It wasn't until I needed to get myself out of Frankfurt airport and onto a train that I really remembered that I was going to Germany. After all, I had just spent the last twenty-four hours in a French speaking environment. The cheapest ticket I had found to Germany was from Montreal to Frankfurt on Air France. This route required me to take a bus from Ottawa to Dorval, fly to Paris, take another flight to Frankfurt, and then take a train from there to Cologne. But, being Air France in Montreal, I had to check-in in French, order my dinner from a French menu, talk to the stewardesses in French, watch a movie that could only be French (I couldn't believe when 'fin' appeared on screen, it had been nearly two hours, and nothing had happened!) I got off the plane in Frankfurt with my copy of 'Le Monde' tucked beneath my arm and went to pick up my bags, which, to my surprise, were now called 'Gepack'. I was in Germany. I still couldn't count to ten. Luckily for me most things are well organized in Germany, including the airport. I followed the big friendly signs to the baggage area, picked up my stuff, walked through customs and out the door. Just to the side of the door was another large sign, indicating that I had reached the bus stop for the shuttle to the train station which is conveniently located about two minutes away. The ticket agents at the station spoke English, and there are trains between Frankfurt and Cologne twice an hour so I didn't have to wait long. When I arrived at the main station in Cologne. I realized that I was a little earlier than I had told my new colleague who was coming to pick me up, so I thought I'd phone. I still had some change left from buying the train ticket, so I walked over to a payphone, after staring it up and down for a while, I came to the conclusion that it didn't use coins, so I looked around for one that did. I found one nearby with a line-up in front of it. There was a bank of six phones, but it was the only one that took coins, and I guess I wasn't the only person without a phone card. When it was finally my turn, I but in my last 1 mark coin (I had used my other change to rent a baggage cart for my hefty 46kg of stuff) I dialled the number, and excitedly started talking to the person that picked up, for quite some time, before I realized that it was the wrong person. As I tried to ask what number I had dialled, the phone cut out. (Phone calls are ridiculously expensive here. From pay phones and cell phones during working hours, they can cost almost 2 marks ($1.30) per minute.) Now I was out of change, but not out of look. I sat down with my new German phrasebook (thanks Susan and Ali) and happily found that it had a phonetic translation for 'I'd like to buy a phone card' on one of the first pages. The shopkeeper seemed to understand the only line I could utter (which was good), reached down below the counter, took out a phone card and then told me the price. Now, I still couldn't count so I had to break a fifty but I was soon the proud owner of a 'telefonkarte'. By the time I was able to call Tille (short for Tilman) to say I was early, I no longer was. Shortly after answering his question 'where are you' he tapped me on the shoulder, smiling and holding a cell phone.
Side-note to arriving
Now before anybody comments on how indirect my route was, please rest assured that many people have already pointed out that by flying to Frankfurt from Paris I passed directly over Cologne several minutes into my flight; also, you would not be the first to inform me that due to Cologne's close proximity to the formal capital Bonn, it sports an easily accessible airport. None of these friendly tips have helped me to laugh at my thirty hour journey in retrospect. (Traveler's tip #1 It is possible to fly from Ottawa to Sydney Australia in approximately 25 hours)
;)