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Hello from Germany! I will try to get caught up with all of you, as it has been awhile
since I have been able to complete one of these reports and email it... without having a computer crash and lose
my document, that is. Yes it happened... OUCH!
I promised to tell you about my bus trip here from Poland. It was a journey I will not soon forget... all 20 hours
worth. I left Krakow on an early Saturday afternoon and found the ride most enjoyable as we meandered through picturesque
villages and farmlands, often seeing horses pulling plows, or men cutting grass with large scythes. In Katowice,
we stopped to change buses, and it was there that I heard someone yell my name. Turning, I saw Dean, one of my
Celta classmates running up to greet me. He was headed home to London and also changing buses, but had left Krakow
over two hours BEFORE me. He was, of course, highly amused to discover this peculiarity of Polish bus travel...
"ha ha ha!"
Upon entering this bus, I quickly noticed TV screens, and was pleased to see that there would be some entertainment
to break up the monotony. In Poland (unlike Germany, for instance), movies are not dubbed, but instead subtitled,
so I figured that with a little luck I could kick back and enjoy American cinema. Soon, on came the previews, in
Polish of course. Then the movie... Naked Gun... good for a few laughs I thought. Imagine my surprise (and amusement!)
when I discovered that not only was it dubbed, but that the exact same voice that had done all the previews was
also dubbing the ENTIRE dialogue of the movie. Men, women... it didn't matter! Love scene, argument... same monotonous
voice, as if he was actually just reading the script. Apparantly he was! And then, two more American movies...
same result. Ha, ha ha!
After passing through Wroclaw, we left the highway and started driving on railroad tracks! At least it felt that
way! I thought that we were encountering some minimal construction.. .right! After 30 minutes of bone-jarring,
teeth-rattling bouncing along, it then got worse! So bad in fact, that the luggage starting falling out of the
overhead racks! Eventually the aisles were an obstacle course on the way to the toilet... until the toilet overflowed
and then we had nowhere to climb over luggage to. The wierdest thing is that no-one seemed to think it this was
at all weird!
Eventually (mercifully), we arrived at the German border, and after a quick 90 minute wait to check passports,
we were cruising along the autobahn in the wee hours of the morning, with Mercedes, Porches and BMWs flying by
at well over 200 KPH! Zoom, zoom! German engineering at its best... welcome to Deutschland. And welcome back to
Western Europe!
Before my brain-dead self knew it, we were in Stuttgart, and my friend Nicole was there to greet me and help me
get oriented. Shortly thereafter, I met up with my friend Heide from Berlin, who was visiting her brother's family,
and had suggested I stay with them my first week there.
Öschelbronn is an idyllic little German community just outside Stuttgart. The streets, yards and homes are
all meticulously cleaned and manicured, and as I walked down the main street past the butcher, the baker, and the
candlestick maker, I fully expected to see a gingerbread house! Thomas, Bigi and their twelve-year-old son Steffen
live in a beautiful home, and I was absolutely spoiled rotten that week... home-cooked meals, German beer, and
the warmest, kindest treatment any guest could revel in.
One day we took a day trip to the ancient university town of Tübingen, which straddles the Neckar River, with
pole-wielding canal boat helmsmen generating images of Venice. Its beautiful town square (altstadt) is surrounded
by winding, cobblestone streets and church towers (15th century church) and wonderful little restaurants serving
up sinfully scrumptious German chocolate cake. Yum! Countless literary luminaries have lived there, and we strolled
by a window with a sign underneath it proclaiming that no less than Goethe himself had thrown up out of that very
same window. Charming thought!
Another day we drove to the nearby Black Forest, where the densely packed, tall trees create such a heavy canopy,
that underneath dwells an eerie gloom that conjures up images of gnomes and faeries, and Hansel and what's-her-name
(actually I know her name, I just can't spell it!) We walked along a babbling stream (you guessed it... babbling
only in German!), with moss and lichen covered rocks. It was spectacular! Eventually we climbed to the hill crest
where we had lunch overlooking the valley, before returning back. Very nice day!
Not only did I have a very nice week staying with Heide's brother's family, but they also helped me find a flat
(apartment) in impossibly easy fashion. Normally, it is quite difficult to find a place to live, especially in
the city itself. I discovered that, when Heide and I went one day to the university to check the bulletin board.
It appeared that the law of supply and demand was heavily stacked against me. As I started feeling a bit depressed
about the prospects of finding something, I turned to her and told her that I absolutely knew that somehow I would
find something, and it would be just what I wanted. I did not know how, but I really felt that way... I was not
just churning out some New Age jargon. I said that I absolutely KNEW I was supposed to be in Stuttgart, and that
everything so far had been magically falling into place, and that all my traveling had been such a demonstration
to me that when I follow my passion and sense of purpose, that things always have a way of working out. Time after
time, doors had opened... miracles had seemingly occurred! I believed that this would be no different, though I
had no idea how getting a flat soon would resolve itself.
That evening, the Westermanns invited me to join them at a nearby restaurant. I declined, telling them that I felt
they should have an evening without my intrusion...just family. But they pointed out that a friend of Thomas' would
be there, and insisted I join them. So I did. Well, guess what? Their friend Martin has a girlfriend whose parents
own a building downtown, and Martin thought they might have an available flat. He said he would call them the next
day. He did, and the day after that Thomas, Heide and I drove there and checked it out. I paid my first month rent
and moved in the very next day! Game, set, match!
My flat is exactly what I wanted. It is close to both the heart of the city and to public transportation. I am
on the top floor of a four level building (that's five floors in the US), so I practice counting up to 100 in German
while I walk up and down, cause that's just how many steps there are. I have a large room, with a sink and all
the necessary furniture, two windows (one overlooking the city and surrounding hills), and I share a bathroom and
kitchen facilities with my flatmate Christoph. Christoph is a story in himself. He is a quiet, painfully shy 29-year-old
(looks 18) librarian, who has such a meek, reclusive personality that Heide, Thomas and I were immediately convinced
I was sharing living arrangements with a serial killer. He has absolutely all the trademark characteristics!
But serial killer or not, he has become a delightful flatmate; quiet, courteous and thoughtful... plus he speaks
very good English, which is handy when I could use either conversation or a translation... which is frequent!
The next time we talk I'll tell you about how my teaching is coming along and about overcoming loneliness in a
foreign country when the language barrier overwhelms the spirit. And maybe give you some links to follow if you
want to have the experience of living abroad yourself...
Until then...
 Peace and love
-------------Fast Eddie
Some websites with more information about Poland and Krakow:
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