Brandon in Bavaria
After continuing to feel the effects of my vampire virus I decided that maybe a change of pace was in order. This was more of a spur of the moment decision partially prompted by RyanAir having a buy one get one free sale that ended later that night and partially the result of feeling stagnant. And after booking my tickets I instantly regretted it, knowing that I really didn’t have the time or money to travel around.
So then for the next two weeks I went back and forth on whether or not to go. Eventually I decided that I should just use my credit card, after all, I had a whole lifetime to be poor, but when would I again have cheap flights and free places to stay in Germany? And I don’t regret the decision one bit.
Germany surpassed all of my expectations in terms of beauty and intrigue. I think that before going I somewhat had this perception of Germany being like it is depicted in the films I’ve seen, namely cold and grey (This is probably because most of what we see of Germany surrounds war and that era) but Bavaria was so far the opposite. So many times I couldn’t believe I was in Germany because it was so beautiful. The architecture, the villages, the old castles, and even the countryside’s, were all postcard perfect.
Granted I didn’t get to see and do as much as I wanted to because of my currency situation but I still did quite a bit. I went to the Gutenberg Museum in Mainz, drove the Autobahn (which is significantly over-hyped in America), went around the countryside with a vet, drank German beer, ate delicious German food, and wandered and roamed aimlessly through German towns of Würzburg, Nurnberg, Schillingsfurst, and ultimately…drum roll please…. went to the Alps! More on that later, but just a few quick notes of interest surrounding one of strongest loves in my life, food!
One thing that I really like to see is the effect that influxes of other cultures have on traditional food items. In Germany one of the most popular fast food’s ordered is a currywurst. As you’ve probably guessed it’s the traditional bratwurst with a curry sauce over the top. And EVERYONE was eating it! So I got one too. It…. well.. we’ll just say it wasn’t my favorite. But it really is their like version of McDonalds just like Fish and Chips are England’s. Which reminds me, I had this wicked idea in Germany that in every country I go to I want to go to McDonald’s in a fat suit, super size my order, and be really ignorant about the currency or speaking the language just to perpetuate the stereotype. But then I figured only I would find it funny and that it’d make me a terrible ambassador so I quickly gave up on it. Someone more cheeky than I can have at it though! I just want to see the looks on the faces of the servers…
Another thing I realized about Germany is that they have to be the worlds best gummy makers. Did they originate the gummy candy tradition? Is there a giant gummy factory somewhere in Germany? What is the meaning behind the shapes in my Haribo gold mix? And why are they so much better than anything you get in the US? Honestly these gummies are amazing! I wanted to send them to everyone I know. I was walking along and some purple-haired-black-lipsticked-guy asked me for money. I told him that I didn’t speak German so he asked again but in English to which I told him I had none to spare but would share some of my gummies. You should have seen how excited he was! The gummies are that good! There has to be something to it.
