The Deutsche Experience (1/2)

Most people who visit Europe don’t have Germany in their travel itinerary, but my partner was very enthusiastic about exploring Germany when he visited me this summer. I was happy to show him around, and we made the best use of our 9 euros ticket. I will share some snippets of the experiences this summer had to offer.

Berlin is undoubtedly my favorite city in Germany, probably even my favorite among all the European cities I’ve visited so far. I’ve visited Berlin many times, but I’ve not written about it so far. I feel like my words will never do justice to its beauty and versitality. It is a living, breathing reminder of what history can do to people, families and cultures. It was, therefore, a very happy coincidence that Berlin was the first city I could show to my partner when he visited me. There was one place that I’d been meaning to visit in Berlin, and I grabbed the opportunity this time. So, on my partner’s first day in Germany, I took him to the German Parliament (Bundestag).

The Reichstag building hosts the Bundestag and it is a relatively newer building (as compared to most other buildings in Europe). The words “Dem Deutschen Volke” (To The German People) are inscribed on it, and it faces a huge lawn where people sit and relax on evenings. The striking feature of the building is a huge glass dome which offers a spectacular view of Berlin! We visited the building and learnt a lot about the history of German Bundestag. Despite the sweltering heat, we climbed atop the dome and the view was amazing! We witnessed a spectacular sunset and it felt like my partner was already falling in love with the city, the first German city he had ever visited!

German Bundestag

Next, I was excited to show him around my own town Paderborn. Paderborn, being a small place, is always celebrating something. They had an amazing little Christmas market in winter, a spring festival in April, the Libori festival in July and they will soon host the Autumn Libori! What I didn’t know is that it had been preparing a little surprise for us. When we reached Paderborn, the Pader Springs area (the park in front of my apartment) was decked up with lights. On asking around, we came to know about the Gourmet Festival À la carte, where local chefs have the opportunity to show off their dishes. The park was abuzz with foodies, who were spending a relaxing evening with their families. We had a wonderful time trying out different food (and desserts, of course!). This was followed by a little laser show at night. I was overwhelmed: it was difficult to believe that this place was the one worst affected by the Tornado some months back.

À La Carte Festival, Paderborn

The Deutsche experience will not be complete till I talk about football. Football is to Germany what cricket is to India. One of the first German sentences I was taught was “Ich spiele gerne Fußball” (I like playing Football). Neither do I play football, nor do I watch it regularly. But my partner does, so watching a match at the largest stadium in Germany was (hopefully) a bucket list worthy experience for him. Signal Iduna Park is one of the most famous stadiums in Europe, and their team Borussia Dortmund is also very well known. I had always thought the first live match I would attend would be that of cricket, but life had different plans for me!

We watched a match with 80,000 people in attendance. The atmosphere was electric! If I were a football fan, I would have cried tears of joy. In those two hours, I witnessed Germans’ devotion towards football. The crowd was a sea of black and yellow (colors of the home team), and I still can’t believe how gigantic the stadium was. There were a few cultural shocks too: smoking and drinking was allowed in the stadium. By the end of the game (which the home team won), our neighbour had finished four beers and many more cigarettes all while hurling abuses at the away team¹. The chants continued all the way back, and the trains from the stadium were packed with fans. The whole city was celebrating Borussia Dortmund’s victory!

Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund

Germany has so much more to offer than meets the eye. There is so much to explore and experience, that it often gets overwhelming. Please stay tuned for more highlights of our Deutsche summer!