Immigrating to the States

The year was 1989. My family and I were immigrating to the United States. Mom and I were at Frankfurt airport on a stop over from India on the way to our new home in the States. We were standing in line waiting to be served. The counter lady instead acted like she hadn’t seen us and took the order of the person behind us. We tried to catch her attention but she ignored us again. We left the line and just went to our gate. That was the first time I realized maybe something was wrong with ME. I was brown. I was a different color from the counter lady! Could that have been it? Everyone else in the line was “white.” From that moment on I’ve been afraid to travel to Germany. Reading about the holocaust in History class further cemented that irrational reluctance to visit this country. Fast forward to 2019, when I traveled solo to Germany on a travel assignment. Would I be okay? Would I be faced with racist comments? My skin had only gotten darker over the years, would I stand out amongst the blonde haired, blue eyed people like a sore thumb? I was nervous. Especially because I was going to be visiting the smaller historical towns in the North. Not Berlin, not Munich, not even Frankfurt. Gulp.

Growing up in the Midwest

Growing up in the States in the midwest, I experienced intense racist remarks for the first two years of living there. It was only after I moved to California that I started to feel a bit at peace with my skin color and “Indianness.” Even then during my teenage years it was a struggle as I tried to assimilate into American society while at the same time being pulled by my parents to retain my “Indianness.” As an adult, I can safely say I am now firmly proud of being an Indian American and am able to straddle both societies well, without that inner conflict so reminiscent of my youth. I credit that peace to my travels around the globe. At the end of the day after 20+ years of traveling, I have realized it’s not about labels. Indian or American, I am human and like all humans, I want love and connection and to be accepted for who I am as a person, not my skin color.

Arriving in Dusseldorf, Germany

I arrived in Dusseldorf from San Francisco and had to take a local train to my first stop, the cycling city of Munster. I had some trouble figuring out which train to take and boldly asked the person behind the information counter, thinking he would turn me away. He very politely guided me the right way. When I get to the train station I had trouble navigating through the automatic ticket machine. A German guy was helping another girl. I asked him to help me, half fearing he would say no. He graciously helped me and soon we were boarding the train. My heart rate slowed a bit. No one was shouting me, everyone seemed to be minding their own business, the sun was shining and I was in Europe on a train! I felt the first frissons of joy creep in.

Meeting a Stranger in Munster

I arrived at Munster station after easily changing trains at Duisburg, loaded my Google Maps and was soon dragging my carry-on toward my hotel, a 10 minute walk. I am terrified about missing train connections by the way, but the German trains are super punctual AND the platforms are well marked so I had no trouble when it came to switching trains etc. I checked in to the hotel and was shown to my room with neat Germany efficiency. I spent the next three days in Munster discovering the joys of cycling. Everyone was cycling. I believe it’s the cycling capital of Germany and an excellent example of how to improve urban mobility!

Since I was traveling solo to Germany, I decided this was a great opportunity to meet locals to show me unique spots around the city and I, albeit a little nervously, used Instagram to make those connections. That’s how I met the nicest young man in Munster, Leonard Dahmen. I loved his photography and messaged him asking if he would want to meet on a photography walking tour of sorts. Much to my surprise, he agreed! It was ironic that of all places I was doing something like this in Germany. Needless to say it was my first time and it sure won’t be my last. Through Leonard I learnt about Munster’s and well Europe’s push for Fridays for Future. For those of you who haven’t heard of this initiative, it’s a school strike for climate. Students take Fridays off from class to participate in demonstrations to demand action from political leaders around climate change!

Why I fell in love with Munster

Munster will always have a warm spot in my heart, because I felt so comfortable as a solo female brown traveler. I sat outside cafes by myself, enjoying the August sun, while sipping on bright orange drinks. At one such cafe, much to my shock, two elderly German women came and asked if they could share the table with me. Of course I said yes! I cycled the promenade, which is a truly must-do, all the way to the Aasee, and was able to pretty easily follow the rules. Where ever I made mistakes, thankfully no one shouted at me and I didn’t hit anyone. One of my favorite activities in Munster was climbing St. Lambert’s church all the way to the top and hanging out with the town’s first female tower keeper – Martje Salje, who has the unique job of blowing the horn every day. I actually left Munster quite reluctantly. I had formed an attachment to this city where I felt free to walk, cycle around, sit in cafes, meet up with new people via Instagram…without anyone telling me to “go home”. I had experienced that in Trump’s America once or twice and the new fear I felt while traveling to destinations now was that I won’t be accepted because of my skin color. At Munster I felt accepted and welcomed.

