The overnight ferry ride from Dover to Oostande, Belgium was uneventful.
The ferry arrived very early in the morning and it seemed to be a dismal day. I am sorry to say that I was not very impressed. Everything was grey and I remember nothing but industrial warehouses for miles. The sun did eventually come out after a few hours and the warehouses were overcome by farms and countryside that was very beautiful. Unfortunately by then I was about an hour from the West German Border. In all, it took me about four hours to hitch hike across the country of Belgium.
The border crossing, if I can remember correctly, was between Saint Vith, Belgium and Winterspelt, West Germany. From there it was a short hop (50 kilometers) to the United States Air Force base at BitBerg, West Germany where I spent the rest of the day and the night.
My neighbor from back home in Mechanicille, NY was stationed there. His name is David Jones. Dave showed me around the parts of the base that he could, got me some dinner and we talked for quite awhile before he found me an empty rack (bed) in the barracks for the night. We met in the morning and he took me to the chow hall for breakfast where we met a friend of his who was just getting off watch and was heading home to his apartment in Luxembourg. I had always wanted to visit Luxembourg so I caught a ride with him.
After we cross the border, there is an old castle on the edge of small village about ten or fifteen kilometers from the city. He drove his small car through the gate and into the courtyard. He is home. His apartment was inside the castle along with several others. From there he gives me directions to one of the youth hostels in the middle of Luxembourg City.
I start to hitch hike from there, but end up hiking the last five miles or so in the rain. The youth hostel is closed! Most youth hostels back in the day were designed for cultural immersion. You signed into one in the late afternoon, socialized with the other international travelers and made plans for the next few days during the evening. The next morning after the breakfast hour you were asked to leave and the place was locked up until late afternoon again. It was supposedly designed this way so that you couldn't just lay about. You had no choice but to go out and mix with the local community, meet people, socialize, and learn first hand about the local culture. Luckily for me there was a tavern right up the street from the hostel and that day I was introduced to the local malt beverages.
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