The train ride from LeHavre up to Hamburg was hardly something out of Wagons Lits. First I had surrendered my passport to a foreign speaking conductor and since we were crossing borders there was much shunting in and out of rail yards in the middle of the night as we changed crews and engines. Couple that with a slight case of Montezuma's revenge and I was glad to set foot in Hamburg and retire to the comfort of the Atlantic Hotel which was on a lake and had a telephone in the bathroom along with heated towel racks and this being 1964. The "Hamburger" is a no nonsense businessman as compared with the gentler "Bremener" competitor.
A staffer was assigned to give me a walking tour of the St. Pauli "red light" district - the famous Reeperbahn. Sailors of the day called it "two mark alley" to reflect the price of services rendered. My escort walked very fast - the way we used to walk down 42nd Street before Giuliani cleaned it up. I often wondered whether those ladies are still sitting in the windows.
tjs
(Excerpted from EagleBlue Vol. 4 No. 6 April 30, 2007)
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