We left Amsterdam and drove through the Dutch and German countrysides for our next stop: St. Goar (pronounced GO-are, or if said quickly, gwar), which is in Germany's Rhine Valley. Hans gave us an introduction to Germany, the language, engineering, music (David Hasslehof), and of course the cars: Volkswagen, Mercedes, Audi, and BMW. We drove on the Autobahn (and our bus was passed by pretty much everyone), and although it was filled with German cars, since Germans take pride in their own products, every so often we would see a Ford or something weird like that. Germany's countryside is beautiful, and filled with castles (1), which was a nice change of scenery compared with Holland's FLAT countryside. Since the drive from Amsterdam to St. Goar was so long, Hans introduced us to our Day Song, which we would hear every morning before we set out on our adventure. Our Day song for the trip was going to be the Foo Fighters' "Times Like These." He warned us that at first we would probably hate it since we would be hung over, then we'd accept it, then we'd like it, and finally, after the trip when we'd hear it, we'd look back fondly at everything, which is exactly what happened. Hans also took this opportunity to have everyone introduce him or herself to the rest of the group. And to keep it interesting, we had to answer certain questions:
It helped me learn a lot more names, and I also learned that most people were looking forward to Italy. I was the only person who was most excited about the Germanic countries (so that I could try out my German skills after all those years of learning the language in high school and college). |
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We finally arrived in St. Goar in the afternoon (2). St. Goar is a beautiful, sleepy little town on the edge of the Rhine River. If you want an exciting time, this is not your scene. St. Goar is home to the world's largest free-standing cuckoo clock (3) and the world's largest beer stein (4). Mikki and I wandered around the town, taking lots of pictures (5), (6), (7), and videos (8). The pictures have a very calming and relaxing affect on me. After being in a city like Amsterdam, spending a night in St. Goar was perfect. Even the phone booths were different (9). |
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After we finished exploring the town (which didn't take too long), we went to the bar to meet up with everyone. I ran into Becca and Zeeni and the three of us talked for a long time about the trip, and their general absence from it. Don't get me wrong: I'm thrilled that Becca and Zeeni got along so well and that they wanted to do a lot of the same things. But I was honestly hurt and disappointed that they didn't want to do things with the group, or myself and Mikki. Dinner was at the hotel (Hotel Montag—German for "Monday") and was dubbed "Family Night." I didn't get to experience much of Family Night since I was upstairs talking to Becca and Zeeni for so long. I came down to dinner pretty late (I was served the main course as everyone else finished up his or her dessert), before deciding at the last minute to go to the wine tasting, and to get Becca and Zeeni to join us for it and get to know some of the tourmates better. |
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The wine tasting was of Riesling wines. We had four different kinds: extra dry, dry, sweet, and too sweet. The sweet one was my favorite, and I wish I could remember its actual name so that I could buy some. The wine tasting was yet another chance to get to know everyone in the group better: Dane, Kenny, Vicky (10), Mark, Christian, Lisa, Ali (11), Cherry, Boon Yee, Monica, Mike, Crissy, Anne (12), Alberto, Mel, Narelle, Brian, Cindy, Jen (13), Jen, Michael, Simon (14), and Mike and Ryan (15). On our way out, we had the opportunity to try some ice wine (Eiswein) which was incredible. Mikki bought three bottles, and I bought one. Ice wine is a dessert wine that tastes really good, and not like wine at all. I thought Mikki was crazy for buying three bottles, but looking back, I wish I had bought more. Now I can't think of any occasion that is special enough to drink my one bottle of ice wine. The thing about ice wine is it isn't available in the States. I can always order more from this one winery in Germany, and maybe I'll have to do that one day (at least a case of it). |
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On our way out of the cellar (the place was kind of spooky with poor lighting and massive barrels), I overheard Simon talking with another Canadian about American politics and the presidential election of 2004. Being a voting American, I thought I might know a thing or two about the topic. Boy did I pick the wrong person with whom to strike up a conversation about the United States' politics and history. Ha ha, just kidding Simon. Simon and I talked for at least another hour or two about all sorts of things, basically comparing the Canadian version to the American version. It was quite enlightening. |
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After everyone headed back to the hotel, most of us stayed in the bar and hung out. Mikki went to bed, but I stayed up and hung out with Becca and Zeeni (16). The bar closed way too early (around midnight), so Zeeni and I decided to go hang out with some others, while Becca called Ralph (her boyfriend, my brother—it's hard to keep track of everyone, I know). Zeeni and I hung out with Christian, Dane and Alberto for a little while before letting them get some sleep. Becca, Zeeni and I stayed up talking till way past our bedtime, but it was a good chance to bond, because as soon as we got up, it would be go, go, go. |
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| Day 7 • Thursday, May 12, 2005 • St. Goar, Germany | ||||
Sure enough, morning came way too early. I went to take a shower, and after letting the water run for two solid minutes with no sign of it getting even lukewarm, I decided my shower could wait until Munich. First thing in the morning we went to the beer stein shop to get a...not really a demonstration, but more of a pitch on why we should buy steins here instead of anywhere else. I knew that one of the souvenirs I had to buy was a beer stein, so I didn't need any persuading. I really wanted to get one that had a stag on it (since my last name is Hirsch, which is German for stag), but they didn't have one that I liked. So I ended up getting a generic Deutschland one with different cities carved on it. |
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Considering how sleepy St. Goar was on Wednesday afternoon, it was bustling on Thursday morning at 8:30. Did everyone in St. Goar go to sleep at 4 or 5pm or something? Because it sure felt like a ghost town when we first got there, but what a difference the time of day makes. Speaking of time (like the segue?), we had the chance to see the World's Largest Freestanding Cuckoo Clock go off at 8:30am before we left (17). Well, we waited, and around 8:32am, it finally went off. So much for precise German engineering. Right after that, we headed over to the bus to make the trip down to Munich, and its famous beer hall, the Hofbrauhaus, or as Hans calls it, "Hansie Heaven." Mikki got a quick shot of me and Zeeni, with me squatting down to look shorter than her (18). Love you Zeeni! |
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