A Family outing, and Back to the Future part III

Hello friends!  It's been a while since I've posted, but I've actually been very busy so please forgive me.  I'd like to share some adventures from the past few weeks, as well as finish re-living the fall of 2010.

So then!  What have I been up to recently... well, work and reading and writing as usual, but a few weeks ago I took a seemingly last minute trip south to meet my cousin Daniel and go to Nürnberg.  Daniel is spending a year in Germany on a Rotary Club Scholarship, and even though he has been here since last September, this was the first chance we really had to do anything.  I say “seemingly last minute”, because we had discussed it for a few weeks, but it was only the night before out trip when he confirmed that he would like to go.  I had planned to take a train, but the ticket prices weren’t so inexpensive at that late time, so I hitched a ride with two friends who were driving to Munich.  The original plan is that the three of us would drive to Daniel’s town, pick him up, and then he and I would be dropped off in Nürnberg while the other continued to Munich.  Time wasn’t on our side however, and we didn’t leave Daniel’s town until 8:30 PM.  This was partially due to a late start from Kassel, some traffic, and the fact that Daniel had spelled the name of his street wrong and given me the wrong house number.  Our GPS figured out the correct spelling of the street, but incidentally, there was no house with the number he had given me.  Where number 42 should be, there was an empty lot with a port-o-potty.  I could make a ton of jokes about Daniel living in a “crappy place”, but I won’t. 

So what to do when there’s no house and no Daniel?  The only thing I could do: wander through the neighborhood knocking on doors.  You’re probably asking why I didn’t just call him.  Why, what a good idea!  Why didn’t I think of that?  Well, quiet, smarty pants.  Daniel refused to give me his phone number because he “doesn’t like people calling him”.  Right. 

Anyway, I met many nice people in his town, and some over zealous dogs.  The break in the case came when I rang the doorbell of an ancient old woman who was partially deaf.  I was trying in vain to explain that I was looking for my cousin, but he had given me the wrong house number.  The woman’s daughter came downstairs and asked what country my cousin was from.  I told her that he was an American exchange student with the Rotary Club, and he lived somewhere in this town, presumably on this street.  She said that her neighbors had an exchange student, and she didn’t know his name, but maybe we could get some information.  We walked across the street, rang the doorbell, and Daniel answered.  “Oh, hey,” he said.  Oh. Hey. 

We were finally underway, but as we got closer to Nürnberg it was clear that Eduardo and Natalia were not going to make it to Munich that night.  Our plan changed a bit, and as Daniel had never been to Munich, the four of us agreed to stay together for the whole weekend.  It was a lot of fun, and a really interesting weekend.  I hadn’t seen Daniel in at least 3 years, and it was nice to spend some time with him as an adult.  He’s 10 years younger than I am, and he never missed a chance to tell me that I’m old.  Apart from that, he’s an engaging and smart kid, and I was glad that we had the chance to talk without the usual family chaos going on. 

Our weekend turned out to be a bit “Nazi-themed”, which wasn’t so surprising considering the cities we were visiting.  Nürnberg was the centerpiece of the Nazi rallies, and we were able to visit the Rally grounds and the phenomenal museum devoted to the propaganda machine.  Furthermore, Munich was where Hitler really got his start, with speeches and meetings in the Hofbrauhaus.  It was sort of an intense topic for such a short period of time, but we enjoyed the cities themselves too.  Nürnberg is a very cool city with the old wall still standing around the Altstadt, and an incredible castle.  It was sunny and warm, and our guide book pointed us to some interesting spots around town.  Of course, wandering aimlessly is a favorite as well, and the city was bustling with Saturday markets and Nürnbergians out and about. 

Munich is of course incredible, and it was a shame that we didn’t have a lot of time.  We arrived in the evening, found a hostel, and set out into the night.  We had Mexican food for dinner (made by actual Mexicans, so it was delicious), and walked through the main part of the city toward the Hofbrauhaus.  If you aren’t familiar, the Hofbrauhaus is the biggest, loudest, most touristy Bier hall in Munich.  It’s über-Bavarian, with everyone dressed in traditional Lederhosen and Dirndls, 1 liter bier glasses, and pretzels the size of your head.  There’s a traditional Bavarian band, which is, as my guidebook put it, “condemned to play there every night”.  It’s also full of tourists with hardly a native in sight.  Still, it’s a ton of fun, and the beer is delicious. 

The next day we headed for the Dachau concentration camp with a tour guide.  I had visited with Jess in 2007, and I was hoping to find the same Irish tour guide, Jamie, that I had gone with then.  Instead I found Gordon, another Irish tour guide, who said that Jamie was in Belfast writing his master thesis, but he’d be happy to have us on his tour.  Done.  Daniel had visited Dachau previously as well, with a group from his school, but this tour was a little different.  As he said, Gordon talked more ideologically than about facts.  I don’t totally agree, as I think Gordon gave us lots of facts too, but I see his point. 

After leaving the camp, we walked up into the town of Dachau, as Gordon had told us that it was an old medieval city with lots to offer.  He was right.  There was a huge street festival going on that day and we were surrounded by more food that we could shake a stick at.  We sat and ate and enjoyed the sunshine, and I was a bit bummed when we had to leave.

