Night out with the Girls

So the next night (after Brett's story below) I went out shopping with a couple of girls (M & T) from work. One needed supplies for a six month trip to Africa and the other for a few week trip to Africa.

Because one of the girls had to work late myself and M went into town to start the shopping expidition and T was going to meet us there. She called us she got into town and we said we would meet at H&M (a crappy department store) in the women's section. After a while T calls to say she is in teh women's section, where are we? We hang up and start searching for her, with no luck. Then we realise that there is actually 2 of these stores in the shoping strip so we decide to run across to the other one. We get there and start searching for her - no luck... I decide to call her but am informed by the computer lady from Tmobile that I only have €0.36 credit left... finally T calle du to say that she thought we must have been at the other store so she had run across there - somehow we had missed each other...

Finally caught up we shopped until the stores closed. The other girls wanted to go get a drink - but I was tired so decided to go home. By this time though I really needed to find a toilet so decided to go at the station as the next train was due in about 10 mins. In Germany you almost always have to pay to go the the toilet, but I hadn't thought about that - until I got into the toilets. This set up was oen where you paid at a little machine on each loo door but they were all open because they were being cleaned. I already had my wallet out but couldn't see the lady so headed into a stall, and hear 'It's 30 cents...' I poke my head back out the door and see that the lady was down the end of the room and say 'i will just go, and then pay after.' I come back out, and start looking through my wallet and realise that i don't have 30cents!!!! Scraping together 1, 2 and 5c pieces i have about 22c. Profusely appologising I give her the money - sure that she thinks I did a dodgy and knew I didn't have the money...

By now I must have 3 minutes left so feeling bad I rush to buy my ticket - at which point I get change from the note i used. Delemma - do I run back and give her more miney, or do I get the train... I check the train board and lucklily the train is delayed so I don't have to choose and run back and give her the extra money. I think i made her night!!!

I wanted to let Brett know that I was on my way home (later than I told him I would be), and I assume I have enough credit to at least send 1 text message "train in 9 mins - no credit" but NO, it won't go through. Looking around I discover that there is a phoen box on the platform, but i have no idea how much a phone box in Germany costs, and have only €1,30. AS i examien the phone I realise that it has an SMS button - and it only costs 30c to send an SMS!! Although not as simple to use as a mobile to text message it worked. It was very slow and i was worried the train would come while I was typing, and I couldn't work out how to delete so all my mistakes had to stay in the message, which then was a bit confusing, but 1 minute later my phone rings and I hear 'how did u send that message?'

While I was talking to Brett on the phone the train before mine pulled in. On these trains the doors autonatically close after 30 secs so the train stays warm. As the doors closed on the train a back pack came flying out of the door onto the platform. As I saw it I assumed that soemoen on the train was just being a dickhead and had thrown a friends bag out, but no one came out of the train to get the bag, then I thought maybe they were throwing it to someone on teh platform, but no one grabbed it. By now quite a few people on the platform were paying very close attention to the bag. Normally on the platforms is a place where you can either get train information or call for security - I started to look for it but there wasn't one on this section of the platform. THen I realised there was a small cafe trolley on the platform so I went over to tell them so they could call security. As I got there someone else was there tellign her about the backpack, which she already knew (you could see the backpack from there) but that she had no phone (which is totally rediculous that they have no way to call security although they are sitting there with cash). I asked where the info/security buttons were and she pointed randomly. I started walking in the direction of the stairs, but as I got there a man came down the stairs with two cops telling them about the back pack... At this point my train pulled in so I walked as far up the platform away from the backpack as i could towards the front of the train and jumped in, thinking 'go, go, go'...

A few minutes later Brett called back to see if I was still alive, at which point my phone gave its sick sounding going very flat sound - so now i was out of credit and had a flat battery....

Brett met me at our train station and after the previuos nights driving experience and the possible back pack bomb I was very gald to see him...

Wishing all of you that I love, and those that you love all the best
B