277. Deutschlandia




Roxanne and I just came from a great vacation in the south of Germany. When someone comes from visiting a new country, one of the most tactless things they can do is to come up with broad generalizations about an entire group of people. So here we go!


BROAD GENERALIZATIONS ABOUT THE GERMAN PEOPLE AND LANGUAGE

  • The south German people weren’t warm. They weren’t cold either. They were perfectly neutral. But, when you mention their tattoos, pets or beer, they beam up!
  • The south German people seem to have an above average inclination to have dogs. Dogs were everywhere, we saw a Chihuahua in a cold cave in Austria (30 minutes from Germany so it counts). 
  • The word for cook (Koch) is troublesome. When I awkwardly tried to tell a male server “Compliments to your cook / Komplimente an den Koch” my wife laughed hysterically.
  • A phrase I learned early on was "Sehr Nett", which means "very nice". Halfway on the trip I realized that this made me sound like Borat. Subsequently, and much to Roxanne's chagrin, I tripled its use.
  • Munich is a great city and all, albeit no stellar natural surroundings. Drive one hour out of it, however, and boom... you're the Vonn Trapps. Bavaria is gorgeous.
  • It was harder to get craft beer in South Germany than in Thailand, Peru or Mexico. Thankfully, I love wheat beer.
  • The Bavarian King Ludwig II was super interesting, I think I'll write a comic about him eventually.


Travelling is top 5 on a list that includes my wife, my mom, my pets and video games and make life worth living. I know there will be a time in which travelling will be more challenging than satisfying (hopefully decades from now). There's something about the awkward moments, the basic language learning, the people-watching.... it just brings me closer to others. Being at the concentration camp in Dachau and hearing in multiple languages the horrors committed there because of warped world views that are coming back (East Germany voted heavily for an alt right party as we were there), these are the moments that can carve a different pathway for my neurons to traverse for the remainder of my life.


I know there's a cost barrier that I am privileged to be able to cross, but money spent on travelling has given me more life than money spent on things, every single time. 



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