Where am I? In a hotel in an industrial park in a sleepy town close to Frankfurt!
6:00
Turns out, I do NOT have to wait for my return to Vietnam to be able to watch the remaining episodes of Star Trek Discovery.... they are streaming on Netflix in Germany as well..... EAT THAT, Canada, LOL. And YES, POSE is streaming in Germany as well!
8:00
I'm checking the Vietnamese Visa process again ... I've applied 8 days ago and it's only supposed to take 3 business days....It's still NOT DONE! .... but then Vietnam had a one week holiday for Reunification Day.....but ..... I go for a cigarette and when I come back my approval letter JUST arrived by e-mail, LOL.
It's during another cigarette and the following shower that I finally notice the difference..... the absence of constant car noises during the cigarette.... and HOT water and WATER PRESSURE in a MODERN shower cabin in this German hotel that costs 50% less than the North Vancouver dive where I spent the last month...... Strange.....unlike in Canada, the value-to-price ratio in Germany is not tending towards ZERO yet ......
Time to check out and board the airport shuttle..... 9 Euros is steeper than the 3.25 Euros for the bus, but MUCH cheaper than a 25 Euro taxi and given my present degree of tiredness probably the best solution! Jet lag is hitting HARD now, I could fall asleep within seconds! But then it's 12:30 AM in Vancouver ;-)
10:18
I'm still sitting in the lobby waiting for the airport shuttle.... 10:00 is supposed to be their last run of the morning..... maybe I should have taken the bus after all?
It's all a big Snafu, but a very nice North-African driver brings me to the airport's train station in good time.
 |
| BULLSHIT ! |
At least the train arrives on time (!) and even has functioning WiFi.
A short 10 minute wait at Cologne Central and I get to hop into the next train....a regional train .... and this one is COLD too.....WTF?.... is Deutsche Bahn saving money by not heating their trains anymore? The sun coming through the train's window helps a little to ward off freezer burn.
I get to Mom-Town..... NO TAXIS at the train station.... I have the dispatch number but when I check the schedule at the bus stop find that the bus should be here in 10 minutes..... saved another 10 Euros! It's FREEZING at the bus station though....
The bus is PACKED since the schools just spit out the students for the day.....
I have time to observe the crowd.... Two young kids, one of migrant background, one a 'proper' German...only one kid gets up to vacate his seat for standing old people.... and it ain't the German kid..... Germany needs MORE immigrants!
14:45
I get to my hotel, my room has a decent work desk....but the room is also FREEZING..... good thing both the room AND the bathroom have hot-water radiators...that will also be fabulous for drying my sink laundry ;-)
16:30
19:30
I slept longer than I had intended to! I feel groggy, my left eye is reddened, and all I want is to sleep more....... but I should get some real food today....
20:00
I'm sitting in the usual Chinese restaurant and I'm reading the news...... 9 women and children just drowned when they tried to cross from Turkey to Greece.... it's not big news here in Germany any more....
...after all some country built a border fence in the Balkans, so those refugees will never make it to Germany..... neither are the one's trying to flee persecution and rape in Lybia.... Malta, Italy etc are not allowing the rescue boats to land in their ports anymore.... That 2003 movie Code 46 described it well....City states with affluent clean citizens protected by borders from the great unwashed masses dying of thirst outside....
The culture shock continues..... that big plate of Hong Kong Duck with steamed rice is enough to feed a whole Vietnamese family...
4:30
What does one do at 4:30 in the morning in a small room with insufficient sound insulation?
Sink laundry! I wash my hoodie (bought in 2015 in Hualapai country, in combination with attending Alan's vow thingy in Las Vegas, JUST after discovering Vietnam !)..... that was the place where I first heard Native Americans speak Chinese ! In retrospect, a pretty damned formative trip ;-)
.... the hoodie takes AGES to dry, but it has more than enough food stains on it AND I have a HEATED towel rack in the bathroom.....
Simple Living 101 !
EVERYONE knows where Las Vegas is, but not many people know where Hualapai Country is, so here is a map for those deficient in geography ....
4:45
WHY is the fan in my less-than-one-year old ASUS notebook making funny noises?..... I've only ever noticed it for the first time ONE week ago...before that, I had assumed that this notebook didn't have a fan....I'm going to be spending at least 6 weeks at home (they have funny keyboards there)....maybe I should invest in a spare before I leave ???
5:30
I'm watching Star Trek Discovery again.... and it's so full of GREAT QUOTES......"Most people never get a chance to figure out what's in their own hearts"....... Cam on rat nhieu, Viet Nam !
6:00
As if life in dreary Germany wasn't bad enough.... I get an e-mail from Lisa.... Quang has had a belly-ache because the building permit for Chez Chris has not been issued..... NOT good news..... but it reinforces my desire to BE BACK HOME!7:00
Oh RIGHT, it's the weekend..... breakfast ain't served until 8:00.... but I'm hungry NOW !
