This blog is gathering cobwebs, so I suppose I should write something, yeah?
Almost a month ago I decided to go visit my friend Erin and her boyfriend Niko up in Aachen (right on the border of Germany and Belgium). As I sat in the Frankfurt Hbf waiting for a train that came 40 minutes late, I ended up meeting a musician from Belgium. He looked about in his 60's and had a well-sized Belgium belly and a big bushy mustache. Turns out he plays the stand up bass for a jazz band and teaches at a music conservatory in Brussels. We talked a lot about jazz and Big Band music and their influence on modern artists. I probably shouldn't say modern because the only musicians we could really trace direct routes from jazz and Big Band at the time were from the 60's, 70's, and 80's. We ended up sitting together on the train and passed the time talking about different instruments we've played and he got a good laugh when I told him I played the stand up bass when I was 13 and had to stand on a chair because I was so short. It was fun to watch him grade the sheet music of some of his pupils. He seemed a little excited to be using his red pen... I don't know if his students will favor him quite as much when they get their homework back.
When we pulled into Cologne, he pointed out the cathedral to me and we ended up in a long discussion about architecture which lead to Prague which lead to Mozart which lead back to jazz music which somehow lead to different flavors of toothpaste. When we reached the Aachen Hbf, we shook hands and exchanged email addresses for a possible visit to Brussels in the spring time. At this time i'd like to thank good old Jean-Louis for making that 5 hour train ride seem like nothing at all.
Erin and Niko came to meet me at the Hbf and pretended to not recognize me because I wasn't wearing my red moccasins (for those of you not in the know, they are a defining item in the cartoon character that is my physical appearance). Unfortunately, due to the weather, I had to lay my moccasins aside for a little while. You'd think i'd be able to wear them, holes and all, in the snow... but my hobbit feet simply aren't as tough as they used to be. Anyway, we went out for dinner and cocktails and then went to their apartment to sleep, seeing as how it was late at night by this time. The next morning, Niko went off to study for his exams while Erin and I chilled in the apartment and caught up on all of the random nothings we had both been doing.
We set off to check out the Aachener Dom (another one of those jaw-dropping buildings). We sat down inside and just talked about what young folk in their twenties talk about. After a bit more walking outside we met up with Niko to take a breather and drink some tea. Erin and I went out for some awesomely greasy Turkish food and then went back to the apartment to make sure everything was in order for Niko's surprise birthday party. The birthday party was definitely something to behold... it was a small group of about ten of us. The next morning we took inventory of the alcohol to find that together we had consumed 52 bottles of beer and 3 bottles of champagne. I can tell you now that I only contributed to a bottle and a half of champagne and 3 beers. It's safe to blame the rest on the German men.
The next day Erin and I did a bit more wandering and we ended up in a bookstore (yeah, great... more clothes i'll have to throw out of my suitcase when I pack to come home). I was in one of those moods where I wanted everything so I honestly couldn't decide. I wasn't walking out of that store with nothing, though. I am physically and mentally incapable of doing such a thing. I decided to randomly pick a genre (plays) and was going to work from there. Then the thought occurred to me that I would love to read the works by Euripides in German. Sadly, I couldn't find anything by him so I settled with getting a volume of plays by Aeschylus. We all took our findings up to the cafe on the third floor and sat around talking about linguistics, anthropology, and all of that other bookstore talk. We went back to the apartment and had dinner and settled on the couch to read our new books and drink tea. Niko had to go to bed early so he could get up and study in the morning, so I went out on the balcony and spent some quality self time looking out at the fantastic view of the Aachen skyline.
I took a seat with my ipod and turned on some Bulgarian folk music (if you don't know this by now, I have a very strange repertoire of folk music from around the world). As I sat there and looked up at the stars (something I hadn't done for a long time given the constant clowdy appearance of Marburg), I had one of those moments where you find yourself completely satisfied. I realized completely that I love being in Germany, and that I don't want to be anywhere else at this time in my life. The next morning I went back to Marburg.
Deutsche Bahn Fail:
I've honestly never had too many problems with traveling by train here in Germany. I've had trains be late by 5 or 10 minutes, honestly nothing quite too damaging to the travel arrangements..... however, getting to Berlin was a nightmare.
I worked up three travel plans just in case the train was late or I missed a connection.
Plan A:
Marburg -> Kassel -> Hannover (meet up with Erin) -> Berlin Hbf (meet Emily).
Plan A required that everything be exactly on time, but we ended up stopping on the tracks for 10 minutes, so it was to be Plan B.
Plan B:
Marburg -> Kassel -> Berlin Hbf -> Berlin Suedkreuz (meet Emily).
Plan B ended up getting scratched out as well because the train decided to stop for 30 minutes outside of Kassel. Hurray.
Plan C:
Wait in Kassel for 43 minutes in negative degree temperatures -> Berlin Spandau (meet Emily).
Plan C ended up working perfectly. Though I was not a happy camper, but Karma decided to bless me with a table seat all to myself (a rare item) so I turned on Patti Smith and enjoyed the ride. I was writing in my journal as I traveled and here are some excerpts EXACTLY how they were written:
(15.20): There is a lady staring at me. She has been for the last 5 minutes.
(15.35): Staring lady is still keeping her gaze, I feel like I should throw my pen cap at her to see if she is even alive.
