In Media Res

Today I drank a steaming cup of cat shit. But we'll get to that in a minute. 

On Sunday I took off from Saarbrücken. I bought a train ticket that's good all over Germany for one day, but only for local and regional transport. That meant that 328.643 mile trip took just over ten hours to complete. I was pretty sick of train stench by that time.

But I did get to meet a couple of interesting people. The ticket I bought is good for up to five people, so I put out the word that, for five euros, someone could ride with me to Hannover. I found three people that wanted to come along: a computer programmer from Morocco, a student from Syria, and woman from Turkey. Me being an American, you can imagine how interesting our conversations were.

But I did finally make it to Hannover where Till was waiting for me at the station. I met Rosi, his mother and his two brothers, Lutz and Götz. Rosi is an awesome cook by the way; I've likely put on significant weight while here. That first evening we had sausages and sauerkraut, the next day we had raclett (it's an awful lot like a Mongolian grill restaurant, but at home. I've only ever seen it in Europe so if anyone knows where I can get one in America, leave a comment), and lunch the next day produced goose with potato dumplings (Klose) and boiled red cabbage (Rotkraut). Pretty good stuff.

On Christmas Eve we all went to the protestant church in Ronnenberg (the town they live in). The sermon was more or less what one expects from a Christmas service, but the church itself was gorgeous. No one seemed to know for sure, but the consensus was that the church was originally built in the 14th century, and (relatively) recently rebuilt and restored. The floor was made of unfinished oak boards and every inch of the ceiling was painted with images of saints. The radical difference between the plainness of the floor and the extravagance of the ceiling may or may not have been an intentional symbol of some theological premise, but it was though-provoking none-the-less.

After church we came back and exchanged gifts. The three boys bought a bag of very, very expensive coffee for Rosi. Perhaps some of you coffee snobs will recognize the name Kopi Luwak. Yup, that's the name for coffee brewed from beans eaten, digested and then shit our by a cute monkey-cat. Take a minute and enjoy that picture. Now think about it pooping. Now you're making coffee from the poop. 

It was pretty tasty. Merry Christmas!

A Royale With Cheese

"It's the little differences. I mean they got the same shit  over there that they got here, but it's just...just there it's a little different." - Vincent 'Our Man in Amsterdam' Vega

So the first couple of times I came to Europe, Dr. Pepper was nowhere to be found. Which was kind of a bummer because that is my happy juice. Seriously, that stuff is the nectar of the gods. I remember my Dad taking my sister and me to a movie in Kansas City when I was younger and he gave us each a wad of cash and said we could get whatever we wanted. I had three boxes of junior mints and four Dr. Peppers. It was bad.

Any way, since then Dr. Pepper has made it's way across the pond, but every time I try it it's just terrible. But I'm a gullible sucker so when I saw it yesterday in the grocery store, I thought, "hey, it's been a couple of years since I tried it in Germany. Maybe they got the formula right." It still tastes like cough syrup. Serves me right I suppose.

Everything is a little different here, but that's not always a bad thing. The bread here is amazing! It's unfortunate because it's something that would never take off in America. Here the bread is hard and full of stuff. My personal favorite is a wheat bread that has sunflower seeds baked into it. I mean, you could build a pretty solid wall out of it, but it is so good.

And speaking of wheat and yeast; the beer is also a highlight here. Even their standard, run-of-the-mill beers (often a pilsner) have a ton of taste. I had a bock beer about a week ago that blew my mind. It's from the Bruch brewery close to here. Not a lot of carbonation and fairly malty (which is not really my style at all), but rich and dark and a nice roasted taste to mellow out the sweet. Damn good I say.

I lit a candle for you today

Whoa! Made it to Trier today. Finally! Met a Macedonian on the train. That was pretty cool.

My first stop in that epic little city was...the bathroom at a Burger King. My coffee caught up to me on the train and it was a brutal last half-hour. But after that I walked to the Porta Nigra. The Porta Nigra is this old Roman gate that used to stand at the edge of the city (ya know, like, 1,900 years ago), but now is a mere 0.6 kilometers away from the train station (the sign said so). The original name of the gate is lost to history (because people name gates, I guess?) but it has been known as the Porta Nigra (Black Gate) since the middle ages. Yeah, it got my Mordor up too. It got it's name, apparently, because of little lichen that took up residence on the stones, turning them a blackish grey color. I don't know if anyone else just got excited, but I love ancient symbiotes!

