Early departure from a Gasthof when gricing

A common situtation for very many of us I am sure, whether from a Gasthof in Germany or elsewhere when steam was running in normal service. This was whilst I was on my car trip to Germany for steam in late May/early June 1972. Starting on the Mosel railway and heading off to the Craislheim area. On my own to start, but I picked up brother @gricerdon Don at Crailshein later in my more than a week long trip. The Gasthof below was near Salmrohr close to the Trier-Koblenz railway.

I've just written this in my German Steam loco memoirs, as it is an event I can still remember very clearly.

' . . . . . .I made an early start from my Gasthof on 28 May, and having mentioned that would be the case I had paid for my evening meal and overnight stay the previous evening. But 05.30 on a Sunday morning proved a little early, and it took a while for someone I had not seen the previous evening to unhappily arrive downstairs in the still locked up Gasthof. And he had not been told about my planned early start or that I had already paid for my stay. But I had my receipt and eventually the front door was unlocked and I made my escape. The weather hadn’t improved and though the expected Sunday morning freight traffic was running I soon left to drive to the Crailsheim area.

The best part of that journey was catching up with double headed 50 class 2-10-0s on a heavy freight from Heilbronn to Crailsheim, both locos throwing out wonderful exhaust columns. But of course, not when I got far enough ahead to stop and take photos!. . . . . . . '

Another instance that Don reminded me of recently was in 1971 when we had stayed a night in a small hotel opposite the station at Horb. We had gone there to bash the lovely 038 class 4-6-0s. Our plan was to go out across the road early to photo the steam activity and then return to the hotel for breakfast and to pay our bill of course. But despite assurances the front door would be open early, it wasn't. So we climbed out of a ground floor window and crossed the road to the station - appearing to any one watching that we were legging it to catch a train without paying our bill! Thankfully no one saw us - or at least didn't take any action - and we did indeed return later for our breakfast (through the now unlocked front door) and to pay for our stay.

Bryan