Looking to the Left

"I want chicken nuggets," said the youngest daughter of my friend Chris as we walked down the street from their flat.

The scene was this:  just a few hours earlier, Chris and his family had arrived on an international flight to Frankfurt, coming to live in my neighborhood for the month of July. Sure, it was lunchtime, and they were pretty tired after a long flight, during which no one really slept. So, we ventured out on to the plaza to find a little something to eat.

The problem was, I have never looked for chicken nuggets in Bornheim.  It's not that I don't like chicken nuggets, it's just that I don't really think of those when I go out to eat.  I quickly realized that I would need to get up to speed on what a typical 7 year old likes to eat, and likely what an 11 year old enjoys, also.  My experience with kids of this age is primarily through my nephew, who has always tended to be a bit picky. 

Fortunately, Chris was there and helped put things in perspective, which is basically just saying that anything and everything would be OK.  We found a little snack bar around the corner from their flat which did offer nuggets and sat outside in the sunshine for a little bit before I walked back home to continue my work day. 

The plan was simple:  the family of 5 would live in Germany for one month, experiencing things in a way that no 3 to 4 day visit ever really can offer.  It was more about hanging out in another type of environment as opposed to simply playing tourist.  Sure, a few day trips would be a part of the month, with maybe a couple of overnight visits to some places near Frankfurt.  Because kids were involved, the statement "all plans subject to change" was used rather often. But really, it was all about staying relaxed and not pushing things to the limit.  After all, this was no whirlwind sightseeing European vacation. 

My friends here in Bornheim were eagerly anticipating the arrival of my Dallas friends, particularly the kids who had not ever visited before.  A few folks were a bit surprised that my friends would be staying one month, since that is a little bit unusual.  Furthermore, some folks couldn't quite understand the attraction of Frankfurt, despite the fact that it happens to be home. Chris responded to these questions pretty directly.  He explained that during their brief visit last summer, they enjoyed meeting all of my friends and thoroughly enjoyed the neighborhood and its character.  Why wouldn't someone want to come and stay in Frankfurt for a month?

As usual, the gathering point was frequently my local pub, and over the course of the next several days as everyone got settled (and over their jet lag), we would meet up for a beer (or a sprite, depending on the age of the drinker) and find some place to grab a bite to eat.  The pub fare tended to go down well with the kids and we could always take advantage of the nice weather to sit outside, be a little active (loud) and enjoying chatting with my friends from the neighborhood. 

In summer, everyone wants to be outside because the weather is rather pleasant (at least, in comparison to the summer heat of Dallas).  Even though I prefer the autumn and winter seasons, I still enjoy being able to stay out a little later (since it stays light longer) in the evenings, despite the fact that this tends to increase the beer intake to some degree.  The fact that I have been able to enjoy the past month with close friends from my hometown just made things all that much better.  We had time to get properly caught up on things.  During my brief visits back to the states, we usually are able to hang out once or twice but it is always frantic and the time is too short.

We did not have that problem during this visit.  We wisely took the four weeks and just lived.
I was able to help offer guidance with the things like visits to the dry cleaners, which trains were best for visiting places like Köln or Heidelberg, the preferred laundry detergent to buy and where to buy it. As a small unplanned surprise, I arranged for my dentist to help with a broken tooth. (with kids, all plans are subject to change).

A friend of mine who has lived in Frankfurt the last 8 years decided he needed to leave Germany, so we had one or two evenings saying our farewells to him.  (a Ninja throwing star?  C'mon, really?)  Meanwhile, other friends came and went as they returned from their vacations and pretty much Chris and co. were able to experience a typical summer in my neighborhood. For me, it was a little atypical, for all the right reasons.

For example, I would join everyone for dinner several times a week.  Sometimes I had to help translate the menu and coordinate the ordering, which wasn't too stressful once I figured out that usually 3 people would be talking about 3 different things at once.  Spending time with younger people is not really something I get to do all that much, and at the beginning I was a little unsure of myself.  Sure, I have known this family for a really long time, but I was particularly fascinated by the various characters of each of the kiddos, all the more impressive since I know the parents so well.
I was very glad to play games of Solo (like Uno) and Charades with everyone while we waited on our food to arrive. Likewise, I was able to get regular reports from three different ages of what they had seen during the day or what they liked visiting. 

By the end of the second week, it was pretty much routine to know that just about every day I would be seeing the family from Goliad.  Monday nights are Kiosk Abend, and each Monday was represented by at least one McKee, if not everyone for just a brief moment. One Monday, we had to change our venue since the lady from our local Kiosk told me that she had to close early.  Our back up venue happens to be a few steps away from Chris's apartment, which turned out to be rather convenient.  The family had already gone upstairs, and Chris and I continued to have a little chat out on the street, several stories below.   We didn't immediately recognize that everyone upstairs was able to hear us, but later (quite late in the evening, actually), we needed to take advantage of this fact by calling up to an open window in hopes that someone would hear and respond.  You see, all the keys were upstairs, and at that point in the evening, the most logical solution was to have Regan drop the keys down to us below, which she did, which enabled Chris to enter the apartment building once we had finished our last, last, last beer of the evening.

