A Multicultural Evening in Nurnberg

Last night the 5 of us went to O'Sheas Irish pub in Nurnberg for a little cultural diversity. It's a charming establishment with an even more charming staff. Jimmy is an old Irish man working there who Aram is friendly with. He said a quick hello, but more on him later. After a dinner of fish & chips and shepherd's pie, the plan was that Ann and I would explore the nightlife for a while and come back after some drinks and fun. We had been warned that Sunday night isn't the most happening time here, which we quickly found to be the case as we walked through the deserted streets. We found one kind of Mexican bar, which served a disgusting "Tequila-beer." Every bit as awful as it sounds. I opted for a drink called a "flying kangaroo," which came with a marshmallow and gummy candy on a spear. The bartender also gave one to Ann, probably thinking that she was jealous of mine. After trying to ask for the check, our German-speaking bartender handed Ann another Tequila-beer instead.

Eventually we made it out, and decided to go back to O'Sheas because we knew where it was, they spoke English, and they didn't serve Tequila-beer. We had a very nice Australian bartender there, and eventually ended up chatting with 3 Canadian hockey players at the bar. They play for Nurnberg's professional team, the Ice Tigers. We knew they were serious because one had an obviously oft-broken nose, and one was missing a front tooth. After closing time, we joined 2 of the bartenders in going to "The Druid" for a few games of pool. My pool partner was German, but had studied at the University Von Amsterdam (where I'm going in 3 days). He taught me a few Dutch phrases which were much more challenging than I had anticipated. I see that I have my work cut out for me. As we chatted and made new friends, Jimmy from O'Sheas showed up! We had gotten to know him a little at O'Sheas, but by the end of the night we knew a lot more. Whenever he saw me talking to my pool partner, he would come over to me and say in a thick Irish accent, "You be careful now! Your brother is a good man, and I don't want him coming to me tomorrow saying, 'where's my little sister?!'" I assured him that I would be careful, but he still reminded me about 15 times over the course of the evening, and regularly intimidated the boy I was talking to. As Jimmy and I were talking, the conversation turned to animals. He told me that he loves animals, but when I asked him if he likes dogs he scowled and said "Dogs?! Dogs are shit! Do you know what you do with a dog? You shoot it." I'm not sure why. At the end of the night Jimmy helped us call a cab and made sure the driver knew how to get us home. My description really does him no justice. I suggest that you go to O'Sheas and meet him. Just don't bring your dog.

Right now it's 9:30 am, but I wasn't able to sleep all night. After we got home I should have been tired, but I just couldn't fall asleep. So I gave up and took a shower, but I think that now I might try to catch an hour or so. I thought that I was over the jet lag, but clearly not. I'll be so tired all day long, but as soon as I get into bed I can't fall asleep. Very frustrating.

Chus!