As I walked through the gate for the first time today, I got kind of a steam punk feel from it. There was a ton of scaffolding and wires and tubes running through it. Admittedly, they did make an effort to stick them in the darkest corners they could find which totally just added to the whole shadow-government ambiance.

After that I went rogue. I knew there were lots of other old Roman things scattered throughout the city, but I figured I'd just wander around 'til I found something interesting. I ended up following some narrow and very Harry Potter-esque streets to the Trier Cathedral. Admittedly, I had no idea it was a cathedral when I went in. I think I came in the back way. Absolutely gorgeous nonetheless and imagine how delighted I was when I found a magnificent cathedral at the end of Diagon Alley!

For real though. I do love old churches. When I lived in Wuppertal, I would often take the train to Cologne after classes just to do my reading in the shadow of the cathedral there. Something about all the stone-work is breathtaking. And they all smell the same: must and rock and...sacredness. There's a soothing coolness, an atmospheric balm for the soul that just permeates old churches.

When I left the cathedral (through the entrance I'll remind my readers), I found myself in the middle of the old town center! Old town centers are pretty cool in Europe by the way. Lots of old half-timber houses, but the fancy kind. Traumhaft! And they had the Weihnachtsmarkt set up there! And it's just not Christmas without Glühwein! I had four of those this afternoon, somehow made my way back to the train station and am now enjoying a cup of Irish tea (I watched Doctor Who this weekend and it made me miss tea time with Bronagh and Sharon) waiting for Till to get done with work so we can go see a movie. A surprise movie!

Hobos don't visit museums....

Change of plans…again. I hitched a ride with Till back to where he lives in Saarbrücken. It's a nice little city with several beautiful buildings. I spent most of the afternoon in a museum that used to be castle here. It had artifacts from every period starting with the original celtic inhabitants through to the modern day. What I found particularly fascinating was the ways in which the gods changed throughout history. The three major celtic gods (whose names escape me know) developed from a vague ancestor cult of which there is little evidence, and slowly morphed into a pantheon of greater and lesser gods through exposure and trade with the romans. Which of course made the transition somewhat easier when the romans conquered this area.

Not far from here is a small town called Trier which has the unique claim of being the oldest city in Germany. Check the wikipedia page. It's full of roman ruins and sundry other buildings of cultural significance. Maybe that'll be my project for tomorrow. We'll see how things go!

After arriving yesterday evening, Till and I set out to see the Weihnachtsmarkt here, but quickly changed our minds due to the biting cold (-6 Celsius, you guys can figure it out) and opted instead for a little restaurant near the river. Great food! We had two huge potato dumplings filled with seasoned ground beef with a bacon cream sauce over them. Sauerkraut came with it of course. To drink we ordered a couple of locally brewed bock beers. Perfect meal, except that I ate the whole thing and nearly fell asleep at the table. 

P.S. After writing this in a little coffee shop, I realized that the ticket for the museum got me into another museum for free. So I went to the art museum here. About the same amount of cultural significance, but with far fewer heathen gods. 

Travel Lite

Travel gear is a huge industry these days. Every store seems to have the latest and greatest in travel accessories. There are a lot of paradigms when it comes to travel and a lot of differences of opinion for the best travel gear. I belong to the cheap, minimalist camp myself. Travel on the cheap and with as little as possible. That being said there are a couple of things you really shouldn't skimp on. The first being shoes.

Being a nomad, you'll find yourself walking an awful lot, and because the weather (and often the destination) can be unpredictable a good pair of waterproof hiking shoes can be a lifesaver. I opted for the Firebrand II from Oboz. They're waterproof, insulated and comfortable to wear while hiking or while walking around the city. They aren't boots, which I like. They are a great all purpose shoe useful in all conditions.

The second thing any good wanderer needs is a good backpack. There are plenty of companies that offer a great product and a little shopping around to find what works for you is always a good idea. I'm currently rocking a hiking pack from Osprey courtesy of my father. This is a great pack that I use both for hiking and for general travel. My favorite feature is the small detachable day-pack which is great if you're using the pack as luggage and don't want to take space up with a back pack for quick hikes or a day on the slopes. 

