E is for Emergency Envlelopes

As I last left you, we had just landed with a very sick traveler. But we still had to make our way through the labyrinth of hallways and escalators to our train platform. In a moment of nausea-induced bad decision making, Michaela thought that perhaps she was feeling really bad due to hunger. And, on seeing the stores laden with delectable pastries piled high upon each other, she thought perhaps a chocolate covered donut might assuage her upset tummy. I figured I might as well stock up on an assortment of tasties for our trip at the same time, and I’ll bet you’re dying to know what we got…

a really good thing with all kinds of slivered almonds on top, the Johannisbeer Streuseltaler, and a cherry cheese thingy. And coffee! Sorry, there were more pressing issues going on that took my mind off taking pictures, but did get this other one.



Anyway, her donut stuck to her ribs approximately 3 ½ bites, and by now, we were reduced to literally RUNNING through the airport begging for bags. I ended up jogging over to the “lost baggage counter” to ask if they had ANYTHING to help us out- and I was handed a large trashcan liner. Thanks, that oughtta just about do it. :sad2:

She really was only able to go about 100 yards until she had to lie down and rest. Mike and the little ones had gotten all of our luggage onto a cart, and although we hated to have to move her, we really did need to press on and make our way towards the baggage storage area. It was SLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW going!

With breaks like this along the way:




It was then that I saw this:



I’m really not even sure how to pronounce it in German, but I thought, if it is pronounced like “meat wagon”, then well, that’s pretty funny!

We finally made it to our platform, after some serious confusion about which way to go. The signs weren’t so clear, and we had to end up asking the police which way to go. I know, an American kind of emergency. Mike was busy taking the world’s worst picture the weary travelers while we waited for our train.



Having timed it just perfectly, after checking our bags into the luggage room, buying our pastries, stopping for barf breaks and all that, we arrived with about 10 minutes of spare time.

We did end up asking the station attendant exactly where we should stand, as Magdalene had warned us that we only had about 3 minutes to get on the train, and that not all the cars connected- so if you got on the wrong one, you could be stuck without seats.





Successfully boarded and correct seats taken, we stowed our carryons, and breathed a sigh of relief. I managed to get a few shots of the trains---- Some are pretty old I think, and some are fast, others not so much.










….until she felt bad again. Now what?? The last stash we had gotten from an airport magazine store was running low. I again started my frantic search of “supplies” and hit the mother lode!!! All those perfect-sized, plastic bags meant for “other purposes” were exactly what we needed. (It wasn’t until days later that I clued her into what they were normally for.) No more worries- and that was a good thing, because it was now time for another victim to play, “Let’s Take a Ride on the Ralphing Railroad”.

With a bit of seat re-arranging, both Zach and Mik were against windows, where they could turn and “hide” their distress. They were completely mortified that every 10 minutes, almost to the second, they would be sick, and have the lady sitting at the table next to us, look over with a glance of both sympathy and disgust. I apologized over and over, but more than that there was not much I could say. She could speak hardly any English, so I guess it didn’t matter.

There were a few moments that I could enjoy the scenery, and as we raced through the countryside this is what we saw: