I bought my tickets for the Liebermann Villa with an Irish credit card.
The woman who sold the tickets asked: “Are you Irish?”
“No,” I said, “I used to have an apartment in Dublin.”
“But you speak perfectly German.”
Perhaps she thought that people who used to have an apartment in Dublin couldn’t speak perfectly German.
“I’m Dutch,” I said, “but my parents were born in Germany.”
“Oh.” She sighed. “Dutch people speak so many languages. You all speak German don't you?”
“Not at all, most Dutch people hardly speak German. My parents were born in Germany. That’s why I speak German.”
She gave me the tickets.
“Dutch people and languages,” she said, “it’s just wonderful.”
I tried it one more time: “I speak German quite well, because my parents were both born in Germany.”
“Enjoy the museum,” she answered.
The message that both my parents were born in Germany wasn’t that frightening was it? I guess it was just too frightening. Still.