Research

So, I'm writing a story inspired by Mate's trip to Germany with his friends. We were hanging out in the front room, I was in front of the computer, when the following happened:

Me: So what was the road like on the way to the monastery?

Mate: ? ? ?

Me: You know, in Munich. You went to see the monks and drink beer. You said the road was steep. What were the trees like?

Mate: I got nothing.

Me: What did the building look like?

Mate: There were, uh, towers and stuff. It was in a valley.

Me: But you said you had to climb a hill.

Mate: Uh...

Me: What did the inside look like?

Mate: Uh... stucco.

Me: You mean plaster?

Mate: Sure. Uh... gold. Benches and stuff.

Me: And they served you beer?

Mate: There was a restaurant!

Me: Was it good?

Mate: Sure.

Me: What color were the walls?

Mate: I don't know.

Me: What did the grounds look like?

Mate: I don't remember.

Me: What was it called?

Mate: Andex-- wait-- it's spelled c-h-s. Andechs Abbey. Are you do--

Me: You took the train-- what was it called?

Mate: Uh, the train?

Me: How far from your hotel?

Mate: What is this for?

Me: Research!

Mate: Here! Here! Here are the pictures! See? Now find words! Oh my God! Pictures--it was great! The beer was great! Everything was pretty! The people were nice! Are we done?

Me: What were the roads like in Munich?

Mate: OH my God.

Okay-- so that took longer than I thought it would, and was, quite frankly, harder than I predicted. Anyway, there WERE pictures and we started from there.

But later in the evening we were watching a Tig Notaro special, in which she talked about her wife Stephanie. "I love my wife. She, uh, confuses me daily. She will just call the most random shit across the house!"

Mate glared at me. "Like, 'What were the trees like in Germany?'"

I smiled sweetly. "You love your wife too."