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German hospitality
Entry 12 of 20 | show all | print this entry |
The Narrow Way Part 1
Following the path that leads toward
The darkness in the north
Weary stranger' faces show their sympathy
They've seen that hope before
And if you want to stay for a little bit
Rest your aching limbs for a little bit
For you the night is beckoning
And now you can't delay
You hear the birds calling you
But you can't catch the words they say
And you must you realise be on your way
By Pink Floyd
GERMANY
The large European train stations were fascinating places with so many destination choices like Amsterdam, Nice, Madrid or Vienna. They were crowded and the feverishness of the crowds was contagious. In a hunger of travel greed, the activity made one want to visit all destinations when only a single destination was possible. We had planned to travel to Mannheim but a language based misinterpretation with the conductor saw us get off at a place called Kaiserlautern. Again I was to get the blame for a simple stuff up. It was getting late but it was not a life and death issue I thought. But maybe a sign that Penny and I were getting less tolerant of each other. A local train was not far away and we took that about 40 km to Schifferstadt which was near to Hubert's home. This train was the last one that Saturday night and was loaded with drunk Germans, males and females returning home from the city. Although we could not understand exactly what was going on there was obviously a lot of clowning around at the train conductor's expense. He did not seem to mind it as it was good hearted banter and it kept us entertained also. Especially as we had not seen so many beer bellies since we left Australia. We had rung Hubert from the Kaiserlautern rail platform and he was at Schifferstadt station to meet us. He had his hair cut short for his Army sojourn but apparently not short enough as the German Army like to have the final say about one's hair and no doubt every thing else. If anything the short hair made him look more youthful and innocent. Hubert never the less was in high spirits which picked up ours as well. With Hubert back in the scene the missed station incident seemed forgotten by Penny. Hubert's family lived in a large flat over a cake and liqueur shop that was run by his Aunt and Uncle. The building looked old and the typical traditional Baverian style with a high pitched roof and attic windows. It was late so Hubert showed us to the attic bedroom with the most comfortable bed we had seen in weeks. Bliss. The next morning we were shown to the dining room to meet his family. Most of them spoke some English and they were lovely people. His father was very nice to us for some vague reason. They fed us breakfast predictably on cakes and liqueurs. We were not complaining but we did ask Hubert how was it that he was not a lot larger with a diet like this. In hindsite Hubert's family were devout Christians and this sharing of food and accommodation was a charatible thing for them to do. This was the first Sunday that Hubert had been home from his travels so his parents wanted him to visit church as he was being conscripted the next day. While they were at church another family friend, Herr Schmid took us to his house nearby to see his organic garden. He told us that he had been a prisoner of war to the Americans for two years and in England for two years but showed no obvious animosity about the past. He lived on about half a hectare and grew vegetables and fruit trees. We tasted cherries and huge walnuts and saw pear trees and raspberry bushes. These were things that we had only ever heard about in Queensland Australia. With Herr Schmidt laying claim to us we were now drawn between the two families and after tossing a coin we agreed to split up for lunch with Penny spending time with Herr Schmid's family and I with Hubert's family. Their friendly generosity was really fantastic especially after weeks of eating in cafes and mixing with strangers. When Penny and I met up again after lunch we both had stories of huge meals of German fare with more strawberry pies and tasty liqueurs, some 13 years old. The afternoon was spent in recovery watching Hubert's travel videos. The Portugal portion of his trip included us on video and I remember being bemused by seeing myself for the first time on video. There were no budding signs of what Hollywood call the 'it' factor but Penny in my view did have some attractive moves on the small screen. Hubert also had film of travels in Italy which was interesting for us as a possible future destination and one of a Pink Floyd rock concert he attended in Germany. We were all delaying the inevitable parting. It was hard for me to leave someone with whom I had such quick rapport but I got the feeling it was harder for Penny. That night we slept early in preparation for an early start. Hubert came with us the next morning to the station at Schifferstadt to continue our trip. We travelled with him to Ludwig-shafen where we changed trains for Mainz. Hubert took his train to Stuttgart to commence his patriotic duty. Although it was peace time and relatively safe for Hubert, I could not help but reflect on the last friend I saw enter the Army, another nice sensitive bloke.
