Bus passes!

Let me start by saying that we have been “trying” to get a bus pass for the whole two weeks we’ve been here. But by “trying,” I mean “we keep saying out loud that we really should get one but we’re not sure when or how it works or what we can do with it when we get it.”

But yesterday, I did it!

I walked to the main bus station in town and busted out some pretty impeccable German (“where can I buy a bus pass? Here? Okay, can I buy a bus pass for my husband too?”) and then I gave them a tremendous amount of money.

I still can’t understand anyone when they speak. Swiss German (which is what people in Liechtenstein speak) is a different dialect than standard German. And no, I don’t mean it’s a different accent. Here’s a link explaining the difference if you have 13 minutes to feel bad for me.

But, everyone here can speak standard German because both Swiss and standard German are written the same way. Why? I don’t know.

Anyway, every time I speak, I’m speaking terrible standard German, and if they speak English they’ll just switch to English out of pity. But if they don’t speak English, they will usually still understand me – it’s just that I can’t understand them when they answer.

Back to the bus pass situation. After you give several hundred dollars to the bus station, you take your receipt to the town hall and you get a 50% refund. In cash. They just hand you hundreds of dollars in cash.

Of course, in between the bus station and the town hall (a three minute walk) the entire country shut down for a 90 minute lunch break.

So I was like, I’ll treat myself to lunch! In celebration of my success at the bus station!

And that’s when I learned how terrifying it is to order food here. Especially since I’m a picky eater. The restaurant was kind of Subway style (you build your own by saying which ingredients you want), except you have to tell them all the ingredients you want verbally and then they go build it later. So I said “no tomatoes please” and hoped for the best.

I also wandered around town looking at all the storefronts where I couldn’t go shopping because they were closed for lunch, and made a mental note of places I want to return to.

One of those places was a bookstore, which will surprise exactly nobody who follows me on Instagram. I did go in after lunch and the woman at the desk spoke flawless English. They also sold a handful of English language books, so of course I bought one. I also bought a German grammar book with pictures.

I knew that it would be hard at first here, but I was not prepared to feel so fucking stupid every time I leave the house. I have two masters degrees, but I can hardly string a sentence together.

it will definitely get easier (first real German lesson is Monday!) but if one more person says “how can I help you?” and I have to answer with “sorry I don’t speak German” I am going to cry in public.

Just kidding. I’ve already done that.

On to the good news / cute things about town!

The country has an interactive app that’s kind of a self-guided history tour. From this app I learned that there was a prince who reigned for 71 years without ever living in the country, but everyone loved him because he gave lots of money. I also learned that the national police force employs upwards of one hundred people.

And! I took the bus to a friend’s house, then to Derrick’s workplace, then home!

The bus here is really easy because there is exactly one main road that goes up and down the entire country. So you just figure out what general direction you are going and you get on that side of the street. Then you get on the first bus you see, and you ride it as far as you need. It stops almost every block so if you miss your stop you’re still walking distance from your destination.

There is a beautiful walk up the hill going west from our apartment. It starts with this view and goes up the side of the mountain. You can walk up on the sidewalk or you can go into the woods.

It rains a lot, but watching the clouds is fascinating. And almost every day has a few hours of sunshine.

Last but not least, Coach is learning the “quiet” command! Every single time I asked her to be quiet today, she listened! It is such a relief to know that this is possible. While I appreciate her efforts to protect this house and her family, I am so so so happy that she is learning not to bark. She’s also being a lot more affectionate than usual because I’m giving her two dozen treats per day.