Journeymen (and women!)

Almost ever since I begun to learn German, I have been thrilled about the notion of the ‘Wandergeselle’. They are young men and women who, having completed their apprenticeships, decide that they need more experience in order to become proper masters of their trade. In order to gain that experience, they must travel for 3 years from carpenter to carpenter or baker to baker offering their services to established craftsmen and asking for nothing in return. They must wear special, almost medieval costumes (the costume differs from trade to trade) and carry travellers walking sticks and their worldly belongings in a bundle over their shoulders. Although these days, I am quite sure they carry mobile phones, they are not supposed to earn a profit, only their keep and they must hitchhike from place to place searching for work and lodgings. Many of them even travel abroad on their mission to become better smith or better welders. They are a truly dedicated bunch.

You can imagine my excitement, therefore, when M, out of the blue does an illegal u-turn to on the main road out of Regensburg, to pick up a couple of oddly-clad journey 'people'. One, a young lady who only started out very recently, is an upholsterer and the other, a man at the end of his three years, is a locksmith / metal worker. They told us how, when they set out, for the first three months they are accompanied by a seasoned ‘Geselle’ who has already been travelling for some time so that they can learn the tricks of the trade and, basically, how to survive on the road sticking to the specific rules that apply to the journey. They were a young, unassuming couple and yet, they must really have had such inner confidence, not to speak of dedication and commitment, to undertake such a journey.

Maybe I don’t have much faith in the youth of today or, indeed, of Britain’s trades people but, somehow, I just can’t imagine your average young chippie or plasterer travelling for 3 years without earning a penny. Can you?