Backpacking in Europe - How a dream, an idea, a close call, and some mushrooms changed my life forever - Part 3) A Close Call!

Part 1) A Dream

Part 2) An Idea

Part 3) A Close Call!

I came into the main train station in Frankfurt and got off the train, my hostel was close, so I started walking. I checked in, left my pack in a locker, walked out of the door and turned right. As I was walking, I began to notice that I was in the red light district. I didn't even know there was A RED LIGHT DISTRICT IN FRANKFURT!

I had no desire participate in any of the activities that go on in a red light district, but it was an interesting spectacle. It was uncomfortable to walk down the street, because I must have appeared to be interested. As I walked, women waved me over and and bar owners tried to convince me to enter their establishments.

I walked down the block and turned right in an effort to stay close to my hostel, but get out of the red light district,but I still seemed to be in the middle of it! I got to a point of avoiding all eye contact because the annoying, constant solicitation. I made another right and continued walking briskly.

A prostitute, that was all glittered up, and not wearing much else, tried to strike up a conversation:

PROSTITUTE: "How are you?"

ME: "No, thanks" I said, because thats what I was repeating over and over to everyone who was approaching me.

PROSTITUTE: "HEY, I asked, how you were doing".

ME: "Oh, I am fine, thank you."

PROSTITUTE: "What are you looking for?"

ME: "No thanks." and I began to keep walking.

PROSTITUTE: "HEY! I'm just trying to ask you how you are doing and what you are up to. Stop saying no thanks!"

ME: "I'M NOT LOOKING FOR ANYTHING. Just maybe a bar to have a beer and maybe meet some people, THAT'S ALL!"

PROSTITUTE: "THIS IS A BAR, I'M A PERSON! Why don't you come have a beer and if you want to leave after that, you can."

She was obviously working. But she convinced me so, like an idiot, I walk into the bar with her.

We sit at the bar and an old woman with long stringy blonde hair hands me a menu. I order a beer and the bartender asks if I would like to order a drink for the lady. I say sure and the girl orders a drink. The bartender gives me a bottle of beer and I take a drink. She then pours a small bottle of something fizzy into glass for the girl. I got my wallet out to get a 20 euro bill to pay with. I noticed the girls eyes focused on my wallet. I held the 20 euro bill in my hand waiting for the bar tender to tell me the amount, but she just stared at me.

I handed her the 20 and she just continued to look at me with a cold, dead, stare. After and a few seconds, I said, "Can I have my change, please?" She said, "Sir, you owe my 25 more euros." I said, "What! There is no way!" She turned over the menu in front of me and pointed to drinks that ranged in price from 5 euros to over 100 euros for one drink! I said that's crazy! I'm not paying that! She explained that that was what the drink costs and that I should look at the price before I order. I looked at the girl and asked her why she had done this to me. She said, "You have the money." I said, "If I spend my money like this, I won't be able to make it home!" She said, " You have a credit card."

Just then, the dream popped into my head. I didn't remember the dream, it came rushing into my skull. I felt like I was on the canoe again. Without thinking I jumped up from my bar stool and said, "Keep the money, keep the beer, I'm out of here!' and walked out of the bar and turned right onto the sidewalk. As I was walking, I felt strange, it felt like the girl and the old woman were walking behind me, but for some reason I didn't even want to look back. I made a right turn and then another right turn and I was back to the hostel.

I went up to my room and fell into my bed. I slept for the rest of the afternoon and evening and that night and the next day and woke up in the middle of the night the next night. I was very confused and didn't look like myself in the mirror. I went back to sleep and slept until afternoon of the next day. After sleeping for 48 hours, I realized that I had been drugged. I had just made it back to the hostel in time for the one drink of poisoned beer, that I had, to take effect.

My third day in Frankfurt, I met some travelers at the hostel and we walked around Frankfurt for a while and then met some other people at the hostel bar. It was a fun night, but overall my experience in Frankfurt scared the shit out of me and made me realized that I better keep my wits about me and pay more attention to exactly what is going on in my surroundings.

Thankfully, I seemed to be being watched over. That dream saved me from who knows what. The girl and the woman were obviously working together. They would have gotten my money and who knows maybe a kidney! I could have woken up in a dark ally or worse! I should have gone back there sober and called the police or something, but that didn't cross my mind until I was already on the train, headed for Amsterdam.

Note: Part 4 will be out as soon as I type it up

Here it is: Part 4) Amsterdam and the Mushrooms