I arrived in Germany with a VERY limited, VERY rusty German vocabulary learned at the Stoll residence over the years. Their family used to speak in German with the Au Pair du jour at the dinner table and I'd picked up a couple of key phrases over the years. However, I quickly learned that almost everyone in Germany speaks English.
[And when in doubt...throw in a "Prost!"]
After three hours reading about technology and science at the bland Deutsches Museum, Craig and I decided it was time to check out the world-famous beer hall, Hofbrauhaus.
Over the course of our time in the beer hall, we sat with Germans from Colon (who, despite a severe language barrier, taught us their national anthem and declared that I was destined to marry their son), two ladies from Southern Spain who told me I spoke flawless Castillian Spanish (!!!) and a spirited group of American backpackers who invited us back to their hostel bar for after-hours.
Apparently, I caught the eye of an older gentleman from Istanbul who asked me to dance. He spun me around to the cheers of the band and the bar patrons, then sat me back down, providing me with an "open invitation to visit Istanbul."
The following night, we asked a local waitress for nightlife recommendations. After some thinking, she gave us directions to Milchbar in Kunstpark Ost (an open park, formerly a factory ground, in the middle of nowhere that is home to about 30 different nightclubs). This dance club was seriously embracing the 80's, and I felt right at home. We danced until dawn and then enjoyed some freshly-baked bavarian pretzels in the market near our hotel.
Always smart to ask the locals.
