Germany

One of the many huge beer gardens in Munich.

For the past four days I have been travelling through Germany getting to know a land I have always been interested in. Growing up, there was a certain taboo connotation of Germany in my mind. I learned about WWI, WWII, and communism and it all signaled to me that Germany was the antithesis of American ideals. A formidable and exceedingly capable power we should keep an eye on. They had a leading role in the show that was 20th century America, and they were the bad guys. This is obviously a childish viewpoint, but hey, I was a child. I have of course come to realize this conception of Germany is not legitimate and has no connection to what the place is today (and I knew this long before ever getting here.) Today’s generation, my generation, is not part of the 20th century. It is a different world. Still though, I keep hold of an undeniable awe and distant respect for its history. Germany has always done spectacular things, both unfathomably horrible and exceedingly great spectacular things. I’ve come here to sort this all out for myself. And hey, one side of my family holds dear their Irish roots, and the other holds dear their Polish roots, but I am just as much German and I want connect a little with that other part of my distant fam.

Heidelburg Castle high in the hills.

Germany is great so far. I have been travelling for a week now and have been to Frankfurt, Cologne, Munich, Heidelberg, Nuremburg, and now Berlin. Each town has been beautiful. There is an undeniable vibrancy here that I love. Everything is rich and alive. The buildings have dark browns clashing with all other colors and the roofs are made of rust colored tiles and run high and steep. The churches have been rebuilt after most were destroyed in WWII to the exact specifications they were before so every town still has their huge and dramatic Gothic Cathedrals. From out of train windows I have seen countless rolling fields of still-green wheat that is just tall enough to blow in the wind and dense forests of evergreens that have red trunks and no limbs until the very top. The trees stand incredibly close together and grow perfectly straight and tall. This had to be where the Barbarians came from. It looks just like the forests you see in movies about them- they are pretty spooky looking. On a particularly stunning stretch from Cologne to Frankfurt, the train cruised between mountains along the Rhine River where I saw more castles than anywhere else in my life high in the hills. Some were in ruins but many were preserved and I could tell they were still in use. It was a fantasy world I didn’t know actually existed. I must have seen 20 romantic castles.

I lounged extremely hung over overlooking the Frankfurt skyline.

The impressive Dom Cathedral in Cologne.

The people too are as rich and exciting as the land. I always thought German was the harsh and brutish language we imagine the Nazis speaking but today I was lounging in a beer garden listening to families and friends laugh and talk and my mind changed. Their words are so expressional and unique. It’s intimidating to an outsider but still fun to listen too. And finally, the girls-man are they gorgeous. I have been to many places in my life but have never seen better proportioned bodies. Their boobs are big, their booties round, and their legs long. Put that together with the first beautiful days of summer and some revealing clothes and we guys have a whole lot of eye candy to admire. (I hear that is how it is throughout all of Eastern Europe though.)Yes, after many liter steins of beer, beautiful summer days, and unforgettable sights, I can say I have a very good first week.

Bratwurst central.