Knighted ferries – silverfox175

I was sixteen when I made my first visit ‘abroad’ in 1960, (I do not count Wales).

I had been asked by a family friend, who was a teacher, to help look after a group of British school children while youth hosteling in Germany or DJH short for Deutschland Jugendherbergen

We were to stay at Youth Hostels as we made our way up the Rhine by rail and returned via paddle steamer Bismark.

Paddle steamer ‘Bismark’

Due to the long journey from Birkenhead to Ostend, the group leader had booked us in to the Zeebrugge youth hostel in Belgium, which was a short distance along the coast from Ostend. The one thing I do remember about Ostend was a particular coffee bar, which had a jukebox.Jukeboxes were not new to us, but we had never seen a jukebox linked to a TV screen. For one Belgium franc (well before the EEC and the Euro) we were able to play popular songs and watch the singer on the screen. This is the only memory I have about my first visit to a foreign city.