On reading about Schifferstadt in retrospect we learned that it had a documented history going back to 868AD but in 1835 a farmer dug up a box containing a 3000 year old prize of three bronze axes and a carved golden 'hat'. That factor alone gave Schifferstadt some mysterious character and also triggered deeper curiousity about the local populace. The town and surrounds had always been noted for its craftmanship and farming which was helped by the fact that the climate in the region was considered the mildest in Germany. The evidence was present to the horticulturalist's eye. Beside the forest areas that surround the town, temperate crops such as tobacco also grew there. Schifferstadt however was famous in Germany for growing radish and held a radish festival each year. For us Hubert and family more closely represented the rare gold artifacts than the common radish.
We were not sure what to expect on the next part of our trip. Our Eurail pass entitled us to take some ferry travel and the Rhine River ferry was one of those included. However on arrival at Mainz we learned that we had just missed their ferry so another train to Bingen got us onto the Koln-Dusseldoef ferry to Koblenz. We were impressed as this was a very scenic part of the Rhine and the river banks were dotted with small German villages in the style described in Hans Christian Anderson stories and many castles. Some were in very good condition and if time had permitted I would have stopped off to investigate further. The history of the Rhine went way beyond medieval times as evidenced by the 1800 year old Roman troop ships that have been found buried in the mud of the Rhine. One of these was reported to be 25 metres in length and built of German Oak which was held together by iron nails. These Romans would have demonstrated the peak of war craft technology and the Germanic tribes would have been very good students. From Koblenz we took another train to Bonn. This was the capital of West Germany and seemed modern and planned in the way that Canberra was designed to prevent spontaneity. The hostel we checked into was very modern and loaded with German youth which indicated that this may have been during a university break or similar. Apart from the UK, we found Germany was the country closest to Australia in their mannerisms. I felt that many things like customs were familiar and even the German language of which I spoke none sounded similar in tone to Aussie English. Maybe I was just trying too hard to justify why I was enjoying being in the home of the WW 2 soldiers who took pot shots at my uncles in North Africa in the1940s.
HOLLAND
The train from Bonn to Amsterdam was modern and fast, allowing us time at each end of the journey to complete our housekeeping like mailing letters to relatives and stocking up on food suitable to be consumed on a first class train carriage. In Spain it was not considered unusual to eat French bread on the train and leave a few bread crumbs on the way. The northern European trains were more ordered with passengers showing a bit more self discipline. This was not the case however at the Amsterdam rail station. It was packed with young people of all nationalities who seemed to be just hanging out rather than travelling. The station looked like it could have been some type of meeting place. We quickly headed for the street to escape the crowds to find the street also full of young people. This was something different for us as we had only ever seen large groups of youth in youth hostels and the hostels had rules and some type of order. Amsterdam was not like that and I for one was not sure if I liked this 'impromptu' grouping even though I was, age wise technically one of that same group but maybe a couple of years older. Perhaps as they say without being too egotistical, I was also wiser. The other shock was the amount of litter that the crowds produced. It was like one would expect to see after and outdoor rock concert. This was a definite contrast to the discipline and tidiness of Germany. As we moved further away from the station the normal Amsterdam returned. There were the older buildings, some brightly coloured and with narrow frontages. Some seemed to be only one room wide and three stories tall. From accommodation information given to us by an information centre at the main station we found our way to the Hotel 88. It was used as a student hostel during the summer months and it had a bar and live music from midnight til five am. For 8.25 gulden we got a room and a fair breakfast. This hostel typified the first impression we got of Amsterdam. The students were into late nights and beer drinking but that was not all. We saw a few who had obviously taken other medicinal compounds and were all the worst for wear. Our plan was to get some sleep and do some touring the next day however the noisy hostel residents disturbed our sleep and also the weather was against us and produced a wet windy morning. By chance while walking around and avoiding the rain we met a Scottish diamond salesman who happened also to be Jewish. He insisted on buying us some Dutch beer and also taking us to a Kosha restaurant that served Jewish food. He was interesting with many diamond stories to fascinate Penny. I was impressed by the food and we discussed the possibility of visiting Israel. Penny and I also discussed this topic before we started this trip after reading about life on a kibbutz, a type of Israeli communal farm. At that time we could not see the point of working for the good of the Jewish state but the salesman was a good talker and put a different light on the subject. I think if Penny had been asked, she would prefer to be buying diamonds in Holland rather than farming in the Israeli desert. All this talk of deserts made us thirsty so we consumed more of the local brew. It was weaker than the Fourex beer we were used to and cost us 1 gulder for a 250 ml glass although the Dutch bar attendants could learn a lot about pouring a beer without too much froth. As imagined old Amsterdam had a lot of canals with houseboats and other cargo transporting barges. On either side of the canals were countless small fashion boutiques and some streets had rows of sex boutiques (brothels). These had the front room curtains open while the operator went about her routine of either reading or watching TV. The 'girls' on show seemed to be able to afford the nicest fashion clothing and were attractive, in my view. Our budget did not stretch to being able to afford any of the commodities on offer though. So we settled for window shopping only. What we could afford was the local cinema in English so we saw a gory realistic western called 'The Hunting Party'. Back on the street and at the hostel we were definitely out of practise when it came to partying. As we had been on the road virtually alone for extended periods the crowds of youth enjoying themselves everywhere was a bit overpowering. We read that the Dutch royal family had all their formal celebrations in Amsterdam but chose to live on the outskirts of the town. We could relate to that sentiment and gave Amsterdam another day of trial before taking a train south to Brussels in Belgium. This train passed through Der Haag or The Haig the old capital of Holland and also Rotterdam which was the largest sea port in Holland. Near the sea was where the last remaining windmills could be found and in a high speed train we passed a couple so fast we were unable to photograph them. This area also was home to the sea dykes, dirt banks built probably 5 metres tall to keep out the sea. Train travel gave one ample time to ponder local topics such as the battle many people have against nature and how they live with the daily risk of a sudden change to their lifestyles.
