Deutschland

Starting in the north, my first stop on the Germany tour was Hamburg. Being Germany's biggest port, the city is surrounded by water but ironically burned to the ground after a four day fire in 1842 started by an arsonist in a cigar factory. Many of the buildings were rebuilt only to come down once again in World War two and rebuilt once more. So the architecture in Hamburg is fairly new compared to the rest of the country. It was a great intro to Germany and I was satisfied with spending one night.
Berlin however was epic. Graffiti clad buildings scarred by bullets and shrapnel from the war, contrasted with tree lined streets and one green park after the next. A plethora of restaurants, cafes, biergartens, second hand stores and parks were steps away from my hostel. Germany is considerably less expensive than the other countries I´ve traveled to and it was actually more inexpensive for me to dine out than to cook for myself. Lucky for me there was an Indian restaurant next to the place where I stayed. I became fast friends with the owner and he would not let me pass by without first having a cup of chai.
I never considered myself much of a history buff but how can ones curiosity not be aroused by German history? I learned the detailed story of the wall, got an in depth look into the holocaust, Nazi book burning, and went to a model concentration camp which is now a memorial. I was reluctant to see such horror but even locals recommended it since it is such it serves such great significance in our worlds history. I highly respect Germans for owning up to their past. I wasn´t sure if it was going to be taboo to talk about Hitler or the holocaust but they do not deny or sugarcoat anything. There is however a 5,000€ fine for doing the Hitler salute. When I first arrived to Germany I thought everyone was arguing but it turns out that's just how they speak to each other. Intense people these guys are. Its hard to believe they are so close to France. After witnessing the history of some of the darkest days in the worlds history at Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp, I was on the train attempting the impossible task of comprehending what I had just saw when I was approached by the ticket Nazi.
"Vas dies ist?" he roars at me.
"That's my ticket." I tell him.
He angrily rambles on something in German and the man next to me explains that I am in zone C and my ticket is for zone AB. Honest mistake. For example, most of New York City is zone AB except for places like Coney Island or Brighton Beach. The lack of communication is causing everyone on the train to look. He motions me to come with him and I do the walk of shame past the spectators. My mind starts to race with thoughts of what the consequences were to an offense such as this. While traveling alone usually strengthens me, I have my weak moments as well, such as this. He took my passport and ID and demanded I pay him 40€ on the spot, but I claimed I didn´t have cash one me. He literally slapped the fine in my hand, barks something in German and gave me a look of repulsion before walking off. Between Sachsenhausen and that I sat on a bench and salty tears began to stream down my face, dragging my black mascara with it. After I sat brooding for a few minutes I began to think of the absurdity of the situation. How a man so powerless in his life takes it out on a tourist who makes an honest mistake and finds it necessary to cause a scene and inflict shame for no good reason. I should have ran. Absurd I tell you. Absurd!
My friend George that I used to work with in New York is in a long distance relationship with his partner in Bamberg. As fate would have it he was visiting at a most opportune time. His partner Marcos is Brazilian and Italian, has been living in Germany for twenty six years and plays the flute for the Bamberg symphony. I was welcomed to stay at his apartment which has quite the collection of oil paintings and sculpture. I was spoiled for three straight days including a day trip to Nuremberg, traditional German cuisine, we went to a beirgarten and I even got to wash my clothes in a real washing machine. These Bavarian towns are world heritage sites and very well preserved. They really make you feel as if you have stepped back in time, Nuremberg is still surrounded by castle walls and played a big role in the Nazi movement. It is where Hitler gained much of his power at the Nazi rallies and also where the trials of the German officials involved in the holocaust took place as well. It´s hard to believe such a lovely place has such an ugly history. On a lighter note my hair was so long and straight I looked like Cher. I could´nt even tell people that I did hair for a living. Thankfully George had his scissors and hooked me up with some Linda Ronstadt waves.
By chance, I arrived in Munich the day before the city's 852nd birthday. Some people went all out dressed in indigenous clothing and there was festivities everywhere. After seeing this, I knew I could never handle Oktoberfest, which I hear has six times the population during those two weeks. I walked through the English Gardens and everyone was out picnicking and celebrating. I stumbled upon part of the river where everyone surfs. I took a video and I will post it when I can actually use a computer that doesn't suck or is in English. Surfing in Munich, who knew? Summertime in Europe is packed with tourists and it is becoming increasingly difficult for me to find accommodations. The only option I had in Munich was a campsite. I shuttered at the thought of camping, I swore off camping after Woodstock 99´ but I figured worse case scenario, it will only be one night. To think I once complained about a ten person dorm, this was a hundred person tent. I ended up having a blast at this place. It had all new facilities and tons of people my age. I met two brothers from Virginia and ended up traveling with them for a few days. Nate is a welder in Richmond and just turned thirty last week. He told me tales of living in the south while chain smoking Marlboro reds. The one that would intrigue me the most would probably be the one about him putting his ex-wife through nursing school and then leaves him for a doctor. There was a twelve gauge shotgun with a pistol grip involved. His tattoo sleeved arms and southern twang completed this elaborate story. His brother Chris is a devout Christian who never swears and is waiting for marriage to be intimate with a woman. These two were a trip.
We ended up going on a day trip to to the Neuschwastein castle in Hohenschwangau. I was there when I was twelve and it´s lavish interiors drew me back eighteen years later. King Ludwig the second designed this castle and was successful at making a fairy tale. It´s right in the center of rolling hills, mountains, an emerald forest and bridge next to a waterfall. If you are in Germany, this is not be missed. It was the inspiration for Disneyland´s Sleeping Beauty castle and 6,000 people a day visit in the summer. On June 13, 1886 the king died a mysterious death in knee deep water. Some believe he was assassinated by parties who thought his eccentric ideas would bankrupt Bavaria. It´s also mysterious that we were there on June thirteenth. After we saw the castle we went to the small town of Füssen to walk around before heading back to Munich. We had one of my best meals so far that day which was venison and dumplings with pear and cranberries. Later we found a bakery that sold pastries that are made from scraps of dough, rolled into the size of a softball and covered in chocolate or sugar. The food in Germany is very heavy and took some getting used to. Being a foodie, I tried as many traditional foods as I could, including the beer. I went to several biergartens and tasted many local beers. My favorite is half lemonade, half beer but I still couldn't finish a glass. The alcohol content is much higher than the beer consumed in the U.S. but has a much smoother flavor. The food is served very medieval style with large portions of meat and big heavy beer mugs. I tried spaetlze, different types of dumplings, curryworst, bratworst, saurkraut, white asparagus with hollandaise, and lots of pretzels. People stared in awe as I doused them in mustard so it's definitely an American thing. I don't understand how the hell they eat them dry. Well, Im all Hitlered out. I beleive it's time to cross yet another border.