1977 Trip to Germany

Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum

Help Support Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Joined
Sep 2, 2021
Messages
2,048
Location
The Real Maine (East of Ellsworth)
In 1977 having finished my Masters Degree courses and my Thesis (or so I thought) I had a free summer before starting work in the fall so I decided to travel to the UK to visit relatives then to Germany to visit my friend George.

George and I had met while in the Air Force at Communications Electronics School at Keesler AFB in Biloxi MS. Like me George was a naturalized citizen who had grown up mostly in the US, he originally being born in Austria and me in the UK. Along with another friend John we ended up sharing a house in Biloxi after we had to move out of our quarters as they were needed for visiting Vietnamese Air Force students. It was a rundown place next to the L&N train tracks where we were woken up by freights every morning, but it was cheap. I went on to serve out my 4 years in New Mexico then getting out and going back to school. George on the other hand stayed in, volunteering for a one year tour in Southeast Asia (Vietnam war was still on although winding down) so he could then get a plum assignment in Europe which he did at Ramstein AFB in Germany.

While in the UK I traveled up to Scotland returning to stay with my aunt and uncle in Orpington a suburb just South of London with great train service into the city, George and I had planned a couple of weeks in Germany which I would travel to by train then return to the US by air from Frankfurt. The evening of August 12 I went out to dinner at an Indian restaurant with my aunt and uncle who then dropped me off at the nearby Petts Wood station to take the stopping train, a typical BR Southern Region "slam door" EMU to Victoria where I would catch the Night Ferry. This was another EMU train but set up more for intercity travel and also carrying 2 Wagon Lits sleeping cars that would be shunted aboard the ferry to France. Alas a sleeper was beyond my budget as a student so it was coach for me.

The train was pretty crowded with a lot of younger people including students on holiday. I ended up trying out my high school French on a group of French students heading back home. I don't think they were too impressed by the ancient EMU we were on compared to the trains they had in France. The train ran nonstop down to Dover where we went through passport control and boarded the ferry that would take us to Dunquerque, made famous by the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force in 1940 saving the army to fight another day. This evening we had an invading force of mostly British, French and American youth crowding the chilly decks. After an uneventful crossing we landed and went through the French passport control and onto a train. There were cars for Paris and Brussels. I boarded a Brussels car which was dropped off in Lille to be picked up sometime later by another train and taken to Metz where I got off.

I was impressed by the quality of the ride both in France and Germany lots of welded rail, the only slightly rough section was coming out of Dunquerue where it was still jointed track.

In Metz I recall I attempted to buy a bottle of water but ran into the problem frequent in those days before the Euro and availability of ATM's. I had a little British money on me including a Scottish Pound note which I soon found out was not good anywhere outside of the UK, and travelers checks which had to be cashed at a bank, or a Bureau de Change if you didn't mind the exorbitant eschange rate. I think I did eventually manage to scrape together enough money acceptable to the vendor.

On the train I was in a compartment with 5 others, 4 American students and one young Swiss man who didn't speak English. The seat backs didn't recline so sleep was not easy, I might have gotten about an hour total. I got off at Metz and shortly after a Frankfurt bound train arrived which I would ride to Kaiserslautern where George would meet me. This train was also crowded but fortunately I had reserved a window seat so was able to get a good view for my first visit to France and Germany. This was in the days before Schengen so border control officers came through and checked passports which was fairly quick. As I recall I started to doze off and almost missed my Kaiserslautern stop but woke up and got off just in time.

My friend George picked me up and took me to the house he and his wife Joline had which was offbase in the town. It was an interesting experience living in a German house and seeing what life was like. One little detail I remember is you were only allowed 2 small trash bins which were picked up by special trucks that the bins fit into. The American lifestyle tended to generate more trash than the German system allowed for so George would have to smuggle excess trash to the base where he could quietly dispose of it. It was interesting visiting the little restaurants and taverns. Each region had its own beer and good wine was plentiful. One could even get beer in McDonalds along with your "viertel pfunder" (Quarter Pounder).

