minute mysteries. Will have to get LMans to tell me a few of hers for future bus trips.
13:30 - The German countryside: restful farmland, the occasional wind farm, plenty of animals and adorable villages, and gigantic structures for energy and phone lines.
13:35 - Also, there are a lot of strange, experimental buildings.
13:50 - I've seen a lot of people on bikes.
13:55 - Also, I think we are in Holland! No idea when that happened. So maybe that wasn't German countryside...
14:05 - There were chickens innocently pecking around in the local park we just passed.
14:45 - I have no idea where we are, but the road runs along the water and the scenery is surprisingly pretty, despite the large industrial buildings, the clouds and the rain.
14:45 - We're in Rotterdam!
14:50 - A book suggestion from The Economist - "Inheritance," by Nicholas Shakespeare. Will look into it!
15:10 - The bus' toilet is bad-smelling, and I couldn't get the sink to work, but otherwise functional.
Part 2: Amsterdam to Berlin
23:15 - Not as swanky as the first bus, but I like its no-frills efficiency. And it left early: a plus?
23:25 - The chicks behind Ali and I are bitches. You are not allowed to tell me that I can't recline my seat. Nice try.
23:30 - I already miss the nice lady with the free hot chocolate from the last bus. We were pampered...
23:35 - The driver's radio music is not a plus.
3:50 - I wish we still measured in leagues. I have no concept of the distance of a league, but I have no concept of the distance of a kilometer, either, and league sounds cooler.
4:10 - The traffic lights were really bright in Hanover. Also, have moved to my own seat. Ka-ching!
4:15 - This bus smells like fish.
7:30 - Whelp, our bus just arrived 2 hours earlier than we though it was supposed to. An uninspiring but efficient trip.
Part 3: Amsterdam to Prague
13:50 - Didn't have an ISIC card, didn't have a printed ticket, didn't want my bag to go under the bus, didn't know my seat number - I am the bus problem child.
13:55 - Also, Kieran and Lauryn made it! We were worried.
14:20 - We think they're playing one of the Ocean's movies, based on the actors, but for whatever reason that does not make me want to watch and find out. George Clooney's hot, though.
16:15 - Just woke up in Dresden. The bus still smells like B.O., and someone up in front of me (potentially the driver?) is listening to some seriously obnoxious, soundtrack-like music, and Friends is on the TVs. But Dresden looks gorgeous, despite having been bombed like crazy, so I'll have to come back in the future and explore.
16:20 - And now the air/fan machine above my seat just roared to life. Oh wait, just stopped, thank God. Can now listen to the foreign soundtrack music again!
Well, that's where I stopped taking notes, as I watched some thriller movie about Anthony Hopkins killing someone for the rest of the ride. But, there you have it! Now you kinda know how it feels to take absurdly long bus rides. Will probably talk about what I actually did while in Amsterdam and Berlin at some point. And I'm going to Munich tomorrow! Such a tough life.
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