Europa 2010 - Part 6

October 13, 2010   Walldorf & Blackforest, Germany

By the time we woke up it was already 9.30am and before we got ready it was a little late in the day. I asked Babs casually if she still wanted to go back home after she had met Tanmay (another 3 year old), to which Babs replied to me, "Amma, we can go back to Dallas in 3 days. Look at this (pointing to Tanmay's room), what a beautiful house this is. Let us stay here." We could not stop laughing at her sudden change of mind.

Babs and Tanmay took about ten minutes to bond and before long they were playing football inside the house. The first thing Babs wanted after waking up was dosa which she bravely asked her aunt GP. I guess she is a Desi after all, she gobbled up very fast and then drank milk too before we set out. The drive to Blackforest (BF) after which the famous chocolate cake is named was a little too winding. BF is also famous for the Hansel and Gretel story. Before we reached there I was already feeling slightly heady. Once we got up there Babs and Tanmay played in the kiddie play area on the swing, see-saw and the slide. After that we walked around the lake taking some very good photos and enjoying the sun shining down on us. It was cold but the sun kept us from freezing and actually providing us some fun time in the outside.

Then we decided to get ourselves nourished with some good German Food. unfortunately the only dish I could eat (Turkey) was just okay and I could not really enjoy it. Babs and Tanmay got hungry and got into a small fight and me and GP (Nits wife) had to do our best to keep them from fighting. The two of were also fighting our own sleep. The hungry kids ate something, I did some story telling and eventually ate some very yummy German salad. We headed out, did some pedal boating on the beautiful Mummelsee which was suggested by our husbands and pedaled by them too. I was feeling a bit queasy but I thought it was the drive on the winding roads and kept pushing it away. We did some souvenir shopping and as we got into the car, I once again complained of stomach ache but let it be. I am normally super queasy riding in the back seat and I thought that's what this was all about.

Ten minutes into the drive I begged Nits to stop at the nearest place that will have a restroom for me. Nits was trying to take us to another place before dark and I was not helping. After a couple of futile attempts we stopped at a coffee shop. The kind lady behind the empty bar let me use the restroom...and boy did I make everyone's stay long there. Each time I came out I had to run back in. In the meantime the husbands and wife and kids settled down to eat some authentic BF cake and drink some coffee. The husbands also got to play some pool while the kids ran around wild. The coffee shop was entirely empty but for us and the owner was kind enough not to throw us out because we used it like out house. Finally after I thought I was done we were back on the road.

Another ten minutes I once again complained about wanting to use the Loo. Nits gave up on going to this other sight seeing location and tried to stop at a convenience store and unfortunately it did not have a restroom. I threw up in enormous proportions right there on the shrubs. Sorry shrubs, did not mean to dirty you. After which, I thought I was ok. I got back into the car and we drove home while I kept praying that I was going to be okay soon so that my trip will not be spoilt.

Once we were home, we all decided that we would leave for Swiss the next morning. I was all gung-ho about it until I went to bed. I tried to sleep but felt weird. I called for G who fussed a bit before coming to my side to rub my back because the guys were trying to book our hotel in Swiss. Three minutes after he went back to his friend I sat up one more. Nits knocked on the door to give me Digene. I could not even respond as I threw up two more times. Thank God, I had some presence of mind and had taken plastic bags to the room. Immediately Nits ordered me to get ready and he got ready too and drove me to the local ER in Heidelberg. I was shivering by then and giddy and slightly delirious. Nits kept me busy by constantly talking to me.

And once we got there the doctor attended to me in exactly five minutes. She did not check my weight or my BP or any of the other things that nurses usually check you for here in the USA. Two minutes of German between Nits and her and later she confirmed it from me in her broken English and she told me to lie on the bed to get a shot. As simple as that. She checked my temperature just because I insisted on it. "Must be a stomach bug but not German Food," she assured me. I wanted to contradict her but I was too weak. I screamed and cried when she rammed the shot into my butt and Nits could not stop laughing and neither could the doctor or her nurse. I was embarrassed but this was not the first time. I walked out still feeling weak but already mentally better. We picked up meds and got home. Do I need any more adventure in my life?

Thanks Nits for doing the needful. Had I stayed home waiting to feel better I would have ruined the vacation for everyone including me!

PS:

• Food in EU generally was not my cup of tea and since I eat only chicken and a few selected veggies, it was all the more difficult for me to find anything palatable most of the time.
• BF was beautiful! If you are in Germany, you must drive through this part.
• The ER we went to was so efficient that it is not a joke. I remember once we took a friend to the hospital for stomach ache and before they actually treated her it was three hours and she was ready to walk back home.
• Germany is beautiful and Germans are very nice, especially if you have a kid along. They bend their backs to accommodate you and your child. Words to know, "For Kinder. Bitte." Works magic!