Erstellt am: 21. 9. 2012 - 22:04 Uhr

Die Sendung Ohne Rahmen

Two free-wheelin' Journeymen share the story behind their personal headline on Reality Check's 'My Reality'.

The FM4 community is chock-a-block with amazing stories and Reality Check's 'My Reality' is the forum on which they can be shared.
Over the past few years, we've heard from a young woman working with Doctors Without Borders, a cancer-awareness activist, a same-sex couple contemplating the current state of civil rights in Austria... We've heard stories from all sorts of walks of life and speaking of walking, the protagonists of this Saturday's 'My Reality' literally walked straight to my desk in the FM4 Redaktion, with their 'Stock und Hut' and their story.

Radio FM4

Blacksmith Timon (top hat) and Landscape Gardener Fabian (floppy hat)

Journeymen, Swagmen, Wandergesellen

....whatever you call them, they are 'Auf der Walz'.
It's a centuries-old tradition that once encompassed Britain, France, Denmark,Germany, Switzerland and Austria and in more recent years, even Australia. Now, young tradesmen (and a comparatively small percentage of tradeswomen) are reviving the custom of journeying to destinations outside of their 'comfort zone' to trade and build on their skills.

The English word journeyman still describes a stage in training between apprentice and master and is used as such by some British companies, but their journeymen don't necessarily travel these days.

The German realm of Europe has six societies fielding some 700 travelling journeymen and women from dozens of different trades every year. In France, three organisations claim medieval descent and run residential centres throughout the country, where skills are taught to young crafts and tradesmen and women and they live communally.

Blacksmith Timon and gardener Fabian are Journeymen or as they are described in German, they are ‘Wandergesellen’ and they gave me some pretty cool insights into what it's like to travel with a ZERO budget for three years and one day (there are some very interesting rules to follow when you're 'Auf der Walz'). Check out 'Their Reality', this Saturday as of 12 midday on FM4’s “My Reality: The Wanderers”.

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