20 Years On: Part 5 of Account of Hitch-hiking through southern West Germany

When I had been inter-railing in August/September 1988 I had been conscious of getting too far from the UK so that I could not get back if there was any problem. However, I found that with a base in West Germany I was happier at being in the South of the country than I had been the previous year and wondered if I should always rent a property as a kind of 'bolt hole' when away. Of course I never had the money for such a strange approach, but it is interesting how I had a mental limit to how far I would travel alone without beginning to feel uneasy. At this stage, with the local authorities still holding my passport I was unable to leave West Germany; Becky had had to apply to them specifically to get hers back in order to enter Austria. We followed suit, making up all kinds of excuses for why we needed our passports back. The local authorities were incompetent, because unless I had been able to find a bureau de change which would change money for me without showing my passport as most asked for, I would have run out of money too. In fact they certainly showed the lie of the assumptions about German efficiency. I remember the Post Office being reluctant to give me post with my name on it because my driving licence (like all UK driving licences of the time) did not have my photograph on it and they could not believe that. They found out I was correct and had to accept it. I suppose this was a result of being in a suburb, even a well-off one, rather than in the city more used to foreign visitors.

I remember the health authorities were bad in a different way. You used to get a form called an E111 which allowed you free health care across the European Community. In the UK by this stage you got one for life but in West Germany they had a limited duration. I had to stand and make a scene in the health office for them to return it to me. They said it had expired and I said, if that was the case, then why did they need to keep it. They said they had to, but as a consolation offered me a photocopy of my supposedly 'expired' E111. This showed that they had over-stamped it with so many local stamps that many of the details were now illegible so it would have been useless anywhere else. At that stage I gave up and applied for another E111 when I got back to the UK. I wonder if my E111 is still lodged in that local office and whether I can go and view it in 2020 when the thirty-year secrecy limit has expired.

The man who drove me back to Köln took advantage of the unlimited speeds on the German autobahns (in those days most of which were still only two lanes) and was regularly doing in excess of 190 Kph. We passed a BMW which had hit the central reservation at such a speed that its engine had been gouged out and was left separate from the rest of the car which was turned to face the wrong way into the traffic some metres further on. The driver (I was in the passenger seat, another hitch-hiker, a woman was in the rear) thought I was tired as I kept my eyes closed most of the way, but that was from fear. He covered two-thirds of the length of West Germany in five hours. I have never got farther North in Germany than Essen in the Ruhr. This was the last hitch-hiking I ever did.

Rather embarrassingly despite having visited Munich three times and having written two novels set there, I cannot identify many of the locations featured in the photos I include here. If anyone can let me know where they are I would be very grateful.

Monday 15th May 1989

Today I woke promptly but dozed after breakfast and then walked to the station from where I caught the 09.59 to München. Becky is leaving Augsburg to travel to Innsbruck to see Ashley. On arriving in München around 10.40 I went to the Mitfahr centre just to the South-East of the city centre. I had just missed one lift to Köln but there was another at 15.00 so I went by U-Bahn back to the center of the town and walked through the back streets to the Englisches Garten where I had a lunch of sausages and chips, and, of course the compulsory litre of beer. I then walked through the city taking photos and then caught the car, with a woman as well, to Köln. The weather was much better [by now]. We arrived at 20.30, the driver having gone very fast. The total cost was DM45,- each. Dad said I should travel on a bit but I only have DM170,- left in cash and I have done most of the South of West Germany. I think I will use the Mitfahr to go to the North. I had a MacDonalds then came back. I chatted with Carol then unpacked and talked with Paul, Joss, Fiona and Gabrielle. Then I began reading "The Champion of Garathorn", then letters from "Wirral" Paul and Nick & Julie.

Weather: Sunny and warm, some dull periods.

Opera House [?] in Munich, West Germany in May 1989

Square in Munich, May 1989

Entrance to Weinstraße in Munich, May 1989

Pedestrianised Street in Munich, May 1989

Pagoda in Englisches Garten, Munich, May 1989

Archway Dedicated to the Bavarian Army, Munich, May 1989

Political Posters on Official Noticeboard, Munich, May 1989

I have cropped these two pictures as the background, with numerous men standing around selling cars to each other seemed less interesting than the political posters.

The parties advertised, clockwise, starting at the top left are: CSU [Christian Social Union - the Bavarian branch of the CDU Christian Democratic Union, a conservative party]; SPD [Socialist Party]; No idea, possibly the Grüne Partei [Green Party]; FDP [Free Democratic Party - centrist liberals]; Christliche Mitte [literally Christian Middle presumably a Catholic Party as opposed to the cross-denominational CSU; despite the name it is listed as being right-wing]; Christliche Liga [literally Christian League]; ODP [the Ecological Democratic Party, a green party]; Bayernpartei [The Bavaria Party].

The back of the noticeboard had the more extreme parties advertised, left to right are: DVU [German People's Union - Nationalist]; Die Republikaner [The Republicans - an extreme right-wing party who were gaining strength at the time], FAP [Free Workers' Party - I can find no details about this party, but I assume given the name it was another far right party], MLPD [Marxist-Leninist Party of Germany - a Communist Party; many of the other extreme left parties are missing probably certain of gaining few votes in conservative Bavaria].