Everything else is Geschmackssache. There are thousands of coats, towels, knives, utensils and other accessories designed to assist both the casual and the hardcore traveler. The best advice of all is to try it out yourself and figure what you need and what you don't. Happy travels!

Mice and Men

Nico's party turned out to be a blast! I was surprised to find people there that I hadn't even expected to see during my trip. And I met a couple of new people. So far a good trip.

My friend Kathrin and I went in together to get Nico a ticket to an F.C. Köln soccer game tomorrow. At first when we got the tickets I said I wouldn't go because I didn't think I'd be staying in Wuppertal this long. But my plans have evolved to the point where I will be going with everyone tomorrow! I went to book my ticket this morning and there was one seat left next to our group. Just the one. And I got it! I'll let you all know how it goes.

As far as plans go, mine have been fairly fluid. I wanted to go to Munich and spend three or so days wandering around getting to know the city. The problem is that most of the hostels are closed at the moment and the few that are open want way to much money for my taste (I'm Tom Metzler's grandson after all!). So I'll be hitching a ride with Till back to Saarbrucken on Wednesday and I'll spend a couple of days wandering aimlessly there. I'm told Saarbrucken is a smaller town more or less off the beaten path. Pia practically raved about the museums and it's supposedly only 15 minutes away from the oldest town in Germany. So it sounds like I'm gonna go hang out with some dead Italians for a while (Romans. I mean Romans). After that...well I'll have to let you know.

Some People...

Yesterday was another great day, by and large. I say by and large because of one anonymous agent who put a royal hitch in my plans. But we'll get to that.


I woke up and made the short walk down to the grocery store to pick some things up for breakfast (see Mom, I'm being a good guest!) when I quite literally ran into my friend Mark! He had a class around the corner and had popped over to grab a sandwich and some coffee. We had a good time quickly catching up and then I went on about my shopping with a little more sunshine in my day knowing that I was in a place I could always come back to and find people who knew me.


I then spent most of the day working on translations and napping. I'm still pretty jet lagged so I don't feel so bad about it. That evening I met good friend for dinner (chinese from the mall 'cause that's how we roll) then we went back to her apartment to catch up (read: drink beer and catch up). This was another point in the day that I just felt good about where I am and the connections I've made with people.


Eventually we decide to check out the party on campus. It was a blast. Again I ran into several people I knew but hadn't seen for two years and had a really good time. Jacky, being the social butterfly that she is, knew several of the people working behind the bar and they let us stash our coats around a corner instead of paying for the coat check. Go us!


Here's the part where this anonymous agent comes into play. After the party we head back to our little hidey corner to find that my coat, hat, scarf and gloves are gone. Just mine. My one heavy coat that I brought with me. I looked around thinking I could surely find whoever had taken it. It was a large, wool coat so it would've stood out among the t-shirts and skinny jeans. To quote the infamous gangster and general rolemodel for young children Vincent Vega, "Boy, I wish I could've caught him doing it. I'd have given anything to catch that asshole doing it. It'd been worth him doing it just so I could've caught him doing it. "


This next part is for that person specifically so unless you are that person, you can skip this next part. Also, if you are my Nanna you should skip this part.


Dear Supreme Asshole,

You are, in fact a bad person. If there was any doubt during the course of your life about whether or not you were a good person, I'm here (as a personal favor) to clear that up for you. You are not. In fact, you are a little bit of a bastard. Now you're not Dr. Mengele bad. You're not Rwandan genocide bad. You're not even like psychotic cylon bad. But you are a bad person. And really that's the pathetic part. You're petty bad. Not even henchman level; you're the foil in the story of the great day I had. Never-the-less, I walked home in the snow last night so you're kind of a huge douche. I now really hope Buddhism has it right so you come back as a naked blind alley cat. To borrow a unique phrase from my buddy Creigh, you are a dicksatchel. A bag of genitalia. Ok maybe that one was too far, but you're still someone I decidedly dislike.

