Germany Part One: Fulda and Eschwege and beyond!

Here we are. Mid-August. I've been in Germany for two weeks and what a two-weeks it has been.

It all began one Tuesday afternoon, when I took the train from Paris, flew to Frankfurt, and then took another train to the delightful town of Fulda to visit my friend Sabrina.

It was my first night and we planned to go out for a beer or two, and then find a nice restaurant to have some dinner. However, walking through town, we heard music and decided to investigate.

There in the heart of town, in a square fenced off from the public, we found a private party. It was some kind of military congress (Veteran's Day?) – I'm not quite sure what exactly, but there were people of all ages drinking and dancing, a marching band and then a brass band that played for a couple of hours.

We slipped behind the fence and wandered to the bar, expecting to pay for our wines but behold, no one seemed to question our being there and we found ourselves with endless glasses of German wine, free food, and all the dancing we could muster.

It was one of those random, unplanned, wonderfully fun and memorable nights.

Next stop: a four-day music festival in Eschwege, complete with camping, portaloos, and a range of bands I was not familiar with.

It was an experience unlike no other I have had – particularly the part where I lined up as I imagine they do in a women's prison and showered in a makeshift group shower contraption with no curtains and full-frontal views of strangers.

We enjoyed lots of beer – in the sun, at the campsite, at various stages and at all times of the day and night. There was a plentiful supply of drunken fools to laugh at (myself included) and a great group of people to meet. At one point, and quite possibly the first time in my life, I was put up on a very tall drunk man's shoulders and feared for my life because falling head first onto concrete did not seem appealing but thankfully I survived!

On Sunday, the final day and night of the festival, we made our way to the main stage to see four or five bands, including the headliner. Suddenly, the skies opened and it began to rain. And not small, manageable drops of rain but a torrential downpour that soaks you to the bone in seconds, that turns the ground into lake-sized puddles and mud and slush.

At that point, wet, cold, and with the very real possibility of our car drowning in mud in the car park, we decided to leave and head for home.

It was an abrupt ending but quite the adventure!

Back in Fulda, and after a number of extensive showers to remove the camp mud and grime, I was treated to a lovely afternoon with Sabrina and her family in her home town.

There were freshly baked cakes, tea and coffee and her beyond adorable parents showing me photo albums and making each other laugh (my faith in the possible longevity of love has been partially restored!).

We spent the afternoon lying in the garden in the sun, cycling through the nearby forest (although my version of cycling is pushing the bike uphill and only riding downhill...) and trying to decipher tent-folding instructions.

We stayed for a delicious home cooked dinner, a bottle of wine and dessert before heading back to Sabrina's completely and utterly sated.

My last few days were spent seeing the sights of Fulda, visiting a Castle and a Palace, and after viewing the size of the tiny beds, furniture and armour, wondering just how small people were back in the olden days.

On Friday night, Sabrina and her friend Leonie had a DJ-ing gig at a local bar which involved the usual antics of drinking, possibly some dancing, and many random conversations with strangers.

I have never seen two people enjoy playing music so much and let's face it, chic DJ's are awesome!

The next night, we went out for dinner, came home for beers on the balcony, and then at 2:30am, found ourselves heading out again to a 'BBQ'... I use the term BBQ loosely because it was long past the meat-cooking, eating part of the evening and the BBQ itself now acted as a fire. There, in a large tent set up in the backyard, people passed a guitar around, we sang, laughed and stayed up until sunrise. Yet another random, hilarious night in Fulda!

Before long, it was time to pack once again, say goodbye, board a train, and prepare for the whirlwind that would be Cologne, Prague and Berlin.

Some note-worthy points:

1. A HUGE thank you to Sabrina for having me, for taking me to festivals and castles and palaces, and above all, for not throwing me out when I almost burned down her kitchen... twice.
2. There really are good, honest, kind people in the world. After leaving my purse in a Burger King bathroom, going sightseeing for hours upon hours before realising, and heading back convinced that it would be long gone, I was delightfully surprised to have it handed back to me – money and credit cards still in tact (there were happy tears).
3. It might be time for rehab... ;)