May 16, 1971

Hello everyone.  I hope everything is going well back home.  Everything is going OK for me here.

The weather is getting quite summer-like now.  The last week or so it's been in the 70's and 80's with a thunderstorm every now and then.

It looks like for sure, now that Lt. Garrnet (the club custodian) will be leaving for Vietnam sometime around the first of July.  He tried very hard to get out of it, but he just got his orders a few weeks ago.  So I kind of suspect that I will be taking over when he leaves, although no one has said anything about it, one way or the other to me.  As I said before, the club here is in much better condition than my old one.  You don't have to worry about every nickel and dime and hope and pray that you make a profit at the end of the month.

I'm still planning on making 1st Lt. sometime around the first of June, but haven't heard anything about it for sure yet.

You've probably heard about the proposed 50% reduction in troops over here.  Personally I hope it gets passed because it might mean that I could leave here earlier.  Politically I can see how it would be a bad idea to withdraw 50% of our forces but practically I think that it's a good idea.  The US army over here is doing absolutely no observable good by being here.  In the event of a Russian attack into Western Europe the NATO forces would act merely as a warning force and possibly a delaying force until more and better equipped forces could be mobilized.  I feel that if the Russians really tried they could sweep through West Germany in a week's time if all they had to cope with was the NATO forces presently stationed here.  Because of the Vietnam War the American troops over here are poorly equipped, and the equipment we have is in bad condition.

So I feel that half of our troops could be as good a warning force as the whole lot of them, and maybe they could use the money saved to better supply and equip the ones that are left.

Now I want to tell you about my upcoming leave plans.  I'm really getting excited about it.  On this Friday afternoon (May 21) I am going to leave here and head south.  My main goal is Monaco, which is on the French Riviera.  The reason I have decided to go there, of all the places in Europe I had to choose from is because on May 23 (Sunday) in Monte Carlo is the famous Monte Carlo Grand Prix.  This race is the climax of the European racing season, and is probably the most spectacular because it is run right through the city streets of Monte Carlol.  After I've seen the race, which is my main goal I will still have about 5 days left.  During this time I will kind of see where my car leads me.  I have a lot of secondary goals I want to see if something else doesn't come up.  During this week, the world famous Cannes film festival will be going on in Cannes, which is also on the French Riviera.  I might drop in on that too.  Then I more or less plan to head slowly back up north going through Switzerland.  While in Switzerland two things I want to see are Interlaken and the Matterhorn, which I've always dreamed of seeing.  Possibly before I head up north I might go to Venice Italy, which would be a little out of the way, but I will see when I get down there.  I'll probably also stop in Innsbruck Austria for a while since it's right on the way back.  Another thing that is right in the same area is the country of Liechtenstein, which is on the border of Austria and Switzerland.  It would be interesting to see it because it's one of the smallest countries in the world.  As I come back up through southern Germany I want to stop and see Hitler's Eagles' Nest, which is in Berchtesgaden.  Also there is a lake near there called Chiem Lake, which has a castle on an Island, which is supposed to be well worth seeing.  Lastly I might stop by Dachau, which is near Munich.

I probably won't see all these things, but it gives me a lot of choices and I can hardly wait to get started; who knows I might like the Riviera so much that I might stay there for the whole week.  I'll be bringing with me an army sleeping bag, so I won't have to depend on hotels if everything is filled up.

I'll write you about all the details of the trip as quickly as possible when I get back and of course I will be taking plenty of pictures.

May 17

Today I got Dad's letter in the mail.  Thanks a lot and also thanks for sending me my tax refund, that will help cover the extra costs of my trip quite well.

Gas is very cheap over here if you are in the Army.  It costs me only $12.70 for a coupon book worth 200 liters of Esso Extra.  That's a little over 50 gallons and I can buy as much as 400 liters per month,  So far I've gotten by on 200 liters a month, mostly because of the good gas milage I get, around 25-30 miles per gal.

So far no more problems with flights in the club, but I can't say I've really made any friends of this group of officers either.  They are kind of a surly bunch.

Well I think this is the last sheet of paper I can squeeze in one envelope, so I guess I will call it quits for now  By the time you get this letter I should be on my way to Monte Carlo for a well deserved vacation from the Army, and anything that resembles and Officers club.

May 13, 1971

 Dear Mom and Dad,
Here we go again, more pictures.
Below the Bamburg Castle, and below Domburg we come to the first branch of the Regnitz River which runs through the heart of the city.  The regnitz is, in turn a branch of the River Main.

Looking across this river you will see the second of Bamberg's two large churches.  Not that there are only two churches in Bamburg, as a matter of fact there are at least 12 in the city.  This particular one is called Michaelsberg, or St. Michaels.

A closer look at St. Michaels.

Closer yet.  I'm just sorry that I didn't dare take pictures inside, because at the time I went in people were inside worshiping.  It's really beautiful inside to say the least.  Also inside are the remains of Bishop Otto, whoever he was.

In this picture I have come down from the hills around Bamburg and into the city proper.  This is the second branch of the Regnitz River.  The two branches of the river make the middle section of Bamburg into an island.

I took this picture from the footbridge in the picture above this one.  This particular building is the old City hall.  As you can see it's built right in the middle of the river.  I wouldn't want to have any wild parties in that half timbered building hanging so delicately over the water.

This is also the old City Hall from a different angle.  The entire walls on both side of this building are covered with these fantastic paintings.

This statue is the same one that's on the right hand side of the bridge in one of the pictures above.

In a newer section of town, in a residential area I came across this interesting fountain.

Another fountain, this one of a more modern design.  There is a lot of contrast in Germany between the extremely old and extremely new and modern.

