Evening on the Haidplatz: Edelweiss

Two evenings ago, I finished eating dinner and went out to practice poi on the Haidplatz, which is a square that's literally about 30 meters from my dorm. It was a nice, clear evening, one of many that we usually have these days. There are Italian restaurants and historic buildings and people walking around the Haidplatz at practically all hours. It's especially nice because the restaurants still have their outdoor tables setup for the summer, and there are candles lit on each of them until about 22-23:00 every night.

At around 19:00, I was poi-ing in front of a closed shop window. One reason that I go outside is because I have no full-length mirror in my dorm, so I go outside and use the reflection in shop windows to practice instead. A guy with a backpack and cap came up to me, and I stopped when he stood there as people do when they mean to approach you. He jokingly struck a Kung Fu pose, which I promptly returned, because I don't know a bit of Kung Fu, but that's what I do. He said hello and told me how he liked what I was doing. Somehow he got started into some detailed explanations of the martial arts, his involvement in them, what he has seen people do in them, etc.

Unfortunately, my German capabilities only picked up, ohh..... 30% of what he was saying (I'm trying not to cry). And he was talking quickly and conversationally and with complicated vocabulary. And the only reason why he continued is that I have a slightly higher capability of reading out what the proper response needs to be from the other person's intonation and body language. Some advanced form of, "Uh-huh." He was pretty into it, so I didn't really want to stop him. I did at least pick up that he lives locally in Regensburg, and that he often attends a martial arts club/gym in town. He said I was welcome to check it out sometime.

Partway through, he handed me a €0.20 coin as a tip, I guess. (If I get better, I intend to put out a hat one day anyway). He continued for a little longer, and then we finally said, "Tschüss!" and he went on his way. I started poi-ing once more, but after a few minutes, he suddenly popped around the corner and came up to me again. He held something small up and told me he wanted to give this to me. It was an Edelweiss, pressed and preserved inside a glass and bronze necklace ornament.

He looked at me and said (still German), "This is an Edelweiss. It's a flower from around here. They are said to bring luck. I want to give this to you. So I wish the best of luck to you, and keep on doing what you do!"


There's nothing romantic that occurred here. He was just a guy who was inspired by something and felt moved to return something back. And I was just some person standing on the corner of the Haidplatz, looking at an Edelweiss in my hand and wondering what had really just happened.