Loco in London and Beer in Bavaria

Link to my pictures from Germany...
http://s1106.photobucket.com/albums/h369/KatelinDavidson/Beer%20in%20Bavaria/

It’s hard to start a blog and accurately recall the events that have occurred over the course of the last month… It all started on a foggy day in the PDX airport where I was stranded for around seven hours due to the generator failing on the plane that was supposed to start me on my journey. I had woke up at 4 am the morning of December 28 to make sure I had everything packed that I would be needing for the next three months. My carry on was packed with the essentials, as that would be the only thing I would have to travel with for a little over two weeks.

After a miserable morning spent staring at the hideous green carpet in PDX, I finally boarded a plane to Chicago. This flight went without incident, and also without sleep. My layover at the airport was a whole hour and the gate I walked out was next to the gate where I boarded my next flight so I didn’t have a very exciting experience in O’Hare. The next flight went about the same as the first, except with movies and a meal, which was deeply appreciated.  They also fed us what they defined as breakfast, but it was more of foods I couldn’t even begin to describe so I only ate the one thing I found edible: a roll.

I went through customs at Heathrow without a hitch (which was good because I forgot the paper I needed for customs at home) and then the wait began. My friend’s boyfriend was supposed to meet me at the airport, but due to the plane delays, I wasn’t really sure what time he would be arriving, nor had I ever met him in my life. After a phone call that lasted a whopping 35 seconds, I got my point across where I was and I knew he was on his way. He arrived around 45 minutes later and my London adventure began.

We went straight to a pub in central London where we were soon met by one of his English friends with one of the strongest accents I’ve ever heard in my life. But I’m glad that I was able to understand him as he was one of the most amusing and cynical people I have ever met in my life. He was mostly amusing because of his cynicism but also for his passionate love of American television and how he incorporated American slang into his everyday English lifestyle. After a few pints, it was decided that since it was my first meal in England, I had to have a traditional plate of fish and chips. It was bought and placed before me and my new found friends watched with curiosity. Not only are “mushy peas” served with the meal, but you’re supposed to dip your chips into them. I did with hesitation, only to discover, it isn’t that bad! I would still chose ketchup any day, but for now, mushy peas are quite alright by me.

We then decided I needed to find a place to sleep that night, considering it was about 5:30 pm, I still had my entire luggage and it was dark outside. We decided that the Travel Lodge should be a decent place to stay, and affordable, plus it was next to the train station where I was supposed to be leaving from the next morning. All we knew is that it was “200 meters from the Liverpool Street Station,” in what direction, we had no idea. An hour later, we found it! Only to discover it was 120 pounds for one night… So we paid to use their internet and found a hostel a few stops away that was only 17 pounds a night but it meant I would be sleeping in a dorm. My only thought was “How many people could possibly be staying in a London hostel on a Wednesday right before New Years?” My question was answered when I discovered I would be sharing a room with 20 other girls, and yes, the room would be full. The two boys stayed with me for awhile but eventually had to catch a train back to Norwich where they live and thankfully took my luggage with them, minus my carry on. They’re troopers those guys, and I still have no idea how they managed to lug that giant suitcase around on a train.

I went to bed around 9 pm, meaning I had been up for around 33 hours straight. When I went to bed, there were only four girls in the room with me. Around two hours later, the first group of drunken girls arrived for the night. They eventually fell asleep and I got about another hour of sleep until the next group arrived, only this time, there were guys in this group (on an all girls floor) and they didn’t speak English.  Apparently, the girlfriend of one of the guys was sleeping on the bed below me and she insisted on him making her a type of fort, so no light would shine on her. This consisted of putting up a blanket over the end of the bed and tucking it under my mattress, in which the guy decided my sheets also needed to be tucked in from about my knees down. Eventually the boys were kicked out but my legs remained mummified.

Early the next morning I successfully took the tube to Liverpool Street and got a train to the airport. Carry on’s are weighed at this airport and mine was too heavy, meaning I had to pay 35 pounds for it but at this point, I just wanted to be in Germany. After a short flight, I arrived in the snow covered country that serves my favorite beer. Peter and Kathi met me at the airport and we started our drive back to Straubing. When we arrived, I was greeted warmly by the entire family and we had a big, traditional Bavarian feast. I had a few Weissbiers with Peter and Max with/after dinner and apparently made history because after that, Peter introduced me as “The American who drank three Weissbiers with dinner.” I guess that’s something to be proud of.  

I got to sleep in Peter’s old room the entire time I was there which meant that I had a giant room and my own bathroom in the basement of the house. I slept for an obnoxiously long time and awoke to realize, it was New Years Eve. Kathi and I walked down to the soccer field where the New Year’s, or Silvester, event would be held and watched Peter attempt to build an ice bar. I saw some old friends that I had met five years previous yet barely any of them would speak English with me.

We spent the rest of the day walking around in the snow and walked down to a frozen river and watched some drunk guys play the Bavarian version of curling. It was quite amusing, but girls aren’t usually allowed to play so we kept walking the river. Later, Robert (now known as Oily) stopped by and I thought that he would speak English with me since he had the last time I was there but he also refused. We went back to Peter and Susa’s apartment and had a giant meal with fondue. We then walked down to the soccer field and the festivities began. There were two fridges of beer and hard alcohol and only about 20-30 people that attended. Yet, not the surprisingly, a majority of the alcohol was consumed.  I got to meet Kathi’s boyfriend and he spoke English to me the most, which was greatly appreciated. He later became “Fire Devil” when he began lighting off massive amounts of fireworks at midnight. As soon as it hit midnight, all of the people I had met five years ago all came up, gave me a huge hug and said “Happy New Year” which made me extremely happy, even though that was all the English they spoke with me. We went home around 5 am and passed out, not waking up until late the next day.

This day was the shortest, waking up late only to discover that Kathi and Franziska had both puked the night before. We spent more most of the day at home and then met some people at a bar later that night. It was at this bar where I met my future husband, a strange Canadian man that strangely resembles Harry from Dumb and Dumber. He wrote me a wonderful note and Peter finally said we had to leave because he was so creeped out by this guy, just imagine how I felt.

 The next day was one of the best days of my trip so far: the day that I went sledding in the Bavarian forest. We met up with a group of about 10 people and hit the slopes on traditional Bavarian sleds that I think have been around since the invention of sleds. My first run by myself, I successful clipped the sled of a small child and he fell off the sled and face first in the snow. He didn’t move for about three minutes and then sat in the middle of the sled run so we figured this wasn’t the first time it had happened to him. We had hot wine after being there for about two hours and discovered another slope (unmarked) and decided it would be a good idea to go there. This is where all the injuries occurred. Conie and Kathi successfully crashed and Kathi hurt her shoulder, Kathi lost control of her sled and ended up in the trees, and the rest of us got bruises when our sleds went from the slick snow to the deep snow, throwing us off and into the two foot deep snow. We went home after many hours, and after enjoying a few beers, and watched a movie since we were so tired.

The next day was the lowest key day because Kathi, Franziska and I decided to travel to Regansburg to see where Kathi goes to school and to do some sightseeing. We had coffee at the oldest café in Germany and everything in the town was gorgeous, especially with all of the snow and Christmas decorations. We went home decently early and went out to a traditional Bavarian dinner with the family, including Oma. The next day would be my last day in Bavaria and the day that my friend Leslie would finally be arriving for our journey to Rome.