The Netherlands during the Reformation of 15th century was under the influence and control of pro-Spanish magistrates. Other commercial centres such as Ghent and Antwerp were in decline which saw a large influx of migrants into Amsterdam. Flemish merchants, French Huguenots and Jewish diamond traders helped turn Amsterdam into a thriving centre and by the 17th century it became renown for its intellectuals and artists. The citizens though suffered hardship during the German occupation of 1940-1945. An estimated 75000 Jews were deported and killed which still left a bitter memory in the Netherlands and a lingering suspicion of their huge and rich neighbour.
BELGIUM
This country was another tiny lowland famous for cheese and pork. We could not help but notice that it was more subdued that the Netherlands without the flamboyant youth so obvious in that country. Even in the days prior to mobile phones news managed to get through to us. Via post restant we heard about a damsel in distress that we wanted to rescue. We were planning only to pass through Belgium on our way to England to visit our friend from Indonesia, Kay ex of Danny and Kay. Her dilemma was not really distressing but she was in the process of deciding whether to work in London or travel in Europe with us. We were close enough to London to find out her decision first hand and it was also a good excuse to catch up. That would require a ferry trip from Belgium across the English Channel so our plan was to make our way to the ferry port of Ostende. We wondered if rushing through the country of Belgium meant we were missing something good to see. We decided to read up on Belgium history in our travel guide and maybe make time for a longer stay next time around. Our travel timing was spot on for a change and at Ostende we walked from the train onto a 6pm ferry to Dover England. The 3hour trip was smooth as was the pass through British Immigration. Was our luck changing, were we just getting better at what we do or were we being more tolerant and understanding of bureaucracy? Too early to skite about travel skills though as the Youth Hostel in Dover was full. We had to find our way in the night to a nameless bed and breakfast place that advertised the fact that it was "At the foot of Castle Hill" Even in the English drizzle Castle Hill was visible and attractive with its spotlights making it a beacon in Dover town. Reluctantly we had to give our eurail pass a rest now as Great Britain was not a part of Europe and bus travel was the next cheapest option. It was still raining the next day as we took a bus to Canterbury where we changed for London.
One small problem we had was that we did not have an address in London for Kay. So we started with Protea Tours as we knew that she had planned a tour with them around the British Isles. In old fashioned style where people were trusting of strangers, the Protea agent at 86 Dalling Road told us that a tour group have arrived the previous day at the Earl's Court office. A phone call to a travel agent friend got us the name of a hostel where Protea travellers often lodged. It was near Earl's Court so we booked into the hostel we previously used in Earl's Court and met up with Kay at 6 pm. She had news that another long time friend from Brisbane was also in London. His name was Graham but he called himself 'Grace'. He had been a barman in most major pubs and clubs in Brisbane city and was not a stranger to the Sydney scene also. Graham was a raconteur and a livewire to boot. While he lived a high public life, there was a sad side to his private life that our family had learned about over time. We all wanted to catch up with him in his new town. Over a number of drinks with Kay we made plans for the next day. It was to be a morning visit to London Zoo and then on to visit Graham. The zoo could not compare with the Singapore Zoo but there were many photo opportunities to test our not so new camera. We tried time and again to master the art of filming animals behind bars without focusing on the bars. In the afternoon we found that Graham was living in a run down flat he rented in Bayswater. The cost of living combined with low wages put a clamp on Graham's lifestyle in London but he was still the same free spirit with a thousand quick lines to keep the conversation on the boil. In Brisbane he 'owned' his scene but here he was a small fish in a big sea and the situation reminded me of the kangaroo in the London Zoo, so far from home. Graham was happy by all accounts and prepared a nice meal with an expensive Rose wine to accompany it. We saw the World Cup Soccer final between Holland and Germany on his TV. Penny was pleased that Germany won as she knew that Hubert would be smiling in his army uniform. If the team discipline of the two sides was like their respective country's youth discipline, the Holland team never had a hope.
