I was inspired to go on this tour of Germany by an article in the New York Times, which described traveliing along the Märchen or FairyTale route. Something about that piece sparked my interest, and so began my fascination with Fairy Tales which continues to this very day into my latest novel MAIDEN TOMB.
Arriving in Frankfurt Airport in early May 2013, I made my way to Kassel, continuing my tour to Göttingen, Hannoversch Munden, Würzburg, and Mannheim. If this sounds a bit off the beaten track, it is. The very pleasant woman at the hotel in Kassel, told me that they didn’t get many foreign visitors who were just tourists. Instead, they were set up for people to have business meetings. Of course I should have rented a car. I made things so much more difficult for myself by sticking to public transportation, even though in Germany it is reliable and runs on time. However, I do remember a lovely bus-ride through the German countryside to the Dornröschenschloss (Little Thorny Rose Castle) in Sababurg in the province of Hesse-Kassel.
However, I ran into a big problem on my way to Stockholm to meet up with my husband. I was visiting my mother, and had decided to do a lot of cooking for her. So I brought along my favorite recipe book and a book-opener, which consists of a leather horizontal thingy, which is weighted at each end with lead to keep a book open. Somehow, they hadn’t discovered this on my way into Germany, probably because I put it in my checked baggage. But here it was, in my carryon. Oh dear, what a lot of trouble I got myself into!
I tried to explain what it was, but the person checking my bag at Frankfurt called the police. Of course, this being Germany, they arrived pronto within ten minutes. Again, I explained what it was for, that it was a book opener, because I had a hardback recipe book that I wanted to use to cook for my mother.
I should mention at this point that I was dealing with a language barrier. I really don’t speak German, and these police officers didn’t speak English. All I knew was that they were giving me skeptical looks. I realized I was in deep trouble when one of the police officers picked it up by one end and twirled it around his head. Of course, he thought it was a weapon. I was so shocked as it had never occurred to me that my book-opener could be used to hurt someone.
And so I was charged with possessing an illegal weapon, and my book-opener was promptly confiscated. I didn’t mind about that so much, because I figured they were going to do that anyway. But I was upset about the charge, and the fact that they had my passport, which meant that if I didn’t sign on the dotted line at the bottom of some document they had (which was in German, so I didn’t understand it) I wouldn’t be able to get on my plane.
Of course I signed, but I have never forgotten how hard I had to work to quell my panic, smile sweetly, and be polite to a bunch of strangers who seemed determined to think the worst of me. But I got my passport back and was able to make the flight. Nowadays, I am much more careful about what I put in my carryon.
Another lesson I learned from this trip was that I really shouldn’t travel around by myself because I miss too many things. And so, the very next year, I joined my first tour group and had a wonderful time. Stay tuned for that story!
