Oh
where to start, where to start!
The last months of my year in Bremen and Europe were filled to the brim
with action, train rides and hostel rooms. Good thing my trusty backpack from 6th grade was
along the entire time as my sidekick!
The thing with my light-purple backpack from LL Bean is, it is really old, and I really should get a new one.
But, I just can’t! This
backpack has covered so many countries, states and experiences with me, that I
could not just not bring it with me for the year. And boy, am I glad I did bring it.
Every
weekend from May to the middle of July when I flew back to the US, I was doing
something different. It started
with traveling, canoeing and working for my internship on the boat cruise and
ended with traveling with old friends, new friends and friends I hope to know
for many years to come.
The
best way to catch this blog up and wrap up my year of where me and backpack
were, is to break it down into months, so, first up would be May and the boat
cruise.
The
weeks and days leading up to the boat tour were full and intense, though my
days were undoubtedly much easier than those Frauke battled through! The scale of this project split between
a small number of people was truly impressive and ambitious. Frauke took on so many projects as her
own responsibility that I am quite sure the relief I felt after the tour was
over is only a small fraction of what Frauke felt.
To our immense satisfaction, the
boat tour really went extremely well.
Of course, we had the normal blips expected during the “dress rehearsal”
(for lack of a better word) and then an issue hitting ground in one of the
ports, but by the time the rarely-warm Bremen sun was setting in the late May
sky on the opening night, nerves were running high, but everyone was ready and
excited. My role was to plaster a
massive smile on my face and find my nicest German greetings to welcome the
guests onto the boat and deal with those who were unlucky enough to not get
tickets. As soon as our boat, the
MS Friedrich, which is over 100 years old, pulled away from the dock I hopped
on my bike and rode through the district to the head of the other remaining
port. An hour later when the boat
arrived after completing approximately half of the tour, I greeted the boat at
the dock along with either Bremen’s very own ukulele orchestra (definitely a
highlight of the experience!), a classic sea-hymns choir or old-fashioned
accordion music. At this point
three lucky passengers got to clamber off-board for our very own food competition
between the two restaurants at the port’s head. Two of the fellow actors led the volunteers through an
“adventure of tastes from Bremen’s ports.” It was funny and fun to hear the impromptu reactions the
passengers had to the sights, smells and tastes of the very traditional, north
German food of scrambled eggs, small shrimp and pan-fried potatoes from the old
restaurant compared to the much fancier, experimental cuisine of focaccia with
pork slices, asparagus, arugula and creamy pesto from the Italian restaurant
named after the use of the old building it inhabits: Die Feuerwache (the fire station). And the greatest part of the food probe? I got to share the extras with the
others on the dock as the boat pulled away. J
The rest of the tour included much silliness,
singing, interviews about the area’s development and vintage photos collected
from the many people who donated their time and stories. At the end of the seventh night, I was
delighted to have the tour over, but also very satisfied by what we all had
accomplished together. People
raved about the uniqueness of the boat cruise and I am proud of my involvement
with such a special project. The
greatest confirmation of the success was the demand for over 400 tickets we
could not provide, therefore leading into a two-evening repetition of the
entire cruise upon a larger boat!
When the tour was over I went to sleep in a cloud of exhaustion, but
also happiness because of what I had helped accomplish, the great people I met
through the challenge and the knowledge that in two short days my dad would be
flying into the Amsterdam to meet me for our own, exciting, new adventure.
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