A Polish Christmas in Germany

‘On the first day of Germany my hostel gave to me… a map offfff… Munich cityyy!!!’ 🙂

I rose, I showered, I ate and I was off with the 11am crew of youngsters eager to peruse the center. Such good little students we were! Our tour guide was kind of… intense. Instead of the traditional injection of historical remembrances, we were fed a whole lot about recycling history, economics, how to solve the largest crisis in the world (Psst! – Trust, the answer is trust. Apparently, when you have trust in your government, you have trust in the money you put and take from it and the world goes around much better; I will tell Obama!). I joke, but I actually enjoyed the lecture and our tour guides condescending tone. After the tour, two tour-mates, Natalie and Moto, and I went to a coffee shop, warmed up (I literally thought I would lose the last and third toe on both feet) and then we carried on for several more hours of oouing and ahhing the city.

Munich is really quite unique and only about sixty years old – apart from four gothic period buildings. However, the people of Munich prefer to preserve the old town charm, and so, as buildings decay, they are rebuilt with the exterior walls reinforced and the interiors replicated. What you think is ancient and decrepit is really just the tremendous effort of the city to retain the culture and history of this conservative Bavarian city (would you hire me? I think I would make a mighty fine tour guide!).

There was warmth, and then there was cold again. Ve evacuated zee coffee shop, and casually swayed through the Christmas crowds. This city, most cities (and people, myself included), are even more attractive under twinkle light. Dinner was dined in an overpriced tourist trap, but we felt it was necessary. Afterwards, Natalie and I met a few blokes at the hostel bar, drank some drinks and smoked some smokes (I realize sometimes my writing is a bit hick. I would like to apologize for this. You get what you pay for). Carrying on for the night, these fine gentlemen escorted us to a club for dancing (rather wiggling) and drinks. I have never been to a bar that packed before! I think I learned a few new dance moves, ones where your arms cling to your sides and they remain there until you slither out at the end of the night; which was four am BTW. When you are cheek to cheek with a Germany hottie, it’s not so bad though. 🙂

Day one made for a late start on day two, but eventually Natalie and I made it out f the hostel to the English Gardens. Absolutely stunning, but of course my camera was dead, I suck! When Natalie posts her pics, I will nab them for you to see. We spent the entire afternoon walking through the park, eating warm roasted-almonds, chocolate covered fruits, brats on hamburger shaped buns and more (and more and more). We went shopping, drank mulled wine and when night came we lackadaisically steered toward the hostel to “freshen up”. Regrouped and ready to rally, we trampled down to the hostel bar ready for a night on the German town. We met James, Ned and Dan (Australia), Andy (Seattle), Derrick (Michigan – Royal oak – coinci-dink), Alison, Kelly and Aaron (California) at a hostel down the street and carried on as a group for hours. Best bar night of the trip thus far. Exclamation point.

So what does that make this day? Wednesday? I need a pocket calendar. The days names are purposeless at this point. This is a marvelously liberating realization; when one no longer needs to know the days of the week, it means one has completely removed themselves from the ties of payday. A pleasureful moment, yet also, terribly alarming – gulp! Lol Let’s not concern ones self with such thoughts at the moment; at a later date I will check my bank account.

Back from my pep talk – I took the next day off. Most of last night’s group (ironically) left for Prague in the morning, so I slept. I also went for my first run of the trip and drank much needed fruit! PS – drinks at the bar last night were 10 Euro a pop – ouch!

Christmas was approaching and I was only half content with my decision to stay in Munich. One minute I am convinced that a “romantic” week on my own, in one of “Christmas’ capitals”, lavishing myself in spa like activities (in an effort to enjoy a home-away-from-home holiday) would be ideal; but the next minute, I am enticed by an opposite proposition.

My Christmas hero rings with an invitation to join him for Christmas with his family a few hours north of Munich. Tickets were ridiculous, but after realizing how great it would be to spend Christmas with Rob and his family, I no longer cared about the price. Rob swept me off of my hostel floor and carried me (sometimes literally) to Recklinghausen, where I spent a warm, incredibly generous and traditional German/Polish Christmas. After spending the holidays with Rob and his family the idea of spa treatments seem depressingly mediocre.

My trip to Recklinghausen was in fact my first time on a train and at first it was superb! My cabin buddy was from China, who now lives in Munich and was traveling to Koln for the holidays. By day he is a Mathematics major, but by night, an angel in disguise. For one thing, I had shared with Su my disappointment of forgetting to get my host family an arrival thank you gift. Ironically, a colleague of Su’s had gifted him a bottle of meticulously wrapped wine for his birthday, and as a non-drinker he was bringing the wine to his parents (also non-drinkers) in hopes that they would know someone to give it to. Like a rabbit out of a hat, Su pulled the bottle, dressed in holiday garb, from his backpack and like magic, I now had a gift to bring.  I was in disbelief and excited relief. Su generosity shined throughout our entire six hour trip as he unwaveringly offered his granola, chips, coke (literally digging in his bag to see what else he had to give to me) and in the end, also his name, to find him on Facebook, if I am ever in Munich again for a visit.

