Life is about the journey, and the journey here had several memorable moments. The flight to JFK in New York was overbooked before we started, with calls for volunteers to fly later (not an option for us as we had a connecting flight). Then, we were scheduled in a smaller (!) plan, necessitating an even more generous offer for folks to fly later. Finally all of our carry on bags had to be gate checked (no fee), as the overhead bins were really designed for a jacket or purse, not a small suitcase. Arriving at JFK, we actually went down the iconographic airplace (think 1960's old film deplaning) onto the tarmac and take a bus to the terminal. Yes, the airport was actually that busy. Luckily, our departing flight was in the same pod (the older section of JFK, where the gates are located around and outside of the shops and restaurants), so finding the gate was easy. The terminal was filled with so many people, it was a bit difficult to walk around, but we all had a snack, realizing it was past lunch time, and might be several hours until dinner would be served on the plane. We flew on a 767, which had plenty of overhead room for our suitcases, and a couple passengers were even able to take advantage of an empty row of three seats in the middle to stretch out and lie down to sleep. About 7 hours later, we arrived to a busy Frankfurt airport, where we again had to exit to the tarmac and get a bus to the terminal. Getting through customs was a breeze as we had only carry on luggage, so we were among the first to reach the controls.
Frankfurt airport is one of the world's largest, so it took quite a while to walk, escalate and tram to terminal one (we landed in terminal 2), where we again had to walk, escalate and zig-zag to the train station office to get out tickets to Ilmenau. Then we descended to the trains, about five levels lower, where we found the track for our ICE (very fast) train. Since we had about 1 1\2 hours, we got a sandwich and relaxed to wait for our train. We watched a train come in and be cleaned for its return trip to Dresden (not ours since it had a different number). We watched the people come, and eventually board. We watched the carefully orchestrated final safety check and communication between the train officials on the train and those at the station. We were a bit concerned that our train should be arriving shortly and this train had yet to depart. We watched the train depart, that train with the incorrect number, and seeing the LAST wagon of the train, noticed that that wagon had the correct number. We had missed our train. Back to the train station office.... Here a picture of our luggage waiting for the next train.
We simply had to wait one hour for the next train (sigh..the wonders of an efficient public transportation system). This ICE was running about 10 minutes late which is very unusual, so we missed our connecting train in Erfurt. That was ok also, since there is an hourly train to Ilmenau. We had the chance to look around the newly renovated Erfurt train station, complete with a vegetable and fruit stand, many different shops and even a McDonalds.
Of course, the train to Ilmenau was the once daily exception, in which you had to be careful which wagon you were in since half the cars split at the halfway point. Luckily, I had heard of this before, and knew we had to find out exactly where to sit so that we wouldn't end up in the wrong town (we got here with no further adventures). The counselors met everyone at the station and took us and luggage to the check in. We are staying the Ilmenau's "Jugendherberge" (youth hostel), which includes a full breakfast, a first for the program. Student dorms and visiting school children are full, necessitating. It is about a 20 minute walk to campus (and the computer rooms), about 1/2 hour walk to the grocery, where we went as soon as we settled to get provisions for the weekend (nothing is open on Sunday). After eating a light supper, we were all exhausted, and went to bed around 10 p.m., 4:00 on Saturday in the afternoon Cincinnati time.
On the right is a picture from the TV room of the Jugendherberge. Today, Sunday, we're getting settled, finding and using the computer center, and taking a walk about the town. Classes start Monday morning.
Yesterday was a busy day. First language classes in the morning, a quick lunch in the Mensa, followed by a walk to the train station and trip to Erfurt. Once in Erfurt, we had a 2 hour guided walking tour of the city, learning about its history. Erfurt lies on the most important east-west medieval trading path, the Via Regia, where it intersects with the north-south one. It was one of the wealthiest cities during the Middle Ages and Renaissance due to its production of the (only) blue dye for fabric, woad (Weid in German). The plant grew well in the area, was harvested, crushed, the formed into balls about the size of a fist. To extract the dye from the plant, ammonia was poured onto large tubs holding the balls, where it fermented for a couple weeks, then was dried and turned into powder. The clever part was how they got enough ammonia to do this: Free beer for urine. You might see the large round openings next to the door in the photo of such an establishment. When the owners were ready to begin fermentation, they would place wheat straw in the holes so that every one could see that there was free beer available. You might also notice the many small windows on top of the building. Those were to get the noxious gas out of the house. Erfurt is said to have been quite a smelly city.
Erfurt also has the largest trade bridge north of Italy. Craftsmen built shops with houses on top of the surface of the bridge (space was really at a premium). Although the houses have been rebuilt to make them larger (2 to 1, decreasing the number of houses by 1/2), people still live above the shop. 
