Let the next adventure begin!
This part is a continuation from what happened on day 3 hence I'll begin with...
...Last night we went to a European club. It was of course my first experience and in
ways for S also because that's just not her scene nor music. But being the amazing person she is/was, she
wanted me to at least know what it was like to have the experience.
I frankly think her ulterior motive is to see me blog about it so she
can have something to read. Just sayin'. So we primped and prepared ourselves, wondering what the scene would look like. I didn't have high hopes since the place
wasn't an established club but rather a restaurant that was located on the top floor of a
building that turns into a club at night on and the building itself is a shopping mall. What sort of club is that anyhow?
I was joking with my friend that there would probably would be no one
there but she and I.
I was so, so wrong. -_-
The mass of humanity that attended boggled the mind. The
space wasn't small but with the crush of bodies it was hard to breathe even.
The music, which I expected to be nonstop techno/trance
ended up being very different. The DJ spun the hell out of his set and before
the crowd really started to pour in we were having a great time. But eventually
it became too claustrophobic and I looked at S and said (trying hard to withhold the desperation in my voice), "hey we can leave
whenever you like!" I was so hoping
she would say lets get the hell out of here but she, being the person she is,
responded with an easy shrug of her shoulders, "no, it's fine." Damn her sweetness. So we
stayed there for another hour being jostled and juggled without any effort on
our parts. Hey, I've never been about wasting my own energy anyhow, total waste of time.
When we escaped outside onto the terrace for a respite from the heat
finally I just told her that we should leave giving up completely on trying to seem as if I wanted to be there. I'm just not into the overcrowded bodies-pressed-into-each-other sort of scene anyhow.
She eagerly agreed (once again, she had been repressing her feelings about the spot only to please me which was ridiculous but sweet) and we couldn't have gotten out of there fast enough.
As I mentioned, the restaurant was located on the top
floor of a mall. Who would have thought that actually exiting the damn place would have been so damn arduous? The main level, where we had caught the elevator was locked down, the only accessible levels being either the club (were we supposed to parachute down to the street or what?) or garage. To us the garage option didn't seem any better and was sure there was something that would be a little more obvious. The idea that there were some 500 people wandering around that building trying to get out was a slight bit amusing though. We spent at least a half hour wandering around
searching which included traipsing through some shady looking
stairwells and then a creepy looking abandoned garage (it looked pretty damn abandoned). S said at one
point, "this is the type of place where rapists wait."
Erm...really?!? Cause that's not what I had already thought of!!
Eventually we made it out (this included a lot more climbing up and down those freaky quiet stairwells and then waiting till we saw life in the form of drunk partiers, following them out) and after I almost flung myself in
front of a taxi to make it stop because even that area had no stand and we were getting a bit desperate so I didn't care if the taxi was occupied or not, we scrambled in and went off the a karaoke bar.
It was pretty late and by the time we got there it wasn't all that packed but
good enough.
I sang a song and was applauded loudly but that probably was
because the folks before me sucked so bad that S and I thought our ears had
started to bleed. No, really. No joke. Bleeding. Down our necks to soak into our shirts. It was awful, the singing although the bleeding would have been also, and I can't stress this enough. Oh god I've never heard quality caterwauling like that in my
life. By the time I was up, I must have sounded like an angel. Fact is I was
okay, I can carry a tune and the guys who sat immediately to the right of me
where clearly surprised, hooting and encouraging me along. In fact I heard one say, 'she's damn good'. I wanted to respond, 'you bet' but decided to be that cheeky would be far too encouraging. I wanted to remain mysterious :P
Let me backtrack for a second also. Remember the club? The roof top thing? While we were there S asked me to tell her what sort of differences that I saw between that particular one and those I've been to in the good ol' US of A.
The most interesting was that the girls in Germany dressed far more
casual and so less hooch. I have to say
that was refreshing because anyone who has gone clubbing in the States know
that the less clothes you wear, the better. And the European women? Gorgeous. Breathtaking! I couldn't help but gawk and yes the men were
handsome but I am secure enough in admitting that I watched the women more than
the men. But it seems like no matter the landmass, the whites just can't
dance. Such a pity. At one point I had to turn away from observing one individual who was twisting and turning and be-bopping to some rhythm in his head rather than what was actually playing. I was flummoxed for several minutes, deciding that it was best to leave that dude alone before I was witness to an accident where he crushed someone.
We got home at 4 and both of us crashed hard.
Yesterday, M and S took me to an English pub where they
served a great brunch after which we went on one of those double decker hop-on-hop-off tour buses. I was thanking them
profusely for even considering going with me (I would have gone alone) but they
both confessed that they had wanted to take one forever but had been too embarrassed
seeing as how they are locals after all.
