After a lovely weekend with Uli, Karin, and Anja, I caught a train from the Munich Hauptbahnhof (main train station) to Trento.
And that's when my adventures began.
Due to construction on tracks up to the Brenner pass between Austria and Italy, the train stopped in Innsbruck. Passengers were shuttled by bus to Brenner, where we boarded another train. This went off smoothly, apparently has been going on for some time, and I arrived on time in Trento.
Unfortunately, the person who was to meet me at the train station was not there. And I did not have his phone number.
It was late (approach 9 pm) and I was tired. Fortunately I have been to Trento many times, so I hiked over to the Hotel America, where I have stayed before.
Despite the name, many of the staff do not speak English. They do speak German, however, and it's pretty easy to ask for a room. (I probably could have pulled it off in Italian if necessary.) Luckily one was available and they did not overcharge me for it.
The next morning, I went to the bus station and caught the bus to the institute.
Alas, I caught the bus going in the wrong direction, and was treated to a 45 minute tour of the lovely mountain towns on the opposite side of the valley from where I was supposed to be.
I just stayed, stubbornly, on the bus, and eventually made it to the institute. (Also having been to Trento, I knew where I should be and when I was going in the wrong direction.) My colleague who should have met me apologized profusely, and I said since I had made a big mistake myself that morning I could not be very angry.
So now I have joined the summer school, which began last week, and am working with my colleagues to plan lectures, and working with students on their already-ongoing projects.
