Stranger Danger: Germany

They say that the people you surround yourself with are in many ways a reflection of you. I can only hope that that is true.

Grafitti painted on the wall in Old Town

My friends back home in New York are God fearing, highly educated, and equally intelligent women who are quick to laugh and even quicker to handle their business. They hold themselves to a high standard, yet it’s not so high that they can’t recall from whence they came. Their eyes still twitch and they still feel this pull to spit a blade at the first person that threatens their family and friends. These people are fierce…

My friends back home in Colorado are deep. Deep like they’ve been there through all my crap, yet still manage to plant roots. They keep me grounded by calling me on my bad behavior, my out of character actions, and my straight tom foolery.  You’re acting crazy and I don’t like it. Pull it together. We don’t roll like that!” These people are solid…

My friends back home in California are family. They are going to claim me come hell or high water. They are a strong, highly prayerful, tight knit group of people and if I fall, their loving arms will always be the last barrier I fall through before I reach the hands of God. They are me and I am them. These people are not to be played with…

Friendships like these take years to develop. Yet, sometimes you are fortunate enough to know from the onset of meeting someone that you will gladly put in the time required.

While in Germany I met up with Christian and Richard from my Indonesian leg of the trip. I had already fallen in love with both of them after leaving Indonesia and knew that once I reached Germany I would make it a point to spend the majority of my time with them. So I rushed through Berlin attempting to see what I could during my one night there and boarded the train the next day. Richard and Christian opened their homes, dragged me around their city, introduced me to family and friends, and made sure that I felt at home. I would do no less for them, so I was thoroughly pleased by their display of friendship. 

Christmas Markets in Cologne

Fortunately, we were also joined by Dalia, Yusur, and Dalia’s sister Rasha. We met Dalia and Yusur in Indonesia; they were two parts of group of friends traveling around Bali. When the bus company over booked the bus ride into Denpasar and they were asked to sit on milk crates in the aisle, they threw a fit.  I vividly recall Dalia arguing with the bus driver and Richard leaning over and whispering, “I like her. She’s pretty.” I responded, “I like her! She’s got balls.” To which Richard, in confusion, scrunched up his face and said, “Testiculos?! Did you mean to say this?”  Side Note: We laugh about this now, but I swear I spend a lot of time trying to explain American colloquialisms and slang to these guys; including Christian’s roommate who asked me what a “baller” was.  Learning from each other is the best part of our relationship. We literally only spent maybe seven hours with these girls on a bus from Mt. Bromo to Bali, but during those hours no one slept. It was one of those moments when you knew you were making good friends.  

While in Cologne our little crew went to some of the most magical Christmas markets where we drank Glühwein. Glühwein is a traditional German drink made from mulled/warm wine. It packs a punch and Christmas markets in Germany are equally amazing. We also went dancing all night. Literally… all night. Salsa dancing is Richard’s choice and hip hop is Christian’s, so we clubbed hopped and were able to see all the diversity available in Cologne. The highlight of the night was watching the faces of the people in the club when Dalia, in her hijab, jumped up to guy dancing and started battling him. OMG…  Talk about shattering stereotypes.

Cologne is a city with a small town feel and overall I really enjoyed it. The Cologne Cathedral near the main train station cannot be missed. It is extremely impressive and it is the largest Gothic styled church in Northern Europe, not to mention the tallest Roman Catholic cathedral in the world. The stained glass windows in the church are also unique in that they include a lot of black people in them. The visit there was lovely; my only wish is that I were taller so that I could get better pictures.

In Cologne I also enjoyed simply walking around the city as well. There are random surprises everywhere you look. For example, there are gold bricks inlaind in the pavement in front of various buildings. It's called the Stolpersteine, "the stumbling blocks, and the project was created by artist, Gunter Demnig, as a means of memorializing the jews who lived in those buildings and died as a result of Nazi actions. Quite humbing, yet beautiful. Walking around the city, you may also come across the love locks on the Hohenzollern Bridge as well. I've written about these locks before, in other cities, but Cologne wins the prize for their massive display of locks. Most cities remove them after a while so they don't become a hazzard, in Cologne they've become a tourist attraction!

Aside from Cologne, we also spent the day in Düsseldorf walking along the Media Harbour and admiring the Rhine Tower, the markets in Old Town, and the architecture along the Rhine.  Dusseldorf is worth going to just to see the architecture in the Media Harbour area.  Internationally acclaimed architect, Frank O. Gehry, has helped revive this area by creating some of the most astounding buildings. I’m not a knowledgeable architecture fan, but I like what I like and I’ve noticed a lot of Gehry buildings throughout my travels. The IAC Building and the Eight Spruce Street tower in NY , the Dancing House in Prague (which I didn’t write about… sorry), the Guggenheim in Bilbao and the Olympic Fish in Barcelona (both of which I will be seeing shortly when I arrive to Spain) are a few of my favorites. I’m floored each time I see his buildings and Dusseldorf’s Media Harbour area is basically his playground.  After spending an inordinate amount of time chit chatting and admiring the area, we ended our time with the girls by having proper tea at Pebble's Champagne Lounge, an uber modern, pebble shaped building overlooking the River and completely constructed of mirrors.

While in Germany, I was also able to experience a really unique event.  One evening, Richard invited me to an “open house.” When he first brought up the idea I immediately thought real estate, but he explained that once a year his friends, this cute, young, German couple, open up their home for 72 hours and invite friends and family to use it as their own. For three days, people can come into their home and cook, clean, do laundry, sleep, take a bath or whatever else they’d like to do. Mi casa es su casa, FOR REAL! This sounds really strange, so of course I agree to go and off we went with his cute, little, cousin Rodrigo.

 

While there the two men baked a cake and since I’m not much of a cook, I became the impromptu deejay for the evening. Eventually others joined in the kitchen and dinner was whipped up. Singing along to Richard’s guitar, drinking wine and eating entirely too much was how the night progressed. We literally had to leave before we passed out on the couch; just like home.

Reflecting back, I realize how fantastic is was to hear all of the languages being spoken throughout the house that evening: Italian, English, Spanish, German, and I think French as well. The entire evening was borderline hippie, but it reminded of my time in Italy picking olives; a lot of diversity, yet camaraderie amongst strangers. This is hilarious to me because at no time during my stay in Cologne had it escaped me that I was spending time with people from South America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa and not only were we spending time, but we were really digging deep and we only met four months ago. Our associations are so lose, yet I know without a shadow of a doubt that someday I will meet their children. Someday they will crash on my couch, will dine with my family, and occupy my space. Sometimes the only danger when befriending strangers is that you'll make great friends.

If the people you surround yourself with are truly a reflection of you, then I have been blessed to have met some amazing people throughout my journey. Even better, now I can say:

My friends back home in Germany and a number of other countries are new. They have taught me the true meaning of an open home, an open heart, and an open mind. These people are all strangers who have become family…