Aschaffenburg
1 May, 1958
Last night in all small compact time excitement was king.
For we were paid & the deutsche marks bought. The stores in town would be
open for an hour or so & there was a book on license plates of the world I
just had to have. This mad desire and the pressure of time drove me to take a
cab. This wa a bouncy fast ride over cobblestone streets in & out of
bicycles, buses, people etc. Benz (?)
This was a point of grand excitement in itself. (As we all know I love said
car.) The excitement & reassurance of money made us daring enough to enter
shops & try to buy the few things we wanted. I had underestimated the
prices & overestimated the ability on the part of the shopkeepers to speak
English. It was so trying a venture that great energy was consumed. People were
more courteous & friendly when not able to speak English than those who
did. Those who spoke English were careful to short change and over price.
We finally had Wiener schnitzel & beer which was very
good. The inevitable long walk consumed the rest of our trip. I was & am no
nearer to intimacy with inhabitants of a town than I have ever been in an army
town. Perhaps some how some way this president can be broken.
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