Munich, Germany [1]

"Listen to me! I am such and such. Do not, above all obscure me with what I am not" Friedrich Nietzsche

That is the first sentence from the biography of philosopher Nietzsche, one of the most famous controversial philosophers from Germany in the 19th century. Germany is the land of poets and the birthplace of many world thinkers. I feel a euphoria that tickles my interest and thirst to travel around this country and trace its history. Many of the world's great figures were born from here.

"Are we going to live at your parents' house?" I asked, putting my backpack in the back of the car.

"My parents are in Frankfurt, about 3 - 4 hours drive from Munich, we will stay at my apartment in Munich, and will visit them on the weekend," Valter said, sitting beside me, closing the door of the car that will take us to the apartment.

"Are we going to see Mia as well?" I asked.

"Mia's apartment is not too far away, you will find her easily. I will be a little busy this week, I hope you can take advantage of the time while I'm not around," said Valter while holding my hand.

"It doesn't matter Valter."

Valter's apartment is in the heart of Munich, Bavaria, Germany. With a minimalist interior design, using vintage elements with simple equipment objects but using high-quality materials.

The living room is very spacious and feels empty, there is only a large sofa, spotlights, and a large bookcase next to the wall, a dark wooden cabinet on the other side of the room, everything looks neat and uncluttered.

There is only one large room with a bed that is wide and long, and in the corner of the room there is a divider, behind which there is a private workspace, this large room is also connected to the bathroom, an apartment not suitable for guests.

Single, I thought to myself.

There are no flowers, paintings, or colorful decorations in this apartment. There are only two colors, white and brown wood, and not a single photo on the wall, just a sign that this apartment is inhabited.

"So where am I going to sleep?" I asked, walking out of the room.

"My bed is quite large, I am happy to share the bed with you," said Valter with a slightly teasing tone.

"It doesn't matter, as long as you stick to our agreement," I said firmly.

"For Sure." the answer is steady.

Yep!

I and Valter agreed not to have sex, until we really believe that we are meant to be together forever. We are a couple who see love and affection as an integral part of lust. We must admit there is lust here, but we want to enjoy our feelings rather than just satisfying sexual matters.

"I'm still thinking about the stalker, could he follow me to Munich?" I laid down on the bed.

"I also thought about it, it's odd that he followed you wherever you went. Did you have any enemies before? Did he follow you from Jakarta?"

"I have no enemies, Valter. I have no one to worry about me. I met him for the first time, in Russia. As I told you before." I continued.

"Is he Russian?"

"He understands Russian, but apparently not Russian, he spoke English that night."

"Then he is just a hired hand, keeping an eye on you. Before setting foot in Russia, where were you from? Were you in contact with someone important, or have any acquaintances?"

I swallowed hard at Valter's barrage of questions, but to hide the truth could put me even more in a dangerous position.

"I'm flew in from Istanbul and was there for about 1 month, a Turkish man liked me and proposed to me in front of his family, and I didn't have the capacity to refuse it. I fled to St. Petersburg." I explained at length.

Valter frowned and studied all my explanations.

"Is he the one behind all this?" Asked Valter.

"If you think it is impossible. He is not a rich man who can afford to hire a private eye. What else could it be for?"

"It's not impossible for him to do that, Jade. You've crushed his hope and embarrassed his family. We can't measure people's hearts, Jade."

"The only way to find out, let him follow you until we can catch that stalker and force him to talk." continued Valter.

"Yes, you're right. I can't just keep hiding, If I do then this will never be complete. I have to face it."

Valter approached, looking at me closely, "You have to stay alert, don't travel alone. Take Yura with you. I don't want to lose you."

My knowledge of this city is limited to general knowledge, apart from Valter's story of course. Munich is the capital of the state of Bavaria, Germany. and is also the third-largest city after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich which is pronunced in German 'Munchen' comes from the word Munch which means pastor. Munich is 30 miles north of the Alps along the River Isar, which runs through the city center.

Munich is also the home of the most famous beer party, there is a big festival known as 'Oktoberfest' which is held every year in this city, a festival that can attract millions of visitors from all over the world

I hugged Yura tightly, having a fellow Asian friend while away in Europe made our relationship feel closer. Yura seemed happier than before, maybe the warmer German weather in the spring brought a beautiful hue to her skin.

"How are you Yura. Mia didn't come with you?" I said softly as I let go of my hug.

"I'm fine. Just a little sad, because I have to end my trip next week. I have to go back to campus. Oh yes, Mia is not with me she is busy with her work deadlines." We then walked side by side down the Munich town square where we agreed to meet.

Marienplatz is the name of the square in the old city, the heart of typical Bavarian culture which was founded in 1158, is a fairly wide pedestrian, free of motorized vehicles passing by. This area is full of historical buildings, theaters, and museums. I looked in awe at the very striking old buildings on the north side that stretched along 100 meters complete with a tower as high as 85 meters above it, the building is in the form of a magnificent gothic revival-style castle is the Neues Rathaus hall. It is the location of the city government office and the city council.

It was 11:00 a.m., the melodious strains of the instruments began to be heard coming from the top of the tower.

Yep! Yura and I were at the perfect time to enjoy the 'glockenspiel'. The show lasts 12 minutes and ends with the chirping of cuckoo birds appearing on the screen. It is said that this show has been started from 1908 until now.

In the front of the Neues Rathaus stood the Mariensaule monument, topped by a gold-plated statue of Our Lady, which was built in 1638 to celebrate the end of the invasion of Sweden during the 30 year war. This monument is flanked by 4 statues at the bottom, the four figures at the bottom surround the column in the corners which symbolically tells that Munich has succeeded in overcoming heresy, hunger, plague, and war.

Not far from Neus Rathaus looking to the east is the Altes Rathaus, an old white building with a spear-like tower on it. We hastened our footsteps along the pedestrian at Marienplatz, it was lunchtime and our stomachs didn't want to wait for us any longer.

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