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On the Road with Fast Eddie
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On the Road with Fast Eddie |
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| Continuing with Germany part 2 (see the beginning of it here)...
sandy beaches, AndyWarhol and the Beatles, the "Hole of Fear", hard-sell hookers, a garden paradise,
and indecision in the face of watching a man's life slip away before my eyes... and more... The second largest city in Germany, Hamburg, is a town shaped by water (like Amsterdam, Venice or Stockholm, in that respect) with lakes, rivers, and canals providing an attractive visual setting. The second largest port in Europe, behind Rotterdam, it definitely has that port city feel, with masses of immigrants (about 120 nationalities call it home), a crime problem that alarms locals, and a seedy vice-ridden side (an estimated 15,000 drug addicts) that contrasts the fact that it also has more millionaires than anywhere else in Germany! Like most other cities in Germany, it suffered heavily at the end of WW2, as 40,000 civilians perished when Hamburg was virtually obliterated by Allied bombing and the subsequent fire. But like other German cities, it has bounced back and now boasts of a lively cultural scene, some georgeous architecture, vast urban green spaces, and 2600 bridges... considerably more than Venice. While there, I stayed with Laura and Tosh, a couple I’d met on a overnight bus to Istanbul. Tosh is a self-described nomad, with a globe-trotting track record to back it up. He’d met Laura while in Romania and they’d recently married, despite overwhelming bureaucratic roadblocks... months of red-tape with over a $1000 in paperwork. He’s German... she’s Romanian... get the picture? But love persevered and prevailed! I was the beneficiary of a kindness which comes from pure hearts and gentle spirits. I also met up with Henry Heggen, an outstanding blues harpist I’d met when he was performing in Esslingen months before. Born and raised in New Jersey, Henry rolled into Hamburg 25 years ago with his R&B band looking for gigs and never left. After showing me around the downtown area, he invited me to join him and a local boogie-woogie pianist while they performed at an afterwork business function. While men in suits sipped white wine, Henry and Gottfried rocked the joint! No trip to Hamburg would be complete (as they say) without a visit to St. Pauli, the legendary red-light district. Reeperbahn is the main street and along it one can find virtually everything, including live sex nightclubs. Herbertstrasse is a block-long bordello (only men allowed access) with women calling out to you from their windows, a la Amsterdam. Elsewhere in St. Pauli, girls line most streets, sometimes blocking your way or grabbing your arm, making their tantalizing offers, “How about me and my friend here for 150DM (about $70)?” They were the most insistent hookers I’ve encountered anywhere.... and the most creative, with retorts for every objection one might have! (I wondered how well some of them might do if they tried their hand at selling copiers or timeshare!) That, coupled with the fact many were quite pretty, made saying “no, but thanks for asking” a bit difficult... but I did... honest! Despite all the attention and nice conversation, I pushed myself through the gauntlet and headed for where the legendary Star Club once was. Forever associated with the Beatles, as the Fab Four cut their musical teeth there in the early 60’s, it closed down in 1969 and later burned down. There were, in fact, a long list a luminaries who performed there, including Jimi Hendrix, and there is now a memorial in tribute to the hallowed ground. Pausing to reflect on when I’d first heard “She Loves You” on my kitchen radio while growing up, I genuflected and paid homage to my Rock n’ Roll heroes! North of St. Pauli is the Schanzenviertel, an interesting counter-culture area where immigrants, students, left-wing radicals, squatters, and dope fiends all co-mingle amicably... seemingly. If you throw a blanket down in the park, make sure there are no used hypodermic needles laying in the grass. (That’s fast eddie’s travel tip for today!) Let’s move on to Cologne. Köln, as its known here, is a 2000-year-old city straddling the Rhine River which offers a splendid array of world-renowed museums and churches. Stepping out of Hauptbahnhoh (main train station), one is immediately confronted by Köln Dom... the Mt. Everest of cathedrals. Soaring to 157m, its Gothic twin spires impress. Dating from 1248, but taking over 500 years to complete, it boggled my mind, as is frequently the case, how something so massive and complicated a structure was built in its time. The $3.25 I paid for a guided tour and slide show was well worth it. I figured I was good for two museums. I started with Wallraf-Richartz Museum and enjoyed its Impressionist paintings from the likes of Cezanne, Monet and Van Gogh. The Römisch-Germanisches Museum then provided an impressive overview of Cologne’s significant Roman history. A Museum Card for $9 is a good buy... public transport and all the museums you can stomach for two days! As with most cities, the Altstadt (old town) had the greatest appeal for me. Along the river there are plenty of restaurants and clubs, including ‘Em Streckstrump at Buttermarkt 37, a club short on space, but long on cozy ambiance and spirited Dixieland Jazz. I also did a boat tour on the Rhine with KD Lines, partly because it was half-price for me since I had a rail pass. It was a pleasant, if unspectacular way, to spend a relaxing hour and get another perspective of the city. It was while in Cologne that I thought I would watch a man die at my feet. At my hostel, an Ethiopean group was dining next to me at breakfast. Suddenly a man about 30 had what appeared to be a seizure and fell to the floor next to my chair. People react differently in a crisis, and in this situation I witnessed it all. Some became hysterical, some froze and turned white, and some actually started laughing, which really pissed me off until I realized it was just a nervous reaction from people trying to deal with their discomfort in the only way they knew how. I sat there wishing I knew what to do medically, afraid of doing the wrong thing, feeling quite helpless... but at the same time searching for something, anything I could do to help keep this poor man from dying in front of his friends. Later when I heard the sirens I realized that there was something I could have done... immediately run to have an ambulance called. But apparantly someone had thought of that, had done so, and he was taken away on a stretcher to survive... at least until the next morning when I left. The experience really shook me up, as I was directly confronted with the fragility of life, but also a reassessment of how I handle emergencies. I had always thought I was such a cool customer under fire, but it’s a damn good thing his life hadn’t depended solely on me! I will write more about Germany, Germans and German.... in the near future.... but not exactly sure when. I am now in sub-Sahara Africa for one month, and I presume there will much to share with you about that. This trip is many years in the coming... something I have dreamed of for as long as I can remember my dreams! |
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