I've officially named this phase of the trip European Rendezvous. It all started with meeting Weird Kate in Moldova in May, followed by Maggie in Hungary and then, good god, the remaining mass of our friends since then. After a few brief days of solitude in Salzburg, we traveled to Munich only to immediately delve back into the life of an international socialite.
If you can remember way back to New Zealand, where this crazy trip all started, you will recall that we spent quite a bit of time on an amazing farm on the north island. That's where we fell in love with our friend Anna who showed us how making dinner could be a five hour event in which four of those is actually spent gossiping over several bottles of wine. You might also remember that it was her son of a bitch roommate (I say that with much love) who duped us into kissing those famous goat balls. As fate would have it, Anna was in Germany visiting her German boyfriend, Joschi (who also worked on the farm while we were there) and we got to hang out with them in Munich for a couple days. Having a personal translator is not overrated.
The last (and only) time I was in Germany I spent three days in Munich and I never actually saw Munich. This requires and you deserve a thorough explanation - Oktoberfest 2005. On my last day in the city I woke up with a traditional German beer stein, a technicolor Oktoberfest commemorative t-shirt and a hangover on which to compare all future hangovers. So, yeah, I've been to Germany before, but I'm sure glad I had a chance to redeem myself.
Upon meeting up with Anna and Joschi they wasted no time sweeping us off to the nearest German beer garden where they sell those famous kiddy pool sized beers (this stereotype turns out to be true...along with the unbridled wearing of lederhosen). And all these years I thought that kind of consumption was reserved only for Oktoberfest. Turns out the germans prefer Paul Bunyan scaled beverages year round. After a few goliath steins, it was comforting to see that our friends haven't changed that much. The conversation turned for the worse (better?) when Anna and Joschi started having an argument over whether "Robin" or "Thor" is a gayer name for your first born son. This all brought on my Joschi who insists that his first child will bear the unfortunate and beating inspiring name, Robin. I guess you could say that I'm on Team Thor.
Anna's other hot international relationship is with her credit card. If you turn your back on them for one second you will find yourself with five fresh drinks and a heaping basket of fried food. I love/hate it when she does that. When Anna found out the pub we were at had a credit card minimum, poor Kelly fell victim by proximity (within shouting distance of Anna) and ended up taking the two tequila shots Anna had to order to fulfill the required minimum. So it will come as no surprise when I tell you that we found ourselves at three o'clock in the morning sprinting through Munich's massive fountain in the main square. Making for a long, soaking wet, freezing cold walk home. No amount of liquid long johns (even tequila) could have negated this cold. Which is actually not so bad when compared to the next day when I remembered that I am a hobo living out of a backpack and those are my ONLY pair of shoes. I begrudgingly put them on anyway so I could go get a lifesaving German sausage and cup of coffee the next morning. Squish, squish, squish.
Thank god (or not) our next stop this week was to the city of the green fairy; the city of Absinth; Prauge. While Prague might be famous for it's hallucinogenic liquors, we were in no shape to partake after our fountain fun in Munich...mostly. Well, what kind of friend would I be if I didn't a least help Kelly take her first ever shot of Absinthe? In reality we spent most of our time sightseeing, working out and enjoying sobriety. I know, I know, you want a better story than the We-Went-Home-Early-and-Knitted-by-the-Fire kind of a story, but my liver respectfully says, "suck it". Therefore you'll have to imagine us traipsing through the city viewing the ornate architecture, listening to classical music and sipping espresso by the picturesque river that runs through the city. Oh yeah, after all this time, that still IS an awesome story.
"The Fountain"
yes!!!!
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