 As the month continued, everyone found their stride and it seemed normal to have them in my neighborhood.  The youngest (chicken nugget fan) suddenly declared that she was quite fond of schnitzels, which I found quite charming.  Furthermore, she tended to tuck in and finish off most of an adult portion.  The middle daughter continued to have plenty of intelligent things to say, showing a maturity level much higher than her age, only to remind me of what being a kid is all about by stepping into a fountain, managing to soak her sock and shoe.  Bennett, meanwhile continued to be the B-man; he and I go way back.  I was honored to be with him when he drank his first Radler. 

Chris had told me that everyone was having a great time, and he hoped that the people he was meeting were recognizing how much that he was appreciating the opportunity and time in Bornheim. In the true sense of the statement, they were truly happy to be here.

The entire staff of the pub fell in love with the kids, which is why several patrons to the pub might have been a bit surprised when a "dance party" started up spontaneously a few times.  Not everyone is used to listening to songs like "I like sandwiches," or the "Num Num Num Num Num" song, but then again, they quickly realized that the 7 year old who was serving them their drinks was probably somewhat involved in the playlist.  Said 7 year old continued to work a few more times, earning some impressive tips along the way.

Last week, I had to go down to Munich for a company event. I suggested that Chris take everyone to Munich for a couple of days, and we decided to visit another little town together on the return.
From previous posts, readers will be aware that my job satisfaction is not particularly high at present.  I had actually considered skipping the company event until I chatted with a colleague who convinced me that I should attend, namely to finally meet some of the colleagues in person. 

For that reason alone, I did enjoy the quick trip to Munich last Thursday. I met some guys I have been working with for several years and it was nice to finally put faces to the voices I regularly hear through conference calls.  Alas, I was a little upset when our company president made a little speech those of us at the gathering.  His words were probably not intended to be so biting and they certainly weren't directed specifically to me.  Still, it left a bad taste with me, and I woke up feeling pretty down on Friday morning.  Fortunately, I was to meet up with Chris and family and take the train on to Würzburg.

Upon our arrival Friday afternoon in Würzburg, we walked to our hotel, then climbed a steep hill to the fortress that overlooks the city.  The kids were troopers, despite the 20 minute uphill hike and the small attack of wasps that hovered around our drinks as we sat outside a little snackbar.  When we walked back down, Lori and I elected to go find a suitable restaurant for our dinner that evening, while Chris and the kids stopped off at a playground for a few minutes.   This enable Lori and I to have a little one on one time in a pub that we passed as we "looked" for a restaurant. 

A bit later, we did actually find a pizzeria with a huge outdoor terrace, where we queued for a table. The service wasn't the best, but the pizzas were good and the company was brilliant.  Later, sans kids (who were semi tucked into bed), we returned to the pub for a couple of beers to wrap up the evening.

We returned to Frankfurt on Saturday afternoon and spent a good part of the rest of the weekend hanging around in the pub, primarily because the 7 year old "had" to work with her new best friend Maria, one of the staff. 

The week started with a hint of sadness; the month was just about over.  I could already see my 5 friends were going to experience a bit of emotion as they wound things down, but I could also see that about half of my neighborhood was going through the same thing.  And as for me, I knew I would be struggling.

Our final Kiosk Abend with guests was a success, and the next evening, we arranged to have a final dinner at the local Apfelwein retaurant across the street from my house (and pub). 

"I want a schnitzel," said the youngest, which came as no surprise.

During dinner, Chris asked everyone to say their favorite thing about the past four weeks.  I was glad to be a part of the experience, and I enjoyed hearing each perspective.  When you like everything, it is difficult to find that top one thing. 

After dinner, we stepped back across the road to the pub for a final few rounds of beers, enabling everyone to get an opportunity to say auf wiedersehen.  Eventually, the kids had to head off, so I got my hugs in before they headed down the street for their final sleep of the trip.  Chris and I stayed on having another beer or two.  Lori came back for one or two more herself, and then as the night came to a close, I walked both of them back to their flat for our goodbyes.

It is amazing how quickly time seems to just fly by.  So much happened during the four weeks, but it didn't seem like it was that fast paced.  Action packed, but leisurely.  And brilliant.

I woke up yesterday morning about the time they would all be in their taxi to the airport.  I figured it would be a bit of a struggle for me during the course of the day, and I was not wrong. At 17h, I realized that I needed to go have a quiet beer on my own in my usual spot at the pub.  Outside, at the barrel (Tonne).   This spot is my favorite because I can lean on a little railing, with my back to the street.  I can see my apartment just a few steps away.  And, I have complete view of the outside patio of the pub.  I can see the staff and guests as they come in and out. To my right, the street continues up into the older part of the neighborhood.  When I look left, I can see everyone coming up the street, either on their way home from work or from shopping, or on their way somewhere.  It is one of my favorite places to people watch. 

For the past month, I could stand at the Tonne and regularly look left and see one of the McKees (if not all of them) headed my way.  You get used to things like that very quickly. 

Sure, yesterday evening was just a little bit quieter, as my friends were still flying back home, but that didn't stop me from looking to my left. 

thanks for a great month.

bryan