Travel Missteps: Punks on a Train

Travel is all about the journey and sometimes that journey is unexpected. In December 2011 I was traveling through Germany with my family.  I am the navigator in my family, it is my duty to plan out all methods of travel to make sure we get where we need to go. After spending Christmas in Munich we were making our way to the Medieval town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber by train.

Our first train was packed and so we had to spread out. My mother sat next to an old German woman who spoke quick German to my very confused mother the entire ride. When my mother is confused she just nods her head, which encouraged the old woman to continue talking to her. My sister sat next to an old couple of ex-pats and they kept up a lively discussion in English. My father sat stoically watching the luggage.

I was sitting between two massive groups of high-school-aged punks, who were loudly listening to two conflicting boomboxes,  clinking their beer, and shouting cheers to each other. My mother’s first instinct was to tell me and my sister to “avoid the hoodlums”. I sat quietly for a little while until the punks switched out their music for a new CD…and it was good. After a few songs I got up and said “Who is this band?” The punks looked at me confused and said no one spoke English. I kept pointing to the boombox, and they kept looking helplessly confused. Then suddenly one of their friends shouts “BEER!” pops open a beer, hands it to me, and then clinks glasses with me. (Which horrified my mother!) I usually don’t like beer, but this one called “Hell” is made only in Munich by Monks was delicious. I enjoyed sitting with them even though we were at a loss for words.