Blog Abroad #3

29 May, 2022

Writing this on the tail end of a 10 day work stretch; suffice to say I am exhausted and ready for a couple days of relaxation. Going to try writing this more often– at least on a weekly basis– in order to include more of the details of daily life here. This summer is apt to be busy and full of excitement and I want to write this more so to look back on in the coming years and remember all the little things that made this opportunity so memorable.

As it stands, I am almost 11 months into my 15 month contract and now must ask myself the question just about everyone here ends up asking themselves: Do I extend? While not promised, especially after the raising of the federal minimum wage, extensions are a big deal here at Edelweiss. They give you the opportunity of staying in Europe for at least one more year (per extension) and momentarily delay the dilemma of deciding what will be the next step in one’s personal and professional career. I won’t lie; working here is no walk through the park. It usually comes down to poor management and understaffing in addition to the living situation in which we are all cramped like sardines in a can next to each other and never have a moment to ourselves. Finding oneself facing all these issues, it makes the question of extending much more difficult than an outsider might imagine. Yes, you get to live in Europe rent free, but when faced with the prospect of coming back to zero personal space, no work/life separation and a company that will just chew you and spit you out without the slightest hesitation, you begin to have second doubt about the whole thing.

I have been lucky to be working in the hotel kitchen though, admittedly. I have seen firsthand the management in each section of the hotel and the absolute havoc they wreak on their employees and the kitchen Chefs are without a doubt the two best managers here. While not perfect by any means, I can honestly say they are the two best managers I’ve worked for in any of my past jobs; I have learned a great deal of industry knowledge, getting time off is a breeze and they will usually step up to bat to fight for all of us when called upon– a habit which I personally have never seen before in a manager. This is all given you are a hard, dependable worker though, a fact which some employees in the kitchen seem to neglect and rail against when they are not given the opportunities or extensions they think they are owed. All said, I would not mind working for them for another year given the chance. I don’t feel as though I’ve seen Europe as much as I should and that is the whole reason I am here, is it not?

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I would like to update on my life since writing that blog post in October, but to be honest, not much happened after that until late January. Salzburg was my last trip that I took for close to 4 months and it left such a bad taste in my mouth that I guess I needed time to recover. Winter was very pretty at first here in Garmisch. By the time Thanksgiving rolled around, the most voluminous, beautiful snowflakes I had ever seen were falling steadily on the barren trees and ground and I felt as though I was witnessing a beauty that was entirely new to me being from Florida. But soon unfortunately, the beauty faded into grays and blacks and everyday was just another overcast, chilly forecast without even the luxury of snow. This dismal weather combined with some disagreeable events in my personal life made for a very unhappy, long, drunk winter. Things which I had long looked forward to like holidays in the snow and German Christmas markets were made impossible through stricter COVID laws and long hours at work. It all culminated with a 10 hour workday on Christmas and a couple losses in my personal life that inspired me to try to get out my funk and return to my roots, at least for a week, by heading back home. While this didn’t completely jumpstart me, it did clear away some of the fog in my life and was a much needed respite. Seeing old friends, soaking up the Florida sun and enjoying time with family gave me the energy I needed to finish the rest of the winter strong.

My next trip was Ljubljana in Slovenia. It was a city ( and country for that matter) which I had never even heard of before arriving here but it was a very unique and beautiful area. I would describe it as having the countryside and rolling hills/mountains of Italy and the grunginess of East Europe. Its graffiti was second only to Berlin in my opinion, it had some of the best food I’ve eaten, the nicest people, and best of all, one of the cheapest places I’ve visited. For whatever reason, one of their specialties is burgers and I think I might have had one of the best Swiss mushroom burgers of my life in a tiny alleyway restaurant for only 7 euros, a beer and fries included. Slovenia is well worth a visit as well as Eastern Europe in general. The architecture, the people and the overall vibe are something that I never anticipated to enjoy as much as I did. Someday soon I hope to get over to Poland as well.

26/6

Post-Ljubljana, I was headed to Nürnburg the next month. This was just a quick visit– not nearly enough time to absorb the intense, dark history of the city– as it was a replacement trip for another that fell through. The weather was dreary the entire time, a very fitting foil for the stops and sights we were seeing. Our first stop obviously had to be the Palace of Justice, otherwise known as the location for the Nuremburg Trials. From the very entrance into the courthouse (which still is an active judicial establishment), it is clear that this is not a place to be taken lightly. Absolute evil had stood in this building, evil that was responsible for the killing of countless millions and the disruption of billions of lives, and the museum is deathly quiet, echoing this exact sentiment. After sitting inside the courthouse, in the very location that Hermann Göring and Rudolf Hess had sat, you are led into a series of rooms, detailing the beginnings of Nazism and how each defendant in the Nuremburg trials had contributed to the cause, how a special committee was formed to create the Nuremburg Charter and would subsequently allow the victorious countries to prosecute individuals of crimes against humanity, and how each of their verdicts would end. It was a very intense experience– and it wouldn’t end there. The next stop was Nazi rallying grounds and the Jew processing center, the latter being the most formidable building I could possibly imagine being nothing but a solid brick building lacking windows or even color. Thankfully, the Nazis were never able to completely finish their plans for an entire complex and were only able to halfway finish a stadium and a park for Nazi speeches. It was still surreal to stand in the same spot where Hitler once espoused hateful rhetoric that would ignite and feed the flames of discrimination in German occupied lands. Still, I recommend Nuremburg haha.

Post-Nuremburg, I found that I needed to work on myself a bit and put another hiatus on trips. I realized that I needed to return once and for all to the things in life which interested me and sparked a lust for life. I began writing music a bit again, nothing spectacular but enough to keep me entertained on the guitar and forget about everything else. I cut down greatly on my drinking which might have had the biggest impact; Germany has so many great qualities, especially if you are a beer drinker and so I might have found myself a bit too immersed in the culture. I began reaching out for new friends here again, a skill which I had pretty much neglected after the first couple of months. All of this coupled with longer days and more sunshine helped me overcome my reservations and set me on a much better path than the one I was presently going down. I am happy here now (again). I lost sight of myself for a few months, but I feel as though I am back to where I should be and hope to continue to stay like this for many months to come.

This has gone on long enough, so I will abridge my next few trips and try to touch back on them again whenever I get the chance. Following my trip hiatus, I began taking smaller trips. A weekend getaway to a spa in Innsbruck, a night in Berlin (still need to return, this was one of the coolest cities I’ve ever had the pleasure of witnessing.), and a three day stint in Salzburg soaking up the great food and The Sound of Music culture. Following was a 5 day trip to Barcelona in which I, in order: received sunburn so bad I turned purple, went to Primavera sound and got to see Tame Impala, Khruangbin, The Strokes and so many more incredible artists, and got my wallet stolen in on the beach in Barceloneta. But still, how often do you get to go to a music festival in Spain? I don’t regret a thing, I hope my pickpocket enjoyed the 5 American dollars and scuba diving license that he found in that wallet upon investigating later. It puts a smile on my face thinking about what he probably thought of that empty wallet.

Anyways, that’s probably it for now. I have too much to go into detail about, and it pains me I can’t include everything but with any luck, I’ll start writing this regularly so I can tell the little things that I experience day to day that make me laugh or cry. There have been so many incredible moments here and I feel myself a completely changed person as compared to this time just last year. I feel myself becoming more outgoing, less afraid of risk and more ready for change, something I have always been vastly resistant to. I hope I can continue with this way of life.