It's been over a month since my trip to Munich and Prague, and zero pictures, stories, or references have been made to the countries of Germany and the Czech Republic on Facebook, Blogger, Twitter, and whatever other forms of media the kids are using these days.
I wanted it that way.
However, now that I have had appropriate time to process, heal, learn, and (somewhat) move on from the events that occurred between the dates of April 26th and May 3rd, I finally feel that I can open up to the blog.
You see, things happened on that trip.
Munich & Prague Plan
Thursday, 4/26: Fly RyanAir from Faro --> Munich (No, it's actually
Memmingen)
Friday, 4/27: Morning bus to Prague (by recommendation from Joe Di Lucca, "Dude, Prague is so sick.")
Saturday, 4/28: Play in Prague
Sunday, 4/29: Evening return bus to Munich
Monday, 4/30: Frolic around the May Day poles in Munich
Tuesday, 5/1: See famous Neuschwanstein Castle in Munich
Fly Memmingen--> Faro
Bus to Sevilla
Finish homework and prepare for next day's classes
It all went fine until disaster struck.
I dearly wish I could post our pictures in order to prove that one of the most fun weekends of my life did indeed occur. But because of the events that were to come, all I have to show for it is a postcard and one picture taken by Monica's lomo. So I've improvised.
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| We'd practiced the May pole dance for weeks. |
Prague is one of the most beautiful cities I've seen. We drank Pilsner-Urquell and played cards while the sun set behind the city of Prague, had a fun night with Sarah, Matt and the crew, checked Bar Crawl in Prague off our bucket list, had another Local Night, and paddle boated the Vltava River in a swan.
To top it off, we stayed in such a nice hostel that I never once had fear of bed bugs, and breakfast was delicious. If you stop by Mosaic House on your travels one day, ask for David at the bar and namedrop Idaho.
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| Look at how much fun we're having! |
Munich had the potential to be even better.
Monica and I explored the beer gardens of the city, which are basically giant grassy knolls with an area where you can buy massive liters of beer, play cards, and eat sausage, pretzels, and cheese sauce. In short, Munich was made for us. We met my friend Hilary (Thetas around the world!) for drinks at the May Day festival and fell in love with all the beautiful men in lederhosen. From there, we took a couple metros to meet Hilary's boyfriend and roommates in yet another beer garden. We had a lovely traditional meal and nice conversation.
Around 1am, we parted ways at a big hill that bears such an uncanny resemblance to the one on Halo I's Blood Gulch (all the way to the side of the map, where those little cliff paths are, just before the blue base) that Monica and I had to check it out.
The following took place between 1:00am and 4:00am:
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| Just a map reference for my gamer friends. |
"Bye friends! We're going to roll down the hill, so..."
"Hello, gaggle of 15-year-olds in lederhosen and pigtails--why yes, I'd love to be your best friend!"
"Where are my shoes?"
"The teenagers will help us find them!"
"Hey...where is my purse?
...Where's your purse?"
"I'm staying here until it's light out and we can find them!"
"You can't sleep here."
"Hello, um, officer? So, we're in the middle of a park and our wallets, money, credit cards, and passports were stolen...no, I don't know where we are...can you pick us up?"
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| Look, a wild hedgehog! |
"Hey random stranger, have you seen two purses? No? Um, thanks for the €1.30..."
"The police say they're not a taxi service."
"Look! A hedgehog! Let's pet it!!"
"I shall name you Sonic, little hedgehog."
"So that guy over there has been pacing and watching us...he's now making a phone call...let's get out of the dark and deserted park, eh?"
"He's following us."
"Hey again police, so we're on the corner of Ausgang and Heigenslooten and there's a guy following us. Can you pick us up?"
"Get in the taxi!"
"Really, you'll take us back to the hostel for free?!"
I have to recommend our hostel in Munich as well. Although not quite up to par as far as cleanliness goes (eh, what's a little mold in the shower?), the staff is wonderful. Specifically, my best friend Frenec at the front desk. He's a Sim because he is always at the front desk, working. Since he so kindly let me use hours and hours of the hostel phone and internet for free, I was able to make some necessary contact with my homeland.
The hours of 4:00am - 7:00am were spent on the phone with the U.S. embassy (guess what--it's a holiday) and my parents, cancelling passports and credit cards.
You know, I never thought I'd make a police report at a German police station. Checking that one off the bucket list, because at 7:30am that's exactly what we did.
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| I bet you don't have a picture like this. |
Reported as Stolen
-Passport
-Camera (hence the illustrative creativity present in this post)
-Cash
-Credit cards
-Identification
-Czech pebbles
-Dignity
The rest of the day consisted of...
-Feeling terrible
-Kicking selves
-Finding access to money at the only Western Union open on a holiday
-Retracing steps
-Feeling worse
-Missing flight
-Detailing possible options for getting home at the internet café
-Returning to hostel, where Frenec tells us...
"Hey, I heard the good news. Your stuff has been turned in!"
What.
Not daring to believe him, we followed Frenec's printed-out instructions to a new police station. We got to tour a new part of the city and meet the nice police officers near Hierschgarten (so
that's where we were!), where our passports, credit cards, café discount cards, €0.05 stamp, wallet, and plastic H&M bag are all returned to us.
Two separate joggers found two separate piles of our items, by two separate trash cans.
Cameras, cash, the actual purses, and Monica's shoes and journal are still reported as missing. So if you see a worn-out grey purse and beat-up black flats, call me or the Munich police immediately. Our case is listed as Top Priority, I'm sure of it.
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| Neuschwanstein Castle: We didn't see this. |
Eventually, we made it home to Sevilla. But not without the extensive cooperation of John and Veronica Martens, Andy and Susan Barry, Little Grandma, Aunt Carrie, Frenec, our kind taxi driver, and the internet café guy. The only reasoning I can come up with for our incredible good fortune is that over the past five months, grandparents, family friends, and church pals have ended every correspondence with me with a, "praying for you!"
So thank you all very, very much.
For visitors to Germany, it's common knowledge that you do not mention World War II. For obvious reasons, you just "Don't mention the war." Well, now that this story is out on the interwebs for anyone's viewing pleasure, it is the responsibility of those now "In the Know" to be kind citizens and not exploit that knowledge. I've said it. The story is out there. Don't talk to me about it, ever.
All's well that ends well, especially with the unbelievable amount of good fortune we had. But for heaven's sakes--whatever you do...
Just don't mention the war.
Photo credits: Photoshop and other people's pictures. Except the police report. That one's a CBarry original.
