Memories are timeless treasures of the heart. 记忆是心灵永恒的财富

After Salzburg, I boarded another train to another new city and country for me; Munich, Germany. I was planning to stay for two nights with an Indian couple on couchsurfing who offered to host me. As soon as I arrived in Munich, I noticed how busy and bustling the city was, which was quite different from all the other cities I had visited on this European train journey. Actually it made me think of the city, Taipei, where I used to live but gradually grew out of the longer I lived there. I never really liked Taipei so much because of the busy and fast-paced lifestyle. I had a strange feeling about my first impression of Germany and wasn’t sure if I would like my experiences there.

I arrived at Vivek’s house. It was after their dinner time on a Friday evening, and Vivek and his wife Swati greeted me with warmth in their living room. Their apartment was basic but I had a couch that they had prepared for me to stay on. They had just been married for a year and moved to Germany because of work. They started using couchsurfing to host people from around the world because they’d found this could actually spice up their mundane routine life after work. I could sense they were both very intelligent people and they were interested in my experiences in making podcasts, as they were interested in starting their own. So I hosted a mini exploration workshop to help them find topics for their podcasts, right there in the living room.

This interest was very nice to find out about because although they were both engineers in a prestigious German company, they had many interests away from engineering and science. Swati was passionate about handcrafts and helping women back in India, and Vivek really loved walking and connecting with people. They also taught me how to play UNO, the card game, which I lost many times and we laughed a lot. It was a great night.

The next day I met up with Sebastian, a local guy who I also connected with through couchsurfing and he suggested that we walk around Munich. It was great since I didn’t feel like navigating through the hustle and bustle of Munich alone. Sebastian was an amazing guide and planned a route which showed me some of the most enjoyable places in Munich and also how distinctive Bavarian culture is within Germany. At lunch, we ordered a pretzel, white sausages, and beer together. I learned the right way to eat German white sausages. If I didn’t have Sebastian’s instructions, I’d never have known how to eat one! The wrap was actually plastic, and I had to peel it with my knife and enjoy cutting it into small pieces to pick up with my fork. I really enjoyed the flavor and thought that it was the best sausage I ever tasted. Unlike the German sausage I had tried before, it had just the right amount of saltiness and tenderness. However, due to my inexperience cutting the sausage, it slipped off my plate and onto the floor whilst peeling it away from the wrapping. Sebastian later teased me about my clumsiness cutting a sausage.

After I said goodbye to Sebastian and walked home that Saturday night, I decided to offer to teach the couple how to make vegan dumplings and spring rolls together. They were quick learners and took it very seriously. It was a really enjoyable night sharing food and eating the food we made together.

Stay tuned...there’s much more to come!

In the next episode I’ll be sharing stories that occured in Berlin, Germany.

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