The Problem with Locked Doors

I came home on Friday and noticed that Dan's car was parked in it's usual spot- that was a pleasant surprise, since I wasn't expecting him to be home until later. His bookbag and a few other belongings were placed at the top of the stairs, right in front of our doorway.
'Oh, he's getting ready to leave,' I thought to myself.
I opened the door and walked inside, expecting to find Dan at his desk, or standing in the kitchen. He wasn't in either of those places, so I spent the next 5-10 minutes searching the apartment and balconies for him. Then I noticed his wallet and keys on the countertop.

What in the world had happened? I immediately called his phone.


***IN HIS OWN WORDS***

I have a funny story. I was on my way to work, I had everything I needed: phone, lunch, wallet, keys... wait, where are my keys? Yeah, that's the question I asked after I had already closed the door. And the doors here lock immediately. So I couldn't get back inside, I couldn't leave to go to work, I had to make due outside the house for hours on end. It was 7:00 (am) then and Lynette could be home anywhere from 3:00 to 7:00 (pm). So, at least eight hours, and --holy God-- up to twelve. All this without toilet facilities, refrigeration, computer or television.

So I did the first obvious thing. Call Lynette's office. But wait! The number doesn't work? The German-accented voice on the phone informs me that this number doesn't exist. Wunderbar! I'm definitely out of luck now. I call in to work, and naturally they have a good laugh. So I spent the whole day out in the wilderness, away from the comforts of our modern age.

What did I do? I walked. A lot. I estimate, and this is no exaggeration, that I logged a total of six hours walking. My poor legs were liquified when I was liberated from my torment; And I also got sunburned, I kid you not! Here in Germany, where the temperature did not exceed 75 degrees all day. I walked everywhere. I went to the Heide, a nature preserve just outside of town, and spent two hours walking all over it. This is actually the highlight, the silver lining in an otherwise miserable day. It's a beautiful place, and in a future post I'll have to demonstrate that fact with pictures.

The rest of the day involved wandering around Mehlingen (the people must have thought I was a weirdo), and an ill-advised walk to the next town over, where I thought I'd catch a train to Kaiserslautern. I missed the train, and the next one wasn't for an hour, and Lynette could've been home by then. I went home. One hour to walk there. One hour to walk back. I also slept outside our front door on the landing. Surprisingly comfortable, but still lacking dignity. Well, you do what you have to do, right?

Lynette finally made it home around 4:30. I was happy, she was sympathetic. I drank half a bottle of wine that night and just collapsed.

-Dan

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OH MON DIEU!

In other news...we are planning a trip to Paris next week. Can't wait!