We left for the Sloterdijk (slow-ter-dayk, maybe?) station bright and early, which gave us a full 45 minutes at the platform to sit and do nothing. The train arrived at the exact time specified online, which allows for about 4 minutes to load everyone before it takes off again. You have to be ready.
We got on and were quite gratified about its improvement over the Megabus; not only did the seats recline, but there was legroom, tray tables, and luggage racks to spare. We had a nice ride-- tickets checked, everything fine. The trouble started when I looked at our integrated Eurail schedule and discovered that we needed the passes for the next leg, starting at Bad Bentheim... and which hadn't been activated. You need someone official-looking to stamp them and put in the start/ end travel dates. The usher on the train said we had to do it at a ticket office for free or on the train itself for €50. The ticket window it was.
We pulled into Bad Bentheim already backpacked up, and then jogged/ bounced/ jazz-ran for the ticket window inside. We threw them at the surprised window person, who stamped them all in 3 minutes flat for us to jog back... while the train sat and waited patiently for another 15 minutes afterward.
The next interruption came when were told that there was a delay in the schedule due to a slow train in front of us, and we would be 20 minutes late. The conductor did apologize, but everyone got a little anxious and started looking at their itineraries. We ended up missing our connection (which we had reserved seats on) at Hanover by 15 minutes-- they couldn't hold it for us. German timeliness would not allow it.
We had to wait another 45 for the next train to Berlin, which everyone and their mother tried to get on, resulting in another delay while they politely asked people to get off the overcrowded train and wait for the next one. (We were having none of it, with people to meet and dinner reservations-- but that's what the rest of the Amsterdam backpackers were probably thinking, too.) It eventually left, and we crouched and sat and camped out on our claimed section of floor all the way to Berlin. Four hours.
So, the math:
20 minute delay to Hanover
45 waiting for the next Berlin connection
+ ~30 expectantly looking at other people to get off our train
3 tired backpackers with bruised coccyges arriving at 6:00 instead of 4:12 and very happy to be there.
Finn was there, smiley as always, and he herded us down the escalators and out to the nearest tram. We bumped our way on, backpacks preceding us, and spent the ride talking like the loud Americans we'd been trying to avoid looking like the whole week previous. We didn't care.
We followed Finn to his house, up stairs, and to his family's apartment. It's small in the common spaces but with large bedrooms, so the three of us fit well into Finn's room; we would be staying there, and Finn would camp out in the living room. There are plants everywhere and little balconies to put them on, with a surprising amount of greenery for the limited space. Our yard at home was severely put to shame by a square 10 feet of potted plants, plus ivy growing up the front of the building.
His father, Rolf, got home first and we all said hello and chatted. His English is great. He said Andie looked the same as she did the last visit, 4 years ago, and made her laugh. His mother, Rena, got home next. She's currently taking an English correspondence class and is trying really hard, so what she doesn't know how to say, we act out or ask Finn or just giggle over. (Giggles are my first language, I can understand her fine.)
They took us out for dinner at a walkable nearby restaurant, where we puzzled over the menu together (all the English ones had been given to an enormous table of South Korean tourists behind us). I tried the schnitzel.
Schnitzel is a large piece of meat. (Most of German cuisine involves large pieces of meat, we're learning.) Specifically, it's a slice of pork that has been breaded and fried. This comes with a large side of fries and a light beer you've never tried, either. It's a whale of a calorie count, but I did my best.
They walked us back to the house, all the while pitching activity ideas for our stay and admiring the gardens, and we turned in early.
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