Personal tour

On Monday, I walked from the train to the conference with someone who had been there before. Since I was talking, I didn't pay attention to where I was going. So, on Monday evening when I left the conference, I had no idea how to get back to the train. Ooops. I saw another person who was lost and we headed off. In the wrong direction. We ended up walking and walking along the Rhine, which was pretty, and finally saw a German guy on his bike and asked directions to the train. The other lady took the train and I opted to continue walking.

The German guy decided to ride his bike next to me as I walked. We walked all the way into the old town and he pointed out a lot of interesting things about the city and told me good places to get coffee and such. It was an interesting walk. Once in Old town, he decided that I had to have an Altbier, old beer. So we did. Then I had to have a shot. So we did. The shot I didn't like so much. Then I took the train back to my hotel.

During our walk/tour, he kept telling me how long things would take. I laughed a couple times because he would say if I wanted to go X way, it would be 4 minutes longer than Y way but X is prettier. However, he usually said it like I would be wasting time if I went the longer, prettier way. He never estimated times walking, either. It was 4 minutes, 12 minutes, etc. At one point when I smiled at his telling me how long something would take, I think he got a bit confused.

The reactions of citizens has been interesting to me. The people seem quite friendly and willing to help others. Even those who don't speak English have tried to help me when I ask for directions. A lot of people seem to speak English, though. I think some look at it as an opportunity to practice their English skills. I don't mind because I have had some interesting conversations.