Last you heard I was in Strasbourg, France staying with a very nice French family. On Saturday July the 5th, 2003, on or around 11am, after a short drive from where I was staying, I entered the Federal Republic of Germany.I was dropped off at a patrol station, and with the very kind help of Mylene approached drivers and asked them for a lift. Destiny matched me to a young German in a fast car.
Back on the Autobahn the driver settled into a cruising speed of around 160-170km/h. I was suitably distressed until I realised that he wasn’t going faster than anyone else in this lane, because everyone was doing 160-170km/h. You need a good car for these speeds, my old Ford Laser could do 140km/h down a hill and at that speed it was approaching the resonant frequency of the car body, at which point bits start to fall off.
The driver didn’t speak any English, and myself no German. This didn’t stop us from trying to communicate, as we approached a traffic jam the driver said
“Schiezer”
“Shit?” I replied
“Shit” said the driver
“Schiezer” said I
“Shit” said the driver
“F**k” I replied
“Motherf**ker” said the driver
So I learnt that schiezer is German for shit.
I was deposited at a roadside rest area, and had not much of a clue where I was. Somewhere near Karlsruhe. I tried to hitch from the rest area, failed and quickly became depressed. Walking through the forest next to motorway I came across a back road and tried to hitch from there.
I was picked up by a Van and dropped in the nearest village. The driver offered me a ride down to Italy later in the month but I declined. At the petrol station in the village I got a ride with another guy to Karlsruhe, then with a girl from Karlsruhe to Stuttgart.
Stuttgart is a industrial center. The city has very comprehensive public transport system of trains, trams and buses. I stayed with Stefan, who I had met a few months back in Sri Lanka. My diet consisted of beer and kebabs. The beer was Stefan’s influence, with him I learnt to savour beer in ways I had not before. A visit to Ludwigsburg (took the guided tour in German – didn’t understand a word), Heidelburg and a Mercedes Benz factory tour was on the cards, so was travelling free on the public transport and getting caught and fined 5 euro.When my father was young (a very long time ago) he worked in Stuttgart for two years, so I paid a visit to one of his old friends outside of the city.
My next destination was Switzerland. I tried to leave by hitch-hiking, but misunderstood where the driver was going – not in the direction of Switzerland as it turned out when I was dumped in a tiny small town called Nagold. The driver was a very hard working German who had taken only 2 weeks holidays in the last 7 years.
The next day I managed to get a lift via the mitzfahrzentrale.de website from Stuttgart to Basel, Switzerland for a small 9 euro. My driver was cheerful Dietmar, who had a Malaysian wife and small red car. Being from out of town/country/greater political union/hemisphere he provided me with very good commentary as we meandered our way through the scenic Bavarian forest.
Switzerland
Dropped off in Basel around midday I quickly orientated myself and checked out the city. It is a pleasant city with a river running through and some buildings of historic note.
I had recorded the recommended hitch-hiking point from autostopguide.com and proceeded to locate it. On discovery the sign went up and the waiting began. I was soon picked up by a young air system technician and friend. I shared a seat in the back with his 16″ fully sic subwoofer mate. I requested he drop me at the most convenient motorway exit for him but he drove me right to the village and house I was heading for. I had a cake in my bag which I gave to him and waved farewall knowing I would never ever see him again.
My hosts were Max, Isabelle, and Max’s computer. They told me it was a small place, but not that small. One room containing bedroom, lounge, kitchen with a separate bathroom. Isabelle works at the local pub owned by a young Swiss born Sri Lankan couple. There is a round table called a “Stammtisch”, if you want to talk to someone you can sit at this table. Sitting here indicates you are open to have a conversation. Anyone can join the table.
I went for a bike ride from Buron to Lake Luzern. On the way I passed a smaller lake. Along the lake shore are small subdivided grass sections, empty and surrounded by hedges or fences. These are privately owned parcels of land! Crazy, there was only a small public space between all these private shore fronts. Luzern was very beautiful – the old buildings along the river running into the lake. On the way to Luzern the river is very beautiful, but strange to see a motorway going over what would in New Zealand be a small road next to such a river.