Another angelic moment of Su’s, and also the most important thing he gave me, was explicit directions on how to exit my current train and board the next. Don’t laugh, it sounds simple, but in the middle of the night, as a first time train traveler, during the holidays when all the train station workers have left to spend their holiday with family as well, well, it was not easy, for me. Let’s be honest, I was petrified! Train stations are not the prettiest of places to be in the middle of the night and I (regardless of how hard I try) look like a tourist (put a big red dot on my bleep and call me Target).

Without Su’s help I might not have made it to my final platform of the night. With his directions I found platform 21 with ease, but the adventure did not end there. I may have found the platform,  but not the train. I was standing on the cement slab, staring at the signs when a woman (or was she a man?!) asked me if I was going to Recklinghausen. Now, initial instinct, DO NOT TALK TO STRANGERS, but I needed help, so I crossed my imaginary chest with my imaginary middle finger (Christ be with me), and said to her (him?), “Um, yeah I am. This is the train, correct?” She (he) said, “Yeah baby, you’re alright. The train will be here soon.” AHHHHHHHH! my insides were freaking out. I was thinking, Jesus, my mom was right, I’m going to become a sex slave!

Melodramatic? Maybe, but you board a train at midnight in a foreign country, all alone, in the dark, without a phone, without a clue; I’m not Superwoman (lol). So, the train came and she pointed me toward it, boarding herself. I look at the number on the train and it does not match my ticket. As she continued to wave me on, I said to her, “Actually, I don’t think this is my train…”, but she persisted and then she involved the ticket checker (the guy who makes sure you paid for your ride). He said, “Let me see your ticket.” Meanwhile, the train doors were opening and closing, opening and closing and he was shoving his boot into the jam to keep it open; a woman was repeating something over the loud speaker in German, a man wearing a helmet boarded, the platform was barren….

I tell the man it’s not my train and he says it. I said no, he said yes. No, no. Yes, yes! AHHHHHH! So he comes off the train, I have a momentary heart palpitation, and he said to me, “Look here” showing me his handheld machine thingy. “This is the train you are about to get on, number 11247. Your ticket says number 11247.” I shook my head “ok”. Then he showed me how his machine lists four cities that the train will pass through before it reaches Recklinghausen and how my ticket listed these exact cities too. “Still not convinced?” he said, as he showed me the screen on the train and how it says Train 534 – the train that I need. Eighty nine percent convinced, skeptical as HELL, but figure its a better gamble than staying in this creepy station alone.

I am an awful person, the man was right, the woman was right, and although I am proud of the fact that I will not naively follow the herd with out any hesitation, I still felt instantly guilty. The woman glared at me as if to say “see if I ever help a dump, little, girl again”. Oh well, better safe than sorry, i suppose.

The train passed through all four cities as promised. When the train halted in Recklinghausen, the doors snapped open and there stood Rob, my knight in shining armor. Like a desperate child I flung my arms around him and refused to let go until we reached our ride. Witek, Robs step dad, and a darling, adorable man, picked us up and drove us safely home.

Robs mom welcomed me with a giant hug and warm excitement. I instantly knew I had made the right choice to spend Christmas with Rob and his family. Before the plumping up began, Rob gave me a tour of their charming and stylish home and the way to my room. I dropped my bags and Rob showed me to my seat at the table. We were presented with sausage, ham, potatoes, cabbage salad (delicious!), salmon apple salad, fresh bread… the list goes on. Coffee and really amazing apple pie that tastes more like apple cake after dinner, a smoke break, followed by my favorite – vanilla green tea with honey and fruit. I am officially a fat guy, yep, that’s me.

My entire stay at Robs place was peaceful, relaxing, INDULGING – incredible. We slept in, woke each day with an enormous breakfast spread, always followed by tea. we spent hours listening to amazing music; Rob has introduced me to a whole genre of music I have been robbed from – no pun intended. Rob may have tired from translating between his parents and me, but we thoroughly enjoyed it and found each opportunity of miscommunication as an opportunity to laugh. On my second day in Recklinghausen we had a shamefully large dinner with Witek’s daughter and long term boyfriend; two very fun and hilarious cats who, lucky for Rob, spoke English. Day three, Rob introduced me to his friend Adrian (of course over coffee). Adrian took us to Essen, a city outside of Recklinghausen, where we shopped and walked about the city a bit. Rob bought his mom a dress that looked absolutely perfect on her (and quite frankly I want one for myself ) and I bought Rob’s family a set of white wine and red wine glasses, to thank them for how much they welcomed me and pampered me during my stay. I will forever be grateful for their enormous hearts and for making my Christmas an amazingly wonderful one, never, ever to be forgotten.

❤ Your Ash