chapter 101, Back to Germany

     It was getting dark in the small train station of Osnabrück. I arrived half an hour ago and was still waiting. Finally, I picked up the public phone to call Beate but there was no answer. I was alone in a train station of a city I don’t really know and with no place to stay. I was baffled, Beate’s sister sounded excited last night, what happened? In our correspondences Beate told me she was looking forward to hosting me. I had no choice; I needed some kind of help. I opened my address book and called Susan.

 

    “Hello Tibi!” I heard Christine, Susan’s younger sister saying before I even spoke.

 “How did you know it was me?”

 “Who else would call us at this hour?”

 “What do you mean? I was about to ask you if you know of a hotel close to the train station.”

 “Beate told me about you, and I had a feeling you would call.”

 “What do you mean?”

 “Beate and Susan are in the same class, they are both on a school trip until tomorrow and Beate had a new boyfriend and was very embarrassed to tell you.” 

 “So, she expected to leave me stranded at the station?”

 “No, this is why she called me. wait right there, I will come to pick you up.”

    Susan and Christine had a younger sister I had the pleasure to meet. She was in the back seat when Christine came to pick me up. 

 

    “Anna is letting you stay in her room,” said Christine. “She will be staying with me in my room. Mom made something for you to eat. I hope you like scrambled eggs.”

 “I love scrambled eggs, as long as they aren’t made with milk.”

 “Yes, we remembered, you don’t eat milk products.”

 “You remembered?”

 “Of course, we remember, you are still our hero. So-what if you spent some evening with Beate, she is a pretty girl after all.”

This was a kind of attitude and way of thinking I wasn’t used to. In Israel if I left a girl for another one, she would never forgive me. Or for sure wouldn’t look at it so lightly.

 

    Anna’s room was pinky with a lot of Barbie dolls, I felt silly but comfortable. Susan came back from her school trip and we got to spend some afternoons together (I spent the morning walking around the town eating ice cream). One night we sat around the piano while Christine was playing the Piano, me on the guitar and we sand some popular songs. Another night wasn’t that much fun. The girls took me to an ice rink. I never ice skated before. I was pretty good with roller skated but didn’t expect what it would be like ice skating. I rented a pair of skates and walked to the ice. The girls were already skating around and having fun. They didn’t get to see me putting my foot on the ice and falling on my butt as soon as I brought the other foot in. I tried to get up and fell so many times I was sure someone was going to cut my fingers with their blades skating next to me. I crawled back out and took my skates off. I had enough.

 

   On Sunday morning Her mom took us all to a church’s mass. Another new experience for me. The people were sited on pews and sang a few hymns together, kneeled on forward a few times and walked to get some crackers and a sip of wine and what I thought was a blessing from the priest. I stayed in my seat while all were lining up in front of him. When everyone got back to their seats, the priest gave a sermon and a few announcements, which I didn’t really understood much. When we arrived back home, I made a phone call to Lisel who now lived in the colleges’ city Bremen. This time It was her who picked up the phone and was very happy to hear from me and was excited to see me the next afternoon.

 

    “It was early morning yesterday; I was up before the dawn. I really had enjoyed my stay; but I must be moving on…” The Supertramp’s “Goodbye Stranger” song was playing in the car as Susan was driving me to the train. I thought it was so appropriate, it was exactly how I felt. It described what I was doing during that time, traveling from one friend to another.

 

    Lisel was waiting for me at the Train station tall and pretty, wearing the same overall she wore when we met the year before. This town was a Universities town. It caters for the students. For example, students rode free on the trollies or local buses. We hopped on a Trolly and went right to her apartment.

 

    “Meet Peter,” said Lisel, “my roommate. Peter this is Tibi, I told you about.”

 “Nice meeting you,” the tall red haired young man said and extended his hand. His English was just as good as Lisel – better than mine.

 “Nice to meet you too.”

 “Peter goes to the same university I go to, but we have different schedules. He said he will be very happy to spend time with you when I am in class.”

 “Sounds great! I am not planning to stay long; I still have to visit Scandinavia.”

 

    That night Peter prepared one of my favorite dinners; schnitzel and chips, and we talked about my trip, my tour, and my plans. Lisel had an extra bed in her bedroom for me to sleep in.

 “I am dating someone now,” she said, “I met him swimming at our university pool.”

 “How serious is it?”

 “Not sure, but serious enough for you to sleep in your own bed,” she smiled.

 “No problems, but you should know, if you are coming to my house, you are sleeping in my bed.”

It didn’t take long, just as I fell asleep, she crawled in my bed. 

 

    The next morning Peter and I went for a walk downtown where I had to get some money from the local bank. All I had on me was my credit card, I was running low on cash. The teller behind the desk asked me to sit next to the bank’s manager’s office. I had to hand him my passport and credit card for them to check in their system if I was who I said I was and if I actually had credit. After all the way I dressed, didn’t look like a son of some reach man, and I looked much younger than my age. After about thirty minutes the manager came out with the money I needed. We stopped at a Christmas shop. One more thing I have never seen or expected to see. Israel, as far as I know, doesn’t have Christmas stores. We do have gift shops for with items for Christians but not dedicated shops just for that, even during the Christmas time. He bought some ornaments for the tree they were going to buy and even bought one for me.

 “For you to remember us,” he said.

 

    That evening I helped preparing dinner, I made the famous Israeli salad. We sat talking for a while and again, Lisel joined me in bed.

 “Do you have to leave tomorrow?” She whispered in my ear.

 “What about your boyfriend from the pool?”

 “I saw him this afternoon, I am not sure about him.”

 Let’s see where it takes you, and if you want me to come back or if you want to come to Israel, we can talk about it later.”

 

    “Goodbye stranger, it’s been nice! Hope you find your paradise…” The song was playing in my head now as I took the morning train to Denmark.

 

***

 Pashtidah (Ma'akood)

 

 North African quiche made with meat, vegetables and of course no milk products.

 

Ingredients:

½ Chicken

1 Carrot

1Onion

2 Celery Stalk

1 Potato

1 Parsnip Root

1 Turnip

4 Scallions

¼ Cup Crushed Parsley

½ tsp Dill

½ Salt

¼ tsp Black Pepper

2 TBSP Olive oil

4 Eggs

 

Preparation:

Steam all vegetables in oil on low heat until soft. Add chicken and water to cover all the ingredients and cook until chicken is well done and soft. Debone the chicken, mash all together and fold in the eggs. Pour into a round baking dish and bake on 350F for 30 minutes or until brown (use match to check for readiness). 

 

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