Back in Munich

 We reached Munich and immediately put our luggage which was really a burden into lockers at the train station. then we set off into Munich. Our main reason for going there was to sort out my finances, as I needed to leave my bank card with Paula, withdraw enough money to travel, and leave my air ticket money there, so before I go to Israel I'll have to go through Munich again.

First I showed my Friend the few sites you can see in one day - the central plaza, Marianplatz, the big beer hall, Hofbrauhaus, and we had lunch (shawama). We then sat in a pub playing cards until I thought Paula would be home then we got on a tube to go to my old home, the Sheraton house.

While sitting on the tube I saw Paula and Ros (a girl we worked with) get on. So we joined up. Paula and my Friend were overly friendly considering the fact that the last time they met they were on the opposite sides of a bar fight. We went to the flat, and Paula and I discussed our finances. Eventually after tea and some rather forced communication, we left for the Hauptbahnhof.

We were however late for the 9 o'clock so we waited for the 11 o'clock train. The train station, now familiar to me was dirty and new for my Friend. After some expensive vinegar-drenched salads we got on the train for Paris. We got a compartment to ourselves but spent the night adjusting the temperature gauge to get above freezing. Tthe train took all night, arriving in Paris at 11am the next morning.

Leaving Baden Baden Again

 Having got chips for $100 he immediately bet the whole lot on pairs, and won! So I said OK, give me half, which he did and I went immediately to cash it to pay for our night's accommodation. He then lost the rest but was in very good spirits. We had a lovely time and he was on a high. I've described the Baden Baden casino before with the beautiful high decorated ceilings but no wit was brought to life by the game being taken so seriously. 

We took a taxi "home" despite our lack of finances. The next morning we were to leave for Munich. I am experiencing a new form of travel with him. He is relaxed and not in a hurry to gorge himself on culture, in fact, I don't think he'd mind a month's holiday in Paris without seeing the Eiffel Tower! He is here to get away from the hustle and bustle. 

We rose leisurely and went up the spiral wooden stairs to the breakfast room cluttered with bric-a-brac.  We were treated to a full breakfast then the landlady brought us ham and cheese so I said "Nine shwine, nine shwine"  - no pig! Once well and truly stuffed we took our belongings and made it to the bus and then train station in time for a train to Munchin. 

I cheated on my train ticket holding my breathe.I had rubbed out the date with my erasable pen and then filled in the new date! I have tot do this if I'm to complete the whole trip. My Friend's finances are tighter than I thought they would be, so although he is paying for everything on a daily basis, I can't expect him to pay for extra things like my train tickets. 

A Night at the Casino in Baden Baden

 The Roman Bath experience was a disappointing end to what could have been an incredible day. I thought the massage alone was worth the price we paid, but my Friend, obviously didn't agree.

We ambled through the streets towards the white casino in anticipation of the night to come. After a drink in a pub (a totally foreign experience after traveling on such a tight budget) we shifted our luggage by taxi to our new abode. The room contained a large quantity of that familiar impersonal orange. Used like red and white check to make something seem homely.

That night dressed up to the aces we went to the casino in style by taxi. To have entrance you show them your passport, they punch a number into a computer, ask your profession, and give you a computerized card to sign. Then you enter through the royal red portals. The colors of red, gold, and rich black fabrics come only from the decor and croupiers as the people did not seem to have dressed up for their evening out. Men seemed to have just thrown on a tie and jacket because it was required. WOmen as well in all variations of vaguely evening clothing. THere were of course the few fragile old ladies, with well-set hair do's and powder emphasising their lined faces, they clasped shiny soft hand purses, and tried to work out systems at the roulette table by noting down numbers and looking very serious.

I saw one man place 1400 marks on the roulette table in all different places and lose it all. We changed $150 of my Friend's money and started on the blackjack tables then moved to roulette with a 20-mark minimum. We bet consistently on the pairs giving us a so-so chance until it was all gone. Then my Friend changed another $100 with me saying no, no, no under my breath.

The Roman Bath Experience Baden Baden

 We went to the Roman Baths. It was quite expensive but I wanted very much to see the inside. The men and women have separate changing rooms, separate saunas, and separate massage areas, but the spa baths are common to both sexes.

