I think this may be the first time ever where I've been by myself on Easter. Personally, I'm enjoying the experience in my own quiet way. Germany celebrates both Good Friday and Easter Monday, and with the way things have been going at work, I desperately needed a couple of days to regroup.
The week began positively enough; I made it into the gym Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. A definite first for my experience in Germany hitting the gym three days in a row. Here's to me getting back into that routine.
Stefan sent me an SMS on Tuesday evening to see if I felt like meeting for a beer at the pub. I accepted on the grounds that I'd stayed away from pints for most of the previous weekend; the alcohol intake sessions over recent weeks/months have been getting a little too frequent.
We watched the second half of the Liverpool game as we chatted about the upcoming holiday weekend. Stefan was heading home to Dresden later in the week to be with his parents. It was interesting to hear the perspective of a German catholic who has had a similar upbringing regarding religion (albeit a different denomination). His family follows certain traditions during Easter weekend; those traditions are very special to Stefan. Our conversation was somewhat interrupted by Abu, who joined us for a pint (and to borrow a few cigs).
Apparently Abu quit his job at the kebap shop last week, and is now unemployed. Furthermore, he's got some personal troubles that he felt inclined to talk about, which made for a few moments of awkwardness.
Bornheim can be a funny place. A lot of people seem to know one another, and particularly about each other's past. Since I'm new, a lot of this has escaped me, as I have simply been trying to get settled instead of trying to get the scoop on everyone.
I'm not that big a fan of knowing everyone's business, but that doesn't mean I can completely get away from it.
For example, Heike is the sister of Katja. Katja, along with her partner Noel, actually owns the Irish Pub. Katja isn't the most pleasant of people, but Noel has always been cool. The fact is, neither of them have been around all that much in the past few months. Heike and Katja grew up with my buddy Stefan; this was something that he didn't discover until about six weeks back.
Recently, Heike started going out with a guy (an American, no less), but a couple of Friday's back, Stefan and I were in the pub and ran into her; she was drinking herself silly due to the fact that apparently this guy had dumped her. In effort to make her feel a bit better, Stefan and I periodically did the wave to her. Yes, the very same wave that we've done more than once at Dallas Burn games in past seasons under Brandon's supervision.
Of course, it was just Stefan and myself doing this, so the effect was not significant and probably fuelled by the tequila shots. That said, Heike did feel better, and we were glad. She's actually a pretty nice girl, and as I've been discovering, quite the opposite to her sister.
That evening ended with me exclaiming loudly that it was absolutely impossible for me to listen to another minute of the Doors, so I grabbed the first CD I could find and stuffed it in the pub's stereo. Thankfully, it was the Police, and went over well with the remaining patrons of the bar.
At it was almost 3, there weren't too many people left. I had a bit of a chat with my friend Susi, then got a little shy, and buggered off home.
As mentioned already, I stayed away from beer for the rest of the weekend. I only returned to the pub on Saturday afternoon for several mineral waters and an absolutely horrible experience watching Liverpool maul Arsenal 4-1. I was OK with the Irish guy, Ray, that was there. He's a Liverpool fan, but not one to rub it in, especially after he knew good and well that Arsenal had already beaten Liverpool three times during the season. I couldn't say the same for Abu, who wandered in, sat down, and then wouldn't shut up for the entire second half. "Oh, this is a really good football game, really exciting!"
People like Tim, Chris, Steve, and Brandon know just exactly how annoying this can be, and it took a whole lot of effort not to make some comment like, "please insert your hand in your mouth before I help you." I'm not a psycho fan by any means; I just don't like to hear a lot of unnecessary commentary when it's perfectly clear that my team is playing like hell.
So, back to midweek: I was back in the pub Wednesday evening to watch the Chelsea-Valencia match, looking forward to a little chat with Susi, when Stefan walked in with Heike. I was a bit surprised, as he had already indicated that he'd see me after Easter break. Slightly more interesting was the fact that I was having a chat with Heike's recent beau. Fortunately, things didn't get out of control emotionally, at least because of them.
The biggest surprise was upon entering the bar that night, I was greeted by glum faces from Tomislav and Susi: the management had decided to sell the bar, and the following night would be the last night of the bar.
Immediately I was shocked, concerned, and frankly, a bit worried about what I would do for a local. Upon further questioning, I found that yes, Katja and Noel had decided to sell the bar and close up the night before Good Friday, all without informing any of the staff.
Certainly this was a very unprofessional thing to do (reminiscent of the final hour of Club Dada), but as I sat there, I considered the positives. First, neither Katja nor Noel seemed to have much experience running the bar, and though they'd had it for at least the last two years, I had been hearing more and more stories about how crap the place was becoming.
