23 in Germany (The Alps)
Amid plans not exactly working out how I envisioned them I was persuaded to see the go see the Alps. For some reason a train ride there was about a third of the price it’d cost to go see a friend living in a nearby city. Though I couldn’t make sense of that, I was more than happy to tick off the Alps form my long list of things I’d like to see/do in my lifetime.
I stayed in an old farm house in Immenstadt that was converted to a bed and breakfast. It was owned and ran by this elderly German woman who was really quite sweet despite her initial 15-minute lecture on why I should speak German if I am in Germany. Since the house was quite dilapidated it was dirt cheap to stay there and she brought up huge breakfasts in the morning.
On my first full day there (I had spent the previous night arriving and then wandering around for nearly an hour trying to find the farm house that everyone supposedly “knew well.”) I woke up and set off to “do” the Alps. I thought maybe I would ski or snowboard but a) there wasn’t enough snow, and b) I didn’t have enough money, so I settled for a hike and photo taking. However even this presented a problem. When I initially set off for Germany I didn’t think I’d be going to the Alps so I didn’t pack any kind of outdoor clothing. In fact all I had in my bag was a few smart casual outfits, and a suit. So as I set off to hike around in the Alps I was wearing what I had, namely the same thing I’d wear out to a dinner with friends.
This is probably why, as I came across other hikers atop the mountain, they eyed me with curiosity. To be fair I probably looked like tomorrow’s news headline: “Death upon the Mountain, a well dressed American becomes a tourist-popsicle.” One even tried to ask me about my shoes but he didn’t speak English and I only understood his pointing at my feet and laughing. Nonetheless I wasn’t about to miss seeing the view. And it was stunning! Well worth the effort.
After a few hours of hiking however the view’s appeal began to war off. This is largely because my boots (these leather things that are cool enough to wear with jeans yet formal enough to wear with a suit) have zero traction and I kept slipping and falling on icy bits. I don’t think ol’ Calvin Klein intended them to be used for mountaineering. So with my body bruised, my hand cut open, and my feet frozen, I decided I’d had enough.
I went back to my room, showed and then for the first time in my travel around the globe, became… well bored. I mean, it gets dark really early so I couldn’t do more mountain stuff, it wasn’t tourist season so not many things were open, and of the tings that were open they were all extremely overpriced for my already abysmal budget, plus I didn’t know the language at all so navigating was a bit hard as was the impossible task of trying to find a book or magazine that I could read.
I settled for watching strange German TV shows and then just going on long walks around. And it was then I remembered that today was my birthday. Perhaps it was the frigid night air, or just the solidarity of being alone and not knowing the language, but for some reason my thoughts took the form of cheesy prose as I reflected on where I was and where I’d been: “I don’t remember last year’s, but I remember the one two years ago. You would have found me then in Benaroya for the orchestral show. Sitting anxious next to a girl I loved, but knew would never see again. The band’s ending brought double-meaning to closed-curtain. And I don’t remember those parting words we spoke, I traded them for a night that was liquor soaked. Only two years but it feels like twenty and any recollections of that face are now met with apathy. It’s funny how a person with so much command over me can turn into a faint and ever-fleeting memory. And how far from that path I thought I was on I’ve strayed. Oh where would I be if she had stayed? The journey to now from then… Was I then a boy, now am I man? And it’s these thoughts that I greet with mild curiosity, as I reflect upon where this year finds me. It’s a frigid night, February twenty. I’m lying on a frozen pond in southern Germany…”
I felt a bit empowered. Who’d have guessed that I’d be doing all that I am? Certainly not me. At the same time though it did make me miss home and the people who make it up. I consoled these thoughts with German beer and more Quiz Taxi.
All and all Germany was a lovely place that I really want to visit again provided that I plan a little better and actually have money to spend.
