Lesson #3: If time permits, hit the unbeaten path.

Wiesbaden High School

It's hard to resist the 'sights' - ya know, that list that a lot of us have of the must-see, can't-miss spots of the places we go.  In planning my trip, I bought guidebooks and perused online travel websites to build this list.  The one tough one was finding things to do in Wiesbaden, my first city-stop.  I had to go there - the meeting at the DoD's school on the US military base there was the whole reason for the trip, but it's not a big tourist spot.  In fact, Rick Steve's book, my travel Bible through this whole thing, said to skip it altogether...wait, WHAT?  Skip it?  My first trip to this country, and a travel writer whom I respect very much says to not waste my time on the one place I absolutely have to go?  Besides thermal baths, which I wasn't interested in this time around, I had no ideas after visiting the school.

It turns out though, visiting a place that is not known for its attractions actually gives you a much better picture of what daily life is like for the locals.  You also have a bigger chance of being pleasantly surprised.  I have to admit, there has been more than one occasion where I've been underwhelmed by a sight after seeing it so many times in pictures an on travel shows.  

If you don't know what you're looking for though, there are new possibilities waiting to amaze the wanderer without expectations.  After my meeting, I walked back to town (the base is just outside of the city).  I took some side streets, wandering into some residential neighborhoods.  Walked to the city center by looking to the skyline and heading toward the highest church steeples.  

I passed through a children's park.  Heard church bells chime at noon.  I found a local pizza restaurant run by Italians, frequented by the local laborers and office workers at lunchtime.  Walked through a grocery store to find treats for my sister and saw the glorious cheese section while at it.  

I got caught in the rain without an umberlla.  Went shopping in a mall.  In short, I lived the regular day of a Wiesbadener with a day off from work.  It was delightful, relaxed, and full of surprises!  I think the things I didn't plan for surprised me more than the ones I did, and it allowed me for at least one day to skip being the outsider and imagine this as my life for real.