Dark Streets & Shady Characters
This is my favorite story from the big trip in 2012. So many amazing things happened while I was in Germany so many years ago, but this story is the perfect representation of the entire trip. I meant it!
After an amazing day in Dresden I was making my way to my hostel when I heard it. Behind me, there were a group of men horse-playing in the street. There were a handful of them and they were loud! I was uncomfortable in the moment and concerned that I would not see the next day.
Let me back up a little bit. Before I left for this trip, everyone was telling me how dangerous it would be. There was concern on all sides of my family about how I would be robbed and beaten up and that I would be taken advantage of at all turns in these big cities… blah blah blah. This advice was solidly in my mind in this moment.
In our travels, we don’t always make the best choices. Sometimes, things go a little wrong. I wrote an entire chapter in my book about this called “Sometimes Travel Sucks”, I made it Chapter 13 on purpose.
Speaking of which, don’t forget to check out my book Don’t Pack That at your favorite book dealer!
As this group of gentlemen gain on me, I try to pick up the pace a little. Not enough for them to notice that I was walking faster, but enough to get me to my hostel. I could see the sign out front and I knew in this moment that I was in shouting distance, as long as someone was outside.
In my mind, I was figuring out what I had in my pockets that I could use as a weapon and determining whether or not I could make the dash faster than they could catch me. I was a little uncomfortable, but it got worse!
One of the gentlemen in the group caught up to me and started saying something in German. He quickly realized that I did not speak German and asked his question again in English. He asked where I was heading. Unsettled, I answered by pointing to the hostel ahead of us. He said that they were staying at the same hostel and laughed loudly.
I knew I was dead in this moment.
We talked about my visit and he asked if I was traveling alone. As security advice, I never tell anyone whether I am traveling alone or not until after. You never know who wants to do you harm and it harms nothing for people to believe that you are meeting up with someone.
We continued chatting as we walked towards the hostel and he decided to enlighten me to their affiliation. It turned out that they were a biker gang. That made me WAY more comfortable!
This biker gang, though, likes to ride these awesome street bikes wearing giant bunny suits in parades for children’s charity. It was amazing. It almost stopped me in my tracks right there in the street. When we made it to the hostel, they showed me some of their bikes and they were gorgeous.
The moral of this story is simple. Sometimes, it’s not as bad as it seems. This particular story was exemplary of the entire trip because it was the recurring pattern that every time something awful happened, it turned out to be the best possible version of the thing that it could be. I loved everything about that trip and I want to do it again someday.
I hope you liked this story and others like it. Please keep scrolling through the Storytime section of the blog to hear more stories from my travels.
Thanks, y’all!
