Postcards from the Road
01/12/1983
Munich:
After a freezing afternoon’s drive in our (open-top) lorry, we arrived in Aschaffenburg with a two hour delay to find the hostel-warden away on a pub crawl and the door firmly locked. So we continued on to Munich. It got colder. For the last stretch of the journey I had to resort to my survival blanket which alledgedly protects against arcitc cold and desert heat. But it was too late, my feet were frozen stiff through my woolen socks. Thanks God we were heading for warmer climes!
Right now I feel like I am in a time warp as we sit in the same restaurant in Munich station where we always stop over for Leberknödelsuppe on the way to our winter holidays in Seefeld.
02/12/1983
Seefeld:
The following morning the sun was shining on a fairytale landscape. The mountains rose under a blue sky and everything was covered with a thick layer of powdery snow.
The border guard asked us where we were going.
“Africa”, we said.
“With that lorry?”
“Yeah”
“Well, good luck getting it into Austria!”
I guess he was just jealous. We went for a coffee while our groupleaders sorted out the red tape. Our papers were in order and soon we were on our way to Venice.
Venice:
I managed to communicate with a mix of French, Spanish and Italian picked up on the way, but it doesn’t help much when trying to find a stamp here – all the shops shut for hours over lunch. I finally found an open tobacco shop on St. Marco’s square along with hundreds of pigeons which flew onto people’s arms and heads – a unique experience.
We are ready for our big crossing to Egypt. I’ll write again in a week from Cairo.
05/12/1983
In transit:
After many hours delay we finally arrived in Piraeus. (I have never been on a ship before,) just thinking about the sea makes me think of scurvy. As it was, I had precious few vitamins in the last few days so I was happy to see orange trees growing by the roadside. Dinner in a shabby little taverna, everything swims in oil. Unfortunately, there isn’t time to explore any further.
08/12/1983
Cairo:
We have finally arrived! They say that Khartoum is the hottest and dustiest capital city in the world. It may be hotter there, but Cairo has got to be the dustiest. The chaos on the roads and the noise is nothing I have ever thought I’ll experience, but the people are very friendly. I am amazed at the traditional way of life many seem to follow in this city of millions. Uschi said it is as if Cairo is a giant village.
09/12/1983
Letter, abridged commentary about the first reel of 8mm film recorded:
Enclosed are my first reels of film, and because they are the first, don’t expect too much. it is a pretty unconnected series of short sequences. Here in Cairo it is difficult to film anything especially as a foreigner. I have recorded one or two street scenes while keeping a low profile but even that nearly cost me the camera as I turned cocky and held it up in the open street. I had to move swiftly to escape a small riot! Now I make sure I get permission to film.
On our way through town one evening we ran into a wedding crowd where I filmed a few scenes. It helped that I said I write for a newspaper. Soon I had to film all the proud parents with their children and pose with the happy couple and now I do not have much film left. The last scene shows a man in a blue jellaba and a white skull cap among the white walls in the city of the dead
19/12/1983
These are my Christmas greetings from Egypt. We are going to spend our Christmas in the desert – on our way into the Sudan, but in fact I have already celebrated on the 16th, the Birthday of the Prophet (Al-Mawlid). Everybody was out in the streets, tents had been erected around the mosque and there was much celebration and religious dancing.
After ten days of strenuous sightseeing we are now in Luxor and tomorrow we go to Assyut where we will join a convoy for the desert crossing. The next time you’ll hear from me, we will be in Khartoum.
(Although our visas stipulated entering the Sudan via the Lake Nasser ferry, at the time this was perceived as an unacceptable risk due to frequent sinkings. Plus our lorry weighed 18 tons fully loaded, it was unlikely there would be room on the boat.)
Tags: Cairo to Capetown, Tag Index
Denni