Russell James on tour in Germany
- September 1999 -
Any British crime writer I've met who has been lucky enough to be invited on a trip to Germany
comes back glowing with praise (and self importance).
Unlike in Britain, where writers of any ilk are regarded as freaks at best and more often as plain unnecessary, writers and artists in Germany are treated as stars. (Treated correctly, some might say.) My wife and I were met at Dusseldorf airport, driven at impressive speed to Cologne, and settled into a comfortable hotel. At seven on the dot the delightful Bettina (from my publishers) was back to whisk us off for early supper - outdoors, of course, in a bright and active central city square. Suitably fortified, we were off to my first reading, at the British Council, to an enormous audience by British standards (around 60 paying guests. The enthusiastic reception (or was it the preliminary glasses of Sekt?) ensured that I was at my best - or most voluble! Everyone there - especially Marijke Brouwer - was exemplary.
After a splendid hour and a half session (I told you I was voluble) a gang of us were off to dinner at the "intellectual's" oT restaurant (Chelsea Hotel). The bar there was also the campaign headquarters for Cologne's "No Party" candidate for city mayor - a splendid man who can be assured of my vote.
Tempting as it is to regale you with holiday snapshots of the whole trip I'll confine myself to four highlights:
- The Ludwig Museum in Cologne, with the world's biggest (and best displayed?) Pop Art exhibition. - Fantastic artworks in a brilliant building. Good lunch too. - Oh yes, as a visiting artist, I even had free admission!
- Rail trip down the Rhine. Cologne to Stuttgart, through Bonn, Koblenz, Niersteine, Bingen, Heidelberg, etc. on a superb train that made us ashamed of our British travesty of a railroad
- Stuttgart Wine Festival - open air in the old market square, lashings of cheap local wine and traditional local foods and folk music
- The Undercover Bookshop - a beautifully run and tranquil shop specialising exclusively in crime books (including a large English language section) run by the lovely Juliane Hansen.
Notable among the various side excursions was when I was interviewed by the astonishingly knowledgeable Thomas Klingenmaier for the Stuttgarter Zeitung - one of those occasions when you find yourself speaking to someone who knows your works better than you do! A fine man and, I hope, a favourable report in his paper. German speaking readers might like to check it for themselves h e r e.