We did not want to see Kay getting stuck in London alone but not alone, however her eventual decision was to forfeit the trip to Europe with us just for the time being and look for work in the big smoke of London Town. I could see the attraction of the city that drew Australians to London with all the friends and entertainment nearby but my determination to complete my trip was still strong. Penny again was put in view of the temptation of the city lights and she also had to battle with her own decision making about the future. Seeing Kay again gave her more of a female perspective on moulding her thoughts. With other people we could talk for hours about plans for travel in Europe but we seemed to be having a problem talking to each other about what each of us wanted. In our hearts we probably each knew but we did not want to upset the other person by openly talking about it. That issue was a very common problem in a relationship at a crossroads. To avoid that topic we took advantage of the array of latest movies on show and took in the popular one called "The Sting" with Robert Redford and Paul Newman. A great movie but I probably have that billing back to front as I never really liked Robert Redford. Maybe he was too good looking? The next morning we headed to the bank to arrange money for the next leg of our trip. We withdrew AUS$1000 equivalent to 616 English New Pounds. ANZ traveller's cheques had to be bought at a different bank and we decided to get some US dollar traveller's cheques as well. Along with Kay we went to American Express but there was a huge queue of people waiting. We felt time running short so out of impatience we three thought it would be a good day to get our long overdue cholera shots. We arrived at the student health centre to find an even longer queue than at American Express. Another vote was taken and it was decided that we should visit Graham. The underground rail workers were on a go slow so the normally rapid service was taking what seemed like hours. The slow train got us to Bayswater and we dropped in on Graham to find him out. His next door neighbour, a grumpy old bloke abused us for knocking on Graham's door. From this reaction we got the impression that Graham was probably having too many visitors or parties at his flat for his neighbour's liking. We knew Graham had a liking for Piccadilly so we took a chance and went there. Picadilly was always loaded with people and when we saw this we gave up hope of finding him amidst what was like a human ant nest. As we passed a crowded café Penny noticed him sitting inside. He was with a woman and we joined them. That chance meeting was one in a million but it turned out that the woman was the cousin of the Australian we stayed with in Singapore. A chance in a billion? Her name was Heather and she worked with Protea Tours that Kay was planning a second tour with. A chance in a trillion !! Heather was best described as a bit butch and had plenty of advice for Kay's current situation which came about because she had recently split from her travel companion, Danny. Being a layman when it came to understanding the nature of people and the way they bond I was intrigued by the familiarity that could be seen between women and gays. It made me feel like an outsider in the group but Kay and Penny had a type of girl to girl bond which Graham tuned into very easily. Heather though a virtual stranger also showed easy affinity for the group. Maybe I was reading too much into things when I should have been enjoying my last night in London. We left Graham to start his night shift at a bar and we headed back to Earl's Court. There we had a lovely meal at the Hot Pot Restaurant over discussions about the travel way forward and self reflection about which of us was making the best decision. Either way I had plenty of excuses to celebrate so I drank more than had been my habit for a long time.
The foggy heads the next morning did not stop us from applying for student discount for the ferry trip to Calais in France. We paid four pounds each saving one pound forty pence and found out by reading the 'flight' details on our ticket that the ferry was in fact a hovercraft. It was amazing how it moved effortlessly from land to sea and back to land dropping us in France in 30-40 minutes. It technically was a flight with all the usual trimmings like snacks and hostesses. From Calais our Eurail pass kicked back into action and we fast trained to Brussels in Belgium with coordinated changes at Hazebrouk and Lille in France. Here our run of good luck ran out. We just missed the train to Amsterdam and the next one was not until the next night. We had travelled a lot that day and could not be bothered looking for accommodation which normally involved a lot of walking. Especially when we saw how inviting the waiting room was at Brussels station. We spent the night there in air conditioned comfort sleeping on our packs. The waiting room had a café and showers, hardly an incentive to travel on. Our sleep was made a little uncomfortable by our arms starting to get sore. This was from the cholera shots we finally obtained that morning while waiting for the bus at Victoria Bus Station in London. The British Airways Health Service across the road offered the six month protective shots for one pound. A short stop in Amsterdam and we changed trains to Denmark.
