the great weekends - bad kreuznach

Like most stories, the best part of my stay here came late. I blame it partly on the weather. The cold season lasted 2 months more than it should. Then I was sent here all by myself. Nobody to sit with me in the car to make long drives a little less tiring. But anyway, I'm not gonna dwell on that.

Three weekends ago the sun started to really shine and the cold wind's gone. Invitations from old and new friends came left and right. My first visit was in Bad Kreuznach. I have 2 classmates from high school, one married a German and the other an American soldier stationed in Germany, that reside there. Then another high school mate, a nurse in UK, visited Germany. So we made it a point to have a get together. It was a stressful 4 hours drive. I was expecting a nilagang baboy or baka, or perhaps tinolang manok on my dinner plate after my ordeal on the freeway, but that darn Jean, the host, only cooked lousy longganisa for me. I was complaining about it until the day I left their place.

I was tired from the drive and it was very late (around 11PM) but I still say yes when they plan to go to Frankfurt that night. It was all worth it. The city was celebrating for Germany's win on a match in the World Cup. People were boozing, dancing, singing and shouting everywhere. But it was great to see a lot of police patroling the street. At first glance, you thought there was a coup d'etat. Then later on you'll realize that the police was really monitoring the city for any riots or whatsoever. Anyway we didn't join the celebration. We were looking for the red light area. It was a great night. All traces of tiredness vanished when we went inside a strip bar.

The next day I was delighted to know that they don't have an itinerary for me. I immediately suggested to visit Rizal Park at Heidelberg, an hour drive from their place. It would have been totally uncool if it was in the Philippines. But since Rizal Park is situated on a mountain in Heidelberg, Germany then patriotism got the better of me. We were all surprised to see Jose Rizal Street near the park. It was a stroll in the city after a few pictures with the doctor. The day wasn't complete without dropping by at a discotheque before heading home at around 4 in the morning.

We only slept 5 hours then we had to get ready for a day at the "Mud Park". It was like a 2-hour treck on different surfaces - clay, grass, a lot of variety of wood, river, muddy water, steel, pebbles, rocks, rope - and we had to walk barefoot. It costs me EUR 2.50 to punish my feet! The reason for people flocking in there? Since life has been so comfortable in this country, they have to get in touch with nature literally. In my country, I do this all the time for free!