Target of the Kontrol
It's pretty odd, hardly anyone here ever sees the Kontrol, or police of the subway that occasionally check to see that your card is valid. But I was accosted last night and again today! Last night I stayed kind of late at work and was coming home, listening to my iPod on a nearly empty train, when a tap on the shoulder got me to turn and see a black-clad serious looking man holding some kind of ID badge. I fumbled around and found my card...no problem.
Today is a holiday ("All-Saints Day", or "All Souls Day"). I slept in, then went for a bike ride to visit our apartment in Lehel. I needed to be back by 2 pm because Neal was making some pizza and it would be ready then. The weather finally took the turn for the worse that everyone was expecting, but I didn't mind the gray skies as long as the rain held off. Traveling south, then east through Westpark, I was impressed by the hills, forest paths, golden leaves and green lawns of the park. There was a little pagoda by a still lake. A half mile away there was a bigger lake with a restaurant and some geese. Eventually I came out and travelled up Lindwurmstrasse which brought me to Sendlinger Tor, a tower that marks the southwest entrace to the inner city. I hoped a little stand would be open to buy sausages in the Viktualin Markt, but everything was closed, darn. I just had time to ride by our place on Bruderstrasse then I turned back, following my nose back to Lindwurmstrasse and Westpark.
I got back and Neal hadn't even started on the pizza, too wrapped up in an Internet chat (kids these days...). So we hung out a while, then ate. I took off again around 4:00 on the bike, oddly excited about seeing terrain south of the main city.
But it was raining harder so I thought I'd relax and just wander a bit. That became harder though because I rode aimlessly onto Fürstenriederstraße and pretty soon recognized that it headed due south. I went by a cemetary called Waldfriedhof, and there were many people going in and out. I could see little candles on many of the graves inside. All Souls Day is a time when people prepare the graves of loved ones for winter, with candles and flowers. The cemetary was large, and I rode by on the outside for well over a mile. Before long I was on a bike path with a sign: "Starnberg: 16 km". Well Starnberg has a lake called the Starnbergsee. That made me think of the mountains so I thought "I should go there." I stopped to reconfigure my gear, taking off the jacket and hat, putting the lights on the bike and getting the iPod ready for a long trip. The ride was simple and nice. First I passed a large forest with little dirt roads going in. Then the country opened up into farm and horse country, very pretty. I was really getting wet though. It had started to rain lightly, and the lower half of my jeans were already soaked through. As I wondered about the wisdom of going all the way out to Starnberg and back I was suddenly flying through the air when my bike hit some kind of wet leaf. "Ahhhhgh!" I said, landing heavily on my back. Already bruised from an accident in the mountains Sunday I just had to shake my head. "I need my wife," I thought.
I collected my iPod (happily undamaged) from the middle of the road, and waved on the concerned car that slowed down. Grimly I got back on and kept going, all you can do after a pratfall I guess!
Okay, once I was at Starnberg, I was so miserable and soaked, that I made right for the S-bahn station. Squealching inside, I puzzled out what tickets I'd need to buy to get me and my bike back near home. It was a bit complex, so I probably "overbought:" I had to have a ticket for my bike, and a ticket for myself, each with a different number of zones because I already have a zone 1-2 ticket for the week. Whew. That took at least 5 minutes, including a puzzling episode where the ticket machine wanted a 50-cent piece and wouldn't accept the one I kept giving it. Alas, I had to put in a 1 Euro piece, and get back: another 50-cent piece for my collection!
Shivering a little in my wet jeans, I was happy to see the train. I found a car which took bikes and got on. I had to lock my bike up in front of another one, so I had to keep an eye on the area in case that person needed to get off. Suddenly I was accosted by a middle-aged man in traditional Bavarian costume. "Hochheimer auf gehts i'habe?" he said, or something like that. I made a non-committal noise and went to sit down. A little while later he reappeared and I had to say I couldn't speak German. He started speaking in what might once have been English, but he was clearly really drunk. Then he held out his hat for some money. I gave him a Euro, probably a mistake. He wandered around the train asking for money and swaying gently.
After 10 minutes or so I saw that my stop was coming up so I went to unhook my bike and get off. But alas! Kontrolle! Kontrolle! The black-clad men with badges had found me again, and, seeing me move towards the bike, two stood in the way. I explained that my german wasn't good, and started pulling out cards. 1 for my bike, 1 for me, and another for me in the 2 inner zones. They kept talking and I couldn't understand but it seemed like I'd done something wrong because I was the life of their party. Finally one of them took some pity and explained in English that the 2 cards I bought at the station weren't valid because I hadn't stamped them. Darn! That is just kind of hard for me to understand, I guess I always think that when I buy the card it becomes "in use" from that moment. But...they let me go, looking kind of aggrieved and disappointed...perhaps I was too easy a target?
The train had stopped though, and knowing how quickly the S-bahn pulls away again, I had a frantic rush to unlock the bike, gather my various tickets, my wallet, etc. and throw it all off the train. In fact, the door had already closed and I had to press a little red button repeatedly to get it open again. It took me about 10 minutes to re-assemble my possesions once off the train. These are the kinds of things that happen to someone in a strange land. The most normal, routine actions take a lot of work!
Now I had to get back to my neighborhood, near Friedenheimerstrasse (I was at the Laim S-bahn station). It was raining hard now. Oh well, I'm already wet! It was probably a 2.5 mile bike ride in the dark cold rain. Neal and Pramilla were out. I went straight for a hot shower and some tea.
We sold our house! John Sharp did such a great job, and I hope the new owners are really happy with it.
Tomorrow's big thing is that I'll get a bank account, then Kris will try to wire money to it to pay for our apartment. I'd also like to go out and eat at a restaurant, I've been really frugal about food, and have been kind of beaten up lately. A beer and sausage or steak would be great.
