At this point in my travels following Karl around the world, there is no mistaking that I’m walking around in the 21st century. Even when I find myself in those open-air museums of the 1900s (Bonazaville and Portage la Prairie), many obvious realities confirm I’m travelling 120 years after Karl. Whether that is hearing the drone of cars, seeing the tail of a distant airplane in the sky, or overhearing a stranger talking on a cell phone while wearing earbuds, you know, dear reader, the sounds of life as we know it. And as much as I try to imagine what it looked like when Karl was in a particular location, based on archived images, it’s a challenge for me to truly see what the world looked like for Karl.
However, my perspective changed while in Cologne and I went back to the past on a historical virtual reality time ride.
The ride takes you through Cologne in the first electric streetcar. But first, you steered through a series of rooms where the characters and plot are presented. We meet Tessa, the enthusiastic local hat maker finishing a special order that needs to be delivered to the market on time. The timeliness depends on Pitter, the charismatic streetcar driver.
No sooner did Tessa finish her hat and pass it over to Pitter, we (the ticket holders for this time ride) board the streetcar. There’s a pause before we embark on the route with Pitter to the market as we are assisted in putting on our high-tech virtual reality (VR) headset that will enable us to go back to the past — no DeLorean needed here.
If you are unfamiliar with the VR world, imagine strapping on heavily weighted goggles so that you are now looking at a visual screen instead of seeing through. When activated, the screen shares various images that can change as a person turns their head, providing an immersive experience. This process essentially confuses your eyes and brain, so your reality is now altered, and you are in a virtual environment. The fun aspect of a VR experience is that it extends beyond just a visual element but adds other sensory stimulation with sounds, smells, temperature changes, and vibrations.
Once all the passengers are on board, the streetcar departs.
I’m sitting in the middle of the streetcar — we all are in the VR world — and looking straight ahead, I can see the back of Pitters’ head as he waves to someone he knows while winding through the old streets of Cologne. Next to me is another passenger, a dapper-looking man in his “sepia” coloured suit, and if I turn my head 180 degrees, a woman is carrying an empty basket heading to the market.
Beyond my new travelling companions, I can look beyond the streetcar to the town we travel through. There’s no colour in my new reality or cars on the road let alone iPhones and earbuds. Instead, I have a 360-degree panoramic view of the iconic landmarks of old Cologne, some still exist today, and others destroyed during World War II. We pass the old central train station, the Schauspielhaus Theater, City Hall and, of course, the beautiful Cologne Cathedral looking as it does today but now in a setting no longer of this century.
It was my first VR ride, and it truly felt like I was in a different world being transported on Pitters’ streetcar in old Cologne. I found myself returning a smile to the gentleman on the seat next to me, who seemed to be smiling at me as we travelled to the market. I wave back to the butcher and the baker, who are beckoning me into their respective shops. Then I find myself automatically raising my hand to pull the wire and stop the streetcar when I spot a fellow riding along on his bicycle. I am ready to shout out: “Hey Karl, wait up and meet me at the Cathedral, I have lots of questions for you….” when I remember that life in 1901 isn’t my reality, I’m just visiting from the future!