Chapter Twenty-Two Heidelberg

Chapter Twenty-Two
Heidelberg

In high school I became friends with an AFS exchange student named Dieter who was from Heidelberg, Germany. I kept in touch with him so I had an address for him and an airmen buddy and I took the train to Heidelberg. It was not a long trip to Heidelberg and I was impressed with the modern banhof (train station) that they had. I was not as impressed with an experience I had in the station, but I learned a good lesson from it. As an American serviceman I was paid in script which was a currency only to be used by servicemen on base or some other similar situation. The locals liked to get their hands on script because it often had a value higher than their currency. So, it was policy not to give script to them. We had authorized places that we could convert script to the Deutsch Mark. When we arrived in the station in Heidelberg I had not yet converted my script; so, when a man came up to me and asked if I had any script to exchange before thinking, I said Yes. He asked me to follow him and we went down to a second level. By now I’m realizing that I was not doing a smart thing, but I had already given my word. When we get to a somewhat secluded spot he shows me German currency amounting to about $10 more than what I would be giving him in script. Then as he getting ready to exchange the money with me he glances back over his shoulder and mentioned he had almost got caught the week before. I give him the script he gives me the envelope with the German money and we go our separate ways. I go back upstairs not feeling good about the transaction and vowing never to do that again. I felt even worse about the transaction when I opened the envelope and found nothing but folded paper in it. I lost about $20 or $30, but I guess I got a fairly cheap lesson.

Dieter lived at an orphanage where he either worked or volunteered. As I remember it was an all boy orphanage. Our visit extended over the lunch time and they invited us to join them. It was a meager meal just a bowl of potato soup and bread, but it was a very pleasant experience.

We did some site seeing while in Heidelberg which I enjoyed very much. The city of Heidelberg is located on the Neckar river on both sides of the river connected by die alte Brücke built in the 1300’s. I remember crossing over it on foot. The University of Heidelberg dates back many centuries and I remember seeing a group of students strolling the streets singing as they went. It reminded me of an old MGM movie “The Student Prince” featuring the singing voice of the great Mario Lanza. We also climbed a steep hill to visit the ruins of Heidelberg Castle..

I remember the first time to stay in a German hotel. The room was spacious and more like a bedroom in a resident than a commercial hotel. The thing that sticks out in my mind was this large bed with a mattress that was like a large feather filled pillow than the flat mattresses we’re used to.

On our trip back as we passed through Mannheim and from the train window I could see a large outdoor ice rink with a lot of young people skating there. We made other trips while I was stationed there. I remember going to Bingen on the Rhine. It was a beautiful city on the Rhine river, but I was a little disappointed because I wanted to try my German on some locals. So many people spoke English that I didn’t get much of a chance. We drove to some places and although the autobahn was a nice major highway the country roads were something else. Picture in your mind a Volkswagen Beetle. That’s the type and size of car you’d see mostly. So, country roads are very narrow and the trees quite often are right along the edge of the road. It can make for some hairy driving.

I took a package tour to Paris, France that included a side trip to Reims the birthplace of champagne. There’s a historic cathedral in Reims where many of the French kings were coronated. It was getting a facelift when we visited. On the subject of champagne, the story goes that some monks were making wine but for some reason altered the fermenting technique and time coming up with what they at first thought was a failure. But actually turned out to be a fine sparkling wine they named Champagne the name of the province in which Reims is located. Paris was a fun experience. We saw the usual sights -–Notre Dame cathedral, the Louvre (the Mona Lisa) and the Palace of Versailles. We also sampled the night life going to The Folies Bergere and Moulin Rouge – all very exciting.

In my less than two years tour in Germany I saw a lot of Germany and France. I also took college level classes through the Overseas Campus of Maryland University gaining credits toward the degree program at the Pasadena Playhouse. I would have enjoyed a longer stay in Germany but my mother’s lung cancer altered my plans. The next chapter I return to the land of the round doorknobs which is what we called the US. In Germany all the door handles were a lever like device not a round doorknob.