We got into the central train station and I was planning to take the metro line one stop and then transfer to a 'suburban rail line'. This would put us a block's walk from the hotel. I had not been on a suburban rail line before, so I was curious how it would differ from the metro itself. I never got the chance to find out.
One of our group members overheard an announcement in the train station that a train workers' strike was scheduled to start at 4:00 pm (it was 2;30 at that time). We hustled to get moving. We got to the metro and our next stop, but discovered that all of the suburban train departures were already cancelled. Plan B, take the metro to the center city and ride the city tram to our hotel (we were planning to do this in reverse once we got to the hotel anyway). Fortunately I had my tram maps with me, but the challenge is always figuring out which corner to stand on to pick up the right tram in the right direction. With only one block's error, I got us to the tram stop and managed to get us off just a few blocks from the hotel. Mission accomplished.
To make all of this slightly more stressful, I was the victim of a theft in the metro station. I went to buy the group metro passes and a teen started trying to help me with the machine. I knew she was bad news and kept trying to push her away, but she was persistent. The usual deal is for her to ask for your change from the machine when you finish your transaction. I was alert, but not alert enough. I put in my euro notes and she distracted me while pushing the "cancel transaction" button. When my money came back out of the machine, her friend grabbed the notes and disappeared before I even saw what happenned. I was so angry. Welcome to a new city!
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