Guten tag from Germany. This blog entry is being written on a much delayed train bound to Munich. More on the delayed train, later.
This morning started off as planned with a 4:40am wake-up call/Sara yelling at me to wake up. Somehow we got delayed leaving the house. Probably my fault because I made toast, but nevertheless we were delayed. Sara was a bit frantic. Long story short, I got to the train station only to realize I forgot my purse! Doh! So Sara gave me her keys and told me I’d have to just leave them in the house. Appreciatively, I lugged Sara’s luggage onto the train then sent her on her merry way. 2 hours later I woke-up to board a train bound for Venice. Technically I could have just stayed in Vicenza, completed my run, then board the train straight to the airport. But no, I couldn't let go of the clichéd idea of running through Venice listening to Florence and the Machine’s “The Dog Days are Gone” . It just had to be done.
I arrive in Venice at approximately 9am - dropped my bags off at the left-luggage counter, stuffed as many valuables as possibly in between my two sports bras(A trick I learned from a few people who shall remain nameless), and decided give myself one hour in Venice so that I’d have ample enough time to get to the airport to secure my 1:15 departure.
Venice, per the usual, is tourist central. I decided not to go too far as I didn’t want to get lost in the maze. I crossed the bridge at the train station then went right because right seemed less crowded than left. Genius. Off I go, nothing too exciting other than the reality of living out the most clichéd running scene, ever. Snapped a few pictures. Mile is done.
After retrieving my baggage I made my way to the bus station across the bridge. The bus station is the main bus station connecting the island of Venice to the main land. It seemed like everyone in Venice is waiting to board a bus for the airport. So like the other 100 people, I bought my bus ticket, got in the corresponding bus line, boarded the bus, stood as to let the elderly sit, looked to my left, BAM! …A man walking around with his “business” hanging out of his pants.
Let me set the scene for you. Imagine a parking lot full of buses sitting side by side waiting for travelers to board. I’d say a good 7 feet between each bus. Hundreds of people walking around, waiting on their respective buses, or rather hundreds of people lost trying to find their respective buses. I am standing on the #5 bus with I’d say at least 80 other people, minding my own business, and BAM. In between two buses is a man probably in his late 30’s early 40s, smartly dressed in blue and white plaid pants, white collard polo shirt, blond hair, blue eyes, nice tan. For all intents and purposes this man was a hunk ….with his junk out for all the world to see. Well, he did have a shopping bag in front of his mid-section most of the time, to be fair.
The insane thing is, he was literally walking around as nothing was out of the ordinary. As if he was hot and needed a little air. Shorts top button buttoned, zipper completely down. Honest to God my first reaction was, “oh no this man forgot to zip his fly !” Complete nonchalance from him and everyone one around him. And to top it all off, he looked lost. He kept looking around with a concerned lost puppy dog face, then he would look at his blackberry for a second , look back up with a confused face, look back down. I then thought …where are the video cameras? This has to be a joke. Nope. Not a video camera crew in sight. I’d go into more details but I’d probably get flagged for offensive material. Just know I’m still in shock and can’t get the visual out of my mind.
The rest of the day was fairly normal. Arrived in Frankfurt –Bahn at 2:30, boarded a bus to Mainz at 3:30, boarded a train for Munich at 5:15, then the train stopped completely for an hour and a half due to an accident on the tracks. Standard for European travel I suppose. The positive thing is, at the last minute, I upgraded to first class for 12 euro. Thankfully I’m in a private cabin with one other guy, surrounded by windows. We both essentially have our own couches to spread out on. Life is pretty good at the moment despite what will ultimately be a 6 hour train ride. Onward to Munich!!
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