GERMANY : MAINZ

Break in transmission from my Spain trip: The year is 2022. I took a 24-hour bus from Barcelona to Germany via FLIXBUS, and let me tell you—I initially thought the 24 hours was just an estimate. Surely, it wouldn’t take that long! So you can imagine my surprise when the trip actually took the full 24 hours! 😂 It was such a ride! 🤣

Although I can’t remember all the details, I recall that the ride was anything but boring. It began with a drunk guy causing a scene on the bus in Barcelona😓 and continued with a panicky stopover in France where we almost missed our connecting bus due to our late arrival. The stopover in Geneva brought a welcoming change🤗. It felt like a calm wave after the storm of our previous experiences and the long hours of sitting. I was immediately captivated by Geneva’s scenery, but the real highlight came when I spotted the MontBlanc Building. My boyfriend had told me all about the MontBlanc luxury brand before my trip, and seeing the building in person made me exclaim, ‘Oh! This is what he was talking about!’ I was so excited that I took pictures and sent them to him right away. As the bus continued through Geneva, I looked out at the city and said to myself, One day, I’ll be back here—not as a passerby but at the very least, a tourist. At that moment, all I knew about Geneva was that it was home to the UN, but something about the place just drew me in. I knew I had to return.

Heading towards Germany, I was surprised by the vast expanses of land. I had always thought that space was a luxury abroad (pardon my naivety😩), but as we traveled through some areas in Germany, I couldn’t help but notice how familiar the scenery looked. It actually gave me Ikorodu, Lagos, or Ekiti, Nigeria vibes 😂.

Anyways, 24 hours later, I arrived in Frankfurt. With only 12 hours to spend in Germany, my sister kindly and sweetly took me out to explore. We visited Mainz, where I took my first tram ride 🤭. When we got off, I spotted a beautiful fountain and couldn’t resist taking a picture with it.

The highlight of the day was definitely the buffet at Cafe Extrablatt. I was thrilled and ate so much! 🤭 It was so stoked hearing Afrobeat music playing in Germany—I couldn’t help but sing along (with my very amazing voice, of course 😏).

Another memorable moment was using Spanish to buy ice cream in Germany, especially since I’d mostly used English to navigate Spain. Maybe I’ll use German to get around in Poland next time! 😂 (Life of a low-budget and upcoming polyglot 🤣).