Well, day 9 is done and I've discovered another thing that Germans are passionate about...football. For the uninitiated, that's soccer. In any case, it was a madhouse on the train. We went to Dortmund early this afternoon to shop for costume supplies for a party we're attending this weekend. On the way back, we saw the crowds of scarf wearing (Black and Yellow for Dortmund, Blue and White for Bochum), beer guzzling fans. This was still early too, hours before the game. Cary was eager to get back before the trains got really rowdy and packed. I made a mental note to pay attention to game days and then be careful what colour I wear when I go out. Still, it was an experience. I could hear the crowds chanting from the stadium in the distance, and it's not close, at least 2 KM's away.
Dortmund is a bigger city than Bochum, sort of like Toronto and Mississauga. We went there to shop at Primark, a chain clothing store. It's like Old Navy meets Stitches, on crack. The place is multiple floors with people everywhere, it's truly a nightmare. Today I discovered that I can just pop in some headphones and listen to music while shopping. I followed Kierstie around while she browsed and shopped and I listened to music and ignored the commotion around me. She would occasionally hold up something for an opinion, I gave a nod or a shake. My kind of shopping. While walk to lunch at Vapiano's, an italian place that's popular all over Germany (and worldwide, I believe), we found a wine shop and Kierstie fell in love with a Sauvignon Blanc from Slovenia. We walked in and asked for a New Zealand wine but they didn't have it, so they suggested this one and popped a bottle out of the cooler for her to try it. How awesome was that? Is this good? Try some and see for yourself. Awesome.
Moving back to Vapiano's, the food was good but the whole process is just plain weird. As you walk in, you get a card. It's like your virtual charge card. You walk around and order what you want, either from the bar or at the food stations and scan your card. It's cafeteria style, with no wait staff, just bus people clearing. Everything is self serve. Just don't lose your card. Apparently they charge you 50 Euros if you do. It was all too much for me to handle right then so I sat at the table and drank beer while the others did their thing. Krombacher beer, good stuff. We walked the streets for a bit after lunch and saw a full orchestra playing music in a platz (square or plaza) close to the hauptbahnhof (central train station, every city has one, like Toronto's Union station), it was quite cool. Then we hit the hooligan express back to the Bochum HBF
We returned to the flat after purchasing some supplies in Bochum, we chilled out and watched TV (Loving Vikings, and lamenting the completion of the Spartacus series). In short, we were lazy as hell. Why not, I say.
My lesson for the day. It was particularly satisfying feeling to get up this morning and put on socks that I got out of an actual drawer. Something so simple, hysterical. Sorry, forgot the camera so no pictures today. Boo me.
Ian
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