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Published: October 25th 2007
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In Summerhaus
basking in the sunshine from a castle (Please note that the comma between drinking and driving indicates that we did these activities at separate times; my aren't we clever)
Driving codes and conduct vary widely from country to country, as does the training required to recieve ones licence. In most of Europe people must take extensive and expensive driving courses which involve learning defensive driving techniques, and hours of in car testing. Some people spend years training to recieve their licence... In Saskatchewan on the other hand, when highschool students turn 15 they take a short after school course that is supposed to teach them how to be a good driver without actually putting them behind the wheel. Those lucky enough to log two hours in a car with underqualified instructors, usually only recieve emotional scars. Nightmares of Mr Boida screaming at me still cause me to wake up in a cold sweat on occasion. And yet, for some reason that must have something to do with the Bush Administration, North American drivers are permitted to rent vehicles and drive freely on roads all over the world. It was out of desperation that Dennie and I decided to rent a car in Germany, and it was out
Dennie and I
at Summerhaus castle of madness that we decided not to purchase the optional insurance.
Trier Germany is not a likely destination for most travellers, however Ryan Air's deceptive marketing techniques and cut throat tactics, often result in low quality flights to the middle of nowhere. Ryan Air's Frankfurt Hahn airport is an hour and a half from Frankfurt, and exists only because the American Military finally decided it could trust the Germans, and closed down their massive Airforce base at Hahn. Travellers wishing to get anywhere efficiently from the air port are required to rent a car. And so after happily waiving the car insurance, Dennie and I set off in the night towards lovely and historic Trier located in the Mosel valley only 20 kms from the Luxembourg border. Dennie confidently took the wheel, as I chewed my nails in the passenger seat. 10 kilometers from the airport I noticed arrows on the road facing towards us. Panick stricken, I screamed that we must be driving the wrong direction on a one way. Dennie stopped the car and began to turn our large station wagon around. Suddenly, another car drove up behind us from the direction we came, just as
Eating a delicious meal
that our couch surfer friends cooked for us! we were parked across both available lanes. The driver of the car managed to stop on time, and after some fancy steering, we were on our way. Driving in Germany may be slightly confusing, but drivers are aided by millions of random signs assuring them and warning them of every possible wrong turn or disaster. After driving on a winding mountain road for an hour we arrived safely in Trier only to find ourselves unable to operate German payphones, thus being unable to contact our couch surfer accomodation. At 11:30 at night, Dennie and I found ourselves at a strange German Casino asking barefoot employees for help using the telephone. Finally, success. Our couch surfers Andreas and Ragnar, two academics and wine connisears, took us kindly into their home. We spent our days in Trier wondering the beautiful streets of the old town, eating German sweets and carbohydrates, and laughing at grey suits, skinny ties, and leg warmers.
Andreas, one of our hosts was a veritable history book and regailed us constantly with tales of Trier's glorious past. Trier is the oldest city in Germany, founded around 300 AD as a part of the Roman Empire, and
is one of the country's only walled cities. Constantine, Rome's first Christian emperor was from Trier, and made it the capital of the Western Roman Empire. Evidence of this historic glory is showcased in the ruins of Roman Baths, Massive Cathedrals, and city gates. Trier is also the childhood home of Karl Marx, making it a magnet for Chinese tourists (The Chinese government actually pays for the maintenance of the house). Though Dennie and I perused the gift shop of Marx house, we were shocked to discover that the museum of the founder of socialism charged an entrance fee; and so, in political protest we refused to enter.
We made it our goal durring our short stay in the country to sample as many cultural experiences as possible. This meant an obligatory visit to a naked spa and sauna. Dennie and I spent an afternoon at a sauna in the nearby town of Bitburger, where we sat naked in close quarters with hairy German men. After cleansing ourselves of all toxins we felt it neccessary to drink beer in a working mans bar where we drew stares from unemployed locals who hadn't seen a female with all
of her teeth enter the pub in a number of years. The next day Andreas took us to the small village of Summer Hous deep in the Mosel Valley for wine tasting and tramping about in the hills. We drove down quaint winding roads past endless vinyards, and postcard German towns. We spent the day drinking homemade apple juice with Andreas's cool vegetarian girlfriend (I only mention the fact that she was a vegetarian because of the amount of meat consumed in Germany; she is something of an anomoly in these parts), and drinking Reisling, peach schnapps, and eating fresh walnuts at a local winery while we played with the owners dog in the autumn sun. The perfect day came to an end with a traditional German meal prepared for us by our couch surfer hosts.
On our last full day we decided to make a brief road trip 25 km outside of Trier to visit Luxembourg (for geographically challenged readers, Luxembourg is another country). Luxembourg is also a wealthy tax haven where international bussinesses, banks and criminals set up shop to launder money and avoid taxes. Luxembourg is also home to the administrative offices for the European Union
Parliament. As we drove across the German border we noticed the friendly German smiles and charmingly unhip people dissapear, only to be replaced with unhappy fashoinistas with dollar signs in their eyes and diamonds on the soles of their shoes. In our short time in Luxembourg City we witnessed a fist fight in a local park, walked by several expensive shops without stopping lest we be charged admission or judged by the wealthy locals, and paid 1 Euro to poop in a Mcdonalds (well, I pooped, as far as I know girls don't poop, so Dennie must have used the time to powder her nose). Though blessed with a pictureque skyline, Luxembourg felt like an unfriendly, steryle, and expensive shopping mall. And so after a few hours of aimless wondering we returned to our rental car where Dennie drove 150km per hour down the Autobahn desperately towards the German border and the safety of Trier.
I knew it to be a travel friendly, clean, efficient and accessible travel destination, but Germany surprised me with it's beautiful physical geography, friendly locals, and ancient historical ruins. While much of Germany was levelled during World War II, Trier has maintained
Dennie
driving on the Autobahn much of its ancient splendor. And while many of the buildings have been lovingly restored since the war to replicate older buildings, what remains is a a deep appreciation for history. Germany knows too well the lessons society must learn from the past, and the result of this appreciation is a pacifist and tolerant nation, who wear hilarious clothes and have a terrible sense of humour. Auf Wiedersehen...
Posted by Kris
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Randal
non-member comment
Austria
Are you guys going to Austria? I have a really good friend that lives in Graz. Let me know