Valencia
I was only in Valencia for a short time, but I liked it. You'd think I would have learned after the Warsaw experience, but I almost missed my flight again. I woke up as early as I could force myself to on Saturday morning, at 6:15. Since I hadn't gone to bed until late the night before, I only got about three and a half hours of sleep. I got lost walking through Aachen to the train station. Then, when I got to Cologne, I couldn't figure out how to get to the airport. I had about thirty minutes before check-in for my flight closed. I took the same train as I did when I was heading to the airport to fly to Warsaw a few weeks ago. But the sign showed an asterisked message that said the train was ending at a certain stop. I didn't know where that was, but I sure hoped it was after the airport. Nope. The train went one stop past the main train station where I boarded; then an announcement told everyone to exit. Uh oh. Now what should I do? I wandered to the street and asked a bus driver the best way to the airport. "Take the S-bahn," she replied. The S-bahn is the train I'd just gotten off of; that definitely wasn't gonna get me to the airport! Now I only had fifteen minutes! So I hailed a taxi. The ride was a long one. I got there only two minutes before check-in closed. I payed thirty stinkin' euros for that. Luckily, this time, there was a very short line. I only had two people in front of me. And the airline wasn't extremely strict; I was allowed to check in a few minutes late.
I was happy with the flight. They fed us! Everyone got a small sandwich and a drink. And they passed out Mars bars at the end of the flight. And they had video screens. At the start of the flight, they showed a bunch of short, humorous clips. Some were commercials, but some were just little skits that made you laugh. Then, the screen showed a GPS-looking thing that displayed where the plane was. It gave altitude, outside temp, and ground speed data. We were going over 800 km/hr at one point!
It was a clear day so I could look out the window and see a lot. As we crossed the border into Spain, we flew over snow capped mountains. Valencia is right on the coast; I looked for the Mediterranean Sea but couldn't see it.
After we landed, I walked to my hostel. At the check-in desk, I gave them my name. The woman working couldn't find me on the list. We discovered I'd reserved the wrong night. That's what I get for booking it at 2 in the morning when my brain isn't functioning properly. Luckily, they had one spare bed that night, and I cancelled my accidental reservation for the next night.
Then I got ready to go to the beach! I stopped at a grocery store to pick up some snacks and a drink. Then I took the metro. I met a girl who's studying abroad in Valencia; she told me how to get to the beach. I had to switch from the metro to an above-ground tram at one point, but I finally made it. There it was: the Mediterranean Sea, just asking to be swum in. The water was very warm. I got a little taste; it was salty. I keep forgetting there's such a thing as salt water; I'm so used to the fresh water lakes in Michigan.
Then I just laid on the beach. I was so drowsy, I fell asleep. It was a few hours before I could find the energy to move again. Then I walked up and down the beach. I saw some people in a volleyball competition, except, it wasn't normal volleyball. The players were only using their chests, heads, or feet to hit the ball. They served by kicking it off a mound of sand. It was the weirdest thing. And, I did my usual: shopping! There were outdoor booths along a road near the beach. It was so hot walking around. But it felt so good; that's how summer's supposed to feel.
That evening in the hostel, everyone was getting dressed up and ready to go out. I think most of the people staying there had to be like 18 years old. I almost joined some people and went out, but I was too tired.
The next day, I went to the City of Arts and Sciences. It's probably the main tourist attraction in Valencia; it has a science museum, IMAX theater, an aquarium, and more. I actually didn't go inside. I just saw the buildings, which all had very interesting, futuristic looking architecture. I didn't have time to check out inside. I'd slept in and my flight was at 3:00. Then, my entire afternoon and into the evening was spent travelling back to Aachen. The flight may only take two and a half hours, but you have to make it to the airport, wait around for a while, and when you get off the plane, you still have to go from Cologne to Aachen. This time, taking the train from the airport in Cologne to the Hauptbahnhof, I didn't buy a ticket. I stood in front of the machine debating, but I decided I wouldn't waste my two euros, thirty cents. It's only a fifteen minute train ride; what are the odds someone's gonna be checking tickets? You can probably guess why I'm mentioning this failure to buy a ticket. I was peacefully sitting in my seat minding my own business when I saw them--the ticket police! Two train personnel wearing blue uniforms were making their way down the aisle toward me. Aahh! I didn't have a ticket! What would I do!?
I thought about walking down the aisle in the opposite direction. But running away would be too obvious. I decided I'd play the I'm-a-clueless-American card. "We need tickets to ride? Oh, I had no idea..."
I'm a terrible liar though, and I had a feeling it wouldn't work. As I was practicing in my head, the train began slowing down. We were stopping somewhere--not the Hauptbahnhof where I wanted to be, but who cared? I could escape! I stood at the doors impatiently; they took so long to open! Finally, I stepped off onto the platform and heaved a sigh of relief. If you get caught riding the train without a ticket, it's a 40 euro fine. That was too close a call. I learned my lesson; from now on, I'm buying a ticket.
I could see the Cologne cathedral from where I was, which I know is near the Hauptbahnhof, so I headed in that direction. It was raining and cold. I was still wearing shorts from being in the hot Valencia weather. I finally made it to the main train station. The next train to Aachen didn't leave for another 45 minutes or so. By the time I made it back to Aachen and took a bus to my dorm, it was like 8:30.
I had really wanted to go to Spain at least once during my time in Europe since Spanish is the language I studied in high school. I'm glad I went, though I never really tried to speak it. But my background in Spanish did help. Not too many things are printed in English there. Catalan is actually the main language in Valencia, though numerous people speak Spanish also. It's just like Belgium; they already have to print everything in two languages (French/Dutch in Belgium, Catalan/Spanish in Valencia) so you're not gonna see English too often. But because I knew so much Spanish vocabulary, I could find my way around. It was cool.
I was happy with the flight. They fed us! Everyone got a small sandwich and a drink. And they passed out Mars bars at the end of the flight. And they had video screens. At the start of the flight, they showed a bunch of short, humorous clips. Some were commercials, but some were just little skits that made you laugh. Then, the screen showed a GPS-looking thing that displayed where the plane was. It gave altitude, outside temp, and ground speed data. We were going over 800 km/hr at one point!
It was a clear day so I could look out the window and see a lot. As we crossed the border into Spain, we flew over snow capped mountains. Valencia is right on the coast; I looked for the Mediterranean Sea but couldn't see it.
After we landed, I walked to my hostel. At the check-in desk, I gave them my name. The woman working couldn't find me on the list. We discovered I'd reserved the wrong night. That's what I get for booking it at 2 in the morning when my brain isn't functioning properly. Luckily, they had one spare bed that night, and I cancelled my accidental reservation for the next night.
Then I got ready to go to the beach! I stopped at a grocery store to pick up some snacks and a drink. Then I took the metro. I met a girl who's studying abroad in Valencia; she told me how to get to the beach. I had to switch from the metro to an above-ground tram at one point, but I finally made it. There it was: the Mediterranean Sea, just asking to be swum in. The water was very warm. I got a little taste; it was salty. I keep forgetting there's such a thing as salt water; I'm so used to the fresh water lakes in Michigan.
Then I just laid on the beach. I was so drowsy, I fell asleep. It was a few hours before I could find the energy to move again. Then I walked up and down the beach. I saw some people in a volleyball competition, except, it wasn't normal volleyball. The players were only using their chests, heads, or feet to hit the ball. They served by kicking it off a mound of sand. It was the weirdest thing. And, I did my usual: shopping! There were outdoor booths along a road near the beach. It was so hot walking around. But it felt so good; that's how summer's supposed to feel.
That evening in the hostel, everyone was getting dressed up and ready to go out. I think most of the people staying there had to be like 18 years old. I almost joined some people and went out, but I was too tired.
The next day, I went to the City of Arts and Sciences. It's probably the main tourist attraction in Valencia; it has a science museum, IMAX theater, an aquarium, and more. I actually didn't go inside. I just saw the buildings, which all had very interesting, futuristic looking architecture. I didn't have time to check out inside. I'd slept in and my flight was at 3:00. Then, my entire afternoon and into the evening was spent travelling back to Aachen. The flight may only take two and a half hours, but you have to make it to the airport, wait around for a while, and when you get off the plane, you still have to go from Cologne to Aachen. This time, taking the train from the airport in Cologne to the Hauptbahnhof, I didn't buy a ticket. I stood in front of the machine debating, but I decided I wouldn't waste my two euros, thirty cents. It's only a fifteen minute train ride; what are the odds someone's gonna be checking tickets? You can probably guess why I'm mentioning this failure to buy a ticket. I was peacefully sitting in my seat minding my own business when I saw them--the ticket police! Two train personnel wearing blue uniforms were making their way down the aisle toward me. Aahh! I didn't have a ticket! What would I do!?
I thought about walking down the aisle in the opposite direction. But running away would be too obvious. I decided I'd play the I'm-a-clueless-American card. "We need tickets to ride? Oh, I had no idea..."
I'm a terrible liar though, and I had a feeling it wouldn't work. As I was practicing in my head, the train began slowing down. We were stopping somewhere--not the Hauptbahnhof where I wanted to be, but who cared? I could escape! I stood at the doors impatiently; they took so long to open! Finally, I stepped off onto the platform and heaved a sigh of relief. If you get caught riding the train without a ticket, it's a 40 euro fine. That was too close a call. I learned my lesson; from now on, I'm buying a ticket.
I could see the Cologne cathedral from where I was, which I know is near the Hauptbahnhof, so I headed in that direction. It was raining and cold. I was still wearing shorts from being in the hot Valencia weather. I finally made it to the main train station. The next train to Aachen didn't leave for another 45 minutes or so. By the time I made it back to Aachen and took a bus to my dorm, it was like 8:30.
I had really wanted to go to Spain at least once during my time in Europe since Spanish is the language I studied in high school. I'm glad I went, though I never really tried to speak it. But my background in Spanish did help. Not too many things are printed in English there. Catalan is actually the main language in Valencia, though numerous people speak Spanish also. It's just like Belgium; they already have to print everything in two languages (French/Dutch in Belgium, Catalan/Spanish in Valencia) so you're not gonna see English too often. But because I knew so much Spanish vocabulary, I could find my way around. It was cool.
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