"I'm not GERMAN. I'm BAVARIAN," said the German ultimate player I met at Leiout in January.
I admitted that I am an ignorant American and that I didn't know there was a distinction.
"I'm from Munich and it's part of BAVARIA."
Oh.
If you're detecting a hint of snobbery with a twinge of elitism in his tone, you've got it right. And it was that tone that was enough to intrigue me.. hmmm. What's so great about Bavaria?
Fast forward 5 months. I'm sitting in Vivien's apartment and I'm trying to figure out what to do with my last 2 days in Germany. I had seen most of western Germany by this point and Berlin was too far away. I needed a shorter trip. Hmm... Maybe it's time to see what's so great about Bavaria?
I wasn't sure I could pull off a trip to Munich in such short notice, but with the help of Vivien I was able to work out some logistics. Munich was too far and too expensive to go roundtrip by train, but Vivien was able to find me a ride on a carpooling website she uses frequently for 24 Euros. To Americans, and especially my mom, it might sound a little shady to carpool with a complete stranger. Especially as a woman. Even the usually intrepid Shenzi was leary.
Shenzi: Honey, go get some pepper spray now.
Bacon: Viv says it's safe, that Germany has 25% of the crime of the US, and pepper spray is illegal. I do have a knife just in case.
Shenzi: Don't get stabbed.
Bacon: I won't.
Shenzi: Good honey
With Shenzi's blessing, I bought a train ticket from Trier to Kaiserslautern. I booked a ride with a dude named Volker from Kaiserslautern to Munich. I made a reservation in a hostel near the Munich train station and booked a train ticket back to Trier for the following evening.
Bavaria, here I come!
Now you might be wondering if I was nervous about a solo adventure to a completely new city where I don't know anyone and don't speak the language. The answer is no. This is because I know the two most important words in German: "haptbanhof" (main train station) and "danke" (thanks). If I can ask how to get to the train station and thank someone for their directions, that's all I'll need.
At 7:45 am I left Viv's place with a backpack, a purse, and some train tickets. I took the bus to the train station, the train to Kaiserslautern, and then the bus to Volker's meeting point for the carpool. It was at a Burger King just off the autobahn. Man, I hoped this guy wasn't creepy.
After a little while, I noticed an older woman waiting outside of the Burger King with some bags.
"Waiting for a ride?" I asked.
"Volker?"
"Yep."
The older woman's name was Eva. She explained that she had just returned home from Africa, where she helps starving children. She splits her time between Africa, Kaiserslautern, and Munich helping the poor. I decided this was not the time to mention I work in Hollywood for a culturally insensitive television show.
Just then, a black BMW matching Volker's online description pulled into the parking lot. The rims were thick and black. The windows were tinted. The driver was wearing dark sunglasses and he didn't even acknowledge us. Everything about this guy resoundingly says: douchebag. Great. In fact, he's such a douche that he drove right past us.
And then another identical BMW, minus the D-bag factor, pulled into the parking lot and out stepped a friendly guy who introduced himself as Volker. Okay, this looks better. Volker looked like a professional guy. He shook my hand and greeted me in English even though he admitted he only spoke a little. Good enough for me. Eva and I jumped into the car. Once we're on the road Volker even mades sure I'm wearing my seatbelt and I concluded that he was probably not a psychopath, rapist, or serial killer.
4 hours later, I'm in Munich. Volker dropped me off at the Alianz Arean, a soccer stadium outside of the city, where I can catch the metro to my hostel.
A German woman saw me looking confused. I must've screamed "tourist" because almost in a sigh she asked,
"Where are you going?"
"Haptbahnhof."
"Follow me."
"Danke."
A subway ride later, I'm checked into my hostel, cleaned up and ready to explore Munich. It's that easy! More adventure to come!
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