We drove north again, and dropped Daniel at home, and then started our drive back to Kassel.  It was a bust and packed weekend, but totally worth it.

Apart from that I have just been enjoying the slowly improving weather.  I have a new bike, (as my last bike was stolen) although it needs some new tires.  It's a real beauty though, I tell ya.  I can't wait to ride it all over the town and have picnics and adventures.  (I have a lot of expectations riding on this bike.)

Now then, let's hop in the Delorean one last time, and go back to December 2010!

"Boom" is probably the most accurate sound so far.

December started with another visit to the New York/ New Jersey area, where I had a nice visit with Jess and Vinnie and Hannah 2.0, plus a visit with my friend Fish in NYC.  Fish and I hadn't seen each other in a while, and it was nice to catch up.  We ate good food, drank good beer, and some some good bands.  New York City is full of interesting sights and places, and it has always felt a little bit overwhelming to me.  I read once that you need two people to really see New York, because one person can't handle it all themselves.  And even when you think that you have a good sense of it, it changes so quickly that you can become an outsider in a matter of weeks.  I think this is what some people adore about New York, and what makes me feel slightly stressed.  I like to know my home town and my neighborhood, and have a sense of consistency.  I don't like places that never change, not at all, but I don't want things to change so quickly that I can't keep up.  For this reason I like Washington DC, and other smaller, less intense cities.  However, you can't beat New York for a fun weekend.  Those same things that would give me a panic attack if I lived there are perfect for a visit.  There's no pressure to "know" the city, and so I can enjoy it with someone who does know it (at least that week). 

Later in the month I spent the night in Boston with my good friends Tez and Adam.  Tez and I worked together when I lived in Boston, and she and Adam became very good friends.  Sometimes when you move away from a city you lose touch with people, which is normal, but I've managed to stay close with them even so.  (Facebook helps, as does Tez' relentless habit of threatening me if I don't visit.)  We had a low key night, and since I'm old and lame now, this is right up my alley.  We had dinner at a really good restaurant in Quincy, although I forget the name.  Regardless, the food was delicious and the beer was too.  The next morning, Tez made us blueberry pancakes, and even though Adam thought they were a little blah, I thought they were delicious.  I couldn't stay too long, unfortunately, because I was headed to the Van Twisk Christmas party at my cousin's house.  We had a big group, and it was really wonderful to see everyone.  I'm really glad that my family manages to get together around the holidays, because we all get busy and time gets away from us the rest of the year.  We see each other, of course, but it's like a guarantee at Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter.  It's things like this that I really miss while I'm away.  

After the party I drove up to my sister's house in New Hampshire, because on Monday I was visiting her high school.  Chrystena teaches chemistry, but she is good friends with the school's German teacher, Frau Trammel, whose room is across the hall.  Chrys had been keeping Frau Trammel informed of my goings-on in Germany since my first visit in 2007, and we came up with the idea that I could come to her classes and tell her students about Germany.  I was a little nervous, because we all know that my German is far from perfect, but I didn't need to be.  For starters, Frau Trammel is one of the friendliest and most welcoming people I have ever met, and her students were all very polite.  I made a slideshow of some pictures of Kassel, as well as other places in Germany that I had visited, and I tried to share what a year in Germany had been like for me.  After the pictures, I answered some of the questions that the students had prepared.  There were the usual questions about food, weather, beer, etc, but also about how much my language classes had helped, were people friendly, and did I like living there.  The students also asked a lot about the differences, and I tried to explain how things could be simultaneously so similar, yet so different.  One student asked me if I had the choice to grow up in Germany or in the US, which would I chose.  That was a really difficult question for me, and I still think about it.  The students were all bright and they seemed really engaged.  It's clear that Frau Trammel is an excellent teacher and that her students like her.  I'd like to visit again if time allows.  In the meantime I'm just sending postcards.  

The next week was the week before Christmas, which is usually a stressful time.  I've never found it to be super stressful, but I only get stressed out by strange things like New York City's changing restaurants.  Anyway, that week Eduardo arrived from Chile for a visit.  He stayed through Christmas and flew back to Germany with me in January.  During that time we went back down to New York/New Jersey to visit with Jess, Vinnie and 2.0, our friend Neo in the city, and his friends up in Peekskill, NY.  It was a great trip, and it was really nice to meet some of his friends from Chile.  It was also really nice to have him visit for Christmas.  My family is mildly insane, but I think he enjoyed himself, and I know my family did.  We also had a big lunch with my friends from high school a few days before we flew back, and it was a really nice way to wrap up my time at home.  It went by really quickly, and I'm amazed that I packed so much in.  I was exhausted at times, (actually, most of the time) but it was worth it.  

So, there you have it.  My three months in the US, re-capped in four large nutshells.  Just in time too, because I'm just about to fly back to the US for a month. I'll try not to wait five months to tell you how that goes.  

Before I sign off, I want to say Happy Mother's Day to my mom and all the caring women in my life.  There are a lot of women who make my life better, and who make me a better person, and I love you. 

Bis bald!