26 Sep 1985, Posted by Scott An Chora in Travelogue, No Comments.
09/26 Frankfurt, Germany
With all the time I’ve been spending on trains I started to find it difficult to sleep without the cluttering of wheel against rail. I had an address of a hostel in Frankfurt that somebody had suggested along the way. It was late and dark when I reached Frankfurt and I didn’t have the best luck making sense of the piece of paper I was carrying. Once I felt that I was walking in the wrong direction I gestured to a young man on a motorcycle that had pulled over along side of me. I soon found there was a language barrier that divided us, so I showed him the address. He looked it over and per his suggestion I hopped on the back of his bike. I should have worn a helmet but on a positive note he knew and dropped me off right out front of my destination. That place had the look of a crowd with people going every which way. A pair of my roommates suggested that the three of us go out and hit the town’s bars. It was obvious that it was not their first time and they had a pretty good idea where things were happening. I ended up crawling home that night. After a half dozen or so bars I had no choice but to call it a night. I had met a lot of friendly faces and a few nice pairs of legs. It seemed as if every time I bought myself a drink somebody matched it. There was one young lady that followed me around like a puppy. She was sexy and willing, but perhaps too willing. She invited me back to her place but there was a little voice in my head telling me to stay away. I don’t remember falling asleep just fighting off bed spins.
I got up early to catch a train for the short ride to the local military base. I soon discovered that sporting an American passport and a signature from any American I crossed path with could get me into any compound. I was surprised how easy that was and the fact that I was never searched struck me as odd. I didn’t quite know what to do when the horn first blew but since everybody else stood still I did the same. I entered my cousin’s room to learn that he had taken leave and they expected him to be gone for a few days, bad timing on my part. They first didn’t believe that Bill was my cousin and were quite shocked at the differences between the two of us. They explained that he would occasionally visit a young woman living in the city and sometimes would stop by for a change of clothes, “Who knows he might show” said one of Bill’s roommates. I took their advice and agreed to hang around for the day in case he did show. I joined in on a game of basketball, had the weight room to myself, relaxed in the sauna and even swam a few laps in the pool. It was like I had joined club America.
Talk about impressive, I was surprised how fast the tanks could move. I stood just feet away while they were making a forty-five degree turn. The sound and power was overwhelming and demanded respect. As I wandered about the grounds I felt as if I was that little redheaded boy from the twilight zone that could send anybody he disliked to the cornfield. I suppose my long hair and outfit was left of the norm and nobody knew who I was or why I was there.
I thought since I had some time to burn I’d tried to find a friend from high school, Xavier. I understood he was station somewhere in the Frankfurt area. Through odd sequence of events I ended up in a Generals’ office. He made several attempts including a few phone calls but since I did not have Xavier’s social security number his efforts came up empty. Before I headed back into Frankfurt, I made one more attempt to see if Bill had shown up. “No, we hadn’t seen him but why not hanging around a bit and join the party”. One of Bill’s roommates opened up a bottle of champagne and I surprised them all with some hash I was carrying as a gift for Bill and Xavier. “Shit yea”, after a few hits my paranoia surfaced and I began thinking about the consequences of getting caught here. Actually I didn’t have any idea what the repercussions would be. They didn’t seem at all that concerned but I decided to be safe and hit the road.
On the way back to Frankfurt I met up with a few of the young ladies I had met from the night before. There was a German demonstration that was beginning to conclude. Along its fringes things got a bit out of control and somebody ended up dead. That day’s path started and ended at the train station. I had planned on taking a late train out to reduce my expenses and dropped off my bags so I could avoid carrying them around while wandering the city. It was a repeat of the night before with the same young ladies, except that time we ended the night at their apartment. I wasn’t really hooking up with anybody and chose a ride to the train station instead of a bed. I woke up just before it entered Heidelberg station.
First I sought out pastries and then a cup of coffee to the day. Watched the city wake up in kind of in a dream like state. I was still a bit drunk and very tired. I searched out the address of local hostel that was suggested to me and located it just between the main square of the old city and the castle. It was a great location. I knocked on the door and was greeted by an angry frown. She was not a happy person. When she began to spell out the rules of the house, I began trying to recall who had given me this address. I now viewed that suggestion in a completely different light. “No other people allowed in the room. No women. Don’t hang out in front. No noise. No noise. No noise.” OK, OK, OK! I couldn’t wait to get out of there.
I walked through the old square checking out the shops. Even though I have no musical ability I always had a liking for the harmonica, so I picked one up as a souvenir. I trekked up to the castle and sat outside the walls that remained. Looking over the city I caught up on some writing and waited for the sun to escape the clouds and then I called it a day. With dusk I ended up back along the river’s edge. With a cigarette in hand I leisurely watched the white swans navigate the current. As the rain began to creep in I headed back toward my room. A few of the guys had suggested we go looking for some action, some beers. The three of us settled down in a small bar on the older side of town. We were sitting at a table that looked to have a century of names carved across its face. I don’t recall how it got started but our group enlarged to include a bunch of Germans and few Australians. The Australians started drinking games and challenged the German’s manhood. It must have been fun to watch. In hind sight I don’t remember a single rule but I do remember that we stacked up glasses and plates and drank a lot of beer. We were having fun and carried it out into the streets when the bar’s doors closed. I was the last of the original group and walked about a half block behind the majority of our crowd that had left the bar. When this group had reached the place I was staying, they began screaming and pounding on her door. Apparently the proprietor was not well liked. Others avoided her all together by crossing and walking on the other side of the street. I guess what comes around goes around. There’s a lot to be said about being nice to everybody, to be liked.
