Chapter 25: Scenic Route
"Do you think it's possible to remember things you shouldn't be able to remember?"
"Kraftwerk? Mannheim Steamroller? That's as good as Germany has to offer? It's pathetic." James said.
"Oh, come on. Germany has plenty of good rock influences." Wolfgang said. "How about the eighties?"
James laughed. "Please! We're talking about Nena? Falco? Rock me Amadeus? 99 Luftbalons? I'm sorry, Germany just doesn't exist on the musical map."
"What about the Scorpions then? They had some powerful rock ballads."
"I guess, but hardly groundbreaking."
"Rammstein." Wolfgang announced.
"All right, I'll give you Rammstein." James conceded, "But that's it. Everything else is worthless."
"Well then," Wolfgang said philosophically, "Have you completely forgotten about the German Industrial movement? The one that practically gave birth to techno?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Einsturzende Neubauten." Wolfgang said.
"Bless you!"
Wolfgang smirked. "Ha ha. Laibach, Die Warzau, shall I name some more?"
"Yeah, but does anyone actually listen to German industrial? I mean besides Germans?" James asked. "I'm sorry but your Fatherland is totally lacking in musical influence. Face it."
"Okay, but I'm Austrian." Wolfgang said.
"Oh, even better. I challenge you to name one major Austrian musical influence." James said.
"Just one? Any musical influence?" Wolfgang asked obviously eager to accept the challenge.
"That's right. Any." James said and looking very confident took a sip from the bottle of water he was holding.
"Mozart."
The water sprayed out of James' nose as he started laughing. How had he forgotten about Mozart? Besides being one of the most influential composers in history he and Wolfgang had the same name. "Okay," he admitted, "I challenge you to name another Austrian musical influence besides Mozart."
"Haydn and Mahler."
James slapped his forehead. "Brin can you help me out here? I'm getting trounced by Wolfgang's command of European musical knowledge."
Brin looked up from the card game she was playing with Amanda and Maria, "Sorry, honey. It sounds to me like you weren't paying attention in music history class. Perhaps if you were arguing about European modern dance I could be of more assistance."
James laughed. "That's right Mozart," he said turning back to Wolfgang, "I challenge you to name one influential Austrian modern dancer."
There were six of them packed into Margali's trailer on their way to Hamburg. Even though she had chosen to stay behind, hers was the largest (compensation she figured, from having the smallest most rickety van previously) and so she donated it to the cause.
Wolfgang and James were in the two front captain's chairs, Wolfgang in his favorite position as driver. As always they were entertaining themselves with another long debate about an irrelevant topic. Brin was at the fold out table with Amanda and Maria. The two of them were teaching Amanda how to play various American card games. This left Kurt alone and so he sat up in his bunk saying the rosary, but he found his mind wandering away from prayer to other subjects.
With the arrival of Maria he had seen the mighty triumvirate of comedians that was him, Wolfgang, and Lars breaking. Lars had joined them last year, but now that he and Gretchen were dating, he had chosen to spend Christmas with her family instead. Whereas he and Wolfgang usually spent their evenings watching movies and generally goofing off, it was more common to see him with Maria now. It seemed to him that they had reached a turning point, one where he would watch his friends form relationships while he remained alone.
It made him wish that all six of them were couples, Wolfgang with Maria, James with Brin, and he with Amanda. But that was a little strange wasn't it? Even though technically she wasn't his sister, wasn't it still wrong to imagine the two of them in a relationship other than siblings. Then again, Amanda was probably the only girl in the world who really knew him, who knew that he wasn't a monster, that he was just a person. That he was just like everyone else. Didn't he deserve that? Didn't he deserve Amanda's love and to love her in return?
They swapped drivers and slept in shifts so they could drive straight through to Hamburg without having to stop for the night. Kurt was the only one without a driving permit. Wolfgang had arranged his passport, once again using his family contacts to smooth over the process. After the office had closed for the night, a friend of Wolfgang's mother stayed behind, took Kurt's picture, and they filled out the necessary paperwork. Wolfgang arranged to pick it up the next time they passed through Germany.
So while Kurt had managed to get a passport with his real picture and name on it, the licensing office seemed to be the one branch of the government where Wolfgang lacked any kind of influence. So if Kurt wanted a permit to drive, he would have to go in and take the exam like everyone else. Since he wasn't to eager to see what kind of scene that would create, Kurt left the driving to other members of the circus.
It was Brin's turn to drive and James was sitting besides her to keep her company. Everyone else sat lounging around the main compartment. They were bored of card games so they sat around gossiping about various other members of the circus. The conversation eventually shifted to Kurt's family.
