Summer 2005: Germany

By the time I reached Germany, on the third week, I was already too exhausted from the trip and much of my touristic drive had been dried up. Jose Maria went only as far as the Netherlands, as he had to go home for some family thing, so that throughout the last week I travelled alone. Then, I was seriously lacking energy and my body was starting to show symptoms like that Australian guy we'd met in Den Hague: deteriorating posture, aging, failing voice and slow speech (hehe). So in Germany my travelling motto was simple: "Slow down," "Take it easy." I remember telling Jose Maria that if I hadn't reserved accommodation in Germany and hadn't paid for return flight, I'd be so glad to go home with him. But thank goodness, I didn't!

My first stop was Hamburg, which wasn't really that bad though it didn't have anything I hadn't seen in Amsterdam. There was a huge red-light district, which was rather lacking pulse, and the city's port, one of the most important in Germany and Europe, was too chaotic.

Cuxhaven - Realizing there wasn't much too see in Hamburg, I squeezed in a day trip to Cuxhaven. It was far from Hamburg (four hours) and, exhausted from the night before, I woke up late and arrived in Cuxhaven past noon. I was supposed to see a protected national park near Cuxhaven's port, but since I arrived late, I missed the boat! Too bad, I just ended up taking a short cruise around the port...

Berlin - my favorite German city. Hermann was right when he told me five years ago that Berlin was nice, because that's what it truly is. It boasts palaces, monuments, old churches, museums, and perhaps once they are done with some construction work, it might just be able to compete with Rome. But more than for its beauty, I like Berlin for its history. The Jewish Memorial Museum, besides the A-Bomb Museum in Hiroshima, was the only museum that almost made me cry. It has a host of other historically important sites, such as the Berlin wall, the Charlie Checkpoint and the former Nazi concentration camps. I went to a gay pub in Berlin, in search of a darkroom (haha!) and I found that the Germans were really friendly. Seeing I was alone, two guys just started talking to me at the bar and gave me tips about the city!

Munich - This city was great, but then again, it didn't have anything I hadn't seen in my previous destinations. Well, except for the 1972 Olympic Stadium, the Octoberfest site, and the English Park where the beach-deprived locals just lie totally naked on the grass to sunbathe! The highlight of this stop was lunch in a beer garden; lunch was a simple affair of weisswurst (white sausage), half-a-liter beer, french fries and brezel. By the way, if in Japan people eat sashimi, in Munich they eat raw fish stuffed into a bun with fresh onions (rollmops)! For curiosity's sake, I gave it a try...

Cologne - By the time I reached Cologne, my energy levels had already hit rock bottom. Luckily, learning from past experience, I kind of splurged on accommodation here and reserved a single room in a cheap hotel. The Cologne cathedral, known as the Mt. Everest of cathedrals, did not really impress me much, but I must still concede it was beautiful. I fell in love, too, with the University of Cologne, with its far-stretching grass fields, low-rise buildings and tree-lined walkways, as it kind of reminded me of ICU, my former school in Japan. Really, at that time, I was just so happy to wander around the campus, take in the smell of grass, and watch the students lying on the fields and jogging around. There, I found myself in my best mood after days of exhaustion...

This picture shows an artist's tribute to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, in Berlin's Jewish Memorial Museum. These are face-shaped metal plates, and you have to step on them as you walk around the exhibit room. Gives you quite an eerie feeling...

In this picture, you will see Hamburg's main train station.

In this picture, you will see what's left today of the Berlin Wall.

In this picture, you will see a typical brewery in the Octoberfest grounds in Munich.

In this picture, you will see a street-performing Polish band in Cologne. I liked their music so much I bought their CD.

FOOTNOTE TO THIS KILOMETRIC TRAVEL ENTRY: I'm quite thankful that this trip did happen, despite some difficulties with preparation. Before leaving Malaga, having finished my first year in the master's program, I was already too tired and didn't know how to recover my former happy state. This trip was just the break I needed, and even though it exhausted me too at some point, it made me realize how I like the city I now live in, Malaga, my home in Spain. Well, till the next backpacking trip!