my first trip to Offenburg

I went to Offenburg today to find a cell phone.  They’re called “Handys” in Germany, but no one seems to understand me when I say that I need to find a Handy.  My colleagues asked me if I had plans for the weekend, and, in anticipation of this question, I had already pre-planned my reply.  Ich muss ein Handy finden. I don’t know whether the idea of using a three-day weekend (Monday is a national holiday!) to find a cell phone was just extremely underwhelming, or if I can’t get the accent right on Handy, but regardless, it took a couple tries for me to clarify. 

Anyway, I had to go to Offenburg, which is about 45 minutes away, to find anything resembling a cell phone store.  I felt American enough after speaking to three different cell phone salesmen about getting a phone, so my tourist quota for the day was approaching capacity, and I wasn’t very keen on the idea of adding to it by taking pictures of Offenburg.  Luckily, I am sure I’ll have to go back again, so no one is missing out on pictures of the beautiful city.

In Offenburg, I saw stores with the names Roth, Armbruster, Mueller, and Schaefer.  The streets were cobblestone (aren’t they all?), the storefronts looked like houses, and there were Biergartens on every corner.  I visited three mobile phone stores.  Each one was a little more helpful (and had better salespeople) than the next, and I became a little more exhausted after each stop.  Whether it was because they really offered the best deal, because they were the most persistent about selling me a phone, or because it was the last store I visited and I didn’t feel like returning to the other stores, I ended up buying a phone from T-Mobile.  It’s a prepaid phone, which is good because I don’t have anyone to call yet, so there’s no need for me to pay a monthly fee.  Maybe when I have more friends a monthly plan will be in order.  I realized on the train ride home that I don’t actually know my phone number, so I guess that’s my next task.

It’s really nice not to have deadlines or commitments that I have to keep in mind.  If I miss the train, waiting an hour really isn’t that big of a deal.  It would normally seem like a huge inconvenience, but everything about this place is just so much more relaxed. 

There was a bachelor party on the train I took home from Offenburg, which was fun.  I needed some excitement in my life.  They were all wearing orange shirts and made me sign them.  Then Markus and Tobias tried to sell me underwear, at which point I pulled the American card and told them I only speak a little German.  They offered me a beer (apparently it’s also chill to drink on the train) and then invited me to Freudenstadt to go to a pub.  Still having not completely mastered the 24-hour clock, I thought it was much later than it actually was, so I declined their offer, got off the train at Schenkenzell, and finished the beer they gave me.

Last night I made two discoveries that are going to change my stay here in the best way possible:  (1) there are cactuses in the bathroom, and (2) I can listen to music in the shower.  Tomorrow is Sunday, and apparently everything is closed on Sundays, so I’m going to explore Schenkenzell, and then probably sit by the river and paint.  Then on Monday, whatever holiday it is, I’ll probably go to Schiltach (unless I still have more to see in Schenkenzell, but it’s unlikely that will take more than a day), and see what Schiltach has to offer.  It should be a delightful weekend.

As for now, I’m going to take a shower, watch Clueless, and go to sleep.  And maybe try to figure out what my phone number is.

bathroom cacti