So this has been a pretty trying experience thus far. I'm out here doing "soul searching" among other things if you will. Frustration and desperation are daily emotions. I feel as though there is no longer any reason why anything happens until my prayers for a good breakfast were answered.
I wake up this morning to a sour stomach, hard bed, and a little glimmer of uninvited sunlight through my no longer soft towel hanging in the window put there in an attempt to hinder such an invasion. I go over to Curtis and we start listing off all the things we wish we had right then. I would say, "All I want is to get in my car, drive to Outback Steak house drink about 5 cokes from the fountain with the taste of chlorination from the water, eat a rack of ribs and then walk 10 steps all fat to my car and then drive in traffic to my house and walk another 15 steps to my couch. I also wouldn't mind some eggs that aren't hard boiled and some bacon." So much pig in this country but where's the bacon? I overheard a co worker talk about how there was no bacon in Germany and this my friends is when hope died for me. We also talked about capri suns, pop-tarts and of course pizza.
We decided the night prior that we don't know what we want. If we knew what we wanted we would be able to get it. We also determined that you have to start putting things out there if you want them to happen. This doesn't always work but it works more than just lumbering through the day hoping for something fantastic to happen to you.
So Curtis and I went to our favorite bar/snack joint Berg Wolfe. I knew they had Maker's Mark here and I was getting sick of drinking beer all the time. So for this reason and the fact that its the most laid back bar we've found so far were factors for going here. Before we went in I asked what do we want? I said I just want to talk to some cool people and maybe they tell us where some other cool bars are or what's cool to do in Munich. We found a table and watched as the many people came and went.
The first couple that came up was quite a burly woman with her date. I've been practicing the game where you put the beer coasters on the edge of the table and flip them up with the back of your hand and then try to catch them before they hit the table. The more coasters you stack on top of each other the more everyone knows how much time you spend drinking.
So I'm up to about 12-15 coasters now. The couple sits down, I grab a stack of about 7 coasters of so, put it on the edge of the table, flip them up with my hand and as I go to catch them they scatter all over the table. I apologize for my amateur coaster flipping abilities. The woman then gestures for me to give her the coasters. She puts them on the edge, flips them up and catches them first try. I decide not to start a competition and applaud her skills.
So that couple leaves and in comes two dudes with their pommes frittes (fries). I guess I should clarify a few things. Berg Wolf is open until 4 serving the best pommes frittes and currywurst in the city. It's basically the burritos of california or the slice of Pizza in NY. Late night drunk food. But besides this, I like the service and the overall atmosphere is great and of course the makers.
There are wooden tables with benches throughout this little joint. There are about 6 tables with benches against the walls and so one. For this reason about 6 people sit at each table. So of course in Europe or any urban city, if there's a table with 2 dudes at it, there's definitely an open space for anyone to sit down. This is why we had so many visitors. On with the dudes.
So these dudes don't do much, don't say much to us, eat their fries and move on. The next couple was pretty interesting and awkward. They were about our age. The girl was pretty cute and didn't look like she was from Germany. Maybe some sort of Italian mix or something, but for sure wasn't German. Simple dress, relaxed look. The guy had glasses and looked like a pretty intense OCD nerd. There were lots of awkward silences and their overall disposition about their relationship at this point was pretty clear to anyone around.
It made me remember times when I've forced things that shouldn't have been. Alot of this trip has been about trying to force things to happen. Whenever you move to a new city, it takes time to find out what you like and the people you want to hang around with. My first couple years in LA were spent trying to find the cities I liked as well as the friends I liked. I'm pretty sure I don't talk to the friends I had the first couple years in LA. It's too bad that once december rolls around, we'll just be getting comfortable in Munich.
So that couple leaves and in comes super rich boys from Munich. They sit down and I feel the vibe of maybe they want to talk about something. I look over at curtis about 4 makers deep and say, "Man if this was the US I would say, 'Hey guys! What's going on tonight? Doing a little boozing?! Yeahhhhhhh wooooo cchheerrrss!!! Alllriighhhtttt woooo!!!!'" So as I say this I think they hear me, I put the two and two together and realize I don't have to be in the US to say that and so I raise my glass say cheers and ask what they have been up to. I forget everyone speaks english and most people don't have a problem with it. I think the people that do are less than those that don't.
So I can't remember their names, but as they put it, Er hat paar pferdchen laufen, which means 'oh that guy has a couple horses running for him' (rich). So the one guy has a pinstripe button down shirt tucked into his jeans with some nice boots. Slicked back hair, but a friendly smile wide eyes and thin lips. He was about our age and did risk management at BMW. He mainly talked with Curtis about how much money you'll end up making doing that job.
The other guy who I ended up talking to looked like a thin Philip Seymour Hoffman and had on a red wool sweater over his collared shirt. I was a little apprehensive about talking to him, thinking I might not have that much in common, but I figured what the hell, let's see what this guy has to say. Turns out he was pretty friendly and had a lot to say about things I had forgotten about. His overall outlook on life was one of anything is possible and why shouldn't it be? If you want it, you figure out how to get it. He was pretty intelligent and I could tell he moved fast and made quick decisions.
The topic of a rental car came up and he suggested I just set up a time with a BMW dealership and they'll give me a car for a day to test drive. He asked me, "Do you have a suit? Ok, this is no problem in Germany. Many dealerships will let you have a car for a day and this is no problem. Everyone speaks english, this is no problem either. You go there say your company is going to buy you a car and you want to see if you would buy an Audi, mercedes or BMW. They give you the car and this is how its done in Germany." I thought, yeah ok if I was the super pimp that I am in LA and work the angles of this sale and make it happen then ok, maybe, but here in Germany? He reassured me many times that this was, "no problem in Germany."
We also talked about the right and left in Germany. He said that the left in Germany is more against the left in America and all this and that the right in Germany was like the left in America or something. I don't really know what he was talking about, but needless to say he was right about something and I had a belly full of whiskey and fries.
As they got up, they asked if we wanted to check out another bar. We said sure and we actually walked back closer to our house to a latina salsa club called Buena Vista. It was a nice place with latino people and it made me remember the passion and fun behind that culture. Something that is also, cough, in German culture if you can find it. Basically made me miss LA as well.
Inside the bar were these wooden cut-outs of what looked to be caribbean style men in sailor outfits from the early cotton picking days. Curtis eloquently pointed out how blatantly racist the red lipstick and outfit were amongst other stereotypical props illustrated on the cut-out. I thought this was funny, ok maybe not funny in Germany, oops, I mean...uh...wow...never-mind.
So back to the morning of bitching and complaining about how everything is so hard. The night before we learned that things will happen if you put them out there. We walked downstairs to our local cafe, Melcher's, and ordered breakfast. The lady that helped us did not know much English, so I just ordered what i knew.
"Well, that looks like some sort of eggs, and that says ham, and well I don't know what that is, and I'm not sure what that is, but whatever, we'll have that."
We got the breakfast we asked for in the morning, bacon and all. There is someone listening after all.
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