The Doppelgänger Dilemma (And How I Once Embarrassed Myself)

As some of you may (or may not) know, I was in the Army and, many moons ago, I was stationed in Germany. I loved it there. The travel opportunities were excellent, not to mention the food, the people, and the all the things to see and do.

One of those things was the annual Christmas Market.

Christmas Markets are not just for shopping; they are an experience. There’s nothing quite like strolling through the stalls, each abundant in lights and decorations, with a Glühwein (German hot-mulled wine) in one hand and a delicious stollen (traditional German fruit bread) in the other. Everyone is in a celebratory mood and the atmosphere is just lovely and fun. Also, I should note that Christmas Markets are often crowded affairs, depending on which one you go to and what time of day you go.

This is important to remember as I tell this story.

My then-husband and I were taking in the market with friends of ours, a very nice German couple. It was nighttime and I remember we’d hit a spot of the market that wasn’t quite as brightly lit as it was in the thick of things. We’d been walking, taking in everything and, somehow (I don’t remember how), my then-husband was separated from our little group. Initially, I didn’t worry about it too much, as he I knew he’d find us eventually and, if not, he spoke fluent German, so he’d text us and would make his way home.

As a few minutes stretched into several, I began to try to seek him out in the crowd while waiting with our friends. Finally, my gaze lands on him, standing at a booth in the distance with his back to us.

Or, at least I thought it was him.

In my defense, my then-husband and this stranger were built very similarly, both with dark hair, and had dressed nearly the same. And, it was in a darker part of the market. So it was easy for me to think it was my then-husband as I walked up behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist.

Only to have a very startled stranger turn to look at me.

I scurried back to where our German friends still stood, them laughing to the point of tears as they told me they tried to stop me, but I obviously hadn’t heard them. And, of course, my then-husband shows up mere moments afterward the debacle. Our friends were all too happy to tell them what I’d done.

I can laugh at this memory now, with the passing of so much time, but when it happened, I was absolutely MORTIFIED. As in, my face was beet red and I have never apologized to someone so much in my life as I did to this stranger. I can only imagine the story he went home and told his family and friends about the crazy American girl who wrapped her arms around him in the middle of the Christmas Market! I do have to note that he was very gracious and forgiving about the whole thing, but still:

Me → MORTIFIED!

And there you have it. The story of how a burst of spontaneity and my then-husband’s doppelgänger gave me a memory I will never forget. lol

~ HCB