On Saturday morning, I waved good-bye to my parents and
watched as they began their journey back to the United States. I feel so
incredibly blessed that they were able to come for a visit. Even the little
things like sharing a meal together, tasting new ice cream flavors at the local
Eiscafé, helping Mom learn new German words, climbing mountains with Dad, or
showing my parents around the campus at BFA have left so many special memories of our
time together.
While my parents and I had an overall fantastic time of
traveling together, we also had a few misadventures. One of our craziest
adventures occurred during our trip to Munich. Wanting to save money, I
searched around online and found an awesome deal for bus tickets for only 14
Euros a person. I had actually traveled on this same bus back in October
when some of my roommates and I visited Munich for Oktoberfest.
Excited about the great deal, we packed our bags and boarded
the train to Freiburg where we would then catch our bus to Munich. Besides the noise
from a group of rowdy teenage boys who decided to choose their seats directly
behind us, the bus ride was pretty comfortable. We had a table in between four
seats and were able to look out the bus window and enjoy the German scenery.
We were nearing the midway point of our journey, a little
town called Friedrichshafen nestled near the Bodensee. In October, we had had time to get out at the bus station,
stretch our legs, grab a bite to eat, and use the restroom. I, being rather
drowsy from watching a World Cup game the night before, was starting to doze off.
A long stream of German announcements went completely unnoticed by my mother
and I (the only two partial German speakers in our family) and my dad, awake
but not comprehending, assumed that Mom or I had gotten the gist of whatever
the bus driver was trying to communicate.
I woke up as the bus was pulling into the station at Friedrichshafen.
Remembering the trip from October, I explained to my family that we would have
about 15 minutes to use the restroom or get a snack. Leaving most of our
belongings behind, the three of us exited the bus to take a quick break.
Although it was somewhat heavy to carry, I decided that just to be safe, I
should take my backpack.
We were only gone for about seven minutes. The three of us
had walked around to the back of the bus station to find the restroom. Well, as
we soon discovered, seven minutes was all it took to get left behind in Friedrichshafen.
At first, we didn’t believe it. The bus was probably just refueling somewhere.
I tried desperately to reassure my mother (and myself), “he’ll be back, don’t
worry, the bus just went to get gas or something.” After about 15 minutes, I wasn’t so sure…and
after 25 minutes, I knew we must have been left behind. Being left would have been
bad enough, but to add to our stress was the fact that our three suitcases, my
dad’s laptop, my dad’s camera, our lunch box, and my mom’s favorite hat were on
their way to Munich without us.
Thankfully, we had my backpack—a bag which contained my
wallet, passport, laptop, German cell phone, and the bus tickets. Seeking help
in the lobby of a local hotel, we explained our situation and showed them the
phone number of the bus station (which just happened to be printed on the
tickets). Since my German is still pretty mediocre, the receptionist kindly
offered to call the bus company for us. After a lengthy German conversation, we
were told that they were working on the situation and that they would call back
on my cell phone when they had more information. So there we were, trapped in a
rainy German town with no bus, no luggage, and anxiously awaiting a phone call
(which as far as I knew might be entirely in German).
I nearly jumped from my seat when my cell phone started to
ring. “Hallo?” I spoke somewhat hesitantly. Much to my relief, the speaker
answered in English. He explained that there was another bus coming in two
hours and that he would email me complimentary tickets to ride that bus to
Munich. “Wonderful!” I responded, “And what about our luggage?” The man
explained that regretfully, he was unable to get into contact with the bus
driver, but he would figure out a way for us to retrieve our belongings. I then
went through the lengthy process of describing all the luggage in great detail,
even including the brands, colors, and sizes.
After a desperate search for internet and the quick download
of the new bus tickets, we were ready to board the second bus. Much to our relief,
it arrived right at the scheduled time. A little after 6pm, we pulled into the bus
station in Munich. Before we even had time to worry about our luggage, a man
with a big red beard came up to greet us. Waiting in a neat stack behind him were our
three suitcases, my dad’s laptop bag, our lunchbox, and even my mom’s favorite
hat. “Your luggage?” he asked with a smile. We thanked him profusely and smiled with relief to see all our
belongs waiting there for us. Even when we thought we would be stranded in Friedrichshafen,
God was faithful not only to get us safely to Munich, but to protect our luggage as well. :)
As we walked away, with smiles on our faces and our luggage
in tow, I couldn’t help but think how rare it must be to find that your lost
luggage has actually been waiting for you.
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| Mom and Dad in Munich |