So we arranged to meet in the baths after going through the separate changing rooms. Now I imagined my Friend would do the sauna and massage then join me. He found the sauna too hot, so went on to the massage room where he was faced with a fat grandfather wanting to rub soapy liquids all over his body. So my Friend said no way and ventured onto the baths. He was repulsed by all the old nude bodies (oh did I mention there is a no-clothing policy even though the baths are for mixed sexes). He found it unhygienic and after searching furiously for me (while I was still enjoying the sauna and massage), he went out, showered, and waited in the lobby for me for the next half hour while I casually indulged in the luxurious baths.

The sauna and steam rooms are large and at precise temperatures with tiles everywhere and beautifully painted pictures in dark greens and China blues, of ducks, reeds, and skies. There is a glass window at the apex of a dome in each room. The massage was wonderful. We had healthy young girls in white togas we spread a soapy liquid over the body, front and back, avoiding the boobs. Then they scrubbed you down with a brush, just a little too hard. The next room was a steam room. This did seem unhygienic as we sat bare-bumbed on a ceramic pyramid of steps being steamed like lobsters. 

I then moved on to the baths, a series of rooms all titled and painted, joined together by arched doorways. They all centered around the main circular pool with a large, painted dome ceiling. The predominant color is gold. There were men and women of all shapes, sizes, and religions. I didn't see my Friend, so I did the opposite. Instead of going to see if he was outside, I waited longer and longer inside hoping he would eventually show. So by the time I emerged well-cleaned but anxious, he was steaming all by himself.

The Pot Pourri Lady of Baden Baden

 We set off to see a bit of Baden Baden and visit the Roman baths. The last time I was here I was with Paula and went to the modern spa, this time I planned to see the older genuine Roman baths. We walked through the old part of the city which I have described to you before (when I was here with Paula). There was a lady sitting on a stool in the street dressed all in purple, Laua Ashley style. She was surrounded by baskets filled with pot pourri and bright netting and materials, and she was making little posies for people. I told my Friend to stand behind her and I took a photo of her sitting, surrounded by the baskets and people, with my Friend in the background. 

She heard the flash of the camera and turned saying in German "What are you doing Miss?" I pretended I didn't understand and we walked off at a normal pace. We got about halfway up the road when we heard "Frauline, Frauline,". There she came, her hat bobbing up and down, marching towards us. 

She proceeded to give me a screaming lecture about how you can't sneak up on people and take their photo in Germany, you have to get permission. "Wind that photo back" she demanded, "Wind it back!" Well, we were just very calm, apologized, and she went away. I was in shock, apart from the fact that it is impossible to wind a photo back.

Frankfurt to Baden Baden With "My Friend"

 The next day we went into town again and my friend bought a cassette player, very nice, for $100 and so we had Israeli music in the room! I kept nagging him that he came to see a new country not stay mentally in Israel. But I think it's just taking some time for him to "arrive". We had a "discussion" about Scientology and a negative article he read. I told him that my future includes Scientology and that I can't marry someone who knows nothing about it. So the compromise we came to was that he would reread Dianetics, which (quote) he stopped reading because there were too many big words, and this time he would use a dictionary. And when I get to Israel he will go with me to the Scientology Center and ask all the questions that the article raised. That's progress for now I think. We have been constantly thrashing out ideas of the future and how it will look.

On our second night in Frankfurt, we dressed up and went out to a casino 40 minutes away by underground and on a bus. We walked and walked for a long time, following a TTurk who volunteered to steer us in the right direction. Since my friend arrived we have kept bumping into Israelis everywhere. I like it when there are none around us because then I can talk in Hebrew and no one understands. the casino, although beautiful from the outside was off-limits to us because we had forgotten to bring our passports.  We couldn't get in without them as residents of the towns in the area can't play in the casino.

The next day we rose at a slow pace and lugged our luggage to the endless tubes, trains, and escalators. We got a train to Baden Baden, I used my erasable pen for the first time, as I needed to save all my 15 rides for when I will be with Paula and already I was on my second one. We arrived in Baden Baden. Still a beautiful city. I started doing location on my Friend to ease his entry into a new world. The first task was to find a place to lay our weary bones and fucking bags. We walked up a vertical slope to the Youth Hostel which was closed for checking in butt we could leave our bags there.

We decided that the climb and the fact that they had only dormitories made it a bad proposition and we went all the way down the hill to the information office. 

As we were there finding out about hotels for 180 marks, a lady came in and offered a room for 85 marks, including breakfast in her house. We took up the offer and followed our landlady silently to her house. She managed to communicate where all the facilities were with the internationally acknowledged language of hands. It was a small clean cuet room, good enough for us.