We finished the coffee and went for a beer at Brazen Head right after, the place is said to be the oldest pub in the country. The conversation brightened up with the three huge glasses of Guinness. We had dinner together and he decided to spend another night in Dublin.
On the way to the hotel, I asked if I could consider that afternoon as a romantic meeting. A date, as they say.
- How is dating in Brazil? – he wanted to know.
- No one invites you for a coffee in the middle of the afternoon. It’s usually some beer or dinner at night. – I explained.
- Well, we had some coffee, three beers and we also had dinner together. What else do you need to consider this a date? – he said holding my waist and kissing my cheek while I just smiled, pleased.
We finally made love, and all that magic went on between the sheets, but with so much more chemistry and a scary intimacy for the first time. Everything was better than I expected, and the problem was exactly that. He was too perfect for me. Unconsciously, I believed I didn’t deserve someone so special and wonderful in my life. Of course I didn’t know that back then. But I felt like something was missing and it wasn’t him. It was missing in myself.
Next morning, while we had breakfast, he said he’d like to see me again.
I explained that my next destination was Munich, but the rest of my trip was open.
- I can have some vacation soon. Let’s make this work? – he asked.
- We have to choose where and when – I answered a little reticent, wondering if that was really real.
- How about Italy in early August, starting on the second or third? Maybe Milan? he suggested quickly. I, who had no idea of the next steps, agreed on the spot.
He went back to his hometown and, as if the amount of beer in the last days was not enough, I went to the Guinness Factory.
27 – CHARM, LUCK AND FRIENDS
I got my ticket to Munich, in Germany, by chance. Still in Liverpool, even before buying a bus ticket to Ireland, I opened the Skyscanner browser and searched “from Dublin to anywhere.” The cheapest ticket out of Ireland was Munich, for 16 euros.
As I was still paying everything in sterling, I found it wise to set aside the northern countries. The currency also made me put Sweden, Norway, and Denmark for a next trip and follow the cheapest route to Germany.
After the unpleasant experience with my drunken host, I ended up canceling my Munich accommodation on Couchsurfing. I looked more closely at the profile of the boy who offered me the landing and noticed that I would have to share the same room with him. I learned to consider other aspects of hosting before accepting an offer. However, while splitting the days between historic tours and flirting with the Irish, I was having difficulty finding another bed offer and paying for a hostel was no longer possible.
Although I knew I would have to share a room with the last host who had accepted my request, I felt something reliable about him. I can’t explain, it was just intuition. I was a little embarrassed to tell him that I changed my mind, but I thought the worst he could say was no. If this happens, I’ll pay a hostel for one night and keep trying other people until someone accepts me.
I sent a new message to Massimiliano the day before the flight. Extremely kind, he told me that I was welcome and could stay as long as I needed. I said I would spend a maximum of two nights, but I ended up staying four and could not have had a more rewarding experience.
Son of an Italian father and a German mother, Massi had already traveled around the world. On his wooden desk, a huge yellowed map had several green thumbtacks attached to every country he visited. I wished to have the same map in my house one day. The line of green dots from Germany to some countries in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, South America, and Central America was amazing.
In the apartment, the bedroom and the kitchen shared the same space, and there was a bathroom and a balcony. There was no way we could sleep in separate rooms. Also, the room had only one double bed.
After exhausting my arguments for him to sleep in the bed, I made sure to find the most comfortable place I could for him to sleep on the floor.
Our time together was lovely. Every night we cooked, drank wine, and smoked on the porch. I listened to some very interesting stories from his trip, and of course, we had a lot of fun with the memes of when Germany defeated Brazil 7-1 at the World Cup.
During the day, while Massi was working, I would take the subway to explore the city with a Polish woman who contacted me via the Couchsurfing messaging app.
Oksana was 23, a curious mind and an open heart for any adventure. We talk about the conspiracies the universe makes when we are following our dreams and we made a very special connection. On our last night in Munich, I invited her to join me at a happy hour with my host and some friends.
It was an epic night for ethylic reasons. I ended up at Massi’s friend’s house and my Polish friend ended up in Massi’s arms.
28 – LESSONS FROM THE PAST
For the first two nights in Berlin, I was hosted by Couchsurfing in a private room at Peter’s house. With dozens of good references, he was delighted to welcome travelers and his apartment was all filled with colorful labels and post-its to make life easier for guests. In addition, he still served breakfast and we could use the washing machine. I was delighted with his hospitality.
Peter had traveled the world a lot and was focused on writing a book to teach travelers how to make money on the road. I had a keen interest in the subject, and although I couldn’t understand much, it involved discount websites and tourist tips he was also planning to launch.
Vibrant and full of history, Berlin conquered me right away. Two nights wouldn’t be enough to see and feel everything the city held. I wanted to stay longer, but it couldn’t be at Peter’s house because he already had another guest. Unsuccessful at Couchsurfing requests, I contacted Roseane, my friend from Brazil who had a son studying in Berlin. By this point in time, I was no longer ashamed of anything and I was straight with her.
- I accept any carpet on the floor where I can spend three or four nights. I don’t need comfort, I just need a roof to feel safe.
The same day, I was looking for the address of a student dorm.
Etto, my friend’s son, would stay in his girlfriend’s room and I could have his room. He just asked me not to mind the mess. I just thought that after the Irish host’s house no mess would surprise me.
The truth is I loved staying in a genuine student dorm, with empty beer bottles everywhere and lots of clothes scattered around the doors of the lodgings. In the kitchen, the chair models followed the same variety of glasses and the nationality of the residents.
My dear host’s room had what was needed: a bed, a desk, a dresser, and a leaning bicycle.
For me, the two most interesting points in the city were the Berlin Wall, for the reflections it brought me, and the Holocaust Museum, for making me realize that empathy was something strong in me.
Walking the nearly two kilometers of what was left of the wall that divided Germany between East and West between 1961 and 1989, I was trying to explain to myself that the world’s largest open-air art gallery was born to resignify the past of pain and separation that those walls symbolized.
The same bricks that broke an entire nation in half today served to express freedom in every possible color and to protest any remnant of separatist discourse that still insists to exist from the most conservative people.