I am sure for well over half of us who went to Germany last August 2.30 a.m. was the earliest we have ever crept from between the sheets. We certainly beat the larks to it that morning for by 6 o'clock we were all assembled on Victoria Station under the supervision of Mr. Lawrance. Fortunately Hobbs kept our spirits up with his cynical jokes; he never failed us in this respect.
The sea-trip from Dover made us rock 'n' roll, but those scouts in the party who had been to the Channel Isles assured us it was "nothing like the big stuff". However, scouts and non-scouts, all looked green about the gills - even Germeney and Robinson, but probably that was not the effects of the rolling!
The journey across Belgium was of interest to the geographers as we passed through the Belgian coalfields. Much to the disgust of the Arts Sixth, Mann mistook the slag-heaps for volcanoes. We did note another interesting economic fact: the farther we sped inland the dearer the ice-creams became at each stop. By the time the Belgian-German frontier was reached a choc-ice was 1/2d
That night it was well past midnight before we turned in.When we reached the small village of Bornhofen, having travelled down the Rhine from Cologne to Koblenz by train, and the remainder of the journey in a luxurious Mercedes coach, all of us were tired, hungry urchins. Even Mr. F. failed to obey strict orders to be in to breakfast at nine next morning; his excuse was that he was unable to find his shoes (which he left outside his door for the "house-boy" to clean). Perhaps Ashman can supply the reason why he failed to return the shoes to B'wana.
Nevertheless the breakfast equipped most of us for the morning when we climbed to the two castles above the village, Liebenstein and Sterrenberg, which were built by two brothers who spent their lives fighting each other. We discovered that the village itself was the centre for Catholic pilgrims who have come to Bornhofen for five hundred years to worship at the Chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary. For the Holy Mother is reputed to have appeared in the village in the fifteenth century. We found, therefore, that we were spending our holiday at a place whose history is rich with colourful scenes and enchanting legends.
When told we were to go to Bad Ems in the afternoon where a famous casino was the great attraction, it was expected that this town must have been a notorious place in the past (with a name like that!) However, Fordham found to his disgust he could not fritter away a fiver at the casino. Four nautically-minded fifth formers tried their hand at canoeing on the Lahn. One of them became rather scared when confronted with a two-hundred ton barge, and so abandoned his paddling. A stop was made at Arenberg whose church was built of stone of every type found in Germany. The return journey took us past silver and lead mines but an attempted mutiny to take control of the 'bus was foiled. We had to compliment the driver, however, who drove us up to Marksburg Castle, the only occupied castle in the Rhineland, on a treacherous, tortuous track.
When, on Saturday morning, a party of us decided to go on the chairlift at Boppard, a rainstorm overtook us half way up, and Robinson, the only boy with his mackintosh, could not pluck up enough courage to stand up in that airy conveyance, two hundred feet up, to put it on. It was then our turn to laugh. The Science Sixth, I am sure, would like to hear about the almost legendary "Squeak and the Blond" - but there, let them find out for themselves!
The largest crater-lake in the volcanic Eifel, the Laachersee, is the focal point of many tourists and also pilgrims. The monastery of Marialaach on its shores is built of rocks from the surrounding country and we were fortunate enough to have a friendly monk show us the various parts of this Benedictine monastery whose most treasured possession is the Golden Book in which the signatures of world-famous men who have visited the abbey are written. (Had he not heard of Mr. Foster?)
Sunday morning, we were told, was the time for the procession to take place to the church in Bornhofen. We waited, and waited, but the procession never came; probably someone suggested, Keirnan was the cause of the hold-up. (His reputation must have been discovered in the village, for not until we, with Keirnan, had left, was the pageant held). The afternoon was also free and most went, once again, across to Boppard to purchase some bargains at the School Travel Service shop where ten per cent. is knocked off all articles bought there. Much to our chagrin we realised (when shopping in the large and therefore cheap stores in Weisbaden) that twenty per cent was first of all put on. We enjoyed a truly amazing spectacle at Koblenz that Sunday evening. With incidental music by Strauss the local Dramatic Society produced "Indigo", which can best be described as a pantomime. It was performed on a floating stage in the river and lively sea-fights took place in shaky, fragile dhows and feluccas. The luminous dresses of the ballerinas presented a sight few people have the opportunity of seeing, as they, together with coloured fountains, were reflected in the water.
The distance by road to Weisbaden and Mainz was about forty miles travelling along the side of the Rhine. Every hill in the Rhineland is topped with the ruins of an ancient fortress built by the warring counts in the Middle Ages; and every patch of soil is used for the grape vines. Where the slope becomes too great to train the vines, terraces are constructed. When, after a short stop at St. Goarhausen, our guide, Frau Bach (no relation of John Sebastian) went to look for the coach-driver, she found him in the local insurance office taking out a life insurance policy! Obviously he had heard of S.G.S. beforehand! The legend-haunted Lorelei was passed soon after we had once again set off but the maiden failed to lure any of us into the whirlpools below.
At Mainz we proved that the S.T.S. shop way back in Boppard was a black-market, for in this large shopping centre we found numerous bargains. All of us returned to our coach at the appointed time, all but Robinson and Fordham. When they did arrive twenty minutes late, both had German brush-cuts! A stop was made in the hills on the way home for Mr. Foster to prove in one of the bubbling brooks that he was an expert rainbow-trout-tickler.
On Tuesday we went "rockin' through the Rhine" on an ancient steamer to Rudesheim. Once again we were given a searching oral test on the castles by our guide-Reichenstein, Sooneck, Heimburg, Rheinstein, Stahleck and Furstenburg. I don't know whether she had any shares in the Apfelsaft company but each time we pronounced one of these delicious words we needed a drink to quench our thirst. However, our thirst was admirably quenched when we arrived at the small tourist centre - we were given free samples at the brandy factory! This set Ashman, the worst of the many poor sailors, on his feet again.Wednesday, last day for excursions! The Koblenz champagne factory apparently had not heard of us, for we enjoyed sampling their products as much as Rudesheim's.
Before going up the Mosel valley to Cochem we climbed to the top of the famous "Equestrian Statue" which, alas, the French Moroccans took such delight in using for target practice at the end of the war. No doubt had Napoleon realised that his fortress of Ehrenbreitstein presented such a wonderful view for photographers on the "Deutsche Eck" he would have stopped in Koblenz to buy a Leica instead of rushing off to Moscow.
The journey by the side of the beautiful Mosel with its gently sloping sides and gracefully curving meanders, with small villages bathed in sunlight and white tents on the river bank, was most memorable. At Cochem some "experienced" climbers went up to the foreboding castle and paid a wasted one mark to be shown the various apartments by a "fanatical" German youth who could not speak a work of Engleesh! Others emptied their pockets to buy a few souvenirs; and Fordham bought ten more badges. Our route home took us through the Hunsruck and back to Koblenz. Too soon, alas, we were crossing the Rhine for the last time by ferry; this time we even took the coach with us.
The fateful day had come. Farewells were said all round; Mr. Lawrance took a few more "snaps"; and we left for England, most of us quite pfennigless. We were shepherded home by our two never-tiring masters to whom we should all give our thanks for a wonderful holiday, which was spent without a hitch or accident.
M.H.
From the Soham Grammarian New Year 1957 - If you can add anecdotes or photos about this trip, please contact the editor.
last update 28 Oct 2003