"I'm just disappointed Stephani isn't going to be there." Kurt said. They had all become accustomed to speaking only English when James and Brin were around; it was easier than translating everything. The side effect was that English, always his weakest language was getting much better. "Last year we do to meet up with him on the train." Kurt continued. "It was really great."
"I remember," Wolfgang said. "That was fun."
"How often do you guys get to see each other?" Maria asked.
"Hardly at all," said Amanda.
"I kind of miss when he lived with us." Kurt said. "But he said circus life wasn't for him."
"I can't even imagine anyone thinking that." Said Wolfgang. "You guys are more fun than a barrel of monkeys on crack."
"What?" Kurt, Amanda, and Maria asked in unison.
"I think that's supposed to be a compliment." Said James from the front seat.
"Oh. Well thank you," Kurt said. "And you're more fun than a container of snakes and a cattle prod."
The conversation quickly degenerated into a series of "you're more fun than…" jokes that degenerated even further into attempts to invent insults that sounded more funny than insulting. The normally reserved Brin was the best at this and came up with "You're nothing but a two count no talent ass clown" as an insult for Wolfgang. He was speechless with laughter for nearly five minutes.
Wolfgang returned to the drivers seat as they crossed the French Alps into Germany.
"Should we stop by Gehlhaar's place?" Wolfgang asked in mock seriousness as he confidently navigated the passes. "We're in Barvaria."
Amanda gave a snort of laughter. "How about not." She said, imitating Christian.
Wolfgang pulled off the main road and started down one much less traveled that seemed to lead deeper and deeper into the mountains.
"What are you doing?" Maria asked.
"This is a short cut." Wolfgang said. "Don't worry. It looks a lot faster on the map."
"Wolfgang said 'short cut'." James said. "I'm already worried."
Cheerfully ignoring their skepticism, Wolfgang continued down the much narrower road.
It was certainly the scenic route. This area of Bavaria was much less populated than it was on their usual route. Occasionally the road would widen and there would be a small town or village nestled in the mountains, but it was mostly scenery. Brin pulled out her 35mm camera so she could take pictures as they went.
They were passing through what must have been a little town at one point when Kurt suddenly jumped up and yelled, "Stop!"
Wolfgang slammed on the breaks in alarm. He didn't have time to say anything before Kurt jumped out of the trailer. Amanda followed him quickly. Curious everybody else pulled on their coats and got out as well.
It had once been a street with neat rows of tiny cabins on either side. They were abandoned now, their windows mostly broken, their shutters hanging at crazy angles. Most of them had their doors opened giving a view of the deteriorating interiors.
"This is weird. Why did we stop?" James asked as he peered into one of the houses. Brin shrugged and since she was taking pictures anyway, she crossed the street to get some of the derelict cabins. They were real Bavarian style houses, like what one could find at various tourist attractions in the US, but here they hadn't been for tourists. Real people had lived in them. Brin turned around to take a picture of the group. Kurt was really fascinated by old architecture, so it didn't surprise her that he'd want to stop and look at this tiny ghost town.
But instead of the houses, Kurt was looking at an empty lot sitting between two of the cabins. She walked back to see what was going on.
Kurt wandered into the middle of the empty space and looked around. Amanda followed him and put her hand on his shoulder.
"Do you think it's possible to remember things you shouldn't be able to remember?" He asked her.
"I don't know." Said Amanda, watching a single tear slide down his cheek.
Kurt nodded and brushed his hand across his face. "We should go then. I don't know why we stopped." He climbed in the trailer. James and Brin quickly joined him. Wolfgang noticed Amanda still standing in the vacant lot, her hand over her mouth.
"What's going on?" He asked her as he walked over.
"There used to be a house here, but it was burned down." Amanda said, trying to keep her bottom lip from quivering.
"Really? How do you know?" Wolfgang asked her.
"Because I've been here. Only once, when Kurt was born. It was in the house that stood here." She said. It was one of her earliest memories, just a few images really. A woman in the road. Her mother pulled from a burning cabin clutching a pile of rags. Seeing her youngest brother for the first time as they drove away.
"How do you know it burned down?" Wolfgang asked.
"Because I saw the people who set the fire." She said.
"You mean after your mother took Kurt away?"
Amanda shook her head. "No," she said. "He was still inside." She took one last look around. "I don't know how he could have remembered. We should go." She said and started walking back toward their trailer.
Wolfgang didn't need to be told twice. He wanted to get as far from this place as possible.
