waiting for the day to happen! a beach, a bbq, full moon, under the stars and the best company!

the last few years in germany, or to say in my part of germany, the weather is really really bad, save in 2007 that we experienced full drought in this area. spring is not spring and summer was not summer anymore, as it was always raining and if we have sun and warm weather it only lasts for 2-3 days and usually I AM AT WORK so i cant enjoy the nice weather.

but this year was really different, winter was the coldest, a real winter, and suddenly bang, spring came, and since then, the glorious weather hasnt stopped!

i was praying for a good weather this week, because i dont have to work and me and my friend holger, decided to have a bbq and campfire on one of the beaches in düsseldorf!

then as the day got near, it was raining, i was a little bit dissapointed because, we might as well cancel it, then we had plan b, in case if it rains well just have pizza and dvd night, but of course it wouldnt compare to having an outdoor fun!!!

then the day came of our bbq, dark clouds covered the sky and my heart sank, why oh why this day?!! so i prayed to the gods (hahaha) just let me have this day! as i havent bbqd and camped at the rhein river since 2006!!!!

now my friend, holger, comes from the city of essen, which is about 30 minures by train from düsseldorf, this area is called the ruhrgebiet with the cities of essen, bochum, dortmund, gelsenkirchen etc. are conglomerated, i have many many many friends in this area because they are university cities and the center for punk, rock and alternative scene in nordrhein westfalen state of germany.

it was already getting late, 7 pm, but the sun was still shining, and holger sent me an sms that his train is delayed but he got everything for the bbq, so what i did, i went to the supermarket and bought 2 charcoal boxes and sauce, then i recieved again an sms from holger as i was lining to pay, that the grill had already charcoal on it! hmm its the first time i heard about it! so i bought only one charcoal for us to make the bonfire. then i went home again to pack some hamburgers.

i met holger at the central station at 7:30 pm, then we went to the grocery there to buy some beers, cola and water. then we went to the bus stop to the rheinturm as the beach is just behind it, but the bus was late! so we took the tram, it would be a long walk, but we have to hurry as the sun was setting already, we are actually late to set up the bbq!

when we were there, we found a perfect spot! in between trees, a small cozy place. holger took out his picnic mat, while i was busy taking pictures of him. hahaha.

when he took out his so-called bbq grill, i was fascinated! its the first time i saw that, what a fucking third world i was! hahahaha it was so compact, all you need is just to light it and wait till the coal catches the fire!

then we took out our stuff, holger was so excited about his bbq things, but when he showed it to me, it was turkey meat... and i dont eat turkey, his hotdogs too! when i said i can eat it, his face really fell and was gutted hahaha, but i told him it was ok, i got hamburgers and i ate a bit before heading off to meet him, i told him not to worry about me!

after having some bbq, i started making the bonfire as it was getting chilly, i dug a hole, that looked alot liike a toilet for dogs! hahahha but i learned that to keep the fire burning, the air must circulate around it, a hole is perfet for keeping the fire together but i dont know whats in me, but i felt so useless that time, as i couldnt even start a fire! my lighter doesnt even spark arrrggghhh.

so in the end, holger did everything! i felt so fucking useless! hahahaa.

it took a while before the fire started! but when it did, it was so warm, we pulled the picnic mat near to it, had some drinks, and lied watching the stars, debating if the north star was in the little dipper or big dipper constellation (hahaha what a feat for us haha), smoking and having unusual conversations which normally i dont speak more about myself. but somehow i had a hard time understanding holger, as he is a new generation german. his german has lots of slang on it, whereas i speak and learned standard german which some words is differently explained from the slang new generation german, nevertheless, holger patiently explained to me everything, which i am glad, he is one of the persons, i mostly glady travel with, very curious and open minded to all the situations.

laying the mat!

perfect. and he never comlpains, eventhough i was useless! hahahaha. we planned our future trips, roadtrips in and around europe, and i am excited with that already and so was he! as i looked at the sky, its been a long time, since i saw it gleaming with stars till beyond the horizon, yes, the weather was awfully bad, but now, the stars twinkled brightly in the sky giving a promise of hope.

it was getting late and it was time to go as holger needed to catch a train it was already 12 midnight, he called his flatmate to look into the internet the train schedule and its on 30 mins. about 12:35 am, the beach is a bit far from the central station, but if we walked fast we can make it. we gathered all our garbages and took it then threw it into the city garbage cans.

we walked fast, to catch his train, but amazingly we catched the last tram going to the central station! we high fived! and what a time saver! and inside our seat, there was a leftover sausage and holger pretended to eat it, yuckkkkkk hahahaha.

and in the central station, apprently his friend made a mistake about the the train, the train that he must take is 20 minutes later than expected arggghh! so we made of course, useless and nonsense things in the platforms! hahaha, so in the end, we had more spare time than we thought.

when his train came, i came too because it would save me from walking 2 kms, down to one to my house as there are no more buses and trams at this hour. at my stop, holger and me hugged each other and promised we will see each other again!