Jason Robards Helps Me Smuggle - Germany

The next day, Dr. D and I took a cab back to the Brussels airport to catch a commuter flight to Essen, Germany. The small, silver, tube like plane had one seat on either side, but the food service was really great. They had Belgian chocolates! I never would have thought. And the guy in the seat next to me didn’t want his and gave them to me!!! Yum!

The countryside we flew over was beautiful green farmland dotted with Tudor houses. We flew over a river; I think it was the Rhine that had lovely bridges and more Tudor buildings on either side. It was very picturesque. Our landing in Essen was just fine and our German colleague, Herman, whom neither of us had met before, was waiting for us in the terminal. He had just flown in from another city where he was working. Herman was quite tall, let’s just say he didn’t have to look up to see eye-to-eye with Dr. D, he was also blonde with blue eyes. He was a bit reedy and plain looking though. I was destined to get a stiff neck from looking up at them both on this leg of our trip.

We caught a cab to get to the doctor’s office in Düsseldorf and the one we got was a Mercedes. Most of the cabs were. The driver flew along at blinding speeds that were, I would say, about 90 to 100 miles per hour. The scenery whizzed by. We chatted, getting to know each other. Everything went well at the hospital and we signed up another investigator.

Then we went out for lunch. The whole menu was meat, meat and more meat. Not a green vegetable in sight. Herman translated for us. I ended up ordering something that was three kinds of pork. It wasn’t bad; it was just too much meat.

We went for a walk in historic Düsseldorf. Our first stop was a bier garten.
I don’t usually drink beer so I was cool about going there, but Herman was insistent. But I figured, when in Rome… So Herman ordered, and Dr. D and I sat down at wooden tables outside to wait for our beers.

We were served draft Hannen Alt. It was just like drinking wine; full bodied and tasty on a hot afternoon. We sat there and people watched. It was sunny and pleasant surrounded by everyone speaking German. Before I knew it I had drunk my entire beer and Herman asked if I would like another. I responded that if I had another someone would have to carry me out. Herman gallantly volunteered to carry me without missing a beat. I thanked him but deferred on the second beer and the generous offer of assistance. I wasn’t sure I could even stand steadily. I’m not much of a drinker and I hadn’t planned on downing a whole glass of beer.

Entspannen mit Hannen

We continued our walk. We went past a Haribo candy store. You know they make the gummy bears? Think of seeing bins and bins of translucent and colorful gummy worms, frogs, hearts, barrels, wheels, cars, fruits, pandas, rods, and on and on and on. I was kind of buzzed to begin with. What a trip walking into Haribo and seeing a kaleidoscope of colored candies. I think I bought some green frogs.

Next, we walked into a Steiff stuffed animal store. Steiff toys are collectibles which translates into steep prices. I was thinking to buy one for my niece, but the prices prevented me from it. (The prices on the photo are representative.) But, they are high quality items and you can tell by looking at them. Great care is taken with every stitch and quality materials are used. I enjoyed looking at them. By then my buzz had worn off.

It was time to cab it back to the Essen airport to catch a flight to Heathrow and meet up with Raz again. So, we bid fond farewell to Herman and off we went. Next stop, merry old England!