All right, so I'm starting to get a handle, somewhat, on the West German setting for my novel. The action will take place, I've decided, in Bavaria (ski resort town), and in Baden-Wurttemberg (the Black Forest). As I go along, I'm generating questions about everyday life . . . and life that wasn't so everyday. Here's a few: If you were a farmer living up the slope of a mountain in the Schwarzwald, 12 km from the nearest village, how would you get your post? How did electrical and telephone wires get to places like that, on wooden poles, or steel pylons, or how? I've learned it was common for such households to pipe in water from a mountain spring for their use. Might they have had springhouses to take advantage of the refrigeration qualities of the water, even if said springhouses might have been replaced by refrigerators by 1982? Did the 1976 VW Polo Mark I have seat belts? If you needed a family-sized car and didn't want to attract attention or stick out, what make and model would you buy? If you wanted to take a trip to America, say, was it like now, where you need to purchase your airplane ticket well in advance, so it would be affordable? About how far in advance would that need to be? Assuming there were local or regional radio stations at that time, how much autonomy would the station manager have, as in booking guests for an interview program? I'll think of more as I go along, but these are some where Google has not helped me, at least so far. EDIT/ADDITIONS Would the notary in a tiny village, say, of 500 people or fewer, have a separate office he or she would work at, or would people come to her in an office in her home? What kind of office hours would he keep? Was the role of notary ever or usually combined with another, like postmaster/mistress or banker?
One of the things a friend who lives in Germany marvels at when she visits the States is that we still have above-ground power-lines. In at least some parts of Germany that were rebuilt after WW2, the utility cables are all under ground. I don't know if that's the case throughout the entire country, but at least it's a place to start your research.
You know what I wish? I wish I could scrape up the money to fund a research trip. And improve my Deutsch enough to make it worthwhile
My mother lives/d in Austria. I'm too young to remember these details from 1980s, but she and her partner hopefully not Austria is not West Germany, but I hope close enough. If you want, I'll ask her next time I talk to her (probably tomorrow).
Oh, would you? I've established that the crucial scenes will take place in and around a Schwarzwaldhaus, which would be, as you'd expect, in the Black Forest. How the electrical comes up the mountain could be crucial, because I may need someone to interrupt it at some point. Plus the other questions want answered, of course.
Yeah, I'll do it. My mother grew up in rural Austria, at the northern border to Tschechoslovakia. Lots of woods up there, and I imagine that electricity and postal services would have worked about the same as in Western Germany. I'll ask her tomorrow
Yay! This process of doing research for the sequel is disconcerting. All I see is Book 1 all nice and complete, and I forget how long it took me to pull all the background info together for it.
Here are the answers from my mother. She lived in a rural town, but she stressed that it really was a 'town' (my own memories say it was a village—to a city kid). If you were a farmer living up the slope of a mountain in the Schwarzwald, 12 km from the nearest village, how would you get your post? It would be delivered by a postman on a motorbike, once a day. Not directly to the house, but to the place where the road to the house branches off from the big street. How did electrical and telephone wires get to places like that, on wooden poles, or steel pylons, or how? During the 1980s a big change took place: Overland poles got replaced by cables below ground. Got charged for that service, too (quite a lot my mother says. She still bears a bit of a grudge.) I've learned it was common for such households to pipe in water from a mountain spring for their use. Might they have had springhouses to take advantage of the refrigeration qualities of the water, even if said springhouses might have been replaced by refrigerators by 1982? A few houses had springs, but most got their water from the main waterpipe, that came down from the hill and a big spring. If this supply was insufficient, some dug their own wells. With regard to refiguration, during the 1980s families got their first refrigerators. Until then, they stored food in the cellar to keep it cold. No one had large quantities of food around. Meat would have been eaten at most two times a week. Did the 1976 VW Polo Mark I have seat belts? During the 1980s, the cars didn't have seat belts. (My own memory tells me about a seat belt, but I used to to play with it and I wouldn't have used it if someone had told me I should.) If you needed a family-sized car and didn't want to attract attention or stick out, what make and model would you buy? VW Käfer or Opel Berliner. Japanese cars just came on the market and it was a sign of wealth to own a Japanese car. If you wanted to take a trip to America, say, was it like now, where you need to purchase your airplane ticket well in advance, so it would be affordable? About how far in advance would that need to be? You'd go to the local travel agency office and book what they give you. There was no so such thing as cheaper tickets in advance. Assuming there were local or regional radio stations at that time, how much autonomy would the station manager have, as in booking guests for an interview program? Just speaking about Austria, but there were three state sponsored radio channels, nothing else. Particularly important was the program 'Autofahrer unterwegs', pretty much everyone listened to it. I don't know if that program was specific to Austria, but Germany most likely had something similar. Would the notary in a tiny village, say, of 500 people or fewer, have a separate office he or she would work at, or would people come to her in an office in her home? 1600 locals, and we didn't have a notary. We had a major, who wasn't a major as his sole job. He worked somewhere else as second job. However, being major was a huge honour. The next notary was situated at the district centre, a few villages over. What kind of office hours would he keep? This my mother didn't know. Was the role of notary ever or usually combined with another, like postmaster/mistress or banker? My mother didn't know but I assume if there only was one notary for the whole district, that this job would have been full time.
re. the car thing: I lived there in '82 – Opel Rekord or Senator were reasonably anonymous family cars. My dad had a Mazda 626 saloon which had a shade more prestige.
Oooh, gosh, so glad I asked, and even more glad you (and your mother) responded. Especially about the notary. And thank your mom for the term "district centre." Assuming it's the same in Germany? With the radio station I was thinking about a live interview. Hmm. Now I wonder if they would be able to conduct it over the phone, or if the interviewees would have to drop by the studio in person. That might be something I can fake.
LOL! I drove a 1988 Mazda 323 sedan for about eight years (sold it in 2005). Fairly reliable, but booooorrrrring! Only car I never named. Looked up the 1979 version of the Rekord. Yeah, that'll do.
