Danny Does München

I left San Francisco early afternoon January 4, 1998, got into Munich early afternoon. Different day though. My 'employer' sent a taxi to fetch me, so my first exposure to Germany was a ride on the autobahn at 160+km per hour. Wheeeeee! I was eventually to find out that the autobahn is THE place for Germans to REALLY let it all hang out. I would not feel such excitement in Deutchland 'till I tasted my first currywurst, but I am getting ahead of myself.

I arrived at my hotel, the 'Pension Heidi,' a small hotel in Ottobrunn, a suburb of Munich. I unpacked a little and took a nap. I got up a few hours later, in time to wander the streets a bit and marvelled at tiny things that I would soon ignore, like the round-pointed fence-posts, the cigarette machines on residential streets, the gigantic posters of women in their underwear at the busstops (my favorite) and things like that. I made one of my several important discoveries that very afternoon, when I discovered the Döner Kebap. Over here in the States, we call them 'gyro's and they are usually sold as 'Greek' but in Germany they are Turkish, and delicious, sliced lamb with veggies and yogurt in a pita bread thing. Yummmm. I went to a little grocery store (now remember, at this point I didn't speak a word of German) and tried to buy some beer. Naturally, there was none refrigerated, that's an American affectation. First shock was that all the grocery carts were hooked together, I couldn't figure out how to get them apart. Somebody showed me that I needed to put a 1 dm coin in there. Okay, I thinks, seems weird, but I'm not in Kansas any more. So I put the coin in and go around buy things by sight, being unable to read. This was my first hint of things to come. While in Deutcheland, I was to be a deaf-mute illiterate. After I had a few things that I thought would tide me over for a while, I went to the checkout counter (they sit down over there) and the woman rung the stuff up. She put my stuff at the end of the counter, no bag, and I realized that I wasn't going to get a bag, that I was supposed to bring my own. I noticed there were some bags behind the counter and pointed. She said something which I think was supposed to let me know they weren't free. I nodded my head, paid another mark and got a plastic bag for my stuff. I wheeled my cart back and out of politeness hooked it back to the other carts. WHAM, I got my mark back! Cool. Off I went down the road, with my German groceries in my 1 mark bag.

I spent most of the next day trying to get over my jetlag. This was Friday. I was rested enough to check out the suburban German nightlife scene. Anyhow, I walked down the main drag till I found a place that looked like a bar. It was, thankfully, a bar. Once again, I relied on hand signals and the fact that 'bier' and 'beer' sound quite similar. I sat and watched, drinking my beer. Nothing special. A pretty blonde bartender with some homemade tatoos on her hands. A slot-machine like game in the hallway. After a giant glass of beer there, I took a walk down the street, and lo and behold there was a disco! Well Hell, I was born to have adventure, so I sauntered inside. The place was about half full, but the dancing HAD BEGUN! Only the girls were dancing mostly with each-other. Hmmm, I think, not a good sign for me.... But there were some mixed couples so I decided it probably wasn't a gay bar. The Frauen didn't LOOK gay. So I decided to just sit back and watch and listen.

The music sounded like techno-ABBA. I rember hearing a disco version of 'Never on Sunday' that caught my attention. The decor was a mixture of Bavarian and Las Vegas. Finally, numb from mild culture shock, I left around midnight, grateful for the clear air outside. I got up the next day and had breakfast with Josef, who was to be my boss for the next 2 months. Typical German breakfast.... cold cuts, croissants and a pretzel. After we ate, he took me to the subway station and showed me how to buy a ticket. We rode into the center of Munich and he bid me adieu for the day, left me to fend for myself. It was at this point that I got my first hint of the great revelation that was to come, the scent wafting through the underground station that would give my life meaning.... but once again, I get ahead of myself.

I wandered around, with the intent of finding a guidebook in English. It was another nice crisp autumn day, and I enjoyed walking around Marienplatz. It was so.... German! Even Woolworth's and the McDonalds seemed somehow 'German!' I finally found the bookstore, and after a lot of looking, found a section where there were books in English, so I bought a Munich tourguide. I was getting tired, so I decided to head back to the underground station. On the way I saw a demonstration. It had something to do with citizenship laws I think. I listened to some possibly nice speeches (they were in German, so I can't really tell you whether they were REALLY nice or not) and went down to look for the train back to Ottobrunn. It was THEN it happened. The aroma. Wafting through the air... Curry... but... something more... ?? I let my nose lead the way. And then suddenly, there, in an unassuming kiosk, I saw what I had searched for..... CURRYWURST!!! I got in line.... the line got shorter... I tried to pronounce it.... The girl behind the counter gave me a puzzled look... 'Currywurst?' she echoed, with the proper pronunciation... I nodded my head... she put the sausage on a plate. She asked me a question... I nodded my head again, not sure what I was agreeing to, but WANTING THAT SAUSAGE! Finally, the negotiations were done, she rung up the cash register. I looked at the number. I fished in my wallet... How about the pink one? Hmmm, probably enough. Hand it to her. She nods and gives me some paper stuff and some coins. But... who cares about change when you have, in your very hands.... CURRYWURST!!!!!! The heart beats faster... the mouth opens... the teeth descend.... the first taste.... HEAVEN ON EARTH! EUREKA! SWEET MYSTERY OF LIFE AT LAST I'VE FOUND YOUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!

I need to go collect myself.... I had a semi-religious food flasback there... more to come...