Meet Janna, the Netherlands tourism ambassador to Osnabruck

20 minutes by train awaited my next adventure in a small town called Osnabruck. This town has a population of 165,000 people. It’s smaller than Munster and has a more quaint, fairy-tale like feel to it, especially if you’re staying in the historic center in one of the few remaining historic half-timbered houses. I quickly fell in love with Osnabruck. Introducing me to Osnabruck was one of the kindest souls I met on this trip, Janna, the Netherlands tourism ambassador to Osnabruck. Yes, even I didn’t know there was such a job like that!

What really is spaghetti ice?

Okay so Janna is really Dutch then, but we still had an amazing time walking to the Botanical Garden and she laughing in glee as I later dug into my first Spaghetti Ice. Laughing because I thought it was real spaghetti with ice cream on top, when it was really just a blob of ice cream in the shape of spaghetti. I swear I have not seen anything like this in America! Janna also took me to Schlecks to make my own ice cream concoction, before stopping at Redlinger’s Deli for a…wait for this…Buddha Bowl and an iced mango matcha cocos latte which was deeeelicious. We ended the day with a traditional German dinner at Weinkruger, in a historical, half-timbered building. Janna and I still keep in touch and she’s an avid traveler and photographer and I hope I get to travel with her one day!

My Adventures with Katharina and Her Friends

One evening I was wandering a narrow alley next to my accommodation and chanced upon the cutest art-gallery/cafe called the ART Elier Thomas Jankowski cafe. You have to see it to even understand my sense of wonder at this place. Sitting outside in a bright orange chair, sipping a fabulous gin with elderberry is where I met one of the waitresses, Katharina Stein.

A delightful young lady, she was so vibrant and welcoming! She would come out and take her smoking breaks sitting on the chair opposite me, while I would pick her brain to find out what it’s like living in Osnabruck.

Bar hopping with new friends

The afternoon discussion rolled into an evening sojourn, still at the same cafe, but at a different spot, and with the addition of a few more waitresses. A little later a group of boys clearly on a bachelor party walked by and asked us to take shots with them as part of some ritual that I didn’t quite understand. They sang me a prayer, we all took a round of some fruity tasting shots, and clicked a few pics to capture the moment before they left. No one smirked at me, threw shade at me…nothing. I only saw friendly smiles all around me! And guess what?! That night Katharina took me to a local bar and introduced me to a few of her friends. We tried a bunch of different beers, some local spiced shots that apparently were all the rage amongst the University students, and laughed a lot. She walked me back to my hotel before heading back to the art-gallery cafe, still open. I had one of the best nights during my travels to Germany, thanks to her!

The South vs the North

Katharina is originally from the South of Germany and she told me that people there are much warmer and expressive. She said when she first moved here to the north, it took a while for people to get used to her effervescent, sometimes too loud personality, and even to just make friends. But once you make a friend in the north she said, you’ve made a friend for life. That explained a lot about the “curtness” I experienced, especially in the service industry in Germany. In America, the customer service industry is more or less friendly (some will say over friendly) and most people will smile at you and indulge in small conversations. So far in the German towns I had been visiting in the north, I felt like they were very direct, and that they didn’t really have time to exchange superficial pleasantries.

Marzipan Anyone?!