I toats understood since I suffer the same issues in DC. I wanna go so badly on one of those kitschy tours but my friends make endless fun :/
Haters.
Frankfurt is a beautiful city and parts are precisely
what you expect to see such as quaint shops and ginger bread architecture while
other parts are not. It's a very advanced city juxtaposed with the feel you
want as a tourist. Since my foot was still bothering me we kept walking to a
minimum which bummed me out something fierce. However, we did get off at one spot
and visited a bridge called appropriately enough "Padlock's Bridge" where people, couples specifically speaking, attach etched
locks to it and throw the keys into the Main river below.
Take a look:
It's so that the couples love
always remains locked or something like that. What a lovely thought, no? Do we
even have such sentiment like this in the USA?
I was slightly nostalgic at this point and was glad that S was with
me. She and M also regaled me with
stories and historic facts as we trod along but eventually my foot
demanded that we go home and I had to hear its call.
I'll add a few more pictures I found interesting although I'm not even going to go through the trouble of explaining each and every single one. I'm sure I do not have to remind anyone who is a regular reader that at the heart of it all, I'm a real lazy SOB.
Enjoy : )
Thus far I have taken the following modes of
transport: car (Autobahn), metro, tram,
walking, tour bus...all that's left is the local bus and underground, I believe both will happen today. :)
yay! I'm practically a local without any
understanding or grasp on the language. Ok maybe not a local at all since most of the time I wander around with my mouth hanging open looking overtly curious and not at all bored.
One thing about me when I visit other countries...I like
to help the local economy, particularly local vendors/shops. I don't remember
when I've ever made a big purchase for myself from a well known shop on my
travels, often opting to help out those folks who set up stalls and sell unique
wears. I'm glad to say that I was able to do the same here as well. We ran into
a woman very much like that with a smallish table set displaying the most lovely jewelry
that she was hand making (while sitting there) and who, incidentally, spoke very good English, asked
me to visit her website and from her I purchased a bracelet which she lovingly named
"Nessie" because on the cuff of it is an etching of the Loch Ness
monster, just the head. It's not obvious but it's there and I will always treasure it. She looked very gruff, the vendor, and windblown (it was
particularly cold yesterday) but she was sweet and kind. Another lesson about
not judging a book by its cover.
But honestly, everyone here have been nice. And whereas
the popular sentiment may be that the German accent is grating and harsh? I find it quite lyrical and beautiful. I've
been trying to pronounce everything with the correct accent and inflection. S,
being a German tutor, says I actually manage to pull off certain words quite
well while other foreigners can't. I would be proud of myself but I'm not only
because to me one should always try to make the effort. It only makes sense.
Then again, I'm also a child of immigrants and speak two other languages fairly
fluently so maybe that's why twisting my tongue to accommodate other languages
isn't that difficult for me whereas for those who speak only one language
aren't adept to it? This is my theory.
Anyhow, so after the whole touristy thing yesterday, we
went back home and I cooked a Bangladeshi dinner for my wonderful host and
hostess. The grocery stop over was fun as the 3 of us went shopping and I couldn't deny that the German grocery store was no different than any you would find in America. Even this small side trip was a revelation as to how alike our worlds truly are.
The meal in itself was a successes. S has seen, via Facebook my cooking skills and had always been curious so I figured after all that she and M had done for me, I could at least prepare them a sample. Admittedly, I loved watching them feast and was gratified. With P, who speed eats through any given meal and is done 4 seconds flat, I have to wonder if he
even tastes what I take 3 hours to make. But M and S savored each morsel. As a cook it was worth every second of the
actual action. And besides, M was our personal DJ as he played some awesome 80s
tunes and kept me dancing around the kitchen.
The evening was relaxing and we all called it an early night, and when I say "early" I mean about midnight. My foot was very thankful
for this consideration on their parts from the break of activity.
The only thing I can complain about has been S chasing me around her living room and bathroom with
vitamins and practically shoving them down my throat along with
ibuprofen.
By the time she was cozied in her bed, as was I snuggled down into the lovely futon that she had bought just for me which was stupid comfortable, I checked
the time and saw that it was about 7pm at home. It's weird to think that in the
states my friends/family are very active while I'm falling asleep. The time
difference slightly screws with my mind but overall I haven't suffered any jet
lag, knock on wood. Not that I've noticed. I'm
hoping for the same upon my return but fate is never so kind.
Lets see what tomorrow brings.
No comments:
Post a Comment