It all started on a bus. I had asked for a “Tageskarte” or day-ticket in German. Or so I thought. The bus driver then asked in perfect English – which type I wanted, where I was going to and how long I would be in Hamburg for. I got my ticket and felt relieved at getting through another encounter without German. I settled down for the ride.
But it didn’t stop there. The driver had started a conversation in English with the chap seated behind him. I didn’t hear the beginnings of it, but he was trying to guess where the passenger was from by his accent. “It sounds like you are a Spanish speaker – but not from Spain, maybe South America?” The passenger confirmed and the driver made guesses, “Peru, Argentina … maybe Uruguay.” “No,” said the passenger – “I’m from Chile.”
Then I couldn’t understand any more – as the driver continued the conversation in Spanish – although I did hear the word “inglés” used a few times. After a few more stops – the Chilean got off and the driver began speaking to the next nearest passenger, an older woman – who said within the conversation that she “speak a little English and a little French” whereupon the driver began to talk to her in (what sounded to me) very fluent French. The woman laughed and said “lentement,” and “je parle un peu de français” – which is about as much as I can say. The driver then said (in French) “I know six languages – German, English, French, Spanish, Danish and of course Turkish – my first language.”
I can only aspire to speaking another language. I ‘studied’ French at school for seven years, though admittedly the two years at junior school were limited to “Alouette, gentille alouette” and repeating the numbers from 1 – 20 on a regular basis. I remember for two years at secondary school, my French teacher used to put work up on the board and then rush out of the classroom for 4 or 5 minutes whilst frantically trying to get his lighter to work. This was repeated three times per lesson. Monsieur Fumeur was an apt nickname.
I failed the O’ level. I also failed the one in Latin, the only other language I took. That cemented my belief that I am no good at languages – a belief which has stuck around like the cigarette smoke of Monsieur Fumeur.
“It’s okay, I’ll never need languages,” I thought without being able to look into the future and see myself dating women with first or second languages in French, Italian, Arabic, Hindi and Portuguese. Indeed, languages would have been a lot more use to me than knowing about Venn diagrams or Van de Graaff generators.
So, having struggled with German so far in Germany, I was really looking forward to going to Hamburg, not least because a good friend, Kathryn would be there. Kathryn is bilingual, Yorkshire and German. Not only could I look forward to a good catch up, but I could sit back (to a certain extent) and let Kathryn handle the talk.
Which she did really well. We visited the Brahms Museum together (great if you are a Brahms fan – a bit weak if you are not,) the circus (my first time) and the largest model railway exhibition in Europe … (see previous Brahms comment.) As a non-German speaker, I felt a bit more relaxed. I didn’t have “what if they ask about this or that and I can’t understand,” going through my mind.
The circus wasn’t just any circus – it was a Roncalli circus. Special because it doesn’t have any live animals (there are some holograms of horses and lions at the beginning of the show) and it showcases exceptional circus skills from acrobats etc., interspersed with clowns. Of course, the advantage for me was that there wasn’t much dialogue – and the few jokes that were made by the clowns were interpreted by Kathryn. My first circus which will now always be linked to Hamburg.
Hamburg is amazing. I love places on water and this city doesn’t disappoint. It is in the running for having the most bridges of any city in the world (although it depends how you count them.) It also has a fabulous new concert hall and I was so sad that I had visited at the wrong time of the year for performances. I was just there for 10 days and I really want to go back.
Should I have done more preparation? Probably. But I find language learning difficult and time consuming and for someone travelling the world, there is the dilemma as to which language(s) to study. I made the decision that, as I am only likely to be visiting one other German-speaking country, I should concentrate on more “useful” languages: French, as I will be going to France and North Africa; and Portuguese, partly as I know a little anyway, partly because it is somewhere that I have thought of retiring to, once my trip is over, (and if I survive it.)
Learning languages is also time-consuming. I have been spending an hour a day on Duolingo. I have chatted to the occasional person on Italki and am considering taking lessons with a couple of teachers on the site. I watch YouTube videos in French and have tried to watch French television – difficult as I don’t watch a lot of TV, even in the UK. What with language learning and writing this blog, I am surprised I have any time to do sight-seeing at all. I rest every other day and do a lot of my learning and writing in the evening.
There is plenty of sight-seeing to do in Hamburg and I am sad I didn’t do more. I did visit the River Elbe at Blankenese, just outside the city and watched some of the huge ships as they sailed out into the sea. They, like me, are on a journey. I am finding it is not just a journey around the world, but a journey into finding out what I am capable of.
If after reading this post you are interested in learning with Italki or Duolingo – please get in touch as I have money off codes for both sites!
