An Adolescent's View on Munich and It's Outlying Principalities

...Munich freakin rocks!  

I can't even comment on the principalities.  In fact, I'd be hard pressed to say that Munich even has prinicpalities.  Actually, I think Germany as a whole shies away from the concept of principalities.  I just liked the way it rolls off your tongue.  Prin-ci-pal-it-ies...very pleasing to the ear.  Regardless, I will make a concerted effort not to include words that I am not sure of the definition.  No promises, though.

Alas, I digress.  When I was fifteen, my uncle offered me a unique opportunity to go to Germany and Austria.  He’s very charitable.  He was also a test pilot for the Air Force.  Now he’s doing some stuff that I can’t really talk about.  Odds are he’s probably cooler than you.  Unless you’re a high ranking government official or the starting shortstop for the Chicago Cubs.  A cruise line captain could be in the running, too.

  Actually, I take it back.  Nobody on the Cubs is all that cool right now.  Anyway, I know he’s cooler than me. 

 

We hit Germany and I was like a kid in a candy shop…that is, if that candy shop was full of beer!  The laws in Germany are very 15 year-old friendly.  Hell, they are infant friendly.  I saw a little kid come walking out of McDonalds with a plastic cup of beer.  Now that is a visual you just don’t get rid of. 

 

My uncle went with the “When in Rome…” philosophy and let me drink.  His rule was that I could not drink in excess.

  And I didn’t…around him, that is.  My 21 year-old cousin and I went out on our own one (5 words in a row starting with the letter “o.”  Don’t see that every day!) night and stumbled upon this outdoor music festival.  It was a bunch of second rate, semi-hair bands, but I was in Germany and it was only ’92 at the time.  Hair bands were still pretty cool.  It hurts my head to think there was a time I listened to hair bands.  But I did.  I got counseling.  I’m all better now.

 

The whole even took place in a public square.  And this place had some history to it.  The narrow cobblestone alleyways, the Bavarian-style architecture, it was awe inspiring.  I was sipping Spaten beer from glass mugs they were selling beer in around the courtyard.

  The only rule was that you leave your mug somewhere on the grounds.  The most common dumping grounds were the fountains littered across the square.  By the end of the concert, you had to clear out the hardware just to get a seat.

 

I stole my mug.  So did my cousin.  I still have it.  Beer just tastes better out of it than a mere, mortal glass mug.  I don’t feel guilty.  Don’t look at me like that.  I was fifteen!  Stealing was fun.  Rebellious.  And a cheap way to get alcohol.

 

When I returned home, I discovered Nirvana and music forever changed.  And I stopped stealing.  Never got caught, though.  One day, I just realized it was wrong.  Weird how that happens.

 

There were many other interesting stories that cam from that trip.  I saw the original inspiration for Sleeping Beauty’s castle.  I danced in the fields to sound of music.  I even put on a puppet show on a ferryboat.  But those stories are for another blog. 

 

I’m tired.  Sleepy-bed-sleep-time for me.  G’night.