So This Is Your Maverick

‘it smells like cattle here,’ i said in wonderment the moment we were on the other side of the sliding doors, smeared with jetlag and dragging luggage. it was right off the plane and straight onto the cobblestone streets; but no complaints, really. there’s just something about cobblestones. as well as undisguised, languid, sunhatted coffee culture sheltered elegantly beneath big umbrellas on the sidewalk.

i learnt how to say Sugar (Zucker) by looking at the label of a jam jar, and the names of various fruits by eyeing intently their local aliases written in black marker cursive on little cardboard signs. Apfelsine is an orange. Wassermelone is none other than watermelon. we bought half a pound of cherries at the market this morning, but i was so excited i forgot to check how to say cherries.

if you’re lucky, sometimes you’ll get to see women who have beards. i’ve seen two. and i dont mean whiskers or a furry upper lip; i mean a full-fledged Merlin. it’s so weird, but so interesting, yet still really weird. a little bit like the train system here where you dont actually have to pay for tickets. a budget backpacker’s dream! the ticketing sytem, i mean, not the bearded women.

amidst many coffee breaks and poking around churches, we walked a lot. i was so tired that last night i fell asleep in my little orange dress. then i woke up to excellent sausages, cold cuts and cheese. have i said this yet? i absolutely love the cheese here. and our hotel makes the best croissants ever. i slathered mine with Nutella and it was even better. Nutella! Nutella! you make me so happy.

there is a lot of sky here. and the people here have very, very blue eyes. above all i’m just glad that i have someone to share all of this country’s beauty with me.

34 comments July 25th, 2007