20 Years On - Part 16 of Account of Travelling by Train Around West Germany and Austria

Fortunately I was able to get away from the holiday very quickly, but that meant I did not fully learn the lessons of what I had done wrong or that my holidays were always going to be blighted by things that were going to be unpleasant and cost more money. Reflecting now, I think I was fortunate that I had no money to go on holidays in the 1990s because I am sure that if I had done, I would have many more bitter accounts of this kind and I would have turned into an utter xenophobe as a result of such trips. Anyway, this was the last time I ever tried to go inter-railing.

Tuesday 6th September 1988
Today I woke early and walked to the station and was able to buy some more chocolate and the stamps for the last five postcards which I had written this morning to the Sussex family, Neil, Robin, Mark and Andrew M. there. I was able to catch the 09.08 train and it cost only DM32,-. I reached Oostende by 14.00 and caught the jetfoil for only £6.40. I was at Victoria by 16.04 British time and was home by 18.00. I then unpacked and sat around talking about my trip with Mum and Dad. Following that I watched television.


Weather: Sunny and warm.

20 Years On - Part 15 of Account of Travelling by Train Around West Germany and Austria

This was the day I swore I would never return to West Germany. I was so furious at the lost of my Inter-Rail ticket and the German bureaucracy that all the problems with the frosty reception I had often received came out at once. Ironically of course I would return in January of the following year, but I think this marked the day when any fantasy of ever living or working abroad or having a relationship with a European woman (and as a result of this trip, I began to start using the British distinction between Britain and Europe) were all ruled out. Of course I was going to experience far worse than this when I went to Köln for four months in 1989, which I did more to escape what I was having to put up with in the UK than because I was any kind of enthusiast for West Germany. I also realised that my attempts at speaking German, which had been a key motive for the holiday, were a farce as was to be proved in the examinations the following Summer. I stopped even bothering to try to speak German which made dealings with the police on this day very complicated. Trying to read the counter-foil which I had been promised would get me a replacement Inter-Rail ticket, the police, who seemed to have no other work to do, totally misunderstood the layout of British addresses and filled in their form saying that I had bought the ticket in the town of 'Travel'. One officer plaintively asked if I spoke even a little German and I said I did not and (accurately) that very few British people did. Given the size of the town they oversaw (135,000 people), popular with British coach tours through West Germany, they seemed incredibly ill-prepared for even this minor incident. I broke down into tears in the railway station when I was told I had to wait 3 days for a replacement ticket and was so angry with the elderly women who patronised me so severely about how there was no need to cry. I am still angered by the memory of their behaviour to this day. The people at the train office seemed startled that I did not want to stay in Würzburg and wanted to get out of the town as quickly as possibly. I could not have stayed anyway as there was a limit of three nights you could stay in a hostel and I had already used up one of them.



This day shook me clear of many of the delusions that I had been travelling under, but unfortunately not enough to avoid making many of the same errors and many new ones, the following year. It was also incredibly frustrating, because though Würzburg is a comparatively small place, I kept getting terribly lost and trying to get back to the youth hostel I found myself back at the square close to the railway station from where I had started out. I broke down in tears on the telephone to my mother, feeling I was trapped in something out of 'The Prisoner' television series.





Monday 5th September 1988

Today I woke up promptly and walked to the station where I found that I had lost my inter-rail card so I walked back to the youth hostel but could not find it, so I took my counterfoil to the station and they sent me to the police station where I had a form filled in which I took back to the station where they told me I would have to wait three days. By now I was annoyed and upset. I decided to catch the train to Köln and telephoned home. The fare was less than two days stay in Würzburg, DM85,- [compared] to DM120,-. I left at 12.00 and was in Köln by 16.00 where I bought presents - a coffee table book on the Rhine for Mum and for Dad a beer glass and a beer mug and an illustrated "The Communist Manifesto". I also bought some chocolate. Then I went back, unloaded all that and walked to the cinema where I watched "The Blues Brothers" which was excellent and cheered me up. I then walked back to the youth hostel.



Weather: Dull and rainy.

20 Years On - Part 4 of Account of Travelling by Train Around West Germany and Austria

On reaching Koblenz for the first time (of three occasions) I stayed in a youth hostel which was part of a castle. The room I was allocated was underground literally cut into the cliff of the Rhine valley and looking out across the River Rhine to the monument to German unity (which I had visited on a school trip in 1983 but had entirely forgotten). I always thought the creatures on it looked more akin to South American iconography than anything German. Like many youth hostels it was a long walk from the town which lies down a steep climb and across the river. Self-conscious of my poor language skills and the pretty frosty reception I was receiving from Germans I avoided buses for fear of making a mistake, so walked everywhere. I was wearing basketball boots and by this stage realised I had bought the Matchstick brand ones that an American friend of mine had particularly warned against because they were so poor quality. My pair barely lasted my holiday. My feet are incredibly soft and it was only when I started cycling on holiday rather than walking places that my holidays were not a constant round of having to put on blister plasters, though even then I made the same mistake on a visit to Prague and Dresden in 2003 (and got bad flu too).

