A tourist in his own country visits the Black Forest: Nagold, a small town surrounded by dark, steep forests. No parking space in the centre is free, so the forest around it is something completely different. A sign in front of the local CDU association with its 70s-style curtains indicates that parking is prohibited. I park my car. Nagold is quiet, dark and empty this evening. My tour of the town takes 15 minutes.
Hobbingen: The houses may not have grass on the roofs, but there is plenty of wood in the walls. The windows are small. The residents hide behind them. The streets are so clean that the village alcoholics look even dirtier. Two auxiliary hip-hoppers in white gangsta outfits waddle to the nearest hotspot with beer bottles.
There is a computer section in the local bookshop. There are a dozen books with titles like “Grandad, you can do that too” and “My first homepage”. In front of it is the “Bargain Guide Baden-Württemberg”. A ruined castle stands on top of the hill above the old town centre, but no one knows whether it was a castle or a fortress.
The country roads are framed by frog protection fences and orchards. Every village has its -ingen and even the smallest has a superfluous traffic light to create order. Posters advertise the upcoming Baclay James Harvest concert. A good wind blows over the hills, but there are no lakes.
I visit Kai. He’s gone back on his promise. He is now working 12 hours a day again. At least now he gets paid for it. When he tells me what he wasn’t paid by his last employer, I just think that all my debtors are funny little jokers in pink cowboy hats.
Baden-Württemberg is very safe. There’s a law for every little fart and they’re enforced. The internet is also very safe. I walk around Nagold with my laptop looking for an open hotspot. There are hundreds. All secured. With WPA, not WEP.
Everything is incredibly green and thick rain clouds hang overhead. I cook just as green and regional: wild garlic spaetzle, courgettes, fennel, broccoli. Resting, working, sleeping.
Frank Woelky, born in 1973. Kitesurfer since 1998. Since 2006, I have been combining kitesurfing and web design on trips lasting several months off the beaten track.