Deutschland (II)

I’m fairly certain that I caught a German bug on Halloween because the next day I was disproportionately sick for about four drinks. Unfortunately we had a full day ahead of us. One of Dee’s aunts had planned out the entire day for us. So I dragged my half-dead self out of bed around 9 and by 10 we were at her aunt’s house waiting for everyone to assemble. Although I don’t speak German, I did understand everyone looking at le saying ‘alcohol’ and giving me the pity look. Luckily most of them were outside already when I stumbled to bathroom to empty myself out.

I’ve already mentioned that Germans are crazy drivers, and uncle Willie was no exception. We piled into their mini-van with aunt and uncle in the front, Dee and I and her cousin Dinah in the middle, and her two other cousins Celina and Kristina in the back. I felt like death the whole 45 minute drive to breakfast where I couldn’t eat anything. Another fifteen to the Rhine River, which we crossed in a ferry. Despite my wretched state I did appreciate the beauty of the place. But my wretchedness overcame me soon after we parked on the other side and Dee’s whole family got to see me puke bright green into a sewer. Then I felt like a true ass because as her aunt (who was really nice) was holding my head, her camera fell into the sewer. Luckily they were able to fish it out and clean it off so looking back it’s kind of funny.

The first part of our day we just walked through the little streets of this town. Although I looked and felt like hell, some part of me enjoyed it. Our next stop was a really big statue on the side of the mountains lining the Rhine. Really amazing views, and as I was glued to a bench Dee took some nice photos for me. And as we were leaving my body decided to empty out again. I told Dee and she yelled to her family, “Don’t look she’s gonna blow again!” Thanks Dee.

Then it was in the van to drive to some more mountains to a former monastery. We didn’t spend much time there but the grounds were really pretty. After this we drove to a little restaurant to meet up with another aunt. We just had drinks, but they wanted to bring us there because the family butcher shop supplied meat to the place. Back in the ban for ridiculous mountain driving. I think Dee and I both had the same wondrous yet scared shitless expressions on our faces the whole time. This windy road led us to ‘Buena Vista’, a Mexican restaurant. So I tried my first enchilada in a German Mexican restaurant.

Her aunt told us that we had one more stop to make; we were going to visit her grandmother. So we drive back into their small town, nothing unusual about that. We stop in a driveway and get out and go through the gate, and I notice that there are no lights on in the house… strange. Also strange is that we were going into the yard and not towards the house. And that’s about when I realized that the ‘yard’ was full of tombstones. Oh! Right. Her aunt’s grandmother would be really old if she was alive, we’re just visiting her grave. That was little unexpected. Her aunt apologized for not fore-warning us and possibly spooking us. After this little adventure we finally went home so I could sleep off whatever was wrong with me.

Le lendemain (the next day), after breakfast we went for a walk with aunt Edie through the back and farm roads of Wopenroth (their town). We walked maybe three or four km, and it was really cold, and the fog made it hard to see really far, but what we could see was really pretty. We saw lots of farmland, and got up close to some cute cows too. On the way back we passed some walnut trees and then had fresh walnuts with maple syrup when we get back. One of my new favorite snacks.

Now normally lunch time isn't exactly blog-worthy, but this one is. Her aunt had been cooking a big pot of pasta sauce since the night before. C'était énorme! Delicious tomato sauce filled with peppers, onions, garlic and olive oil. She also had salad with homemade salad dressing, also quite delicious (and that's from someone who, as a general rule, doesn't like salad dressing). I think I gained about five pounds in that one meal. And sorry people, but there's just no way to describe the incredibleness that my mouth experienced during the meal. oh and I almost forgot, there was homemade, very chunky apple sauce as well, which tasted like a really good apple pie without the crust.

After lunch, and a little time of not being able to move, we drove to yet another relative's house. We only stayed a few minutes, then piled back in the car with a cousin (3rd I think) and her mother, then we went off to the Mosel River. First we stopped in a very old town. We really only walked around and window shopped, but it was still nice. Aunt Edie bought us each a champagne filled chocolate...I'm pretty sure if you ate three or four you could catch a buzz...ridiculously strong and not that tasty (the chocolate was).

After listening to her cousin's mother tell us that every other building was really old for about four streets we went back to the car and took a long scenic drive along the Mosel River. The river cuts through some low mountains, and on almost every possible useable part of lard there were vineyards. They went up the side of the hills/mountains, even in really steep places. For the hundredth time I'm sure, my pictures give a much better description than I can.

Once we got back we stayed at Peter and Krista's house for a while (Krista and her mom were the ones that came with us). We had some wine and tea and pie (cherry was delicious). Back at aunt Edie's we watched a movie and had some dinner. Later on we got ready to go out again, and around 10h30 Dee's cousin Dinah came to pick us and Hannah up. We took another semi- long and very frightening drive through the fog to Frankfurt to a club. Then we had to wait in line for awhile. Surprisingly we got in though I was doubting we would while the bouncer was glaring us and our ISIC cards down. But we got in, and it was crazy: four bars and three dance floors in one place. Oh and lots of German that we couldn't understand. I asked for a kamikaze, and they gave me a shot with regular, lemon and lime vodka...not what I wanted... oh well.

We only got about three hours of sleep before we had to get up to get ready for the airport. Everything went fine except for one thing. For some reason the customs officers had a problem with my visa and wouldn't let me into the departure gate for a good ten minutes. I was getting pretty scared by the time they let me through. But finally, to Dublin!