From Cologne I rented a car to explore some of the scenic country of the Rhineland and make it over to Bonn en route to meeting my friend who was on the other side of the German border in the Dutch town of Vaals. Bonn was just a short two nights but I was surprised at all the photo opportunities. Just exploring nearby Drachenfels castle overlooking the Rhine river was enough to pique my interest and intent to return again for a longer stay. I was most delighted to find references to the Nibelungenlied completely by accident in a small attraction outside of Bonn. Three years ago I read the Nibelungenlied (translated into English of course) and it instilled a curiosity to discover more of the geography and diverse culture of Germany. To find it here again after doing so was immensely fulfilling — it felt as though the universe was reminding me that I was following the proper path.
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While I was in Cologne, three different times, strangers approached and started conversations with me — a huge surprise. Europeans just don’t do that — and certainly not Germans! I had expected that people in Cologne were friendly, open-minded and warm as that was the driving factor for wanting to visit; Europe is nice but it’s typically much harder to meet new people as an outsider. The most interesting person I met was the manager of a hotel I stayed in who was family friends with the Kennedys, spoke seven languages and was somehow curious about me. We spoke for half an hour — Mathias left an impression and I can’t help but thing the universe was urging me to stick around and explore his city further. The second most interesting person I met while in Cologne was a woman about 60 years old who had invested in Apple stock in 1999 — we were admiring an Apple computer on display from the period (inside a design museum); she told me that because of that wise decision today she’s “almost rich” — in German terms I understood it to mean that she is. Cologne felt like a great place to […]
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I had eight days that I didn’t know what to with after leaving Croatia and before Thanksgiving happened back in the USA so I decided to explore the German Rhineland for the first time. It was a great fit because Split has direct flights to Düsseldorf (one of only four cities during the off-season). Conveniently, Cologne is just 20 miles south of Düsseldorf and was the main draw to me this trip. Bonn was tacked on at the end and facilitated en route planned meetup with my friend Ben who I had seen just weeks before in Bremen. Düsseldorf was an exciting destination because I had no expectations ahead of time. As luck would have it, I arrived the night before the annual one-day Carnival celebration; while the normal Carnival celebration is in February, on November 11th each year there is a one day Carnival event with street celebrations and people partying in costumes. It’s like the precursor to what follows three months later. Imagine my surprise to unexpectedly wander into a cohort of Germany cheerleaders line dancing and throwing each other in the air in front of a local pub. I took some fun photos of the festivities across a few […]
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My friend Ben had sent me a calendar of beer festivals in Germany this autumn. Neither of us had been able to visit Oktoberfest this year and were keen for a mulligan. Ben wanted to meet me in Stuttgart for the second-largest beer festival after Oktoberfest. I had just arrived into Split, Croatia however, and was decompressing from my time in the USA and quite enjoying it — I declined the invitation. Fast-forward a few weeks and it turns out there will be a different festival happening in Bremen the last weekend of October. We booked it – my first weekend adventure for quite some time. I had never been to Hamburg or Bremen and this reconnaissance trip was shorter and easier than Havana and Mexico City in terms of logistics — two nights, 48 hours. Short trips like this afford the freedom to be picky on what you do with your time because with so little of it, you are unencumbered by standard tourist obligations; you can curate what is most convenient and “best” without being obliged to visit a museum that other people feel is important. I had not done a trip like this one for a while […]
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After two previous Oktoberfests in a row (1, 2) the wheels came off. I was in Munich for four nights this year — and it turned out to be long enough. Long enough to replace a disappeared pair of lederhosen that seemed to have walked away sometime during the past year (really I think the hardened exoskeleton of chicken grease, potato salad in absence of napkins and hand washing afforded to them this ability); in their place a darker, tighter, more rigid and less-flattering pair and take on Reid in leather. It started out innocent enough; Martin cooked us a traditional Bavarian breakfast in the fraternity house (I take pride in having been a guest here four times). But after that things went down hill pretty fast. My mobile phone committed mobilecide from the apex of a most maniacal, twisty, spinning carnival ride. The presumably shattered body nor SIM card were ever recovered — may they rest in pieces. Subsequently without access to Google Maps I didn’t trust myself to navigate back to my apartment in a state of post-festival reverie. Instead I ended my nights on the carpeted floor along with other friends at Hannah’s apartment. Trevor snored and […]
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Last year I was in Munich for 10 days during Oktoberfest and absolutely loved it. I wanted to come back this year to experience more of Bavaria. When I was in Santiago I reserved an AirBnb across the street from the wiesn (the Oktoberfest fairgrounds) and rented it for 5 weeks. Bayern (what Germans call Bavaria) drives the auto industry which in a large part drives the German economy. BMW is based in Munich (I visited the BMW museum), Audi is headquartered in Ingolstadt and Mercedes is based in Stuttgart (while technically not within Bavaria is directly adjacent to it). Hundreds of years ago Bavarians were considered sort of country-bumpkins and even thieving knaves within the Nibelungenlied. These days those – people from Munich have adopted the persona of being sort of rich and snobby. This is not *my* description of Munichers, but instead their own! This year, October 3rd was the German unification holiday – celebrating in 1989 the unification of West and East Germany; a time I was told, ‘East Germany became much richer and west Germany much poorer.’ This gives you some insight into the local perspectives within a country which is still quite internally diverse. And while personally I prefer Munich […]
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Berlin never had a chance. Then again it didn’t exactly help its cause. I took a bus with four friends to Berlin from Munich where I had just experienced Oktoberfest opening weekend. The friends that I was with were excited for Berlin – unrivaled nightlife, romantic cultural history and significance, blending of Soviet influences and a culture distinctly different from Bavaria. A culture distinctly less appealing to me than Bavaria. Wifi was very hard to find – none available in the many coffee shops we visited, making actually getting work done problematic. A main reason for my visit to Berlin was the Pergamonmuseum, a museum showcasing the relics looted from the ancient site in Turkey I had visited the week before. Unfortunately I learned upon arrival that the exhibit within the museum showcasing the looted items is under reconstruction until 2019. As for that historical romanticism surrounding the concrete wall — doesn’t do it for me. Nor does the night-life or clubs that my peers are so excited about. Maybe it’s because I’m 35 and the idea of buying drinks until 6 am sounds silly or I just feel no connection to the euro-chic — Berlin culture isn’t my thing. So I […]
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