Today, I made it to my destination city: Düsseldorf. Esther's parents are gracious enough to let me crash here (and use their Internet until all odd hours of the night) until I find a place. Wonderful as it is (and, trust me, I do not take their hospitality for granted), it will be a great stress off of my mind and a huge sense of relief when I can finally set my bags down in one spot and call a place home. Even if I only call it home for a month, it will be relaxing to stop feeling like an eternal guest.
The search for a telephone was interesting. Felix was kind enough to shuttle me back and forth three separate times to the mall to acquire a mobile connection to the world. Here's the summed-up version:
- Attempted to use phone from last trip to Germany. Because not reloaded in two years, SIM card unreadable.
- Trip #1 to the mall: Prepaid SIM card I'd chosen to buy does not function in old phone, as phone is SIM locked. Go to Vodafone, where they tell me I'd have to go back to the shop at which it was purchased in Trier to get an unlock code. (I call bullshit, but I digress.)
- Go back to Felix's and pick up my American phone and Felix's mother's old phone to try. Obtain an unlock code from AT&T, which, together with an Internet tutorial, successfully lead me to unlock my phone.
- Trip #2 to the mall: Mobile provider decides to tell me now that I need a passport to purchase a damn SIM card.
- Go back to Felix's and get passport.
- Trip #3 to the mall: Finally successfully obtain SIM card for 15€, and it functions in my phone.
- Go to Media Markt to load money on my phone and find same SIM card for 5€, with no need for a passport.
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