I often have dreams about the time that I spent in southern Germany last summer. I have dreams about breathing in the fresh, crisp air that is virtually unknown here at home. I fantasize about the food and drinks that I had, all of it having some sort of a "pureness" that I can't describe even now. I miss seeing the beautiful new Porsches and BMWs that, from what I could tell, everyone owned and drove to work outside of the city or to the various university buildings located within. Tubingen is a traditional Universitätstadt, where all of the city is a school and most everyone is a student, so there was a deep sense of culture and learning.
Perhaps most strongly, I have dreams about the sights that I saw on a regular basis. I dream of the beautifully preserved, fairytale-like altstadt that was untouched by Allied bombs, the multitude picnicking out in the 400 year-old botanical garden at lunchtime, and the oddly-soothing greenish tint of the Neckar, with the row of brightly-painted houses lining the river, making up an iconic image of the city. While seeing all of this, I dream about walking the cobblestone streets as if I were a local.
It seems like it was only yesterday that I was doing just that and seeing all of these wonderful sights. It was a real culture shock for me, settling down with my host family (who actually lived in Reutlingen to the southeast) and witnessing how different life was there as compared to life at home.
The typical day in Tubingen, while being very laid-back in general, is also very punktlich. I was shocked by just how "on it" that even the public transportation was. One of the real joys of my day was taking the train from Reutlingen to Tubingen and then back again. While I was not really in the fairytale landscape that someone might imagine all of Germany to be (let's be honest, I was not living in the Black Forest or in the "cultured" parts of Bavaria), I still saw a landscape that was essentially unhampered.
Why could I be dreaming about an experience that was a once-in-a-lifetime deal? Maybe it's because I took valuable lessons about taking it easy from my time in Germany and brought them back here. There are places and people with different patterns and those patterns may very well suit you better.
You'd be shocked to see just how slow the German people are with what they do. Through whatever they're doing, they are active and enjoying the experience. Tubingen society showed itself to me to be very open and free, while also having purpose. I dream about being back in Germany because I felt at home. I was at ease. I ate my pretzels and cheese and I cherished watching the cars and people. Drifting in a pole boat down the Neckar was just an added bonus.
