Day 151: Eighteen Hours by Train to Lisbon
At the family home in Hildesheim, Peter (A) asks his son Mika (B), who has a work trip to Lisbon coming up, why he seems so reluctant to go.
How to study this lesson 3 steps
- Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
- Read the dialogue line by line with its translation, until every line makes sense. Point at (or tap) a German word to see what it means.
- Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native German, for example from the Resources page. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it yet.
Dialogue
Audio recordings are on the way. For now, each lesson is the dialogue with its English translation.
Keys: E hide English · ← → previous / next day · point at a word to see its meaning
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A
Deine Mutter sagt, du würdest die Dienstreise nach Lissabon am liebsten absagen. Sonst reißt du dich doch um solche Reisen, was ist los?
Your mum says you'd rather cancel the business trip to Lisbon. You usually jump at trips like that, so what's up?
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B
Es liegt nicht an Lissabon, sondern daran, dass ich dafür drei Stunden im Flugzeug sitzen müsste. Allein beim Gedanken daran kriege ich Herzrasen.
It's not Lisbon, it's the fact that I'd have to sit on a plane for three hours to get there. Just thinking about it sets my heart racing.
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A
Das kenne ich nur zu gut. Bis vierzig bin ich keinen Meter geflogen, deshalb ging es im Urlaub immer an die Ostsee.
I know that feeling only too well. Until I was forty, I didn't fly a single metre, which is why our holidays were always on the Baltic.
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B
Ernsthaft, und ich dachte, ihr wärt einfach Ostsee-Fans! Wie bist du die Angst denn losgeworden?
Seriously? And there was I thinking you were just big fans of the Baltic! So how did you get over the fear?
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A
Indem ich ein Seminar gegen Flugangst gemacht habe, mit einem Piloten und einer Psychologin. Zum Abschluss sind wir nach München geflogen, samt Turbulenzen.
By doing a course for nervous flyers, with a pilot and a psychologist. At the end we flew to Munich, turbulence and all.
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B
Und das hat gereicht? Ich habe jetzt schon Angst davor, dass mich beim Einsteigen alle anstarren, weil ich zittere.
And that was enough? I'm already dreading everyone staring at me as I board because I'm shaking.
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A
Geholfen hat vor allem die Atmung: vier Sekunden ein, sechs aus. Und man gibt die Kontrolle ab, indem man sich klarmacht, dass vorne ein Profi sitzt.
What helped most was the breathing: four seconds in, six out. And you hand over control by reminding yourself that there's a professional up front.
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B
Das probiere ich nächstes Mal, versprochen. Diesmal habe ich nämlich schon den Zug gebucht, achtzehn Stunden pro Strecke.
I'll try that next time, I promise. Because this time I've already booked the train: eighteen hours each way.
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A
Achtzehn Stunden, und das zahlt deine Firma? Dann melde ich uns beide im Herbst zum Seminar an, eine Auffrischung schadet mir auch nicht.
Eighteen hours, and your company's paying for that? Then I'll sign us both up for the course in the autumn: a refresher wouldn't do me any harm either.
Your progress is saved in this browser only, with no sign-up. The course page and the menu show where you left off. Well done! Next up: Day 152: A Learning Agreement for Seville
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