Behind Germaneum
The Traveller
Andreas Schulz
Andreas Schulz doesn’t write travel guides. He tells stories about places that know more than they let on: castles on basalt, palaces that can’t make up their minds whether to be fortified or elegant, and columns that measure distance in hours.
On the road
The landscape in between tells half the story
He prefers to travel by train and bus. Look out of the window instead of at the satnav and you’ll see the river where castles once collected tolls – and the village that isn’t in any travel guide but turns up in three of his stories.
At Germaneum he collects what Germany has told the world – sometimes loudly, sometimes in passing. Sometimes it’s a castle, sometimes a coffee filter, a thermos flask or a composer with cash-flow problems. And now and then a narrow-gauge railway that is in no particular hurry.
Rail
Tracks over motorways
Train and bus rather than a hire car – you see more from the window than from behind the wheel.
Detour
A moment longer than planned
He always takes a moment longer than planned. Surprisingly often, that moment becomes a whole chapter.
Return
Travelling and coming back
For him, being on the road is just as exciting as coming back. So far he has always come back. Mostly.
Come along
Where to next?
He is currently writing the second AURA volume, downstream along the Middle Rhine. If you’d rather not wait, start around Dresden – or take the tour of the whole house.