DENMARK
Aarhus, we read was the second city of Denmark. It had a very rural feel to it and it was a centre for swine breeding and cheese making. It was a much more expensive area than we have been used to and we figured that if it was the home of cheese there should be some cheap stuff to be bought. Nothing was really cheap but we did happen on a small supermarket with a caramel coloured cheese on sale. After a taste sample we both liked the cheese and thought we would give it a chance. We could not really explain the taste of a sample of this 'brown' cheese but it was not a savory flavour and funnily it was a bit sweet. It did not really compliment bread and tomato the two other staples that we carried everywhere. The problem was that to obtain the sale price we had to buy about two kilograms of this brown stuff. After a couple of days we were sick of the taste of this brown stuff but we were too mean to throw it away. At least I was, so over the next what seemed like weeks we, well at least I ate this 'delightful' Danish produce. That was enough to make one become wary of special deals. In Aarhus we had lunch in a park that had a statue fountain dedicated to the local breadwinners, a sow and her piglets. The full sized mother was resting on one side with about eight piglets either feeding or crawling over her. One piglet, obviously the naughty one of the litter would sporadically urinate enough to keep the whole sculpture moist. With our lunch consumed we then visited the local Prehistoric Museum. Here they had the most amazing display. It was of a man found in a peat bog. He was approximately 1600 years old and very well preserved. To maintain that state he was kept in a high humidity glass case which protected his leathery skin, a blue purple colour and bright red hair. His skeleton acted as a frame for the close fitting skin and he was in fairly fit condition except for some damage to his mouth causing his teeth to be exposed in an angry gesture. He could never have imagined his fate would be like this and it made me think that in that way the world has not changed in 1600 years and that none of us can be absolutely sure of our individual fate. After seeing the bog man's red hair I could not help but notice every red head I saw in the town. There seemed to be more than the usual proportion in the populace but that surely was only a result of my overactive imagination. Considering the bog man's good physical condition I also wondered if the peat bog was the real fountain of youth. There could have been a cosmetic angle here with a potential new type of mud facial. From Aarhus we moved north to Copenhagen. We had heard so much about Danish style and architecture but in our quick look around on the first day there, we saw no evidence of it. As usual we were probably on the wrong side of town but wandering around we came across a cinema showing "Cabaret" with Lisa Minelli. It looked more promising than touring the town and for the 10 Danish Kroner entrance fee we were really entertained. Over the following couple of days we both wrote to friends recommending that they see it. Before leaving we decided to give the town another try and as a last resort we visited the Tivoli Gardens Amusement Area. We found it to be an overcrowded version of the Brisbane Exhibition and so decided to take the night train to Hamburg. I imagine if we were enjoying each other's company Penny and I would have enjoyed any place or maybe Copenhagen just was not romantic enough a place to spark an interest. An interest both in the city itself and in each other. Our interest in Hamburg was because of the fact that we had told Hubert that we would revisit him. I liked Hubert but I also thought that we were wasting some of our Eurail time by back tracking in Germany when we could be using the time to see more of northern Europe. Penny also liked Hubert so I was compromising for her sake. I guess I was starting to also feel a bit guilty for sticking to my plan to travel overland to the east and thought that at the present time I should let some of Penny's planning, while infrequent take precedence. While we still had no firm travel arrangements we did have a long wish list of places to see. After visiting our friends in London it naturally was an enticing thought to move back there and join in on the fun but there was some determination yet unidentified that was compelling me to stick with my original plan. The 'travel bug' was also a feeling of independence from the mundane existence I had in Brisbane. I wanted to avoid returning to that routine for as long as possible but when I returned (not if I returned) I wanted to be able to say I succeeded in my venture. If I gave in to all of Penny's wishes it would be much like our time together in Brisbane where I generally tried to fit in by compromising or giving in to other's desires. Was this stand a form of rebellion against the way it had been between us or was it just me finally standing on my own two feet? If I had deep feelings for Penny or a conviction to our relationship should I just give in anyway? These questions were not going to be answered readily but then again I was not in a hurry to make a firm decision that might lead to sadness for either of us.
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