As you may recall, next weekend I planned to be in Berlin, buying (used) underwear.
Well, my plans have changed.
The apartment where I was planning to spend three nights was double booked for first night, and although the owner offered to put me up in a hotel for that night, the idea of having to repack my suitcase and take time away from what was going to be a busy Saturday did not really appeal to me, especially since I was planning on traveling quite a distance out of the city center.
So instead I am going to do a lot of traveling. Next Friday night I will be in Frankfurt sampling, for the first time, its gay nightlife. Saturday, after sleeping in, I will make my way to Trier, where I will take a friend out to dinner and then to a musical in Luxembourg—the musical being La Cage aux Folles. Finally, on Sunday, I will catch the train from Trier to Antwerp, where I will spend the afternoon exploring the city. Monday I will make it to my ultimate destination, Rotterdam.
Honestly, I would have stayed with Berlin, but the appeal of La Cage aux Folles was too great. I remember watching the movie version as a child and loving it—long before I understood what the film was really about. It was the basis for the Robin Williams film, The Birdcage, a film I did not really like.
Instead I found myself navigating the “English” version of a French website that was a wee bit obtuse in order to buy two tickets to see “La Cage aux Folles – The Musical(in english)” Yes—that’s right, in English. I am going to travel to Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg, a city of 27,000 French speaking inhabitants, close to the border of France, and see a French musical, in English.
Don’t ask me: I didn’t schedule it, I didn’t make any of the decisions, but I am excited! It will be the first musical that I’ve seen in a long time.
Oh, I liked the Birdcage. Robin and Nathan were perfect for their parts. Special scene: While at diner Robin explained why the Guatemalen people love chickens. “The women are valued by the number of hens they own and a man is measured by the size of his Cock”. Priceless.
Have a nice time watching the show in Germany put on by the French in English it should be exciting.
wow, you are doing a huge amount of travelling with in such a short time…
rotterdam is a beautiful place, not quite as old as amsterdam, since it was more bombed during WW II, but still it is a very interesting city.
can i ask you a question?
do you miss the US? i mean not the fact that it is your home and that you left beloved people, but if so – what could you possibly miss?
i am wondering, since i miss the lands europe a lot, with all its liberal kind of attitude, the small villages, so the small streets, so all the tiny shops around the corner.
is it easier for an american to live in europe than vice versa?
well i hope you are having a great time and say hi to weimar from me.
greetings from chicago
.anki.
Ed: Actually Luxembourg is a different country from Germany or France. In Luxembourg they speak (1) Luxembourgish; (2) French; and (3) German. The play is in a city in the French part of Luxembourg, right on the border with France.
Anki: I’ll answer your question in a day or two–but I think there is no one answer. I am better able to live here now than I would have been able to do a decade ago…
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