I close this group of pictures with two old quacks.  I have just scratched the surface of Bamburg with these pictures.  Everywhere you turn there is a possible picture of interest.  I hope you still find the pictures interesting, if so I will keep pouring them on.

May 12, 1971

Dear Mom & Dad,

Here are some more pictures for you.  These were all taken here in my new home away from home, Bamburg.  I took a chance and tried some cheap Japanese film for these pictures and I'm afraid you can tell the difference in the quality of them.  Very shortly I will try to get out another letter with more details, but now for these pictures.

 On the highest hill overlooking Bamburg is a very old castle.  This is a picture of the watch-tower inside the courtyard of the castle.

 This was taken from the castle; that's the city of Bamburg down below.  You will notice that the U.S. isn't the only country with pollution problems.  If you look closely through the haze you will be able to see two imposing structures.  These are both very large church's which you will see closer views of later.

 I climbed up the tower in the first picture (for a small fee of 10 pfennigs, or about 2 1/2 cents) and took this picture.  This was taken in the opposite direction of the city.

 Inside the walls of this castle is a pit, where in the old days, they kept bears or other wild animals for the amusement of the castle residents.  As you can see, the city of Bamburg still keeps this one lone bear in the same pit for the amusement of the tourists.

 Here's the same bear trying in vain to throw a little fear into the hearts of the onlookers.

 This is one of the churches that could been seen in the picture above.  It's called, simply, The Dom.  the church and a cluster of very old buildings around it are called collectively, Domberg.  This church was built between 1215 to 1237!  Inside are the tombs of Heinrich II and Pope Clement II.  At the present time, Bamburg is doing some major renovation work on this very old building to keep it from collapsing to the ground.  It is somewhat of a disappointment inside because of the extensive work going on there.

 These are two more of the four towers of the Dom.

 Here is one of the massive front doors of the Dom.

Across the square from the Dom is this building which in some past time was some type of church headquarters.  This whole area is very interesting especially if one is interested in architecture.  I quote form an English guide book I picked up.  "Here a square (Domburg) of really solemn greatness and impressiveness has emerged in the course of time.  In seven hundred years, from the heroic 12th until the end of the princely 18th century, the edifices, surrounding this square, have gradually come into existence.  Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque have united here exhaling a stream of German individualism, a world of pain and joy of battle and prayer.  The drama of this situation should appeal even to the least imaginative." Note that you can see my car parked in front.

There is another envelope on it's way with 10 more pictures.

April 22, 1971

Dear Mom & Dad,
Well, I'm now in Bamburg, Germany, where my new club is.  I really like it here, so far a lot better than Illishiem.  It's really quite a big city with around 70,000 people in it.  The city itself is very beautiful.  There are two rivers that run through the middle of the city which gives the town it's nick name of the "Venice of Germany".  I have also heard it called the "Rome of Germany" because it is built between 7 hills, like Rome.  On one of the hills overlooking the city is a very old castle. Another reason why Bamburg might be given these nick names of Italian cities is because about half of the population is Italian!  Most of the major stores and businesses in the city are owned by Italians and you hear almost as much Italian spoken on the streets as you do German.  Also in Bamburg, there are many very old medieval buildings and churches.  They say that it is one of the very few cities in Germany that had almost all of it's beautiful old buildings and churches saved from bomb damage during the second World War.  I've been going crazy taking pictures of everything to show you.

Also the Officer's Club here is much much better than Illishiem.  There are about 350 to 375 members here instead of the 135 at Illishiem.  The building itself is about four times bigger than my old one.  It is a rather old building and needs some remodeling work on the inside, but on the whole it is a palace compared to Illeshiem.

The financial condition of the club, which is the real important thing from my stand point, is also very good.  They have plenty of money in the bank and we are right now finishing up the annual audit, which has been going on for about a month.  They haven't finished the final report yet but it looks fairly good with no major problems.  This is really a great relief to be some place which isn't a hopeless situation to begin with.  Right now I am Assistant Custodian working under a 1st Lt. who is the full Custodian.  This Lt. has been here for over a year and sometime this summer he is scheduled to go to Vietnam, so it looks like I will be taking his place when he leaves which I think was the main idea of me being sent here.

By the way, I just found out that in March, which was the first month that I was official custodian of Illishiem, the club made money for the first time in about 6 months.  It may have been just luck, but at least it sounds good.

My Manger here at Bamburg is Italian, from the Bronx N.Y.  Also, about 75% of the other employees here are Italian, which makes the language problem a little worse.  If I get back to the states with an Italian-German accent, you'll know the reason why!  I get along with the Manager here pretty good, which is also helpful, since I couldn't stand the manager at Illishiem who was an old Drill Sgt before he became a club manager.  his main problem was that he hated officers, and especially 2nd Lt's.  By the way, just before I left Illishiem I came across some bills charged to the club that I knew we had never made.  It turned out that my Manager had charged some things to the club and kept them for himself.  We found the stuff in his room and he was relieved for misappropriation of government funds.

Yes I would say that on the whole I am very happy about my change here to Bamburg.  There is only one thing I have found her that I do't care for, and that is that a lot of the officers that come to the club are real A----'s.  This weekend, we had about 3 or 4 all-out fights in the club.  One. Lt. hit another Lt. so hard that he broke his jaw.  Blood is really hard to get out of carpets!  About a half hour after that happened two Captains and a Lt. got in a real bar room brawl over a slot machine.  They ripped out part of the slot machine and broke a glass case on a pinball machine.  Then my Manager got his Italian temper up and hit one of them over the head with a beer bottle.  We then called up the MP's and had every body in the club thrown out and closed up the club for the night.  Well at least I got to go to bed early that night!

I'm beginning to get writer's cramp, so I guess I will close for now.