How Not to Blend In...


Christine in Copenhagen as the Parade Passes By


Joe at the Palace in Schwerin


So here it is again, another day at sea. I can honestly say that, thus far, my entire day has consisted of eating, sitting, and napping. Yup, that’s it, the mere essentials on a vacation. Oh, and there was some walking on deck to get a little sun, but after that, the napping continued.

Why such the dull day? Well, partly because the ship is so packed with people on a sea day, with various large people jockeying to parts of the ship where any type of food or consumable substance is served. Of note there was a line 20 people deep for soft serve ice cream, and 10 people nearly rioted when scones were served with clotted cream but without the requisite strawberry jam. That is why after breakfast I prefer to nap.

Not to say that yesterday was not a busy day. It was a port day in Germany, Rostock to be specific. I had my reservations about Germany at first, hearing tales of surly people and food consisting of large meatballs sitting in bowls of clear broth. I was pleasantly surprised, as Germany turned out to be a delightful destination. Christine and I rented a car in the port, and off we went, driving around the former East German countryside to sites such as the Hanseatic city of Lubeck (check another UNESCO World Heritage Site off of my list) and the dream-like lakeside palace of Schwerin. And lest I forget to mention, that did include driving on the Autobahn, racing along at an average of 160 kmph (about 100 mph) in a Volvo XC90 – not the BWM 5-series that I ideally wanted, but it still got the job done.

Christine and I did include a stop at the local McDonald’s in Wismar. But this was no ordinary McDonald’s, it had the new McCafe, where we delighted in a smoothy, a frosty ice-blended mocha, and black forest cake. Think McDonald’s going Starbucks, and you’ll get the idea. It was actually very nice, and now I realize why Europe is the Golden Arches biggest profit engine (if you excuse the MBA speak…)

But to make a passing reference to my title, I realize it has been somewhat hard over the past couple of days to not stand out. When you are essentially the only person of color walking around in herds of blond Caucasians folks, it’s difficult not to. So I have basically given up on blending in and adjusted to the occasional obvious, but polite, stares and friendly smiles. I guess this is what it must be like to be a celebrity…

Comments

Unknown said…
Now that you've driven your 100 mph, are you ready for the Richard Petty Car Racing School? How long did you get to drive on it? Were there many cars?
August 18, 2008 at 12:13 PM
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