8:00
Finally!
I eat too much again, but at least I get a fabulous soft-boiled egg (ILLEGAL in hotels on account of the fear of avian flu!)....
GOOD nap ;-)
Tomorrow is Sunday, which means that ALL STORES will be CLOSED! So I better go shopping for what I need for today and tomorrow NOW. Time to go to the local Lidl, which is 1 km away. Since I feel crappy (did I pick up another cold?), I consult the local bus schedule....
 |
| Note how infrequently the buses run....every 1.5 hours on Sunday ... that Third-World feeling ! |
LIDL is a hell-hole. It's good to go to if you're bargain shopping.... but try to find something in particular and you're screwed..... it looks as if ALL their products for sale are insurance junk (you know: a delivery truck has an accident, the insurance pays for all of its load, and then bargain-sells-off the damaged goods). I can't find salty pretzels, buy walnut cores instead, and only later discover that the resealable bags are faulty...THAT is why they were there, LOL. Etc, etc, etc... but at least I get 4 bottles of wine and 4 cups of yogurt.
14:00
I can't believe my eyes: It is SNOWING outside my window..... it doesn't last long, but it's still a SHOCK!
It's 7 degrees Celsius and WINDY..... it's actually not a bad thing that I couldn't get an e-bike over the weekend..... riding it would NOT have been any fun at all!
I haven't been in this restaurant for a year now, except yesterday of course, but the waiter remembers that I usually eat Hong Kong Duck..... but not today.... I feel bloated and FAT..... I don't know HOW all these obese Germans carry all that weight and still manage to breathe..... maybe that is why I am one of the few people walking in this town and everyone gets around in a car ?
 |
| A light dinner: Calamari & "Peking Soup"..... |
Yes, I am TIRED again..... but it's a GOOD tired.... I am in Germany and I still have to fly back to Canada... but it's only TWELVE (12) sleeps until I will be back HOME !!!!
I just can't sleet anymore .... which is OK, I slept enough yesterday...
8:00
Breakfast..... is it exhaustion or boredom that makes me eat so much? Or does it taste that good? I caught my reflection in the mirror when dressing earlier and the reflection stated in no uncertain terms that I've been eating TOO MUCH!
I barely manage to drag myself to the Chinese Restaurant.... WHAT TO EAT though ?..... I want some light Vietnamese food, but the Viet restaurant is at the other end of town.... I decide on a Curry Beef Rice and the portion is HUGE... I can't even finish half of it !
I've also finally decided to stay one more day in Mom-Town..... NOT to visit my mother, but to finally get at least ONE relaxing day with a bicycle and without rain!
An e-mail from Denise...... pictures of the German Group from about 18 or 20 years ago....
OMG, I have CHANGED a LOT .....
I can barely stand anymore.... NEED SLEEP !
I'm awake again at midnight and finish watching God's Own Country. A great movie.... and it somehow it gives me strength....
Let's put all this newfound mental energy to work ;-) After all, there are only TEN more sleeps until I return home to the land of the CUTEST men on earth ;-)
6:45
...almost time for breakfast....
I'm using the opportunity of semi-fast WiFi to download some movies on Netflix..... No need to pay 9 Euros to Condor Airlines to watch their inflight entertainment if I can bring my own ;-)
I'm in the breakfast room by 7:00 but there is no one and nothing there.... NO coffee, NO buns, NO NOTHING..... a well-run hotel? not exactly....
7:30
Still NO hotel employee to be seen and still NO Food ! No worries, I'll just take the bus to LIDL for food; I'm out of wine anyway ....
the owner is actually at the reception at 7:45 and I tell him he needn't bother making breakfast now.... he actually dares say "But you always eat LATE" (BULLSHIT) and the starts pouting because I'm the only guest having breakfast anyway....well, NOW you have ZERO guests having breakfast!
No more Nonsense !
The 7:59 bus is right on time, I'm at LIDL at 8:04 and back in my room at 8:30 after walking through ice-cold drizzle.... but at least now I have Lachsschinken & garlic-stuffed OLIVES for breakfast ;-)
9:00
The translation has been dispatched...... FREE I am again ;)
It's time to bite the bullet .... NO, I do NOT want to go.... but this is the reason why I came to Germany after all .... time to catch a bus and visit my mother.
Is that migraine showing up on its own or as my body's defense mechanism against seeing mother?? At least I'm also hoping to pick up an e-bike (in this weather?) and to see Ms. S, Mother's fabulous state-appointed Guardian ;-)
First stop after getting off the bus at the train station: Get an e-bike.... might as well get it for 48 hours.... 34 Euros ..... I decline to take a charger this time; if I need more battery juice I'll just drop by the store and swap the battery for a full one ;-)
Second stop: REWE to buy some wine.... LIDL has an ATROCIOUS wine selection...so I get two bottles of Lugana & a Spanish wine here....
