Alex is abroad in Munich, Germany, until August 2009.

After 27 hours of traveling, including eight which were spent on an overnight flight with a migraine and an annoying child kicking my seat, as if from a movie, I am happily unpacked in Munich.  I have spent the majority of this day finding my way around and shopping for dorm-related things.  The theme for my journey around the city on my first day is “clean and efficient.”

I was picked up from the airport by a friendly girl, a little older than me, named Bärbel (I was not sure if that was a girl or a boy name from the email, so it was good that she had a sign with my name on it), and we stood and waited for a few of the other program kids to show up.  After we had gathered two more, the four of us headed for the parking lot.  Coming from a suburb where the only means of transportation is a car, I assumed that we were headed to Bärbel’s lovely European vehicle.  False.  We went straight for the public bus.  The driver begrudgingly helped us load our luggage (maybe he was cranky because we had a ton of bags) into the bottom of the bus.  We spent about 15 minutes on this spotless bus, chatting in German and receiving our room assignments and keys.

At our stop we hopped off of the bus, walked half a block, and went down the coolest escalator ever into the U-Bahn.  This escalator can move both ways, and only moves when it knows that people are on it.  Bärbel put in a few coins and got tickets for the four of us, which were stamped with the time, date, and stop by a small ticket post.  We then waited in the amazingly clean subway station for the quiet and spotless train to arrive.  The train was wood paneled on the inside, with large, comfortable brown seats, and had no garbage or spills or, to be honest, anything that could be considered dirty.  Bärbel told us that this particular train was a very old one, and the newer ones are even quieter and more stylish.  After three stops we pushed the small levers that open the train doors, and walked right out into the Student City where we live.  I only had to walk about two minutes until I was at my dorm, and ready to get unpacked.

After realizing that there was a lot of little stuff that I needed to get for my dorm room (new sheets, ethernet cord, hand towel, etc.) I decided to venture out and try to navigate the city myself.  I knew that there were a lot of stores in the Marienplatz, which surrounds the Frauenkirche and is the central area of Munich.  I walked back down to the U-Bahn, bought my own ticket, and asked a man which track went to the Marienplatz.  He was friendly and pointed to the one that I was standing next to.  It took me about 15 minutes and six stops to get to the city center and go shopping.  I found my way back just as easily — the public transportation here is outstanding.  I am continually impressed with how well they save energy (the non-automatic doors, and reversing escalators), and still manage to keep a heavily used mode of transportation so clean.  It makes me realize just how much more work the CTA has to do.

Finally, a political note (sorry, but I have to).  The moment that I walked into the airport, all the TVs were talking about or showing clips of Barack Obama’s speech at the Democratic National Convention. The topic of conversation with Bärbel for the entire train ride, the topic of local news that I saw later and the front page of a popular German newspaper all concerned the presidential race. Europe is buzzing with talk of this election just as much as America.  Here is a wake up call for all of those who don’t think that the upcoming election matters, or their vote doesn’t count:  The rest of the world cares, so you definitely should, especially since you have the power to vote.

So far, everything is going well here in Munich, and I am glad that I have figured out how to get around.  Today’s mission is to find a grocery store.  I’ll have an update about life in my dorm next time.  Until then, tschüss!

Read Alex’s previous post or next post | Meet the rest of our abroad bloggers