Sincerely, Zach


Ok I'm done. Y'all can come back now. Back to better things. Till arrives today! As some of you already know, Till is one of my best friends on earth. We met here in Wuppertal while he was finishing up his master's. One thing I've learned about hanging out with Till though is that the two of us plus beer always ends in me getting talked into something crazy. Like the time we decided we could totally run a marathon without training for it (we did) or the time we spent a long weekend in Estonia (yup it's a real country) in the middle of February or the time I got the shake-down from a bouncer who then robbed me. Oh the good ol' days!

Good Day

I had a good day today. Not that that is unusual for me, just always welcome no matter how frequent. This good day is noteworthy, however, because it involved activities, places and people I hadn't seen in over two  years.

I woke up on my friend Sabrina's couch (the friend that came to meet me in Dusseldorf and then graciously let me crash at her apartment when I found myself somewhat homeless) to her roommate, Rene, making breakfast. With a good breakfast and a shower I was ready to hit the town...and desperately search for a new charger for my laptop...which I couldn't find for the life of me (both the original charger and the store selling the new one apply here). No worries though, I was already in a pretty cool part of town (the Marktplatz) so I decided to spend the early afternoon walking around and seeing my old stomping ground.

                                                     I have the coolest stomping ground!

I got a bit peckish so I stopped by my favorite Döner stand where the guys actually remembered me. I'm not sure if that speaks more to my personable nature, or to my poor eating habits. Either way, it was delicious!

Around 1:30 I started to make the long hike up to the university to meet Sabrina after her classes. As it turns out, I grossly underestimated my fitness and got there early enough to grab a coffee in the cafeteria. Which is where I ran into my friends Nico and Daniel! We had a good time catching up and Sabrina and I had a fun, though frosty, time wandering the Wuppertal Weihnachtsmarkt this evening. Oh! And Sabrina helped me find the Applestore I was looking for. I had read the directions wrong and walked right past it on my way to where I thought it was. But hey, it meant I spent the day wandering around in the (relative) sunshine instead of on Facebook, so I'm still going to count it as a win!

Arrival

I made it ladies and gentlemen! I'm pretty bushed so I'll just make a couple of quick comments then get a little shut-eye.

First, I totally spaced going the the bank this morning. Typical I know. Stop laughing, Dad. It all worked out though. The nice lady on the phone said my debit card should theoretically work in Europe now. Though, as my grandfather is fond of saying, "What's the difference between theory and practice? Theoretically nothing; practically everything." Hey, it's an adventure right?

Second, I was elated to find that I was sitting in the middle row of my trans-atlantic flight and that I was the only one with a seat there. I was less excited when I came back from the bathroom to find a kid passed out across the three unoccupied seats next to me. I stole his breakfast though, so I feel like we're even.

Third, listen to this song. While in California, my best friend and I were introduced to this song by another great friend. We got a little obsessed with it and would drunkenly stumble through it at parties in college (the refrain was made for pub singing!). Well, I flew over Halifax today and had to think about it...and now so do you, so there.

The rest of the trip was more or less unremarkable. I'm amazed by how familiar everything here is. I could have been here yesterday, so little has changed. Tonight I plan on stopping by my old haunt: the best Döner stand in Wuppertal. But for now I'm going to get a little rest. Collini out!

The Eve of Departure

Just finished packing for my trip to Germany. My trip that begins tomorrow that is. Every trip I create a timetable in which everything gets done incrementally throughout the weeks leading up to my departure and, per my usual, it all gets done the day before (and the day of in this case as I still need to hit the bank before I leave). Those who know me well will show no signs of surprise and will, in fact, be rolling their eyes at the typicality of the scenario. Some things will never change, Dad.

I'll be arriving in Düsseldorf, Germany Wednesday morning, just a few days before my friend Nico's birthday. Till will be up for the weekend and several shenanigans are already on the docket. Those who read a previous blog of mine will remember Till as the friend that talked me into a marathon that neither of us trained for. We tend to make really good decisions together.

After Nico's birthday party my plans become a bit more fluid. I intend to see a friend in Brussels at some point and eventually make my way down to Munich (a city which comes highly recommended but which I've as of yet avoided). Otherwise the itinerary is more or less open. Wish me luck as I sojourn my way to Austria and adventure!