Third stop: Mother's old-age home.... the receptionist directs me to the right floor.... I find mother's door.....a nurse is just coming out of it.... I enter and say Hello Mother, not at all sure whether Mother will even recognize me... at the same time I am SHOCKED how old she looks..... then her mouth opens and she says my first name....she does recognize me!
My mother looks, reacts, talks, and moves around the room at about the same or even LESS of the speed and mental agility of my 100 year old grandmother.... she moves around as if she's about to die in the next year.....
A nurse comes in a bit later, and I ask her the obvious question: Did they medicate her into that state? YES, they did.
But there is another very sad side to this.....HOW MANY GOOD days do we really have left.... many of us will be extremely optimistic when they give their personal estimate...... but then someone put it into even better words than I ever could:
“You've gotta dance like there's nobody watching, Love like you'll never be hurt, Sing like there's nobody listening, And live like it's heaven on earth.”
14:45
Time to take my leave from mother.... all she says is "I don't want that".... and knowing my mother, I steer her first by the nurse's room to make sure to have a nurse ready to hold her back in case she wants to follow me..... and my gut-feeling was right... my words are not enough and the nurse has to use physical force to prevent mother from following me..... Yes, it's horrible but it only reinforces my constant uttering "Live while you can!".
And on my way down the stairs from the 4th floor to the ground level I understand for me first time my friend and adopted grandfather JJ's decision to kill himself once he was diagnosed with early dementia.... Chapeau & miss you, JJ!
The usual meeting spot with Ms. S, that fabulous ice-cream parlour right next to the old-age home, no longer exists.... so Ms. S destined another ice-cream parlour in town as our meeting spot..... my first worries are unfounded though.... NO, they don't have a heated outside smoking area.... BUT, they have an excellent dry white wine and they have Cherry Crepe .... All is good ;-)
15:00
I already drank half a bottle of Lugana in Mother's room.... now I've been sitting in the Eiscafe for half an hour drinking more wine....
15:30
Ms. S. is there....and as usual we get along like a house on fire.... funny how easy that is with some people..... we sit and talk for 2.5 friggin hours.... and will meet again tomorrow, LOL.
18:00
Time to pedal home.... and I'm relieved that it's not raining....
19:00
I discovered that new Pizzeria across the street today when I walked to the bus stop.... but I don't think I'm hungry enough to eat more today.... next time I come to Mom-Town maybe.....
 |
| exhausted eyes ! |
3:00... TOO early to be awake but I might as well learn some Vietnamese, LOL
6:30
WOW, considering that a migraine tormented me while trying to sleep last night and that I'm stuck in a country where I don't belong, I feel GREAT....
WTF? But somehow, through the combination of thinking of very dear friends in a far away tropical country, the afterglow of a good time with Ms. S., and a BRILLIANT song from the year 1989, and I'm dancing in my room again !!!!
Carpe Diem !
And even when THIS happens, I can only grin.... I step onto the outside terrace for a smoke before breakfast..... someone is already smoking out there... a guy my age with that typical German dried raisin expression in his face.... I bid him"Guten Morgen" in my cheeriest tone (I'm still dancing in my mind ;-)...... he looks up from from his phone, musters me up and down from my receding hair to my high-tops..... manages to squeeze out a very sparse "Guten Morgen" and goes back to perusing his phone display...... I am surprised at myself for simply grinning inside and at the same time feeling sorry for him...... because I am fortunate to have realized that NO, I can NOT live in a place like THIS ;-)Breakfast is happening without a hitch today..... because The Woman (another one of those few chatty and just NICE people ;-) is here again..... and I'm endangering my life again by eating another soft-boiled egg.... ;-). But The Woman is another one of those FABULOUS people who likes to smile and chat ..... and the world NEEDS more of those ;-)
13:40
Time to visit a funeral home ....
Due to some strange German law demanding a coffin & proper grave funeral for people who have not stipulated differently in writing, I'm signing a piece of paper on behalf of mother authorizing a cremation..... Hopefully the day when this will become relevant is still far in the future but one never knows.
A sandwich with Ms. S at Grobe bakery is a bad decision.....
It's May 7 today.....
18:30
Just in case, I ride to LIDL to get another bottle of Prosecco (one can never have enough booze in the house on the night before the 5th anniversary of one's partner's death) and on the way back to the hotel I end up eating Hong Kong Duck again.....
 |
| George in Hong Kong |
The time to drop the bike back at Radstation early has passed, so I will be riding the bike there tomorrow morning laden with all my luggage... rain or shine ....
Time for some reflection..... I realize that I still have nightmares about how bad a mother my mother was to me...... but when I see her falling to pieces in her chair in her room, I still want to be there to help her and make her feel better..... am I too much of a Gutmensch (NOT in the ironic way of the usual connotation) or has Vietnam simply re-taught me how to be human ? I very much suspect that it's the latter...
No comments:
Post a Comment