Red Lady 1

Today I was introduced to Hash House Harriers. It was, to say the least, an unparalleled cultural experience.

Apparently, this "social drinking club with a running problem" has been around for some 75 years and has "kennels" (local clubs) that hash all around the world. If you're as confused as I was about 10 hours ago, then you're on the right trail, I think.

My girlfriend Kristi had heard that this organization was a good way to meet English-speaking friends living in Germany. So she looked up the local kennel known as the "CRAP H3" (Combined Rhine Area Packs of Hash House Harriers) and found an event organized a short distance from where we live. They hold "hashes" every Sunday, but because this kennel is a merger of three packs and covers a large geographic region, many of the hashes are more than an hour's drive away.

We showed up this afternoon at a parking lot in Duisburg, not too sure what to expect. We met some folks named "Local Yokel" and "Pom Fritz" and "Austin Powers" (no one uses their real names, only monikers) who were warming up with a couple of beers. Soon the "hare" came along and gave us the "chalk talk" where trail symbols and rules were explained. I thought this was suppose to be an English-speaking group, but I was clueless what language "Noble Locks" was speaking. He talked about Checks and One Ons and Red Ladies and Multifunction Car Parks and then just told us to follow along. And never point. OK.

So we set off into the woods chasing the trail of the hare and searching down false paths looking for piles of flour that would direct us to the next beer. Still confused? Don't worry, so am I.

After about 7 kilometers of running, stopping to examine markers, waiting for others to catch up or report back on scouted trails, we came to a pub that offered 222 varieties of beer. Two hundred twenty two. But we each only drank one :) We still had a couple kilometers to run.

Soon after we arrived back at the starting point, where we were greeted with more beer and a small picnic and welcomed to The Circle.

Oh my. How do I explain what happened in The Circle? Well, there was lots of singing. I can't publish any of the song texts, though, as they were not exactly appropriate for the general public. Think fraternity basement. No, go lower. And, of course, there was lots of drinking. And a little bathing in beer as well.

About three and half hours after we arrived, Kristi and I headed home. But don't worry, the designated driver only consumed alcohol-free Radler. I was not the designated driver. Enough said.

PS - it was mostly a lot of fun :)