I took a number of side trips while there including overnight coach trips to Amsterdam and Zurich. One thing I found in Europe was how easy it was to navigate the train and tram systems even when one did not speak the language. I rode the train on day trips to Luxembourg, Strasbourg, and Heidelberg. One interesting trip was the Wine Train where we traveled around some scenic areas while consuming excellent wines from the region. Unfortunately I probably overdid things as I don't remember much about the trip especially towards the end. I do recall passing an industry possibly a steel mill where there was a steam locomotive working the sidings there.

All too soon my trip was over and it was time to say good bye to my friend and head to the Frankfurt airport for my flight back to Boston.
 
A few pictures from the trip:
My train to Kaiserslautern arriving at Metz
metz.jpg

A cafe where we stopped for Black Forest Cake with a great view of the adjacent rail line. A German Diesel powered railcar passes.
germany1.jpg

The Wine Train where we stopped for a while to stretch our legs.
germany2.jpg

Luxemburg City main station. A great train watching spot at this crossroads of Europe. Some of the catenary was a little reminiscent of ex PRR catenary in the US.
luxmemburg1.jpg
 
Very interesting report, nice to get the background to your visit too.

I took some UK Sterling cash to France about 10 years ago, expecting to change it for Euro's with ease.

I never found one place to change it! Quite ironic given that they are called Bureau de Change!

(I guess it would have been easier in Paris, but was impossible in the smaller towns...)
 
Very interesting report, nice to get the background to your visit too.

I took some UK Sterling cash to France about 10 years ago, expecting to change it for Euro's with ease.

I never found one place to change it! Quite ironic given that they are called Bureau de Change!

(I guess it would have been easier in Paris, but was impossible in the smaller towns...)

Regarding Scottish currency, on a 1990s trip to Sconnie Botland, I tried always to have only Scottish pounds in my wallet, rather than Bank of England ones, (for national pride reasons). One benefit was that Scotland was still issuing a paper note for a single, whereas the rest of the UK was using a coin. I knew coins would not be exchanged in other countires, but notes would be, so in preparation for my upcoming border-hopping into Germany, I made sure any one-pound coins I had were translated into Scottish one-pound notes.

When it was time to exchange them for Deutchmarks, the bank I visited was initially sceptical about their legitimacy, but my insistence the notes *were* legal tender resulted in reconsideration, and then acceptance! I think I had a bit less difficulty there than often Scots have when using them in some parts of England!

I make it a point of having only Scottish currency in my wallet when I am there, and I'm always disappointed when BoE currency appears in my change, but I'll be very happy when Scotland uses the Euro in a year or so :)
 
I expect this and the above will get deleted as being "off topic", even if it makes entertaining reading, but of course, that's not the purpose of AU...

I for one would have welcomed the whole UK being in Euro land, but I will have my passport ready to visit Scotland if necessary. My parents were Irish, so I am even thinking of applying for an Irish passport, as part of the Irish Diaspora.
 
Regarding Scottish currency, on a 1990s trip to Sconnie Botland, I tried always to have only Scottish pounds in my wallet, rather than Bank of England ones, (for national pride reasons). One benefit was that Scotland was still issuing a paper note for a single, whereas the rest of the UK was using a coin. I knew coins would not be exchanged in other countires, but notes would be, so in preparation for my upcoming border-hopping into Germany, I made sure any one-pound coins I had were translated into Scottish one-pound notes.

When it was time to exchange them for Deutchmarks, the bank I visited was initially sceptical about their legitimacy, but my insistence the notes *were* legal tender resulted in reconsideration, and then acceptance! I think I had a bit less difficulty there than often Scots have when using them in some parts of England!

I make it a point of having only Scottish currency in my wallet when I am there, and I'm always disappointed when BoE currency appears in my change, but I'll be very happy when Scotland uses the Euro in a year or so :)
You did well. Scottish bank notes are not legal tender, even in Scotland.
 
Indeed, but BoE notes are not legal tender in Scotland, as well.

