Two young German sweethearts trying to elope to Africa were thwarted by police at the train station in Hanover. The couple, 7-year-old Anna-Lena and 6-year-old Mika, had planned their getaway with Anna-Lena's 5-year-old sister Anna-Bell while their parents slept off New Year's Eve celebrations. With suitcases packed with sunglasses, swimsuits, summer clothes, stuffed toys and some food, the trio took a streetcar to the central station to board a train to the airport. A guard, concerned to see the three young children waiting on their own, called police. "What struck us was that the little ones were completely on their own and that they had lots of swimming gear with them," said Holger Jureczko, a police spokesperson. He described Mika and Anna-Lena as "sweethearts" who had "decided to get married in Africa where it is warm." The boy had once been to Italy and convinced the girl that Africa would be even warmer. Anna-Lena told the German television station RTL: "We wanted to get married and so we just thought: 'Let's go there.' "Asked why they failed to let their parents know, the children said they thought they would not be gone for long.
Anna-Lena's mother, who was not identified, said she had known nothing of the plan. "I'm still in a state of shock. I thought, 'I'm playing a part in a bad movie.' " The police told the trio it would be difficult to get to Africa without money or tickets and instead gave them a tour of the police station before handing them over to their parents.
Now, if it were me eloping to Africa, I would first have to: get my legs waxed; check to make sure that my passport hadn't expired; get shots for tetanus, diptheria, hepatitis every-letter-of-the-alphabet, measles, mumps, rubella, polio, rabies, typhoid and meningococcal meningitis; do research to find out how to avoid ebola, cholera, dengue fever, sleeping sickness, tuberculosis and schistosomiasis ; find out which countries are experiencing civil war; read The Lonely Planet Guide to Africa; figure out where to stay each night; figure out where the closest coffee shop is to all accommodation; buy a mosquito net; arrange lunch with friends to gloat; find someone to feed the cats; get a haircut; buy a book to read on the plane; arrange time off work; watch Out of Africa; read up on Jane Goodall; find out where the best bonobo-sightings are; buy anti-malaria prophylactics; buy a digital camera; learn how to use digital camera; figure out whether anyone uses traveller's cheques anymore, and if so, get some; if not, figure out how to pay for things; stock up on sunscreen and small bottles/tubes of shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, dental floss, face cleanser, toner, body lotion, and calamine lotion; and find a hat that looks fashionable, provides sun protection for the entire face and neck, and can withstand cramped conditions for 24 hours or more.
I would then look at the list, become overwhelmed, and decide it would be easier just to hop in the car and go to Ottawa or Toronto instead.
It's no wonder the road to wonder is less travelled by adults. It's full of twists, turns, diversions, and obstacles of all sorts. For children, on the other hand, the route is direct. And that's what makes them so wonderful.
7 comments:
Those Europeans are SO advanced.
We will elope, Helen, when we are young enough to do so.
Such a great post. Absolutely loved it.
"In this land we will never be more than betrothed children." --Arthur Rimbaud
Coffee. Important. When we traveled out west, I had the darnedest time surviving Utah.
I particularly liked the item - "arrange lunch with friends to gloat."
And our bookclub has a special category of books for flying - very important.
All that planning though? For me it's part of the journey, the wonder, even though some of it is painful.
Word verification today: maliti (how did it know?)
Oh oh oh what a perfect post—and a little too close for comfort, listwise. Oh, to just freaking DO something! Thank you.
Susan: Quite. And yet so many still smoke.
Deloney and Indigo: Thanks, and Deloney, I don't think I can pull a Benjamin Button, but if by chance my life does start going in reverse I will be in touch.
Bridgett: Oh yes. Almost the most important thing when travelling.
Mali: Good point. I do like planning where to go and what to do. I don't like any of the other preparation though.
I'm more like you, Helen, I have to plan.
Loved this post.
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