I hate goodbyes. I guess not very many people like goodbyes, but I'm particularly horrible with them. Yesterday was the last day of class for the SDSU students. Out of the seven of us from SDSU, four flew home this morning and the other three are traveling. The rest of the class is here for another two weeks. Last night we had a going-away party. Out of 19 people, 17 were there during the game. The mood was pretty upbeat during the game, and especially right afterwards since Germany won. We did a little bar hopping and once people started going home for the night is when it got sad. There's a certain closeness that comes from study abroad programs. You spend most of your time with your classmates or your family and after a week you feel like you've known them for years. Your classmates share a special bond with you. They are the only other people in the world that know exactly what you're going though. They become your own little piece of America when you're homesick, even if they live in a completely different part of the US. It was particularly odd last night knowing that they were going home while I was now on my own.

Speaking of that, my plans are mostly set. Tomorrow (Saturday, June 21) I'm going to go to Hamburg and hope I can find a place to sleep or at least somewhere to store my bag. I have a bed reserved for Sunday night so I'll be golden by 2 p.m. Sunday. Monday (June 23) morning at 6:40 a.m. I board a train for Prague. Seven hours later I arrive in the capital city to 'Czech' it out (yay puns!). Here's where it gets tricky. The mighty Deutsche Bahn (the German train company) was unable to provide me with tickets from Prague to Vienna. Once I arrive in Prague, I need to purchase a train ticket to Vienna, and then find a way to let my friend Leah in Vienna know when to expect me. I'll hopefully be leaving Prague on Thursday, June 26 and arrive in Vienna that day. I'll be Vienna staying with a former classmate who's doing research until Monday June 30 when I'll travel to Innsbruck for a couple days. On Wednesday July 2 I'll come back to Heidelberg and be reunited with my suitcase and host family. I'll take the airport shuttle up to Frankfurt on the morning of July 3 and fly home from there! Here's a slightly easier way to read it:
Hamburg: June 21-23
Prague: June 23-26
Vienna: June 26-30
Innsbruck: June 30-July 2
Heidelberg: July 2-3
Frankfurt: July 3

Well, I need to pack and organize. Plus I just realized I bought the wrong ticket for my return trip to Heidelberg so I have to take care of that tomorrow. Ugh. It's always something.