CHRISTMAS GOOSE IN COLOGNE

Spoiler: If you are Vegan or Vegetarian this blog will cut you like a knife. 

To my North American, particularly USA friends this may sound like something out of a Charles Dickens ‘Christmas’ novel, but I ate roast Christmas Goose this holiday season and it was amazing! Honestly, I prefer it to turkey. To me it tasted like a roasted chicken and honey baked ham with a brown sugar glaze had a baby! I loved it and I must find it stateside. Believe it or not you can find it here in the USA. I turned to the handy dandy Youtube to find recipes and states that may prefer the goose to the traditional turkey. 

You may have read my German Mulled Wine Christmas story about my trek in what I can only describe as the Farmers Market for Christmas… well adjacent to the Mulled Wine stall was a stall with the most delicious smelling meat roasting right before my eyes. I asked my three German friends what it was as it was this huge slab of meat, but I couldn't tell which animal it came from. Just as surprised as I was that they were cooking a real goose, my German friends were surprised it isn't traditionally a part of our holiday menu. Being the bread lover I am, I requested my goose in the form of a sandwich- we of course all know bread in Europe is better, even in Germany (although I still prefer the bread in Italy best!) added with this sandwich was this creamy mayo and a delicious sauerkraut. It was a minute before I realised that this was my first time trying sauerkraut as well. Wipe of the mayo (unless that’s your thing) add some sriracha and it was the best sandwich I’ve had in ages!

The beauty of traveling to foreign places are these cultural differences and exchanges. I mean through this we talked not only about holiday foods and languages, but our conversations chartered into world history, politics and of course WWII. When one thinks of going to Khön (Cologne) Germany for two days to hear their rap artist friends' new music one doesn’t expect to be enriched by history, foods, spirits and culture in such a short time. The experience was incredible and I hope you, my readers, whomever is out there reading this pick up your passport and visit. I also hope you find roasted goose and give it a try!

WHAT IS THE B.A.G.?

So, you’re probably wondering what the B.A.G.  means, or what exactly it is? Well let me answer that- the B.A.G. (Black American Gay) is a travel blog from well… a Black American Gay man’s perspective. I first started traveling internationally in 2016 and have even lived abroad in Paris for a year. As a gay man I was subscribed to blogs and youtube channels from other Gay Americans and even started using Misterbnb (gay version of Airbnb) becasue of it. I was always able to find spaces held for North American expats and even spaces for POC from the USA as well as spaces for LGBT people from the USA. 

But I could never find the spaces held for the LGBT people of colour, especially gay men. I mean I can’t explain too much for the lesbian or trans perspective whilst abroad, but I can definitely tell you my black american gay perspective. I wish I could tell you where all the black american gay men are hiding? As cliche as it sounds maybe they're on the beaches of Miami, or having brunch at a new trendy soul food spot in Atlanta, possibly waiting for Blatino Oasis in Palm Springs; however, what I can say is I’d like to see more of us on a Gondola in Venice, atop of the Eiffel tower in Paris or even hiking to the Big Buddha, in Hong Kong. We shouldn’t just travel for cute engagement photos or to tropical caribbean islands where the laws of being LGBT are severely punishable. 

Not to discredit these experiences, but we should definitely see how our influence  has reached the world. You might ask why do I think it’s important for us to occupy a seat at the travel table and the answer is quite simple- similar to women who travel who are subjected to worries of safety and activity I need to know whether or not I have to worry about racism or homophobia or sometimes both when I travel? In some countries my being black is more of an issue than my being gay- at which point being gay helps me, but then in other countries being black is fine as long as I am not gay which could mean jail, abuse or even death. Lil Nas X might sing about the beauty of Dominica, but the dark side for its LGBT inhabitants who have not escaped to other countries for asylum are bodies forever lost in the jungles. So, grab your passport and sign up for those frequent flier points as we travel the world, try new foods and new experiences. 

Let's cultivate groups and discussions that will help the LGBT POC after us!