Hello friends,
This is my last post from the road as I am currently on a plane 30000ft in the air returning to my beloved Canada. After 2 and a half months of travel I am ready to be back home, especially since the last two weeks were just about the wildest party weeks of the whole trip. This had much to do with World Cup Fever and the fact that I was staying with my girl Steffi from Uni, and her family in Wuppertal for the last leg!
When Melody and I arrived in Wuppertal Steffi was waiting for us, and then the party got started...it was Canada day afterall. Our other Canadian friend, also named Mel, was visiting Germany too, so we all went for some happy hour cocktails...yes we serenaded the whole bar with a lovely bilingual rendition of Oh Canada! And then we found ourselves happy like children on a playground near Steffi's childhood home for the later part of the evening. You haven't truly experienced German nightlife until you receive noise complaints from cops, so we were getting an authentic experience that first night when the cops were called to the playground to have our rowdy bunch quiet down. It was quite funny, and I think the cops were even a bit amused at the 7 24 plus individuals standing before them...I'm sure they
thought we were very sober.
The next day Melody and I headed to SummerJam!! This is a huge reggae festival in Koln that went from July 2-4th. Damian Marley and Nas were headlining and Nneka, one of my fave acts was playing, it was also a chance for Mel and I to break out the tent one last time and also a chance for us to take in some German Subculture. I had no idea there were so many rastas in Germany and I have never seen so many dreads in my whole life....The grounds were a sea of tents and it was a really cool experience as Lollapalooza was the only other comparable festival I had been to and it wasn't camping. We had a really small tent so were able to sneak in behind some larger tents and get a really great spot. The day was spent soaking up the sun and taking in the sweet rythms of reggae music, while also trying the many delicious foods present at the festival....mmmm afrikan, yes please!
That saturday we left the festival grounds as we were promised an incomparable time at the Germany vs. Argentina game with Steffi and all her friends at the Koln arena. We were told it was going to be insane....and oh my gawd it was. Not only cuz the mass amounts of people,or the fact that Germany won, but also because of the torrential downpour that soaked us revellers. It was definitely one of the highlights of my trip and I'm glad I got to share it with my German Steffi!
Germany won and the crowd was erupting with joy! Melody and I left the group in Koln though because we had to go back to the festival as we wanted to catch Damian Marley and Nas. Man oh man that was an epic show. Just the thought that we were listening to Bob Marleys son live was epic, and he even performed some of his dads songs which was very awesome. Also Nas performed some of his old songs so the show was really great end to a sweet party day. Then we went to a reggae tent and danced the night away with some nice French boys!
Post festival Mel and I went back to Steffi's in Wuppertal to repack for a week as we were hitting up Prague then Berlin before we parted ways and I would finish up the last few days of the trip at Steffis.
In Prague Mel and I saw the many cool sights, Karls bridge, the castle and we did the free walking tour. Being in this part of Europe is super interesting because there is tons of war history and cities that were once rubble were completely rebuilt post war. We also took in the last few games of the World CUp at the public viewing with some new American friends we had met on the train. It was disappointing that Germany lost to Spain because it meant they wouldn't be in the final, and it would have been really sweet to be in Berlin for the deciding match, but in the end Spain deserved it, and Koln was a good taste for me of what the party would have been like!
After Prague Mel and I found oursleves in our last stop on the trip, so surreal that we had come so far! We rented a room in an appartment from a 24 year old yoga instructor in Berlin named April, and basically were right near everything.Berlin has such an intricate metro line it was easy for us to get around. Berlin is such a sprawling city and it was so interesting learning about the Wall and how Germany and Berlin itself was divided into 4 post war. Also, it finally hit me how unjust the wall was, it was basically put up over night, meaning people woke up in the East and couldn't go to work in the West, or see their friends and families, or lovers...and this lasted for 28 years! The iron curtain to me is one of the most shocking human rights violations I've heard of and it took place in my lifetime, it became very real to me. It was also very convenient sightseeing with mine and Mel's friend Matt from highschool and his brother Peter, a history major. I learned a lot that day from both brothers about history, and they learned a lot that night about how to party in Berlin from me and Mel! (Mostly Mel and her friend-making abilities on the subway!)
Berlin is a cool city and there is graffitti and an underground youth scene like no other place I have been. Parties go all night, and the Doner is the best I've ever had. Berlin is one of the cheapest/poorest European cities. The government is trying to commercialize it for tourism, but it must be difficult with such a strong young and leftist group of young people residing there. Mel and I walked blindly into a Peaceful protest against Commerciallizing the beach bar area along the Spree river, complete with naked men climbing fountains, lots of tattoos and dreadlocks and alternative lifestyles and of course the daytime electro love fest party, also cops in riot gear, but not super necessary, more for show.
Berlin has been called "Cheap but Sexy", and I'd have to agree. It is a city full of starving artists who live cheaply, drink plenty and express their ideas through their craft (my kinda place). The people are very political with strong opinions due to the very recent history of being shut off from Western civilisation for 28 years, as well post war feelings are still resonant. This was apparent all over Germany though. The only time you will see German flags is during World Cup, and man oh man do you see a lot of them. But as soon as World Cup was done, the flags were all down. Its unfortunate that Germany is scrutinized for being too Patriotic as it brings up past indiscretions for many people, but with new generations I'm sure this will change and Germans will be able to freely express their patriotism all year round, like us Canadians...a flag on the backpack perhaps?
On our last night, Melody and I partied till the wee hours when she had a 630 train back to Zurich to catch, and I had a 4h train back to Wuppertal. In true Melody fashion, she checked the wrong time of the train and had to wait on the platform for two hours to catch the actual train she was supposed to be on. Alternatively, my last train which was supposed to have no changes, ended up having two and being very late as the air conditioning on both due to the extreme heat in Germany was shot. Its funny that Mel and I each had a hiccup with our last trains, but we had such great luck this whole trip it was nothing we couldn't let rolls off of us
.
It was bittersweet saying goodbye. Melody and I are both ready to go back home and get back into the swing of things, cuz you know we both need to make some cash...badly. But we were sad to be leaving eachother because we never know when we will see eachother again. We never have trouble making it happen though, and I am also in my mind planning a Vancouver trip this winter to see her as she's moving there in August...and I could use some big mountains in my life again...and some Melody of course.
These last few days at Steffi's parents have been truly wonderful, as her parents are like the most generous and hospitable people Ive met. Im going home well rested, clean, and with a full bag of clean laundry! And of course the fondest of memories of my time with my German family!
I should be touching down in 4 hours and my dad will be waiting for me at the airport which makes me super happy!. I cant wait to see my friends and family and reminisce and give gifts and let the trip sink in, because right now its all a blur to me really...but i guess its good that ive written all these blogs then haha! See you all soon!
Love and kisses as always!!!
Tanya
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