I'm really glad Kris and I can talk via GoogleTalk or Skype. I can't wait to hug "The Boyos." It's been a week and half but it feels like forever.
Today is a holiday ("All-Saints Day", or "All Souls Day"). I slept in, then went for a bike ride to visit our apartment in Lehel. I needed to be back by 2 pm because Neal was making some pizza and it would be ready then. The weather finally took the turn for the worse that everyone was expecting, but I didn't mind the gray skies as long as the rain held off. Traveling south, then east through Westpark, I was impressed by the hills, forest paths, golden leaves and green lawns of the park. There was a little pagoda by a still lake. A half mile away there was a bigger lake with a restaurant and some geese. Eventually I came out and travelled up Lindwurmstrasse which brought me to Sendlinger Tor, a tower that marks the southwest entrace to the inner city. I hoped a little stand would be open to buy sausages in the Viktualin Markt, but everything was closed, darn. I just had time to ride by our place on Bruderstrasse then I turned back, following my nose back to Lindwurmstrasse and Westpark.
I got back and Neal hadn't even started on the pizza, too wrapped up in an Internet chat (kids these days...). So we hung out a while, then ate. I took off again around 4:00 on the bike, oddly excited about seeing terrain south of the main city.
But it was raining harder so I thought I'd relax and just wander a bit. That became harder though because I rode aimlessly onto Fürstenriederstraße and pretty soon recognized that it headed due south. I went by a cemetary called Waldfriedhof, and there were many people going in and out. I could see little candles on many of the graves inside. All Souls Day is a time when people prepare the graves of loved ones for winter, with candles and flowers. The cemetary was large, and I rode by on the outside for well over a mile. Before long I was on a bike path with a sign: "Starnberg: 16 km". Well Starnberg has a lake called the Starnbergsee. That made me think of the mountains so I thought "I should go there." I stopped to reconfigure my gear, taking off the jacket and hat, putting the lights on the bike and getting the iPod ready for a long trip. The ride was simple and nice. First I passed a large forest with little dirt roads going in. Then the country opened up into farm and horse country, very pretty. I was really getting wet though. It had started to rain lightly, and the lower half of my jeans were already soaked through. As I wondered about the wisdom of going all the way out to Starnberg and back I was suddenly flying through the air when my bike hit some kind of wet leaf. "Ahhhhgh!" I said, landing heavily on my back. Already bruised from an accident in the mountains Sunday I just had to shake my head. "I need my wife," I thought.
I collected my iPod (happily undamaged) from the middle of the road, and waved on the concerned car that slowed down. Grimly I got back on and kept going, all you can do after a pratfall I guess!
Okay, once I was at Starnberg, I was so miserable and soaked, that I made right for the S-bahn station. Squealching inside, I puzzled out what tickets I'd need to buy to get me and my bike back near home. It was a bit complex, so I probably "overbought:" I had to have a ticket for my bike, and a ticket for myself, each with a different number of zones because I already have a zone 1-2 ticket for the week. Whew. That took at least 5 minutes, including a puzzling episode where the ticket machine wanted a 50-cent piece and wouldn't accept the one I kept giving it. Alas, I had to put in a 1 Euro piece, and get back: another 50-cent piece for my collection!
Shivering a little in my wet jeans, I was happy to see the train. I found a car which took bikes and got on. I had to lock my bike up in front of another one, so I had to keep an eye on the area in case that person needed to get off. Suddenly I was accosted by a middle-aged man in traditional Bavarian costume. "Hochheimer auf gehts i'habe?" he said, or something like that. I made a non-committal noise and went to sit down. A little while later he reappeared and I had to say I couldn't speak German. He started speaking in what might once have been English, but he was clearly really drunk. Then he held out his hat for some money. I gave him a Euro, probably a mistake. He wandered around the train asking for money and swaying gently.
After 10 minutes or so I saw that my stop was coming up so I went to unhook my bike and get off. But alas! Kontrolle! Kontrolle! The black-clad men with badges had found me again, and, seeing me move towards the bike, two stood in the way. I explained that my german wasn't good, and started pulling out cards. 1 for my bike, 1 for me, and another for me in the 2 inner zones. They kept talking and I couldn't understand but it seemed like I'd done something wrong because I was the life of their party. Finally one of them took some pity and explained in English that the 2 cards I bought at the station weren't valid because I hadn't stamped them. Darn! That is just kind of hard for me to understand, I guess I always think that when I buy the card it becomes "in use" from that moment. But...they let me go, looking kind of aggrieved and disappointed...perhaps I was too easy a target?
The train had stopped though, and knowing how quickly the S-bahn pulls away again, I had a frantic rush to unlock the bike, gather my various tickets, my wallet, etc. and throw it all off the train. In fact, the door had already closed and I had to press a little red button repeatedly to get it open again. It took me about 10 minutes to re-assemble my possesions once off the train. These are the kinds of things that happen to someone in a strange land. The most normal, routine actions take a lot of work!
Now I had to get back to my neighborhood, near Friedenheimerstrasse (I was at the Laim S-bahn station). It was raining hard now. Oh well, I'm already wet! It was probably a 2.5 mile bike ride in the dark cold rain. Neal and Pramilla were out. I went straight for a hot shower and some tea.
We sold our house! John Sharp did such a great job, and I hope the new owners are really happy with it.
Tomorrow's big thing is that I'll get a bank account, then Kris will try to wire money to it to pay for our apartment. I'd also like to go out and eat at a restaurant, I've been really frugal about food, and have been kind of beaten up lately. A beer and sausage or steak would be great.
I'm really glad Kris and I can talk via GoogleTalk or Skype. I can't wait to hug "The Boyos." It's been a week and half but it feels like forever.
posted by Michael Stanton at
7:07 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home