Market Germany: A Real Rainy Weekend

Friday Night

Since I was leaving early for Muenster on Saturday, I didn't really do much on Friday night. I stayed in my room and read some books then went to bed, boring, I know.

And here's a sneak peak of one of my pictures from my "photo-a-day idea." I'm wearing the new Benteler polo that I got at work on Friday and my hair is a disaster from Friday's rain.

Sadly I can't say the weekend's weather was much better though. But I'll get to that soon enough!

Saturday

Waking up at 6 AM, I took a quick shower, got dressed and left the apartment to go to Muenster for the day. Honestly, I should have stayed in bed. Just like Friday, it rained all day Saturday. I biked to the train station and got on my train.

I guess there's some sort of construction or a line down, I could only get to Geseke, only three or so stops from Paderborn. From there I had to get on a bus to get to Bad Sassendorf. My plan was to take my bike along for the day but I couldn't take it on the bus so I had to leave it at the Geseke train station for the day. Great, so much for that plan ... I got on the bus to Bad Sassendorf and after 40 minutes I arrived at the train station. I went to the platform and the next train was running late so 45 minutes after scheduled departure, I finally left. I had to make another switch in Hamm (Westf) and caught a train to Muenster, finally arriving a bit after 11 AM.

Whoa, I was finally there and didn't even get lost on the way! I made a bee line into the city but it was a bit hard as the streets were literally full of bikes. I mean, look at all these bikes. All locked up on the sides of the street, maybe it was a good thing that I didn't take my bike with me, I don't know where I would have parked it!

Picasso, I finally realized I haven't
seen a photo of him before. He does
look a bit deranged.

This piece was made for the youth
in Germany after the unification.
Interesting.

Lots of doves in this second exhibit.

I even found the Picasso museum without issue. I bought a ticket, 8 euros to get in (and that was the student price!) I was a bit disappointed with it though. It was only one floor of his work and one floor of other artists from Germany. Don't get me wrong, it was interesting and I'm glad I went, but for 8 euros, I think it was a lot. Not to mention I had to pay 1 euro to lock up my bag in a small locker while I went to look at the museum. Actually, I got the euro back at the end when I took my things, I guess it was like a deposit.

Not sure about this
chicken, it was creepy
and had ruby's for
eyes making it look
crazed.

After I left the museum, I went further into the city and found what I can only assume is the "Dom" or the main cathedral. The Rathaus was right next to it too. I paid 1,50 euro and got to go inside to see the meeting room that was used. Like many buildings in Germany, the Rathaus was destroyed during WWII and was rebuilt but this room was saved somehow.

I think these are bloody thumb
prints next to the person's signature.

After I left the museum, I went into the cathedral and checked it out quickly. Not too much to see really, another church.

I then crossed the street to find the market that I wanted to see! Wow, so my train trip was really bad, but in the city I was finding everything I wanted to see! It was actually much bigger than I was expecting and the focus was mostly on fruits and vegetables but there were a few people selling purses and jewelry. A lot of vendors from bakery's and people selling food. I bought some "Pommes Frites", or french fries. They were cheap too, 1 euro and I was full.

I had a lot of time left before my train left and I wandered the city aimlessly. I found a lot of churches, like every other city in Germany. Germans are quite the religious people as a whole (not to totally stereotype) and most holidays are related to the church. Nothing is open on a Sunday because of the holiness of the day, or maybe its labor laws?

Blurred from the rain
sliding down the window.

The more I think about it,
I really should have bought
this. Even just as a souvenir.

I found a TK Maxx, it's the German version of TJ Maxx and I found this there. I really needed to fight the urge to buy it, but for 40 (maybe 50) euros and nowhere to wear it, I just couldn't justify it. It was quite cute too! I couldn't even try it on because I was sure I would buy it if I did and I don't need to be spending that much money on something I didn't need. BUT it would be humorous as a Halloween costume in the future or for when I go to Ocktober Fest. Hmm, maybe a trip back is necessary.

In case you couldn't tell, I didn't get to see the building I wanted to see on my visit. I think if I took my bike with me it would have been easier and I could have went on some bike trails outside the city. Didn't get to though. I'll need to revisit sometime before I go home!

I left the store without buying anything, a miracle if you ask me. That's when it started to absolutely pour down rain. Crap. I had an umbrella so I got it out of my backpack but it only did so much. It was at this point, still sour with the train trip and the disappointment that was the Picasso museum, that I was going home early. I went back to the train station (which I found without issue!) and into the "information center" for DB. I asked for a plan on how to get home and got on the next train into Hamm (Westf).

The trip back was a bit less eventful than the trip there but that was probably because I was expecting it this time. Luckily, I needed to stop in Geseke again so I could even pick up my bike, but I'm getting ahead of myself now.

I took the train from Hamm (Westf) to Soest. Got off at Soest and followed some fellow passengers to the bus. Waited another 40 minutes in the bus, arrived at Geseke, grabbed my bike, boarded the train and after a few minutes of waiting, I was on my way. One stop from Paderborn the ticket checker came and asked for my ticket. Seriously, this was the first time that day that anyone asked. She asked if the bike belonged to me and I said yes. Crap, I had to pay for a bike ticket and I hadn't. It wasn't too bad, I went to the self-serve kiosk and paid 2,20 euro to get home with it.

Finally, I was back in Paderborn and on my ride home, I ran into Haitham and Ahmed, the two Egyptian guys I know from the B.I.B. and we talked a bit before they had to catch a bus home. I rode home and met up with them there later. I was invited to a party later and I said sure (even got an invitation on Facebook.)

When I got to my room, it was still early so I decided to take a nap before we went out. I set an alarm for 10:30 PM and fell asleep. I woke up at 4:30 AM. Crap! I slept through the entire night. How did that happen? I was wide awake too so I've been up since then. I guess I needed the sleep anyways, right?

Sunday

It's been raining all day today so I've been inside relaxing. Nothing's open today anyways, right? I feel like the weekend was wasted but, hey, it was an adventure.

Since I had nothing to do, I took the plunge and finally decided to dye my hair. I am officially a red head. I'll post pictures soon since it's still wet and you can't tell what it really looks like. Lets hope for the best!