Travel Missteps: Part of the Family

As I mentioned perviously, my first trip abroad we didn’t have a watch, and so our eating schedules were off. We’d eat breakfast at noon, and then get hungry for dinner around midnight. On our second trip abroad, this time to England & Scotland we made sure to plan mealtimes better.

After spending the day wandering York and taking in sights, like The Shambles and York Minster, we were hungry. So we happened upon a small homey restaurant near dinnertime we stepped in and took a seat. The owners, a cute old couple, were regaling friends with stories and laughter. We were given menus and started to peruse the offerings.

But not long after we arrived, three young teens of the Punk persuasion entered. Their spiky hair, black outfits, and mohawks were out of place in this charming restaurant. The old male owner quickly got up and yelled at them: “We’re closed! Get Out!” The teens responded in German. “No! ENGLISH! Speak English! WE’RE CLOSED! Get out! GET OUT!” One of them spoke a little broken English, and pointed to us and the other table, as if to say “Closed? But they are here? Why are you serving them and not us?” The man got angrier. “HOW DARE YOU! They are MY FAMILY! Get out! We’re closed. FAMILY ONLY! Good Bye!”

We were shocked, and so we just stayed very quiet. Quickly the man shooed the Punks out of his restaurant and locked the door…locking us in. We didn’t know what to do. Family Only? Were we going to get kicked out?

Apparently we got temporarily adopted. His wife appeared. “Dearies, sorry about that. We don’t need them making trouble. What will you have?” A bit shell shocked we answered “Whatever you recommend!” I remember eating in shocked silence while the old couple happily served us in between drinking with their friends. Usually we eat pretty quickly and head out on our way to see more sights. But not that night, instead we stayed in the locked up restaurant for some time, until we could gracefully pay and leave. Talk about an awkward “family dinner”.