But, we arrived in Stuttgart, got some currywurst quickly, and after a good deal of confusion, found a taxi. The taxi ride was my favorite part of the whole trip, actually, because I had a conversation with the driver the whole time in German, and I understood almost everything he said, and apparently got my points across well enough for him to understand them. He said we were the first Americans he'd met who were trying to learn German, and that we were doing very well. We talked a lot about differences between America and Germany, and how he (and I) likes American people, but not American politics. He asked me all about my opinions on the Iraq War and President Bush and I think I articulated myself well enough. He was apparently Iranian but had lived in Germany for a long time, with a sister in Texas, so he knew a lot about everything. It was a really good conversation, and he loved us, and I just felt myself grinning the whole time.
We got to the theatre very early, but it was a huge complex that had way more than just a theatre, so we settled down for a little while with Apfelstrudel and Gluhwein. I bought a shirt that says "Wicked - Stuttgart" (I wanted one with some German lyrics, but they didn't exist).
We were way in the back for the show, but it didn't matter, because it was fabulous. I understood enough of it, but I'm not sure if that's because I've seen it twice in English or actually knew what they were saying. A lot of the song translations were strange and funny, but worked well enough. "Popular" becoming "Heiss geliebt" was an especially interesting one. But, the two main women had incredible voices and were great for their roles. The set was exactly the same, except somehow the giant dragon looked creepier. Seeing it in another language reinforced my somewhat-obsessive love for musical theatre, because it's universal no matter what, and still got a standing ovation over here in Deutschland.
Getting back was fine, we just had to sprint through the train station and hope that our train went directly to Schwaebisch Hall, because we were a little unsure about that. Then we ended up at Schwaebisch Hall-Hessental at midnight, in the rain, with no taxis and no other people. My cell phone decided to work for once, and I called for a Taxis in broken-exhausted-German that probably sounded terrible, when one magically appeared before us. Took us back to the institute, headed to the Wohnheim, that was the end of that adventure.
So, I've been to Stuttgart twice in the past week, and I love it. It's a beautiful city, I'm a big fan of the Schlossgarten, and sometimes at night creepy swans approach you.
I just went for a long walk along the river, attempting to find some ruins that I'd heard about and failing, but getting a lot of exercise and a lot of out-of-breath up a huge hill. And tonight will perhaps contain a puppet show of Doktor Faust...
This weekend I meet my tandem partner, actually an entire tandem family, which I am excited/nervous about. But all their emails are fun, they apparently love Americans and can't wait to speak English with me, while I try to practice my Deutsch.
The upcoming break has now turned into a massive tour of Germany, with a long stay in Berlin and some trips into Poland. I am excited.
Auf wiedersehen.
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