(15.55): SUCCESS! The sun is in Staring Lady's eyes now and she can stare no more! Muahahahahahahaha!!!
(16.11): OH MY GOD SHAGGY BABY COWS RUNNING OUTSIDE THE TRAIN!!!
(16.18): Staring lady resumed staring at me because the sun has set. Damn.
(17.00): The train just stopped because a beer truck tipped over next to the tracks. I can imagine the dialogue of the driver and his co-workers, "STOP ZE TRAIN! A BEER TRUCK HAS TIPPED OVER! WE MUST MOVE AT A STEADY 1 KM PER HOUR WIZ OCCASIONAL STOP TO MOURN ZE LOSS OF ZE BEER!" I wonder how many people fell when they slammed on the breaks. I think the Fates don't want me to get to Berlin judging from today's events.
When I stepped off the train in Spandau and was greeted by the smell of vomit, piss, and weed I realized I was back in Berlin. Mind you, not all of Berlin smells like this... but Spandau after dark definitely does. I met up with Emily and Erin and we went to Emily's host home in Zehlendorf. Her host mom has a Turkish name that I wont even begin to guess how to spell, so we'll call her Hostmom... either way, she's adorable. She made us a few different kinds of pizza: Veggie pizza, Tuna fish pizza, and a pizza topped with eggs. Every single one was SO GOOD. My mouth still waters when I think about the tuna fish pizza, it was made by the hands of the gods, I tell you. After dinner we headed out to a very relaxed bar in Kreuzberg with high ceilings and vintage photographs all over the place.
The next morning we woke up around 11.00 and were greeted by an elaborate German breakfast: A million kinds of bread, a variety of cheeses and meats, olives, oranges, honey, butter, nutella, black tea, and strong Turkish coffee. Next thing I knew it was well passed 13.00 and we had to leave to see an apartment for Erin. We reached the apartment just after 14.00, but the guy was not there so we waited an hour or so and then left. We then left to East Berlin to check out another apartment in a former DDR building. We were in and out pretty quick (mostly because we were shockingly hungry even after that large breakfast) so we went to Alexanderplatz to find food. After lunch we went to get coffee where I broke my Starbucks-virginity. I really didn't want to, but it was so Arschkalt that I caved in and got a coffee. Nothing special, really. Emily had to leave at 18.00 to meet up with a group for a tour of the Bundeskanzleramt, and Erin and I had to go see a guy about another apartment. At around 20.00, Erin and I met up with Emily and went back to a bar we had been to during our previous visit to Berlin. After a couple beers we headed out to go to Kreuzberg again, but for some reason (I don't remember why) we decided to find a place in Charlottenburg. This bar was apparently a 1920's type place that was closer to Zehlendorf. That place ended up being closed for a private birthday party, so we went to a different place in Steglitz. By the time we got home it was well passed 4 in the morning... I don't know how that happened. Aaah the mysteries of youth.
The next morning we were greeted, yet again, by another incredible German breakfast that lasted until around 13.30. After a few apartment searches we went to the Kaethe Kollwitz museum (which I was sooooo excited about). It was simply amazing. I was completely in love with her "Death" series. When exited the museum to find a blizzard (naturally on the one day I think it's safe to wear my moccasins). Erin and Emily were doing some freaky things driven by their craving for Sushi, so we satisfied their needs at a place we had gone in September with Erin's friend Nina. We were originally going to go to this "Lange Nacht" event where you pay a set price and get unlimited access to museums for a few hours, but it was so cold we decided to just pick up some beer and head back home. We sat at the kitchen table drinking beer with Hostmom and Veronica (another resident from Slovakia) until around midnight and then went to bed.
We went to bed so early because we had to get up in the wee hours of the day to go to another apartment appointment for Erin. After that, Erin headed back to Aachen and Emily and I decided to go to the Pergamon museum. It was great to see things that I find pasted in every single Art History book. We had to rush a bit unfortunately because of the time restraint, so we went to the Hbf and got currywurst. To my delight, the train ride back to Marburg was flawless and I managed to see a lot of German countryside that i've never seen before until the sun set. Though the weather is awful to be outside in, it does some incredible things to the landscape. Everything is covered in a blue/grey fog with a little bit of frost icing each tree. One thing about German nature... when you look at a landscape, you feel like you are looking at something with infinite detail.
When I came back to my dorm room in Marburg, I found that I was no longer alone. Mold had decided to take up residency around my windows and on parts of the surrounding wall. At first we were scared of each other, but then we became great friends. Eventually it began to crawl down onto my bed as I slept and whisper sweet nothings into my ear. All seemed well, but not all relationships are meant to be forever. The mold had to go. After a terrifying visit with the intimidating Haus Frau, I took some bleach to the wall and scrubbed the bugger out. When I approached the mold with my gloves and bleach it growled at me. Our parting was full of everything but "sweet sorrows." It didn't take the mold long to find someone new. I saw three other people wrote that they had a mold problem on the maintenance list... rebounds can be nasty.
As for me now... I finished watching Xena: Die Kriegerprinzessin (auf Deutsch of course) and I am not just kind of wandering around inside my own head. Poking at things with a stick, watching those weird little eye-floaties, reading here and there, drinking tea, drawing. Doing whatever it is that I do, and doing it well.
