Mainz is a small town outside of Frankfurt, Germany. My travel-mate, Anurima (Anu) and I stopped there during our 8 hour layover in FRA. The transit system was incredibly easy to use, and rested on a trust-based system, as the tickets we bought were never checked. I didn't think too much of it until I saw the sign that said it was 60 euro for being caught riding without a ticket. Considering how I saw no officials on the train, I thought this was a pretty good deal..
Anu commented how excited she was to see how every place is more efficient than the US. I laughingly agreed, and was eager to note the differences in organization throughout the airport and beyond.
Mainz was beautiful. We deliberated coming back from town early just to hike our way back to the airport because there were so many trees on the footpath just outside the train, but the town proved to be too enchanting. From 6:30 until 10, we roamed the streets, watching the city rub sleep out of its eyes and start churning. Losing ourselves in the cobblestone footpaths and looking for currency, the puppies on leashes and baked goods in windows thoroughly excited our senses.
Being in an unknown city is sort of like going on a first date. Instead of seeing the unsightly and necessary parts, we kept our eyes on the novel and mystifying, finding quirks. Finding the little patterns of life that take some time to notice but in noticing them intimacy is built. We found a little jellyfish graffiti-ed on many buildings. Sometimes it said "Hi" and others instances it just floated on the wall, nearly blending in.
Because it was so early, we mostly roamed, letting the tallest building in sight be our tour guide, and gravitating toward wherever seemed to bustle. It was fun, getting to know someone alongside a new city! Anu and I eventually stopped at a bakery on a main street. She got a custard pretzel and I rhubarb pastry. We both got cappuccinos and watched as children escorted their parents to school and backpack people* found their way to work.
Everyone seemed so skilled at carrying bags! And bicycling. We walked through town to get to the river, which seemed to aggregate much of the city, and found shops and squares along they way. I found out later that Mainz was the birthplace of Johannes Gutenberg (credited inventor of the printing press) as well as an important cultural hub for Talmudic study throughout the middle ages. It has also has had a sorted relationship with the Jews, as much of Germany, and I am reminded again of the first-date-phenomenon wherein we turn a blind eye to ugliness.
Had we successfully joined one of the walking tours we passed, some of this information might have become clear sooner, but we were on a mission to wander, taking in book shops and cafes. So a rosy-eyed vision of the town came into view, and I wonder what it means to visit a town. Anu remarked on how she wanted to live there. The backpack people certainly were beautiful. Yet each place unfolds itself like a crumpled up wad of paper. The actualization of idyllic intentions that inform creation get mercilessly compounded by action over time. Like a hand hitting an ever condensing ball of paper, the ripples and crinkles are unique to a region due, in part, to its history. And as contemporary or bustling or enticing a city may appear, the infrastructure of its history is so compounded and rich that it is inescapable.
It's like "the grass is always greener on the other side" or "their parents let them stay up until 10 o'clock!!" Although pangs of jealousy may ring, there's always something to be learned from someone else's home. A better way to live, eat, sleep, play. The richness of indulging in these activities is not to be underrated, yet there must be a recognition of the interplay between taking and receiving. Gratitude for lessons learned in new places, and gratitude for lessons learned at home. Curiosity around how to possibly integrate these seemingly disparate lessons, and a humble recognition of the power of integration - in this case, globalization.
May we absorb and reflect on this trip! Recognize our strengths and weaknesses, advantages and disadvantages, as individuals and as the amalgams of cultural/societal/familial contexts that we are.
*See Chris Weisman's "Backpack People" for a fuller description.
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| *photos by Anurima Kumar* |
Anu commented how excited she was to see how every place is more efficient than the US. I laughingly agreed, and was eager to note the differences in organization throughout the airport and beyond.
Mainz was beautiful. We deliberated coming back from town early just to hike our way back to the airport because there were so many trees on the footpath just outside the train, but the town proved to be too enchanting. From 6:30 until 10, we roamed the streets, watching the city rub sleep out of its eyes and start churning. Losing ourselves in the cobblestone footpaths and looking for currency, the puppies on leashes and baked goods in windows thoroughly excited our senses.
Being in an unknown city is sort of like going on a first date. Instead of seeing the unsightly and necessary parts, we kept our eyes on the novel and mystifying, finding quirks. Finding the little patterns of life that take some time to notice but in noticing them intimacy is built. We found a little jellyfish graffiti-ed on many buildings. Sometimes it said "Hi" and others instances it just floated on the wall, nearly blending in.
Because it was so early, we mostly roamed, letting the tallest building in sight be our tour guide, and gravitating toward wherever seemed to bustle. It was fun, getting to know someone alongside a new city! Anu and I eventually stopped at a bakery on a main street. She got a custard pretzel and I rhubarb pastry. We both got cappuccinos and watched as children escorted their parents to school and backpack people* found their way to work.
 |
| Anu with our long awaited pastries. |
Everyone seemed so skilled at carrying bags! And bicycling. We walked through town to get to the river, which seemed to aggregate much of the city, and found shops and squares along they way. I found out later that Mainz was the birthplace of Johannes Gutenberg (credited inventor of the printing press) as well as an important cultural hub for Talmudic study throughout the middle ages. It has also has had a sorted relationship with the Jews, as much of Germany, and I am reminded again of the first-date-phenomenon wherein we turn a blind eye to ugliness.
Had we successfully joined one of the walking tours we passed, some of this information might have become clear sooner, but we were on a mission to wander, taking in book shops and cafes. So a rosy-eyed vision of the town came into view, and I wonder what it means to visit a town. Anu remarked on how she wanted to live there. The backpack people certainly were beautiful. Yet each place unfolds itself like a crumpled up wad of paper. The actualization of idyllic intentions that inform creation get mercilessly compounded by action over time. Like a hand hitting an ever condensing ball of paper, the ripples and crinkles are unique to a region due, in part, to its history. And as contemporary or bustling or enticing a city may appear, the infrastructure of its history is so compounded and rich that it is inescapable.
It's like "the grass is always greener on the other side" or "their parents let them stay up until 10 o'clock!!" Although pangs of jealousy may ring, there's always something to be learned from someone else's home. A better way to live, eat, sleep, play. The richness of indulging in these activities is not to be underrated, yet there must be a recognition of the interplay between taking and receiving. Gratitude for lessons learned in new places, and gratitude for lessons learned at home. Curiosity around how to possibly integrate these seemingly disparate lessons, and a humble recognition of the power of integration - in this case, globalization.
May we absorb and reflect on this trip! Recognize our strengths and weaknesses, advantages and disadvantages, as individuals and as the amalgams of cultural/societal/familial contexts that we are.
*See Chris Weisman's "Backpack People" for a fuller description.
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