At age seventeen my father took me with him on a business trip to Europe. We spent three weeks: landing first in London, taking a train to Paris and from there a rental Clio Renault. Nothing says tourist like two men 6’ plus and each well over 200lbs shoulder to shoulder in the Euro-version of a Neon.I will save the Amsterdam stories for in person sharing only. (Buy me have a few beers and make sure it is not a family function.)
Hand to God all of the following happenings took place in a two day span in a small town on the lake outside of Berlin.
Day 1:
Our hotel was white and looked fairly modern and new. The lake was just behind and a small restaurant sat just across the parking lot. As we walked in the small restaurant we were greeted by a lovely girl who spoke no English but was very smiley and quickly helped us to a table in a small glass room, almost like a greenhouse. A waitress also quite attractive offered us bottled flat and fizzy water. Never have I been a fan of carbonation in my water so I skipped right to ordering beer.
I don’t recall any other patrons in the place. We must have been early or late for whatever meal this was, the time change and language had made for some interesting dining experiences. We began eating and the food was delicious. As I was mid drink I looked up at Dad sitting across from me and out of the corner of my eye something unusual. I did a full cartoon double-take. Our hostess was standing just a few feet from the table and giggling. As my head turned slightly left I notice a gorilla, not a real gorilla of course but a person in a gorilla costume.
“Dad, am I crazy or is there a person in a gorilla costume over there?”
Dad looked at me as if I were insane. He turned to look and as we both knew what we were seeing, the gorilla and the hostess proceeded to laugh out loud. We chuckled and awkwardly waved and the gorilla waved back.
To this day I don’t know if they were just bored or if somewhere in Europe we were on Candid Camera UK.
Later that night I saw one of the maids in the hallway and again she was much above average in the looks department. Again, not sure if this place was run by all women but it seemed that way, maybe a brothel? Don’t worry didn’t find out. In regards to all the women being attractive I guess in retrospect when you are seventeen any female with a smile is pretty.
Day two:
Our job while in Germany was to install a boatlift for a sailboat on a small pier of a dock. The day before, dad and our German contact Manfred had scouted an open lot on the water where we could assemble the lift. We traveled there and met up with two nice Croatian workers and got straight to work. The weather was gray just the way you would picture Germany. Clouds and a chill in the air. Wet and yet not raining. The lift, when built, was well over thirty feet long and could support a much larger boat than we would actually be lifting.
While scouting locations a space this large was hard to come by. As we finished the assembly it was time to get it in the water and we would have to float it across the small lake to its actual install point. The weather turned worse and the lake only added to the cold temperature and amount of water blowing about in the breeze.
It was time to pull the lift across the lake. Only two problems; the boat was not big enough for all of us and the motor on the boat was made for a small fishing boat. Dad and I now find ourselves riding on the lift one on each tank balancing the rig. At about two knots this took forever. By the time we reached the other side our jackets were soaked. We had made it. As we stood on the dock, the owner of the sailboat climbed aboard and pulled five tin cups and a bottle of something from below deck.
He poured generously and with a raise in the air we toasted and I quickly shot back what would turn out to be scotch. Talk about a warming of the soul.
Two events that just stick with you are seeing a gorilla suit out in public and drinking scotch for the first time. It just so happens they happened to me in a short two day span in a small town in Germany.
Fun Facts about my European Adventure
- Visited seven countries in three weeks, drank in all
- Met a waitress named Stamina (Likely the wrong spelling, funny no matter what)
- Walked from our Hotel in Nice, France to the boardwalk for a late night drink with an Italian girl named Federica, a Frenchman named Jacque and an Englishman named Vincent.
- Had beer at McDonalds
- Learned that stereotypes are usually accurate
- Gained more life experience in three weeks than the previous 16 years
- Saw the Eiffel Tower, London Bridge, Monte Carlo and Cannes
- Haven’t been back for lack of funds, would go in a heartbeat!
(I have more from this trip and I am sure I will get it all out there eventually, but for now this will have to do. Thanks for reading!)
Our hotel was white and looked fairly modern and new. The lake was just behind and a small restaurant sat just across the parking lot. As we walked in the small restaurant we were greeted by a lovely girl who spoke no English but was very smiley and quickly helped us to a table in a small glass room, almost like a greenhouse. A waitress also quite attractive offered us bottled flat and fizzy water. Never have I been a fan of carbonation in my water so I skipped right to ordering beer.
I don’t recall any other patrons in the place. We must have been early or late for whatever meal this was, the time change and language had made for some interesting dining experiences. We began eating and the food was delicious. As I was mid drink I looked up at Dad sitting across from me and out of the corner of my eye something unusual. I did a full cartoon double-take. Our hostess was standing just a few feet from the table and giggling. As my head turned slightly left I notice a gorilla, not a real gorilla of course but a person in a gorilla costume.
“Dad, am I crazy or is there a person in a gorilla costume over there?”
Dad looked at me as if I were insane. He turned to look and as we both knew what we were seeing, the gorilla and the hostess proceeded to laugh out loud. We chuckled and awkwardly waved and the gorilla waved back.
To this day I don’t know if they were just bored or if somewhere in Europe we were on Candid Camera UK.
Later that night I saw one of the maids in the hallway and again she was much above average in the looks department. Again, not sure if this place was run by all women but it seemed that way, maybe a brothel? Don’t worry didn’t find out. In regards to all the women being attractive I guess in retrospect when you are seventeen any female with a smile is pretty.
Day two:
Our job while in Germany was to install a boatlift for a sailboat on a small pier of a dock. The day before, dad and our German contact Manfred had scouted an open lot on the water where we could assemble the lift. We traveled there and met up with two nice Croatian workers and got straight to work. The weather was gray just the way you would picture Germany. Clouds and a chill in the air. Wet and yet not raining. The lift, when built, was well over thirty feet long and could support a much larger boat than we would actually be lifting.
While scouting locations a space this large was hard to come by. As we finished the assembly it was time to get it in the water and we would have to float it across the small lake to its actual install point. The weather turned worse and the lake only added to the cold temperature and amount of water blowing about in the breeze.
It was time to pull the lift across the lake. Only two problems; the boat was not big enough for all of us and the motor on the boat was made for a small fishing boat. Dad and I now find ourselves riding on the lift one on each tank balancing the rig. At about two knots this took forever. By the time we reached the other side our jackets were soaked. We had made it. As we stood on the dock, the owner of the sailboat climbed aboard and pulled five tin cups and a bottle of something from below deck.
He poured generously and with a raise in the air we toasted and I quickly shot back what would turn out to be scotch. Talk about a warming of the soul.
Two events that just stick with you are seeing a gorilla suit out in public and drinking scotch for the first time. It just so happens they happened to me in a short two day span in a small town in Germany.
Fun Facts about my European Adventure
- Visited seven countries in three weeks, drank in all
- Met a waitress named Stamina (Likely the wrong spelling, funny no matter what)
- Walked from our Hotel in Nice, France to the boardwalk for a late night drink with an Italian girl named Federica, a Frenchman named Jacque and an Englishman named Vincent.
- Had beer at McDonalds
- Learned that stereotypes are usually accurate
- Gained more life experience in three weeks than the previous 16 years
- Saw the Eiffel Tower, London Bridge, Monte Carlo and Cannes
- Haven’t been back for lack of funds, would go in a heartbeat!
(I have more from this trip and I am sure I will get it all out there eventually, but for now this will have to do. Thanks for reading!)
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