Note the Romanesque style church, a common style for churches in the Rhineland region, seen in the next posting in Mainz, but also present throughout Köln and other towns and cities of the region.

Thursday 25th August 1988

Today I woke up early and went to the station, there were loads of people at breakfast. I caught the 09.00 train and had a scenic trip down the Rhine Valley. I reached Koblenz by 10.50. I decided to walk across the town. I looked in the Middle Rhine museum and at the Eck-Monument to German unity. Then I walked along the bank, over to the other bank and up the steep hill to the Ehrenbreitstein Castle, which, surprisingly, contained the youth hostel. I sat around talking and then looked around the Land museum - an industrial museum for Rheinland-Pfalz Land. I had dinner in the youth hostel then sat around talking.

Weather: Some sun, some rain.

Ludwig Museum in Koblenz, August 1988

Parts of the Monument to German Unity in Koblenz, August 1988

Koblenz Youth Hostel Seen across River Rhine, August 1988

Romanesque Style Church in Koblenz, August 1988

Entrance to Koblenz Youth Hostel, August 1988

View from Room in Koblenz Youth Hostel Looking North-West, August 1988

View from Room in Koblenz Youth Hostel Looking South-West, August 1988

Note Monument to German Unity in the Foreground

20 Years On - Part 3 of Account of Travelling by Train Around West Germany and Austria

I have been up the spires of Cologne Cathedral three times in my life and each time it has got easier. On this occasion I was fine while I was going up the spiral staircase of the tower, but then you come outside within the pierced spire and there is a metal staircase and I was so terrified that I could only take it step by step with my eyes closed. There is a one-way system up and down the spires so I could not turn back. I had not been so terrified since February 1981 when on a school trip in a very snowy Paris and three friends had decided to walk up the Eifel Tower but had run ahead leaving me to cling to the framework as I hauled myself to the second level (all that was open at that time of year) and then get a lift down. I should have got off at the first level but thought foolishly that I could catch them up. They were far less fearful with one jumping from landing to landing as they walked back down. The Wallfraf-Richartz-Ludwig museum has now been divided between two venues in the city, one is still in the location next to the cathedral where I visited it in 1988.

Wednesday 24th August 1988

Today I woke early and went on a whole day of sightseeing. I did the cathedral which was excellent and went right to the top, even though I was almost literally scared stiff. Then I went to the Romano-German museum which had exquisite Roman glass and jewellery. I looked in the Walraff-Richartz-Ludwig art gallery which had fascinating paintings. I had pasta for lunch in a Berni inn then walked miles to the Flora Park - looked at the tropical and cool houses, then to the Zoo which was disappointing but had a good aquarium, reptilium and insectrium. I walked back and slept with sore feet. I discussed politics with a German and popped out for a pizza before coming back to bed early.

Weather: Sunny at first, dull and rain later.

Köln Cathedral Seen through Riverside Gardens, August 1988

Entrance to Köln Cathedral, August 1988

View from Köln Cathedral, August 1988

Entrance to Köln Flora Park, August 1988

Parrots at Köln Zoo, August 1988

20 Years On - Part 2 of Account of Travelling by Train Around West Germany and Austria

My first full day in West Germany and I managed to lose my hat. Years later I remembered I had untied it from my rucksack (I had gone for a dark blue metal framed one which was old fashioned even in 1988) when I stopped by a picnic table outside the youth hostel to take a photo of the hostel. It had come from the Perigord region of South-West France and was the style farmers wore there, similar to Australian military hats. I wonder what happened to it. I was to miss it in the sunnier days to come. A 'gyros' is a German equivalent of a doner kebab in Britain.

The picture of a tram stop might seem strange but in 1988 there were no serious tram services in the UK at all, only holiday ride ones, so seeing something like a tram station in the middle of the streets was rare for a Briton.

Tuesday 23rd August 1988

I woke up about 07.00, had breakfast then walked with Ian into town. We looked at the Rathaus and the Cathedral and walked around town before going onto the station. I went back to the hostel as I had lost my hat, but in vain. I caught the bus back to the station then the train to Köln-Deutz and quickly found the large hostel. I watched some television. This evening I wandered into town and was very impressed, there are numerous trendy art and bookshops; the cathedral is stunning. I went to an eight screen cinema and saw "Crocodile Dundee II" which was quite good. I had another gyros and a litre of beer. I met Steve and Dave, two English from the youth hostel, we walked around town and had a drink then came home. The reception here was similar, though the German people are very friendly at the [youth hostel] Reception they are cool and intolerant to people's attempts at German. They are warm to other Germans.

Weather: Sunny and warm.

Aachen Market, August 1988

Statues in Aachen, August 1988

Tram Stop in Deutz Area of Köln

Köln Cathedral Seen from East Bank of the Rhine, August 1988