Celebrating my first Eid

As an non-Muslim expat in a Muslim country, counting down until the end of Ramadan has quite a different meaning than it does to the average citizen.  For me, it meant counting down until the first Eid celebration.  During this Eid, muslims celebrate the end of their month long fast- Eid ul-Fitr.  The Eid celebration for me means- five day weekend and travel!  There are two of these Eid celebrations, one in September and one in November- both resulting in five day holiday weekends.  I learned very quickly that most expats take advantage of this time off to get away from the desert and travel to exotic places.  For those of you who thought Qatar was 'exotic'- you are sadly mistaken...Or if you're me, travel to Europe!  I'd never been to Europe so this Eid, I decided to travel to Germany-where cooler weather would greet me.

As an American on my first journey to Europe- you can imagine the first thing on my mind...fashion!  What do I wear?!  I started with a nice size duffle bag, small enough to carry-on to the plane and somehow managed to stuff it so full that it became the size of a must-check piece of luggage.

Hallo Deutschland!

I traveled with one of my friends who lives in Qatar.  We flew into Frankfurt, rode the train to Heidelberg, there we met up with one of my family friends who took us on a Black Forest exploration and out for a night in Baden-Wurttemberg, rented a car and drove to Hohensollern castle, then drove limitless speeds to Munich to spend two crazy nights in one of the most lively places in Germany, ending the long weekend with a train ride back to Frankfurt.  Sound like a whirlwind trip?  Well it was, but I enjoyed every moment of it.

The southern part of Germany was so green and mountainous.  Diverging from the speed limitless autobahn, were winding roads that traveled through small, quaint villages with flower pot windows, cobble stone roads, and clay roof tops.  I had never seen anything like it and I really enjoyed the way that the villages and cities seemed to respect the land they inhabited by allowing nature to grow around them and making it a part of there everyday lives.  I'm sure this occurs in more places than just southern Germany, but when you come from a sand cloud you really appreciated every green that you can get!  Fresh air!  Sometimes I wish that I could bottle it up and save it for sandy days.

The food in Germany was amazing.  Bakeries are on every corner and they make the most delicious breads and pastries that you have ever tasted.  From fresh over-sized pretzels to sweet cakes topped with fruit and streusel.  mmmmmm.  If I stayed any longer, I would have gained a pound a day.  The meals are just as good as the desserts.  Bratwurst, dumplings, spaetzle, currywurst, haxen, and any other mouthwatering way to serve pork or with pork. Though I've heard it a lot, I noticed very quickly that Germans like to drink...a lot...and all of the time.  Even at breakfast, I saw tiny, elderly women sipping beers with their eggs.  It was everywhere.  Once as I was gulping down my sparkling water at lunch, I looked around only to see that I was the only one in the entire restaurant that didn't have a beer in front of me.  So then I ordered a beer...just kidding...I don't fall for peer pressure.  ;)

Speaking of drinking, I went to my first beer garden in the English garden in Munich.  It was fantastic.  Sitting on a small green picnic table, surrounded by a sea of people sitting, drinking, laughing and enjoying themselves without thinking of tomorrow.  I tried the 'white' beer, wheat beer as we would call it.  It was very common to mix the wheat beer with lemonade, so I tried that and fell in love with it.  That became my number one order for the remainder of my time in Germany.

Maybe it was because I arrived in Germany only one week before Oktoberfest, but everywhere we went Germans were wearing their national clothing. Dirndls and lederhosens were worn as common as cowboy boots in Texas.  I actually liked the dirndl so much that I was very close to buying one before I left Germany.  I atually think that next time I visit, I will buy one. Seriously.

One of the most interesting things about visiting Germany was learning the history of the villages and how they were affected during the war.  So many of the villages,cities, and castles that I visited were destroyed during the war and have since been reconstructed to resemble their original design.  The reconstruction is so perfect, that unless you ask- you may never know the difference.  It really makes you think.  These buildings that had been preserved for hundreds of years were completely wiped out and their remains were borderline nonexistant.  Today when you visit these historic sites, you almost overlook that...but remembering it makes every detail much more meaningful.

After four days and five nights, I jumped on the plane and headed back to Doha.  Vacation was over and reality was about to hit.  I was exhausted after the trip, but it was completely worth it.  I would go back to Germany tomorrow if I had the opportunity.