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Visit to Rhineland and my friend Klaus
Billingheim, Germany
November, 2002
Just got back from Germany. I spent a few days hanging out with my friend Klaus. We met in Lanzarote and he is one of craziest characters I have met on my travels. See travel log from February 2002. He lives in a little village called Billigheim about 70 KM NE of Strasbourg (part of the Rhine Valley). I had to take the night train, since its the only train from Paris that goes near his town. I left Paris Est at 11:50PM and arrived in Karlsruhe at 5:00AM. I told Klaus he could pick me up later in the morning, but he insisted in meeting my train. He picked me up in his wobbly Peugeot Van. It has it's shifter on the drive shaft so I taught him about "three on the tree" and "four on the floor" and he really liked that.
After crashing for a few hours his mom, Margaretta woke us up because it was time for "Dinner". At first I thought she was getting her English mixed up (she barely speaks any English, but good French) but no, it was dinner. All four days I was there we had dinner at 12:00 noon. Each meal was incredible. Salad from the garden, beef or pork, some kind of really good gravy, knoodles or Pasta (or both), bread and cheese, wine etc. It was a bit too early for such rich food but what the hell, when in Germany, do as the Germans. Ah, the food was great and the dished were large. On the first day I refused a second helping and Margaretta looked so distressed that I had to take more.
Now don't think that we didn't have a regular dinner to, but it was a bit lighter than the lunch dinner. Dinners always included intense discussions, always in German, so I would phase out. Every once in a while Klaus would turn to me and say something like "Vere discussing the working conditions in Germany" and then jump back into the conversation. When Margaretta's boy friend Haas was there, things were especially heated. Klaus hates Haas because he is older and "didn't have to work for his money" like the youth of today. Klaus feels that all the old people (over 60) had good jobs and it was easy for them to get rich, but now there's noting left for his generation. They work hard for almost nothing. It would have been great to have an interpretor.
After early dinner we would grab bikes and accessories and drive to the foothills. The area around the Rhine valley is really incredible. Vineyards everywhere. The leaves on the trees and the vines are changing colors so our bike rides were spectacular. Best of all, there were ruins (old castles) at the top of every hill. We went to about five different ruins and each one, in a different state of dilapidation, had a beautiful view and a restaurant bar with reasonable beer prices. The trails were excellent, dirt with leaves, nothing too steep but if an incline went for too long we would walk. Clause would constantly admonish me for going to fast and poping wheelies on his moms bike. "I don't like the sport, just the scenery, don't go so fast, lets walk, you walk to fast, this is not sport" were typical ramblings. I would slow down, then forget and he would start again. It was very entertaining.
One afternoon Klaus's friend Kyle came and picked us up, we picked up another friend Phillipe, got a bunch of beers and went to this great ruin. We always go to the highest point in the castle to drink and this day was very clear. A beautiful landscape with vineyards, little villages and, in the distance, the Black Forest. This day was great because Phillipe spoke good English and I wasn't excluded from conversation all day. And Phillipe was cool. We were talking about films and he asked me if I had seen the movie Stalingrad. I told him I hadn't, and he assured me it was a really good film. "We lost the entire 6th Army in the battle" he told me. He continues, "My Grandfather was in the city when the Russians surrounded us but was wounded early in the battle and flew out on the last transport plane that was able to leave. He lived until he was 91 and told me lots of stories about the war." He then looked down and then looked back up at me and said "The battle of Stalingrad was the first battle we lost and the turning point of the war, after that everything was lost." I was amazed at such frankness. The war is still in the hearts and minds of the people of Germany. But they don't hide their feelings and that is what I like. One night Klaus and I were watching TV and a Picture of Stalin came on and Klaus stated, "He had Concentration Camps too, but they weren't as bad as ours". They haven't forgotten and the media helps out alot.
It was a great few days. On my last night we drove to this ruin on one of the highest hills around and watched the sunset. The sky was clear and the colors were amazing. The ruin had a great little pub where people have been drinking since 900 AD. After sunset we had a few beers and went home for one final dinner. We were late so Margaretta didn't eat with us, but she did come by to be sure I took my second serving. Incredible hospitality but if I lived there I truly would get fat. At midnight Klaus took me to the train. He brought his skateboard because the station has really smooth floors. He skated me to my platform and we both told each other we would meet in January in Lanzarote.
The train was crowded and smelly, but I was in great spirits and was soon asleep on my way back to Paris.
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