After checking on Google maps, it seems that @Botulism Bob and @swguthrie are both correct. The problem seems to lie in the fact that the statue does not have an address, which makes sense since it isn’t a building. From what I see, it is next to a park bench that is located between these two addresses, so going to either would bring you within eyeshot of the statue
A spare is a slot in your course schedule where you have no assigned class. It is supposed to be used as study time, usually in the library.
Since this is a comic strip and the situation must be used to set up the storyline, I have ignored the error. A spare would not be the first class of the morning, because the first class, also known as homeroom, is when the teachers take attendance for the day and send a list of absentees to the office to have a list quickly printed up and distributed to the rest of the teachers so when they take attendance in their classes during the rest of the day, they know if a student is away that day or just skipping their class.Also, spares usually only end up on a student’s schedule toward the last year or two of high school, usually because they have already taken and passed all the mandatory subjects (such as History, Geography, etc.) that are done within a year or two and only have subjects left that span the five years in high school (Languages, Mathematics, etc.) and aren’t interested in any other classes that may be available.
So, a first-year student shouldn’t have a spare; if they do, it would not be the day’s first class. FYI, I am Canadian but I do not live in Ontario, so perhaps they did things differently there back then.
I realize you only asked what a spare was, but this detail has been bugging me since the story arc began. I hope I didn’t make it confusing with my above-and-beyond explanation. ☺
Even though you don’t see many people wearing them these days, I would have thought some commenters here would be old enough to recognize a trench coat when they see one. I have to admit, the colourist did a bad job on it, but it has all the telltale signs; such as wide, tapered lapels, epaulets on the shoulders and a belt to cinch it closed on those blustery days/evenings.
I can’t say how often it happens to others, but it has happened to me enough times to finally learn to place the rake on the ground with the tines facing downward. That way, when I step on it, all it does is bury the tines into the grass (or dirt).
I Googled “floating on the rhine to get home” and it came up with several stories and YouTube videos about this. Try doing this search and you will wonder no more. ☺
After checking on Google maps, it seems that @Botulism Bob and @swguthrie are both correct. The problem seems to lie in the fact that the statue does not have an address, which makes sense since it isn’t a building. From what I see, it is next to a park bench that is located between these two addresses, so going to either would bring you within eyeshot of the statue