Most Spontaneous Trip: Germany
- LoAroundTheGlobo
- Sep 4, 2019
- 4 min read
Updated: May 3
Summer 2010
It was a random summer evening when my family friend, Haley, asked me to go to Germany with her the following week. Her mom had been a flight attendant for many years, and was able to put us on the standby list for guests of employees. So with hardly any convincing necessary for my own mom (probably cause we flew standby for free and had free accommodations), we set out for Germany to visit Haley's then-boyfriend who had been a foreign-exchange student at our high school. It was a time of over-plucked eyebrows and teenage angst, but I'll never forget how happy and relieved Haley was that I was able to join her, as the alternative was that her twin brother would tag along.
Our trip started on an amazing note as we got bumped to first-class for our flight from DC to Frankfurt, which technically shouldn't have happened since neither one of us was 18-years-old yet, but that didn't stop us! We lounged, we feasted, we toasted, we kicked-back, it was honestly such a dream. At one point though, Haley was extending her chair all the way flat when we heard a loud, unsettling cracking noise... we realized she'd crunched up her brand new laptop, but we decided to withhold that small tidbit of info from our parents until our return to the States.
Once we arrived into Hamburg, Marco and his friends picked us up from the airport and we headed to his house near the city where we'd stay for most of the trip. The following 4 or 5 days consisted of sightseeing around Hamburg, grubbing at some local hot spots, and shopping a little bit for souvenirs. Marco and his friends were great hosts -- very happy to show us all around and very eager to teach us funny German phrases, which earned me some funny looks at different bars/restaurants.
One evening, we were about to get on the metro, and I was holding a massive glass bottle that slipped from my hands and shattered all over the metro station landing; we all scrambled to get on the train so that no one detected my clumsiness, but I felt so bad for dipping out. We had a big group so once we were safely on the train, out-of-sight, we just erupted in laughter. Another night in Hamburg, we went to a carnival where there were rides, games, food trucks, etc. We had a big fun group again, and so we basically just hung out in the lingering summer heat, enjoying cotton candy and beers. A couple of the other nights, we went to house parties hosted by Marco's friends, which consisted of lots of card games, ridiculous chants, and hilarious memories.
The last 5 or 6 days of the trip, we headed to the northern coast to one of Marco's friend's vacation homes. I was set to celebrate my 15th birthday there, and so we hit the beach for a couple of the days, which was not but a 5 minute walk from Freddy's family's cottage nestled in this adorable seaside neighborhood. On the night of my birthday, we were playing games and hanging out, and Freddy's mom brought out a homemade birthday cake for me at midnight, which made me feel so so special... pretty sure we stayed up the entire night celebrating.
The drive from Hamburg to the northern coast is a view that's etched in my mind. I can still picture the absolutely gorgeous tulip fields that stretched on for miles and miles, with windmills sprouting out of these colorful seas of flowers every now and then. It literally looked like a scene from The Sound of Music, only better -- more magical and whimsical and vibrant. It was then I knew that I'd underestimated Germany; I'm not sure what exactly my expectations were, but I knew that they'd been exceeded. All in all, it was a quick but memorable trip. We really didn't do anything exceptionally touristy, especially because Marco and his friends allowed us plenty of time to just relax, which was refreshing, but we spent quality time with quality people and that's really what travelling is all about.
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To Do or Not To Do?
Yes because Germany is a really lovely place. I was pleasantly surprised by its beauty in the rural parts and was extremely thankful for its quaintness in the urban areas, so I think everyone would have a great time here. There's just a ton of different places to visit within Germany, and tons of different types of trips i.e. outdoorsy, historical, metropolitan, etc. that are available that I think you'd have to pick what most interests you in order to best utilize your time. I went to Germany one other time, for example, during a Euro Trip (see blog post within) that was a completely different experience -- which I personally find fascinating when a place can offer anything for any tourist. So yes, I definitely recommend, but just organize an itinerary that works for you.
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