In my twenties, I had the chance to travel across Europe with an adult community band. One of the cities we visited was Ulm, Germany. I was reminded of that day by a post on Dr. D's blog.
We were about halfway through our tour when the younger members of the bass section decided it was time for a night out. One of our members was Jewish, and he was the only one who came even close to being able to communicate with the natives.
We left the hotel, and walked down the main thoroughfare. When we came to a promising side street, we veered off, looking for a neighborhood bar. We finally settled on one. I can't say we were welcomed with open arms. The customers and bartender alike looked us up and down. I figure they were wondering if we had come looking for trouble, and they were willing to give it to us. It was clearly a rough crowd, and they resented the intrusion. It didn't help that the bass player's German was likely laced with Yiddish.
Somehow we managed to place an order for the local beer, and it came in litre glasses. Sheer stupidity (shaking my head). One of them said "Bottoms UP" and THEY chugged the beer. I was still sipping mine when they slammed their glasses down, and looked expectantly at me. "You know, the looser buys the next round, don't you?"
I ponied up for four rounds that night. I never finished one of them. Surprisingly, it was the girl who played string bass who packed it away the best. She must have practiced regularly. *G*
As one point, she and I headed for the loo, an experience I will NEVER forget. I know they talk about Americans being nasty neat, and having too high expectations when it comes to sanitation, but this was simply a hole in the floor! If I could have held it, I would have!
We had a long bus ride the next day, and had to be up early to load the buses, so after the fourth round, we lurched out of our chairs and headed for the door. I'm astounded we were able to find our way back to the hotel. Standing up was a group effort.
As I recall.....the beer was great! But I had enough of it that night to last me a lifetime!
Comments (4)
I lived in Italy for five years and when my little sister came to visit she had a similar experience. At one of my usual hangouts, after having a couple of beers, she excused herself and went to il bagno. She came back horrifed by the hole in the ground. We went home so she could pee.
Posted by Sgt Hook | July 30, 2003 5:18 PM
Posted on July 30, 2003 17:18
Buffy, first off thanks for the link and I'm happy to know that I inspired you to post after reading.
I have heard about these 'toilet' holes in Europe. I believe that in Japan they are very similar. I'll pass those up and piss in our Western holes thank you....failing that, I'll find a nice tree. :-)
Posted by Dr. D. | July 30, 2003 7:47 PM
Posted on July 30, 2003 19:47
Sarge, your sister would fit right in with the women in my family. My father could find the most disreputable places to stop when we were traveling. We all refused to use the restrooms, and our endurance became a legend! *G*
I'm with you, Dr. D. Give me a clean potty! The Germans were also the ones who provided a block wall waist high parallel to the autobahn as their idea of a bathroom. Ya should have heard the women complain when they figured out what they were seeing.....all these guys lined up facing them and grinning.
Posted by Buffy | July 30, 2003 9:35 PM
Posted on July 30, 2003 21:35
I am with you, sister! No hole in the ground for me, unless I swished back too much before finding out what the 'facilities' consisted of!
Posted by Desiree | August 1, 2003 1:34 AM
Posted on August 1, 2003 01:34