I had certainly not been impressed with various facets of my local: I don't like karaoke, and could also do without the bingo and quiz nights. The live music on weekends tended to be OK, but sometimes it was nice to just have Goran put in a CD. The food was always good, but the place seemed to suffer from a lack of attention. There were times when you weren't sure what you were standing in in the gent's toilet, and paper towels were always a rarity.
Zena, Jim, and Isis had all quit or been terminated since New Year's; I particularly missed seeing Zena and Isis, who were always quick to smile. I'd heard rumours that they'd been let go because of altercations with Katja or Noel. Since Tom and Goran were always around, I was comforted that at least my go to guys were there to keep the bar going. The addition of my friend Susi was nice, also. Unfortunately, she, too, had been given some stick by Noel and Katja.
Still, my place was on the patron side of the bar, which meant that I could quietly have my drinks, be polite, and from time to time light the bar on fire with English John; our way of amusing ourselves during lulls in the action on any given night.
As it turns out, Irish Ray is taking over the pub, along with the help of another Irishman named Ender. I've met both guys before, and I'm actually pretty encouraged by the turn of events.
Wednesday evening ended on a decent note: I basically closed the place down in celebration with Goran, Tomis, and Susi. Around 2.30, I grabbed the metal caps off of a few of the taps and headed home with the plan to return Thursday evening for the last hurrah.
Thursday morning started late, and I was fortunate that it was the last day of the work week. I found that I could grab a train an hour later than usual and still make it to work just before 9am, so long as I took a cab from Darmstadt hauptbahnhof to the office, which does require an extra 10 euros.
It was a pretty busy day at work, but I knew that I'd have Friday through Monday to just be quiet, what with my pub closing and the Easter holiday (and lack of plans). I got through the day, and left around 6.
My goal was to get to the cool bookstore in Frankfurt and purchase some language learning software; I've not been comfortable with my progress in German. Fortunately, Hugendubel had just what I was looking for, so I picked that up, then stopped off at the ReWe for the groceries I would need for the rest of the weekend; everything would be closed on Friday, Sunday, and Monday. I'd pick up additional staples if needed on Saturday.
So, I stepped into the pub for one last night with Goran and Tomislav around 8pm Thursday evening. As expected, a lot of regulars had gotten the news of the closure, so the place steadily filled up as the hour approached 10pm. Much the way the states experiences a great buzz on the night before Thanksgiving, the eve of Karfreitag (Good Friday) generates the same level of excitement, especially if the pub is closing.
I caught up with most of the regulars that I've met over the past few months. We talked about how encouraged we felt that Ray and Ender would be reopening in a few short weeks with a new approach to the local pub. At least, the place will have a new coat of paint, and I'm fairly certain the toilets will be OK.
Tomislav and Goran served drinks freely, as if they were soon to be unemployed. I'm sorry that the circumstances were as such, but both seemed rather pleased, actually. I'll continue to see the both of them out and about, so it's not as if this was a time for goodbyes.
For me, it was just a bit sad that my local is changing so dramatically, only four months after I've been here. However, several people were explaining how much better things were previously. They went on to relate many funny stories of other regulars and employees; the same kind of drama that you tend to experience at your local. It's not all that different than Kelly and Gabe leaving the Old Monk (or when David left, for that matter). Everyone has to move on at some point, and it's all about shaking hands and saying, "auf weidersehen!".
Sure, I stayed til close on Thursday, leaving Goran, Tom, and John to finish the very last bit.
I woke up around 2pm on Friday, and looked forward to peace and quiet for the next several days. Everyone I know was off to spend Easter with their family. Barbara was going to Slovakia for a few weeks, Stefan was already in Dresden, and Susi was in Hanau.
So, save for a trip to the gym on Saturday and a quick trip to the supermarket, I've been hanging out around the house, catching up on emails, trying to do taxes, and just resting. I've got some work I need to do which I will hope to bang out later today and Monday. Part of that will catch me up, and part will put me ahead.
I was fortunate to have a little Skype time with Los Pascal on Friday; nice webcam Pablo. Thanks for the chat, thanks for the advice, and tell Jen to be a bit more careful next time she walks through the room when the camera is on...
I hope to talk to my folks later today, and with a little luck, Lynne, Fran, and Daniel, also. That will make for a nice little Easter.
The significance of today doesn't escape me, but I needed to spend this year alone in my own thoughts. I'm probably the only guy listening to Alkaline Trio on Easter Sunday, but hey, there you have it.
keep the faith
bryan
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