Yet another grey gloomy morgen (Morning).. Boy it feels like Fall already! But I'm excited.. It's my first day at German Course.. I need to leave by 7:45AM.. not much time to laze around in the morning. Almost immediately I decide to skip the morning walk  Thank Goodness we have Cats instead of Dogs!!

As I'm walking to the Bus stop, I see the bus pulling into the bus-stop. I start running & wonder why the bus has arrived earlier than expected. The driver greets me with a Gutä Morgä. I sit down & start to read the News tidbits being displayed on the screen. Suddenly the list of bus stops catches my eye.. Scheisse!!! This is not the direct bus. It goes via Ennetbürgen.. If i stay on board, I'll miss the connecting train from Stans. I get down at the next stop fervently hoping that the direct bus will come after. I don't know enough German to ask the driver. I glance at the bus timings on the bus-stop.. there isn't any other bus listed.. Ah Well!! In a couple of minutes, the direct bus comes by & i hop on breathing a sigh of relief! It actually was right on time... if only i hadn't gotten into the earlier bus. I've gotta trust that Swiss Public transport runs like their Watches!

I walk over to the platform at Stans Bahnhof. The train arrives in a few minutes. I look around the coach as i board the train -- A tibetan looking lady is reciting some sacred mantras and counting prayer beads. A serious looking office manager reading his paper, some college kids chatting brazenly, a couple of old ladies talking. One of them is wearing a lot of make-up, a few girls glued to their smartphones. One girl reads the newspaper. .. No smiles anywhere.. What's up??  I sit next to the tibetan lady and as she looks at me, I smile. She smiles back continuing her prayers. I'm soon lost in the changing scenery outside.. The train arrives on the dot (8:32) at Luzern. The klubschule is a short walk along the Lake. The usual striking alpine panoramic background is hidden behind grey/white haze. Brr.. it's a bit fresh this morning. Even the swans are huddled together near the wooden chapel bridge.

I walk up to the reception and am told that our room is upstairs and we have to wait for the teacher. She arrives at 8:50 and opens the door. I walk inside. There's 13 of us: 3 from Italy, 1 each from Nepal, Syria, Canada, Croatia, HongKong, China, Macedonia, Tanzania and Serbia. Quite a multicultural bunch.. Since there's no common language that we all speak, the medium of communication is going to be Deutsch.. kooooooooolllllll... Luckily the teacher is good & she keeps the interest alive. As we go through introductions and the German Alphabet, I'm glad to have enrolled in the class. It's quite fun! During the break i find out that the Canadian girl is here during the summer break with her Boyfriend who's from Switzerland. The Italian girl has moved to Swiss a month back because her husband is working in Swiss. I wonder what brings the rest of them here. What are their stories?? Before i realize it, it's almost time to leave. The teacher (lehrerin) gives us homework. Read/learn alphabet aloud, spellings & recap of what we learnt: Introductions -- Who, Where from, Where now.

We're taking the cats for vaccination today, so i walk back to the train immediately after the class ends. The stories from the rest of the classmates will have to wait for another day.

It's lunchtime & the train is full of tourists & backpackers. This time i pick the direct bus from Stans and am happy to walk back home and try my newly learnt German words (neu erlernten Wörter) on my German speaking husband