end of the year trips
I’ve had a mixed time at the end of this year that was equally like the first quarter of a horror movie plot, and an eco fairytale written on someone’s Mastodon, so why not share.
First off: I went to the Christmas event of an animal sanctuary and enjoyed it a lot. Got to pet a lot of animals, got vegan waffles, and bought a catnip pillow for my neighbors’ cat.
Then a few days later, we finally made our way to the hotel we booked for over NYE. Hit a lot of slow traffic, then stopped in the middle to eat at a restaurant led by three vegan buddhist monks. Very kind people and good food.
After that, the roads we had to take were now completely dark, unmarked, in the middle of forests and fields, bumpy with inexplicable red concrete segments that looked bloody, and it was extremely foggy. We had to go very slow and it felt like any moment, the forest would swallow us whole or we would arrive at some haunted house. It felt truly cursed.
When we arrived (22:40), we got told there was a mixup and our room wasn’t free, but they’d upgrade us to the deluxe room free of charge. Nice, just like in the movies. Except I immediately broke the toilet. Not even Crohn’s related! And because it was so late and all staff had went home when it happened, there was no one to call. No receptionist, no night shift, no emergency number, nothing. The guests are on their own at night.
It was one of these supposedly fancy vacuum toilets that save water, and the second I pressed the button, the vacuum mechanism broke completely. In trying to fix it, my fiancée overflowed it. Well, if it was just not getting rid of the waste, no problem until next morning. But no - the mechanism spun completely out of control inside the wall and kept making a loud bang sound every second, like someone hitting a nail with a hammer. All. Night. We couldn’t really sleep. Everything felt absolutely cursed. I just wanted to cry. I still think we should process this experience in a homebrew Cthulhu PnP one-shot.
Thankfully, they were very sorry about the experience; we didn’t have to pay for that night, and we got a little sorry letter + a snack gift. When we were finally able to get our room, it was fine.
The rooms in general are okay, but will remind you more of a plain hostel than a hotel. The sustainability concept and connected minimalism of it all makes sense, but sometimes dips into the comfort a bit, or the slight luxury experience you’d expect of a hotel. You might think you’re on a class trip without bunk beds. I don’t mind, but I think it would be a dealbreaker for some.
Every building around us was very old but polished, typical German, small village with endless Fachwerk:
The hotel had great breakfast buffets with an intense amount of choices, lunch, a coffee & cake time and nice dinner at the hotel restaurant. It’s nice to just be able to order without worrying and asking about ingredients, because the entire hotel is vegan.
Their fitness studio is open 24/7 and their saunas were open extra long until 22:00 those days and both are accessible without a surcharge, so I took advantage of that.
I was very confused by how to use the sauna, because the setup made you walk through it all with all your clothes on with street shoes until you could change, but there was nowhere to leave your clothes, and there was nowhere to leave any towels or bath robes when you wanna shower? I wish it was normalized to write down the correct order of doing things and where things are supposed to go everywhere, instead of me cluelessly walking around trying to piece it together. Have you ever noticed how much in society is built on you being brought somewhere by someone knowledgeable (often an adult, when you are a child) and have it explained by them, and if you haven't had that, you're out of luck? Why do we do this? Just write some signs?
Anyway, they also include yoga and pilates sessions free of charge in your room fee, and I had recovered from my random disease regression I talked about recently, so I booked some gentle Yin Yoga for the first day of the year. I also booked a New Years Meditation for close before midnight.
I get it, it sounds totally pretentious now, like “we veganed environmentally consciously into our pea-protein based, quinoa-sprinkled meditation.” But stick with me.
The meditation wasn't really one... it was one of these dream journey things where you close your eyes and imagine some stuff. It sucked for me. I expected a mildly guided meditation about the new year, gratitude for what happened, hopes and wishes for the new year. Mostly quiet. Instead, we got someone constantly telling us what to imagine (and I am aphantasic, hooray, I already hated these in school) and it was shit like "you're walking down a river... the water is so clear... there's stars in it and the stars represent your strength...". No silence, no way to actually come to rest or meditate for real, no bodyscans. I admire the guy who got up and left after 1 minute, because after a few more I wish I did too.
The Yin Yoga was much better, but still difficult for me. The poses were easy and ones I do on my own as well, but you're expected to hold them for 3-4 minutes, and I am not good at holding any pose that long because my spine stiffens in that time and then at the end, hurts more than before. But I survived. I notice again and again how German instructors always talk as if every sentence is ending in a question mark and with really weird pauses. No idea what that's about, but I guess that's why my meditation and yoga content is always in English instead. Anyway, judging from the meditation and yoga, I don't think I'm a group person; I need to be alone, do what I want to do in whatever order and length I desire, and while it's quiet and people aren't constantly shifting, sniffing, coughing around me (which is totally fine for them to do, but it bothers me too much).
For NYE, the hotel had a special dinner. Getting seated was a bit chaotic, but the buffet itself was super nice. When we checked out to go home, they gave us two water boxes and two fortune cookies for the way :)
I know, traveling is probably intended for you to miss what you have and cherish it much more, but man, I really missed all my kinds of teas, a kitchen to make a lot of tea in spontaneously, the way my blankets feel and smell, my laptop … I chose not to bring it on purpose, but still. I feel more at home when I can plop a laptop on my lap, I need to remember that.
I missed being able to spontaneously eat because I eat when hungry (or should…), not at set times. I get a bit anxious not having access to food continually just in case my blood sugar is weird for me. I get very shaky and a headache easily when hungry sometimes, within minutes. So in environments like this, I have to weigh eating until mostly sated (most comfortable for me) vs. eating to make it to the next meal maybe. And I am more of a snacker, so three bigger meals spaced out is just a bit difficult for me. I think in future bookings anywhere, I need a kitchen included.
I love-hate how traveling like this disrupts routines and makes you need to come up with a new one on the go or completely do without. I see how rigid I am and how my mood depends on really small stuff being just right, or like I always make them. Not having these comforts and reassurances is difficult for me but I persist. With more gut weirdness because I’m more nervous, but I persist. At least I adjust within about three days and become more open, and I am more grateful for the things I have. It’s always a reminder that I can do with much less and much different circumstances than I am used to :)
What I initially didn't like but came to enjoy and miss is that everything was spaced out. Because the hotel is on castle lands, the buildings are separate from each other; we had to walk a bit outside to reach the building where breakfast was or where dinner was, or the other separate buildings for meditation and fitness. Sure, it was cold this time of the year and having to put on all those warm clothes just to have some food was a bit inconvenient, but it also made the vacation feel very active and deliberate, not just staying inside all the time. I now wish I could go walk through nature and some herb gardens just a minute or two away for daily things at my place. It really added some steps and fresh air to the whole thing.
Overall, even though it was a bit chaotic at times, it was enjoyable :)
And get this: On the way back, all the roads were smooth, looked normal and much less scary, even though it was the same way out. Creepy!
Published 02 Jan, 2025