This year’s World Cup is to be held in Germany, isn’t that awesome? I can almost envision the ride down from the airport and the warmth that one feels every time you step into Germany, it is simply beautiful. This takes my mind back to the last time I was in Germany. I still remember like it was yesterday. Our flight from New York to Frankfurt was delayed on account of the weather. This made it impossible for my family and a few of our family friends, who were also on the trip, to catch our scheduled flight from Frankfurt to Lagos. Our airline, Lufthansa German Airlines, took full responsibillity for the delay and our accomodation until they could get us on a flight back to Nigeria.
While in Germany, the welcome from folks on the street as we drove by was really warm and quite uplifting. They were waving and trying to communicate with us. I was very glad and happy to be there, even if it was not a planned visit. At the Sheraton Frankfurt Hotel where we stayed, the attendants at the entrance as well as the bellhop folks were very hospitable, and when they learnt we were Nigerian, they kept asking if we knew Jayjay Okocha; they said he was always at the same Sheraton hotel during his playing days in Frankfurt and was always very kind to them. That made me proud and I was all smiles. One of the nights during our stay, we went out for dinner at this local resturant. Someone in our party on the table had asked for water. When the waiter came back with the water, he dropped the cup right in front of me, as though I was the one who had requested water and I said, “Oh no, I don’t want water” and passed the cup to the next person, but he kept repeating the process and I kept saying I didn’t want water. After a while, I said out loud, “Don’t you understand me?” Everyone around the table started to laugh, leaving the young man quite embarrased that he didn’t appear anywhere near our table again for the rest of the night. I felt pretty bad at this, for causing the young man such discomfort. So, on our way out, my family and a couple of our friends dropped by the waiters’ bay to thank them for the wonderful service. There, we met “my friend”, the young waiter. We all thanked him and this time, he was all smiles.
As I remise on that short stay in Germany, I must confess that I have a different opinion about the German people. History records them as people who, very unashamedly, demonstrated racist traits along with a ”superiority ego”, a totally destructive complex that ultimately led to the Second World War (WWII). Current reported happenings are also awash with stories about angry, even sometimes murderous, neo-Nazi youth rampaging German streets. We also hear a lot about the growing sentiment of racism in toay’s Germany. Contrarily, however, my own experience with ordinary folks on the streets of Germany, the doormen at the hotel and the young waiter in the restaurant gave me acompletely different perception. In my own opinion, which, of course, is based on my first-hand experience of the people, Germans can be a very friendly bunch. If you ask me if I want to ever visit Germany again, what with all the negative press about the country, my answer will be a very strong, affirmative ‘YES!’
Tags: World Cup, Sheraton, Germany
Sally girl, you have travelled the world havent you now? You are oh so blessed. My taste of Germany is just for a few hours on transit form Lagos to France and them from New Jersey back home to Lagos. I cant recall what it was like. Thanks for sharing. Your site has hit the sky and I dont see it stopping. More grease Sweetie!