Cross-cultural communication （153）　

153) Revisiting the Romantic Road
In my previous blog post (107), I wrote about a road trip through German-speaking countries. In June 2024, I revisited the Romantic Road, which had been a highlight of my road trip 30 years earlier. This time, I was accompanied by my wife.
Actually, due to glaucoma causing a difference in vision between my left and right eyes, I had surrendered my driver's license a few years ago, so my means of transportation in Germany was the train (and some buses). This led to various cross-cultural experiences.

Before the trip, I knew very little about the German railway system. However, based on the stereotypical German character of being rule-abiding and meticulous, I assumed that the trains would run on a strict schedule. But the reality was the exact opposite. Delays of 10 or 15 minutes were commonplace, and I had come to expect them. However, when taking long-distance trains that required transfers, even if I arrived at the transfer station 10 minutes late, the connecting train would not wait. The new connecting train would also depart from a different platform. When I asked the conductor, few understood English, and their explanations were vague. This happened multiple times in a single day before I finally found a solution. I asked a young German passenger waiting on the platform. They skillfully used their smartphones to quickly find the departure time and platform number for the connecting train. Moreover, most of them spoke English fluently. Many of them sympathized with the helpless Japanese traveler and said, “No one trusts the German railways. That's why we have to take precautions like this.”

Thirty years ago, when I traveled the same Romantic Road by rental car, the only people I encountered who spoke English were employees of the rental car company and doctors at a conference venue?people for whom English was a professional necessity. I think I had somewhat overestimated the English proficiency of the general German population at the time. However, during this trip, I realized that young people with a genuine, natural spirit of hospitality exist in every country, and by the end of the week-long journey, I felt almost no lingering negative emotions.

Postscript: Thirty years ago, when I visited Neuschwanstein Castle in a rented Mercedes, a Japanese couple stopped me as I was descending the mountain where the castle is located and asked, “We're exhausted from walking. Could you please give us a ride to the station?” The bus ride from the castle to Fussen station takes about 30 minutes, but I suppose the buses weren't running on schedule back then either. (This time, too, the bus was 30 minutes late, and we got caught in a sudden rain shower, which was quite a hassle.) I think they must have had a tough time with the train journey before that as well. It wasn't until 30 years later, through this recent travel experience, that I finally understood the true reason behind that couple's “we're so tired.”

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