Our First Trip by Train

CULTURE SHOCK: anxiety and feelings (of surprise, disorientation, uncertainty, confusion, etc) felt when people have to operate within a different and unknown culture such as one may encounter in a foreign country. It grows out of the difficulties in assimilating the new culture, causing difficulty in knowing what is appropriate and what is not.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Saturday we heard about riding the train into Nuremberg (one of the bigger cities about an hour away) and how fun it is to check out all the things this place had to offer. Getting on the train in our little town was no problem, there was one track and we all jumped aboard. We noticed our camera battery was low immediately after we had gotten on and so we didn't take as many pictures. Also, towards the end of the day when we had the best opportunity to take a picture of the whole city, the battery died and that was it. So our adventure began and the rest is a story of our first trip:

As soon as we got off of our train Ben and I stood there for a moment. We felt like we were lost, but we had only taken a few steps. Also we were at a main train station with about 30 tracks, how were we going to find our way home? Introducing "culture shock"... we stared at the arrivals and departures for about 15 minutes trying to figure out how we were going to get home. Well, we finally found out there was a train going back to our home every hour on the 35... so we decided it was safe to explore. We walked down the main street, turned and discovered the German National Museum. We spent the most part of our time there looking at castle replicas and armor and it would have been really interesting if we would have been able to read the information. But alas, we do not know the native language that well.

Next we found the Marktplatz, the downtown markets, restaurants, churches, and music. We grabbed some lunch and also bought some delicioius cherries from a fruit stand. They were tasty, but really made a huge mess all over the boys fingers and faces. We must have looked like quite a sight, but this was of course our first experience doing something like this. Looking around we knew that the big castle was going to be our next stop.

The climb and push up the hill was quite the workout, especially since the boys all wanted to be carried up or to ride on the stroller. But we somehow found the strength inside of us to make the final push. It was amazing! How could the people back then build something like this? Of course after finding the best view of the city, the camera died and then we were left to explore without documentation. We were pretty well spent and decided to find our way back to the main train station. A sweet couple translated the bus schedule for us and we took that back to our train. The boys all fell asleep on the ride back and we made it home, exhausted, but happy we had completed our first adventure.
 

We learned a few things from this trip. It is important to wear shoes that are appropriate for walking, flip-flops are not suited for walking miles in a city. Charge all camera batteries prior to departure. Pack the essentials, but nothing that is too heavy. Have an idea of what you want to see at the destination (sights, castles, etc). And last but not least... ENJOY the ADVENTURE!