However Scottish banknotes have railway-relevant pictures on them, so at least in Scotland, you can buy a rail ticket with them :)
 

Attachments

  • F078CD24-DE12-4FCF-B998-2473872A8D63.jpeg
    F078CD24-DE12-4FCF-B998-2473872A8D63.jpeg
    86.1 KB · Views: 3
  • 7B64BBCF-D8B2-4467-81E2-0F932EDB092A.jpeg
    7B64BBCF-D8B2-4467-81E2-0F932EDB092A.jpeg
    90.8 KB · Views: 3
That is a strange but true fact that I did not know!
Probably best for ones health not to argue with a Scotsman offering one in payment though! ;)
Of course in Berlin and some places in West Germany we GI's would end up with left over BAFV's (pronounced bafvs!), British Armed Forces Vouchers. They replicated British money but were only honoured at places like the NAAFI or the British military cinema.
 
Of course in Berlin and some places in West Germany we GI's would end up with left over BAFV's (pronounced bafvs!), British Armed Forces Vouchers. They replicated British money but were only honoured at places like the NAAFI or the British military cinema.

And how many times can you watch Brief Encounter, anyway?
 
That is a strange but true fact that I did not know!
Probably best for ones health not to argue with a Scotsman offering one in payment though! ;)

It's only really true because the strict legal meaning of the term "legal tender" is actually quite specific, and a lot of people have misconceptions about what it actually means.

A lot of coins and banknotes are not actual legal tender, legally speaking, and indeed some things that you might think are not legal tender actually are.
 
A lot of coins and banknotes are not actual legal tender, legally speaking, and indeed some things that you might think are not legal tender actually are.
I believe the statement "I promise to pay the bearer the sum of xxx " on UK banknote originally meant that it could be exchanged for that amount of gold, to give confidence that the paper note had verifiable physical value.
That promise is now an empty one, no gold will be given to the bearer!
I buy Dutch tulip bulbs with my spare cash, it's only a matter of time before they start to increase again in value. :D
 
Credit cards were also a problem in the "good old days". I remember going into a small shop in Germany and trying to use my VISA card. I showed my card to the lady at the counter and asked if they took it, she said "yes" as in "I am acknowledging you spoke to me but have no idea what you asked me". I then handed her the card and she handed it back to me and shook her head. Fortunately I had just enough Marks to pay for the item.
 
Indeed, but BoE notes are not legal tender in Scotland, as well.

However Scottish banknotes have railway-relevant pictures on them, so at least in Scotland, you can buy a rail ticket with them :)
[/QUOT
It's only really true because the strict legal meaning of the term "legal tender" is actually quite specific, and a lot of people have misconceptions about what it actually means.

A lot of coins and banknotes are not actual legal tender, legally speaking, and indeed some things that you might think are not legal tender actually are.
indeed, it’s almost all a legal fiction these days.
 
Slam door Southern Region at Clapham in April 1970.

View attachment 28328

To add more information to these trains, the Southern Railway (predecessor to British Rail) called these 2EPBs. 2 meaning two coach train + E Electro + P Pneumatic + B Brake. These were the units built to the British Rail standard, which was the Mark 1 coach design at that time. The TOPS system that British Rail used would classify them as Class 416s (initially called Class 413s in 1972, until that was changed to 416 in 1975). 5723 was built in 1954 and would be renumbered 6223 in November 1984. It would retire in October 19, 1994.
 
Credit cards were also a problem in the "good old days". I remember going into a small shop in Germany and trying to use my VISA card. I showed my card to the lady at the counter and asked if they took it, she said "yes" as in "I am acknowledging you spoke to me but have no idea what you asked me". I then handed her the card and she handed it back to me and shook her head. Fortunately I had just enough Marks to pay for the item.
Until quite recently, as in about 10 years ago, you could use German issued credit cards quite freely within Germany but foreign-issued ones were often a problem, especially in smaller shops.

Today foreign issued Mastercard and Visa are fairly well accepted but Amex is still a bit problematic.
 
Back
Top