europe1

EURO-REMEMBRANCES

Double Oh Seven

We hung around Hamburg a litle too long and were late for the last night ferry from Puttgarten (Germany) to Rodbyhaven (Denmark). It was dark and raining lightly when we pulled up to the entrance booth to buy a ticket. The guard leaned out of the window waving us on and yelling "Schnell! Schnell!", so we did, and raced off across a vast and completely empty parking lot toward the only set of lights on the dock. We roared up the ramp and into the hold and the boat pulled away before we had even stopped the motor. It turned out we were on the train deck, surrounded by boxcars, very double-o seven.

Borders

Conversazione at an Italian border crossing:

Guard: "Ahhhh...Canada...Planka, Planka."
Canucks: (blank look) "Huh?"
Guard: "Planka! (sings) Oooh plis stay by me Di-yan-na.."
Canucks: (SFX penny dropping.) "Ohh, Paul Anka!"

This was 1968 so WW2 had been over for a few years, but not at the Dutch/German border apparently. Each side had selected their biggest and blondest and stiffest guards for this post. The Dutch were all in black with silver piping and the Germans in all gray with black highlights, very impressive. Nobody smiled, but nobody shouted either.

We stayed at a little mediaeval inn in Dransfeld, near the East/West German border, and were wakened in the morning by a rooster crowing from the back window and British tanks clanking along the street in front.

We crossed the French/Belgian border after dark, without knowing it. We had a French rented car and got a reduction in taxes or something while we were out of France so we wanted to get the car papers stamped ASAP. We asked around the little village and finally found the post and roused a sleepy guard who rummaged through a drawer and found the right stamp.

We drove in through one side of Liechenstein and out the other and never did figure out where either of the borders were.

Nice Place.....

Nice is on the Mediterranean, lots of white sandy beaches. It also has a sea wall with a whole lotta beach chairs which we crazy Canucks sat down in to drink in the view, not realizing that they were for "rent" until la petite vielle came along and demanded "un petit, s'il vous plait." and made us all jump up and flee, as the budget didn't allow for that kind of frivolity. Later we picnicked on the beach of the Monte Carlo Yacht Club, (the fence was down), pas des chaises, though.

Baguette, fromage et "ordinaire", and thou
Beside me singing in the wilderness (or beach, if you will)
And wilderness (or beach) were Paradise enow.
- Omar (or plage) Khayam.

Exhibit "A"

We travelled in Europe with someone who lost a kidney as a teenager, she drank as much as anyone and lived life to the full. When we were in Germany she had an infection ('twas nothing important) and went to a hospital which turned out to be a teaching hospital and she was the "exhibit of the day" because of the rarity of her condition and had to be probed and poked by everyone down to the cleaning lady.
They wanted to admit her, mainly so they could invite the neighbours in to see what they had, I think. But she refused, grabbed the antibiotics, and ran off with us.
We jumped in the car and made a run for the Swiss border, relying on our Canada flag and innocent looks to keep the Polizei at bay.
She was our Spanish, Italian and French translator, very handy. Except when we were crossing the Italian border at night and the young carabinieri asked if we had any cocaine, she thought he said chocolate and said yes. He made us all get out of the car, laughing like a madman, mainly to have a better look at the girls I think.