Getting back to Berlin felt like returning home. As nice as Marburg is, Berlin still feels like the right place to be.
Woke up around 7 this morning and then had breakfast with Ronny, before he drove me to the Gießen Hauptbahnhof. From there, I bought a ticket for 3,90€ to go to Marburg, hopped on a bus to the hospital, and was there 30 minutes early. It so foggy up on the hill though, I couldn't even see the hospital from the bus stop, even though it's only a few hundred feet away.
On my way off the bus, I ran into my doctor's secretary. She had a cold so was on her way home, but I'm glad I ran into her since I would've missed her otherwise. I decided to just go check in, and soon, they called me in and refilled my pump in less than 10 minutes. I was in and out before my official appointment time at 10 AM.
So I decided to head to one of the university buildings that I was familiar with from my Marburg language course days. I thought my internet might still work—I was wrong. So it was only 11 AM, and I had three and a half hours before my train was scheduled to leave. I decided to wander and take some pictures. In all the times I've been in Marburg (including living there for six weeks), I never went into the Elisabethkirche. But I saw it every day since it was right next to our classroom building.
Looked nice in the fog today.
I decided to head to the Hauptbahnhof and just chill. On my way there, I walked across a bridge that I always pass on the way to the train station. I had to take a picture because it always looks different below. Just last month, the river was flooded all the way up to the wooden staircase on the right in this picture from today, and all those cars would be underwater if the water level was still like it was in January.
Once I got to the train station, I thought maybe I could ask about taking an earlier train. Turns out I could take any of the regional trains, but I would have to stick with my reserved seat on the second train to Berlin at 3:43 PM. Since there was a regional train leaving for Kassel at 12:21, I decided to take it, since I'd have to catch my train to Berlin in Kassel anyway.
I arrived in Kassel after the hour plus train ride and realized I had about 2 hours of free time. The train station was a lot colder than I had imagined, so I decided I needed to move around. I'd already visited the city once before, so I really didn't have much desire to wander too far. Plus I really did not want to spend any money.
After meandering a few blocks away (I found the Red Cross center in Kassel), I headed back to the train station to wait out the remaining hour and a half. I spied a Chinese all-you-can-eat lunch deal that would've cost 5,90€, but I had already eaten leftover pizza from Ronny's parents for lunch. So I sat myself down on a bench in the main terminal. I had my headphones in and my hoodie and jacket on since it was freezing.
As I was sitting there just staring off into the distance, two police officers walked up to me and asked if I spoke German. I replied that I could speak a bit, and they asked where I was going. When I told them I was heading to Berlin, they said in English, "We want to see your passport."
I should mention that I had thought about bringing my passport when I left the house yesterday. I suppose I should always have it on me, but I typically don't bring it with me to Marburg since it's just my medical appointment. Nevertheless, I told the officers that I didn't have it on me (still speaking in German). So they asked, "What's your nationality?"
Would you believe it? I responded in English with, "I'm American." To which they said, "Oh, ok, never mind then. You're okay. Ciao." Then the pair of them strolled slowly down to the other end of the terminal. My first reaction was: Should I be angry or annoyed that I got asked for my passport out of all the people in the terminal? There were certainly some other shady characters walking around (walking is probably an overstatement for some; more like stumbling for them).
I thought perhaps it's cause I'd been hanging around the terminal for a good 45 minutes already with my hood on (otherwise my ears and neck would've been even colder than they already were) or because I was just staring off into the distance with my headphones in. Who knows. Ultimately, I decided that they were simply doing their jobs (Germany's been on fairly high terror alert since the fall, though I'm certainly not saying I would profile myself as looking like a terrorist).
In any case, I sat for another hour in the cold, reading James Joyce after the little police encounter so none of the officers strolling the concourse had any excuse to ask me for my ID. Since buying the book in Dublin, I've only gotten 230 pages into the book with another 400 or so to go. As I told Ronny last night (he's tried reading it too; twice actually), I feel like I've been reading the words, but I still have little idea about the bigger picture ideas or the story line in general. Even reading Cliffnotes didn't prove very helpful.
Anyway, despite a very annoying 30 minute delay on the train to Berlin (I did finish transcribing two interviews from Greece), I made it back to my house safe and sound. I made some dinner, caught up on all the emails I'd gotten today, and am now filling out paperwork for medical reimbursements. Keeping my fingers crossed that the insurance companies will move faster on processing claims this time.
Back to work,
Sam
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