Walpurgis Nacht

Woodstock happened here in 2011.

No, really. Here in Thingstaette, Heidelberg, a little castle town off to the west of Munich. On the last night of April that beckons on the eve of May Day, we celebrate the coming of Spring with dancing and bonfires. German tradition dictates, too, that on this night, witches congregate and eagerly await the arrival of Spring... Walpurgisnacht.

That night, we, like witches under the power of the pagan gods, came under the dark influence of ... alcohol. Tens and thousands gathered in Heidelberg, drawn by an unknown spell. We and the others scrambled our way in the dark, across the river Neckar, then slowly ambled our way up the mountain Heiligenberg. Up there, the allure of a great altar awaited, and thus the pagan followers climbed obediently, up wooded trails shrouded in blackness. Below us, the innocent city lay glittering like a starry galaxy.

The summit beckons..

Oh, how long the path winded! And how many stragglers fell by the wayside, how many unfaithful followers we saw retreating from above, succumbing to fatigue, to sleepiness. No, we would not fall to these corrupting forces! And we strove on, to hike up the uneven, rocky mountain road.

An hour later, our faith was rewarded. A million times over. For that were the number of fellow disciples that had gathered there in unison too, disciples of the magic of Walpurgisnacht. There they sprawled across the Thingstaette, a gargantuan coliseum that stretched across the mountain summit, surrounded by creepy, towering woods. It was surreal, it was crazy; yet how real it was! Fires burned and glowed like eyes in the dark, and the people brimmed and bristled like they were struggling to keep the energy within them. And i thought, it was the energy of the Universe.

The fires burned. The people sparkled.

And I felt, this was it. A million souls swirling in unity around these fires, and i was but one of them. The feeling was powerfully humbling, and yet infinitely redeeming. I felt liberated. From myself, from society. I felt a deep sense of acceptance. By whom? Well, i can only guess: the Universe. The God that surrounds us all. And it was such a life-changing experience to me.

I wandered around alone. And i spoke to ex-strangers, Germans mostly. Ex-, because i bonded with them in the short time we spoke, about German culture, about nuclear energy, about life. If that sounded a tad weird, you may consider that i was drunk. From a quirky girl, about how to turn your body like a barbecue spit in front of a bonfire, to keep warm. From a friendly guy, about how much Germans love and hate their country.

From everyone, how to be happy being ourselves. It's ok. It's really ok being me. You are loved for who you are. Because there is just so much love in this world, you are accepted without question, without judgment.

There is no God who does not love.

If we had a mic to speak to all these souls gathered here in unison, what would we say?

My message would be...

Understand each other. Understand that we are all the same, that we are all part of this great, beautiful world. Greater than all our petty differences, greater than intelligence and wisdom, art and history. Greater than success and the achievement of kings, greater than the ego and pride of individuals and society. Greater than all religions, of this "God" or that "God". We just have ourselves, and the world. So let's take care of each other, ok?

I'm pretty sure that rang close to Woodstock, didn't it.

I learnt tonight, that perhaps of all the things out there, i treasure basic, simple kindness the most. How should i put it? I now know that i aspire towards kindness. What a strange ambition that would be! "My dream is to be a kind person." Haha. To me, i feel some people (some very few people!) are naturally kindhearted souls. Not me. Yet all i can do is to travel, experience and learn. To talk to people and understand the cultures of the world. Because...the more i know about this world, the more i want to protect it.

...

Someday, i will come back here again.

And i will say to myself, this is where it all started.

My own Woodstock in the Spring of 2011, on top of a billowy mountain, surrounded by a shimmering nightsky, darkened woods and a million beautiful, beautiful souls...

Bayern

Back from a three day trip around Bayern, traversing across historical and culture-rich towns like Nuremburg, Wuertzburg and Bamberg :) It has been a refreshingly fun journey with Jack, Guo Chuan and Edwin, who turned out to be my RI/RJ seniors! One thing we share in common: the love of learning, the passion for thinking... thanks for giving me a blast to the past, where everyday brought a new discovery, a challenge for the mind :p Not forgetting Goldfish, who was constantly being bullied by us guys haha.

Nuernberg, probably our favourite destination, had a majestic, quaint old city that was surrounded by towering watchtowers and walls and gardens. Look out for the Gingerbread man, and try the sweet-and-spicy gingerbread cookies in local bakeries :) And grab some savoury beer in the quality breweries and pubs across the city. Once groggy, head up to the Imperial Castle of Nuremberg at the top of the walls for a good view of the cityscape that it has defended for centuries.

Wuertzburg, with its splendid Residenz and Court Gardens, lives up to its title as Europe's most beautiful palace. Plus it has a grungy medieval castle - the Marienberg Fortress, seat of the Bishop Princes - that offers a fun, exciting route climbing up to it!

Bamberg... a much smaller town with an excessive number of two things: breweries and churches. Which makes sense, since monks were the first ones who made beer here. And this renowned Raunchbier - we savoured it at Schlenkerla's Tavern, down at Dominikaner Strasse in Old Town - tastes and smells of smoked ham. The monks made it so they could get around their fasting comfortably... smartasses. Anyway, a must-try, together with the great Bavarian food found here :)

Anyway, just a few snippets before I set off tomorrow for a two weeks long Eastern Europe voyage!

München

Munich likes me.

Well, that's what its motto says anyway. "München mag Dich" (Munich likes you).

It's been my first couple of days here! Stayed one night at Sonya's, near Giesing, where i enjoyed some grocery shopping with her and enjoyed her cooking for dinner :) We strolled around the city center, and i'm beginning to fall in love with the European architecture. It simply gives an old town rustic feel to the place, like 'an age-old village from Grimm's fairy tales', and yet it is exquisitely modern, sharp, efficient. It's not hard to see why their previous motto was, "Cosmopolitan city with a heart".

The next day i woke up to a FANTABULOUS breakfast all setup by Sonya. And i wish i could have said that i must have woken up at a Bed n Breakfast, but i know no BnB would ever provide such great food. Right, ZY?

Thank you so much for your lovely hospitality, Sonya :)

Having started off with a great breakfast, the rest of the day was a cinch as i rode about getting documents signed and moving into my new hall of residence, or wohnheim. At Heidemannstraße, there's a bar for the students, grocery stores, well you can read it here.

The room itself is pretty much like a standalone apartment, equipped with toilet, kitchen, fridge and furnishings. I would have preferred something more communal though, like a common room or sorts! Well, off i went doorknocking to meet the neighbours. Andddd turns out they were all away for the hols. Bummer.

It felt so cold and lonely the entire time that i couldn't help but get my ass downstairs to explore the grounds. I found my way to the basement, and bumped into YuPeng, a student studying Mech.Eng at TUM. He turned out to be my saviour and friend as he gave me a walkthrough on everything, brought me grocery shopping at a cheaper place and invited me to his neighbour, Marco's bbq party tonight! And it was a blast. Just getting to know person after person, practising my German profusely and exchanging about cultures and lives. Not to mention lots of Helles beer :p It reminded me so badly of our block parties back in Hall XI 54, year one, sigh. I will probably never have as much fun again with as great a bunch of frens... but hey, this isn't so bad either haha.

It is absurdly pure luck that led me to meet Yupeng at the exact time he was going to wash his clothes, and the exact day and place there was a party happening and he was part of it. I am getting a great start to my journey here in München!

Well, Munich, looks like your feelings for me are not unrequited. I like Munich too :)