Take for example my experience in the famous Niederegger store specializing in Marzipan in my next stop – the Hanseatic city of Lubeck. I asked one of the workers if they could explain to me the difference in the varieties of Marizpan and which ones were the most popular. She shrugged, waved her hand and said I don’t know and walked away. To a German, that reaction might seem okay. To me, well, an American sales person would launch into an explanation of the differences and likely tell you which ones were the best sellers AND which ones were her favorite. But that’s the beauty of travel, you can’t expect everyone to act like you are used to in your home country. And you shouldn’t expect, because then what’s the point of travel?! So I just picked up whatever I thought looked good and moved on to the salon upstairs to have an entire Marzipan pastry by myself. It was delicious and I would highly recommend a visit to Niederegger. Do your research before hand and figure out which flavors you might want to buy, or do what I did and buy one of each!

Meet my newest friend Daniela in Lubeck!

Lubeck is where I also met Daniela through Instagram. I loved her photography and asked her if she would meet with me to photograph spots she loved around her city. Daniela turned out to be an incredible gal and we still keep in touch. We had a great time walking around the city, taking photographs, and she even taught me a thing or two about her style of photography which I really enjoyed. We met up a few more times before I left and attended the Duckstein Beer festival together by the river. Next morning we explored Lubeck’s famous alleys and she introduced me to my now favorite drink – the Lillet Berry.

That evening I dined alone as part of my work at a fairly new restaurant called The Newport. I was a little nervous to dine alone. I thought people would stare at me. I chose a seat on the outside patio. There were three other solo diners much to my shock. And unexpectedly I found vegan, vegetarian and seafood options on the menu. Where was I?! Wine in hand, I watched the sun set over the river, counting my blessings and feeling loved.

Did you know Germany had a beautiful coastline?!

From Lubeck I made my way via a 2 hour train journey to Rostock and then a car ride to the seaside resort of Warnamunde, 30 minutes away. Warna who?! I had never heard of this place, let alone realized that Germany had a coast. My bad. The Baltic sea shone like a jewel that afternoon. The water was warm, and I felt transported to a different world.

Staying in Germany’s most unique accommodation

At Warnamunde, I met Christoph. A tall lanky man, he owned the most unique hostel I had ever stayed in during my travels, the Dock Inn. Christoph further shattered my image of an unwelcome Germany. We talked about our travels, starting a hostel in India, and how he came up with the concept of a shipping container for a hostel here in Warnamunde. Yes the rooms are basically constructed from material from actual overseas containers. This hostel also has a sauna, climbing gym, restaurant, bar, kitchen, games room, in-house cinema, dorm beds and private rooms! Bikes rentals at the hostel are a god send as I used them every day to cycle to the beach and back. I stayed in a private room, the best example of living in a “tiny home”. I say that because the bathroom is nowhere visible. It is quietly tucked into what seems like just wall paneling. My room even had a living area with a couch and tv. The bedroom was spacious with floor to ceiling windows. I didn’t want to leave. Christoph and I talked about backpacking….and nationalism.

Why Travel to Germany?

His perspective? Nationalism in Germany is dead. I asked why, what did he mean by this. He said most Germans don’t believe in nationalism after the country’s experience with the holocaust. Apart from soccer matches where the German flag will be proudly waved about amongst fans, Germans believe nationalism is taboo. Again I found this struggle to acknowledge the past while taking pride in the present day accomplishments, a common thread amongst the 4 cities I had visited in Germany so far. In Osnabruck, I came across the “stumbling stones.” I literally stumbled upon one and Janna told me that they were there as a gentle reminder for the German people. A reminder not to forget that which must not be repeated. These are memorial stones inserted into the sidewalk and bearing names of the persecuted Jews. The guilt that the Germans feel is real, and I feel bad for them. Christoph’s perspective is one I share: Why can’t we just have a label or a flag that just reads “human”? What is this desperate need to carve out an identity that separates us from each other? I couldn’t agree more Christoph.

Travel teaches you to shatter your own misconceptions

I have to thank all these people I met in Germany for shattering my own misconceptions and unfounded fears of traveling solo to Germany as a brown girl. Don’t get me wrong, there are pockets of racism everywhere, even in America. But to overlook a destination because of its past, is to deny yourself the beauty of its present – and there is no denying, Germany is wildly, stoically beautiful and its people, even more so. What happened at Frankfurt airport when I was a kid back in 1989 was one individual’s bad behavior. To judge an entire country based on one individual is how we give way to biases. Germany since then has evolved, and so have I.