2024-09-29 47 11

Sun 29 Sep 2024 in 47,11: 47.9799051, 11.6292511 geohashing.info google osm bing/os kml crox

Location

In Sauerlach in a forest area

Participants

• Iqui

Expedition

Iqui: Because I only had time in the evening to get the hash, I decided to take the train bothways, where otherwise I would've thought about doing one way by bike. And because I didn't think of looking up the times where the train always leaves our station, I really had to run for it after quickly packing all my things and buying a ticket. But even with all my efforts, I didn't make it and had to wait another 20 minutes, because the train left early. When I arrived at the station (Donnersbergerbrücke), I assumed I could just take the S3 that was coming in a few minutes and head to my destination instantly. The only thing that made me wonder was the DB App telling me to take next S3 and not the one that was just about to come. Turns out only some S3 trains actually drive to Sauerlach and some just end one station before. So if I had brought my bike, this would have saved me even more time as I would've just driven the way from Deisenhofen to the hashpoint and I probably wouldn't even have missed the first train ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ . But when I got into the actual S3 which was supposed to get me to Sauerlach, the train driver informed us about something which meant that none of the above would have actually made a difference. He told everyone there was a problem with the overhead line and fixing it would possibly take a while. But other public transport options like a regional train or busses that would let me skip this sections were not an option because of my ticket, which only let me ride this exact line. I also only had 5€ with me, instead of the usual 10€ I like to carry around, and therefore was not able to buy another ticket. I also didn't bring my wallet because I was in such a hurry, so I didn't even have my "Streifenkarte" ticket on me. But after just 15 minutes the train driver once again got to us and told everyone we would start moving again soon, so everything was okay, right? Wrong, after everyone wondered for a few minutes why we didn't start moving, the train driver picked up his microphone again and told everyone: The overhead line now completely broke and it was hopeless that it would get fixed even in the next hour. And I probably would have waited, but my phone was already at around 15%, and most importantly literally the only chance of getting back home was taking the next S1 to Lohof, because every S1 after that suddenly got cancelled, so I really had no chance other than to head back home. So I went to the correct platform and waited with about 300 other people. This was already tense enough, as I didn't know if I would even get on the train with so many other people waiting, but then another info came in. Not even this train would arrive, so now I was essentially stuck in Munich.

With now only having 3% of my phone's battery left, I decided the smartest thing to do in the moment was to reach out to my parents while I still could, and ask if they could get me home by car. And pretty much instantly after the call had ended, my phone died, which is the reason why I don't have any photos after that point. I assumed it would take about half an hour for my mother to arrive there, so I had time walk around the area a bit. The overall vibe of the giant rail network, the huge buildings and the Frauenkirche in the background was incredible at that time of day (around 18:00). After some time I returned to the train station though, so I could be seen more easily, and waited for someone to come. But the more I waited the more I grew suspicious of if anybody would actually come, because at 19:00, still no one was to be seen. But because I enjoyed my time waiting so much, I didn't think so much about it. One thing that was funny were all the people coming from the currently ongoing Oktoberfest, going down to my platform in hopes of getting back home, just to be greeted with disappointment and thinking about what to do next. But as time went on, less and less people showed up and simultaneously a bigger percentage of them were drunk :). At 20:00, I was really confused on what was going on, but I had no way of finding out and the only viable solution still seemed to be waiting. But I thought about walking home in case nobody showed up till midnight (around 20km, I didn't know the way). There would have been the chance to walk to another train station nearby and take a combination of other trains to get home, but I obviously didn't know that. But even though it was getting quite cold outside, I enjoyed my time at the platform, it didn't really feel like waiting to me. Maybe I should spend more time at train stations :D. But at some point, the story had to end , and at around 21:30, from what I remember, my father came and brought me back home.

This Expedition had a sudden beginning, and an even more sudden end. There were so many possibilities this could have gone differently and where I could have reached the hash, who knows if I had made it if I had just charged my phone, brought my wallet or some money. They all would've given me so many more opportunities, but who knows. What is clear to me though, is that this has been my favourite expedition yet. I'll probably get the hash as a retro some time, maybe by bike, or by train, if the Deutsche Bahn lets me :).

Photos

• 

  the unknowing me in the S3 that was supposed to go to the hash
  

Achievements

Iqui earned the Train wreck consolation prize by failing to reach the (47, 11) geohash on 2024-09-29 because the Deutsche Bahn failed me.