June 6, 1971

Dear Mom & Dad,

It will be another week or two before the pictures which I took on leave are developed, but until then here are some pictures I took before I went on Leave.  The pictures in this envelope were almost all taken at a place called Coburg Castle.  The Castle is in a fairly small town called Coburg, which is about 35 miles from Bamburg and only about 10 miles from the East German Border.

This first picture gives you somewhat of an idea of what the castle looks like from a distance although it makes it seem smaller than it really is.

This is the main entrance to the castle.  The walls and the main buildings inside are all in very good condition.

This is a shot of the same tower that was in the picture above except it was taken from the inside.

Also inside the walls, I took this picture of the largest cannon I have ever seen.  Although you can't see them in this picture, the top of the cannon is covered with many very elaborate carvings.

Up against one of the inside walls of the castle I saw this German war memorial.  From the dates on the top of it, it seems like it is probably for the First World War.

I believe this part of the castle is called the ramparts.  As you can see they still have the old cannons in their positions.

This is just a closer look at one of the cannons above and also a little view of the countryside around the castle.

I was lucky enough to be there just as they were starting a tour of the inside of one of the buildings, so I got in on it.  The commentary was all in German, so I really don't know the details about the things I saw inside, but it was very interesting just looking around.  Unfortunately I only had one flash bulb with me so I used it on this suit of armor.  There were many things inside that were just as interesting though.

After I left the Coburg Castle I drove on out to the border, just to see what it looked like.  I had thought I would be able to get pictures of fences and guard towers, Russian patrols, etc., but as it turned out this sign was the only thing I saw that gave me any idea I was on the East German Border.  There probably were fences and everything else further down the road, but I thought it best to do what the sign said.  One thing I can't figure out though, and that is that they put that sign on a part of the road where there was absolutely no place to turn around!  I was forced to keep going till about where the road curves in the picture until I found a place to turn around.  I was glad to leave the area, because it gave ma a very uneasy feeling being that close!

This last picture is the last possible view of my car that I can get, unless I crawl under it and take one looking up.  As you can see the engine is not as big as you might think by looking at the outside of the car.  Also although you might think this is a rear engine car, technically it is a mid-engine car, mainly because it is in front of the rear axle.

More later...

June 3, 1971

Dear Mom, and Dad

Thank you for your Birthday card and letters.  I had a fine birthday, although I missed everyone very much.

This letter is to mainly tell you about my recent leave.  I really had a great time.  I saw quite a bit, and I doubt if I will ever forget it.  I had a few unpleasant experiences with the good ones, but all together they made up a very interesting trip.  Now for the details.

Friday afternoon, May 21, was when I finally got all my last minute preparations taken care of, hopped in my car and started my trip.  I drove all afternoon and at about 6:30 PM I arrived in Innsbruck Austria.  After a confusing drive around the city, I finally found a fairly inexpensive hotel to spend the night in.  I consider Innsbruck the most beautiful city I saw on my trip.  I only spent an evening and a morning there, but in that time I walked around quite a bit and was very impressed by what I saw.  It is completely surrounded by huge mountains, all of which are very spectacular.  The night I was there, there was a thunderstorm, and I have never heard such loud thunder.  I think this was because the mountains acted like a giant echo chamber.  It was like being bombed by heavy artillery.  I know now that it only takes about 6 hours to get to Innsbruck and that area down there so I will probably make a few weekend trips back to see a lot of the things I didn't have time to see this trip.

At about 10:00 AM I left Innsbruck and drove all day until at about 8:00 PM when I got to Monaco. It was a very long drive and an exhausting trip, but interesting.  When I left Innsbruck, I crossed the Austrian Alps through the famous Brenner Pass.  This is  surprisingly a very easy drive because it is all on one of Europe's most spectacular autobahns.  It is an excellent high way (and I do mean high!)  It is almost completely supported along its entire length by huge pillars.  Part of it goes accross the highest bridge in Europe.

As soon as I crossed the Brenner Pass, which didn't take too long, I came into Italy.  I went straight down through Trento and then Verona.  Then I went west to Milan, and then South again to Genoa.  From there I went along the coast until I finally came to Monaco.

I only stopped twice in Italy.  Once to rest and once for gas, and I'm sure it isn't fair to judge a country from such a brief encounter, but I did anyway, and my opinion of it was not good.  It's a hot dirty and extremely smelly country and most of all, they wrung more money out of me by just driving through than almost any other country I was in.  It seemed like every ten miles there was a toll booth that demanded very exorbitant fees for driving on their not so hot roads.  Worst of all, after driving all day through Italy I finally got to a town called San Remo, which is very close to the French border and about 30 miles from Monaco.  The traffic was very bad.  I guess everyone was going to Monaco because the race was the next day.  This very long line of traffic I was in would move about 10 feet and then stop for 2 or 3 minutes.  This pattern continued for about an hour.  I was almost out of the city when an old man started to step out into a cross walk.  naturally I stopped for him.. I was going very slow to begin with, because of all the traffic and I didn't even stop particularly suddenly, but I did stop, but the guy in back of me didn't!  When I felt him hit my rear I almost felt like crying.  I had gone all this time without a scratch on my car.  It's hard to describe what happens to fiberglass when it's hit.  It doesn't dent but kind of rips and cracks.  So I can't say I dented my car but I did crack it!  It really isn't too bad, and most people haven't even noticed it, but at the time it seemed like it was a lot worse than it was, and it didn't make me feel too great.  I think it can be fixed with liquid fiberglass easier than a dent in a metal car could be fixed and it doesn't really bother me any more.  The guy that hit me was a young kid and had 3 other kids in his car so he must have taken his eyes off the road for a half a minute.  The only thing is, he only spoke Italian and it was very hard to communicate.  I did manage to get his name and license # but I don't think it will do me any good since he lives in Milan Italy.  He broke a headlight on his car and dented the fender.

Well I did manage to get to Monaco in one piece.  Monaco is a beautiful city in its own way, but not like Innsbruck.  When I was there it was jam-packed with people who were there to see the race.  There were no rooms available at all so I ended up sleeping in my car, which wasn't too bad.  I saw a lot of people sleeping on park benches, or just about any place that they could stretch out on.  I got up early the day of the race (mainly because a car seat is not conducive to sleeping in) and began a walking tour of the city.  Monaco reeks with richness.  You wouldn't believe the size of the boats in the harbor.  They had names of ports from all over the world on their sides.  You also wouldn't believe the number of exotic sports cars parked on the streets; Ferraris, maseratis and lamborghinis were the most prominent.  I was surprised to note that I didn't see another single Lotus Europa there.  Believe it or not my $3500 car got as many stares as the $20,000 Ferraris, even with a cracked rear end.  But I still felt out of place there.  It was simply too rich for my blood.

They had bleachers set up along various areas of the race course, but of course these were all reserved many months before.  It was possible to buy what they called a "circular" ticket for 25 Franks.  What this amounted to was a pass to walk the streets and try to find the best view possible.  I got one and felt that I would be able to walk the course and see the race from many angles.  My big mistake was that early in the morning I found a spot right near the road that gave me a perfect view of a very important corner.  I stayed there for hours and guarded it with my life, as more and more people came into the city.  About an hour before the race was to begin in the afternoon, the Monaco Police came and chased me and some fellow "circulars" out of our closely guarded position.  it turned out that we were in what was to be the "pit" area!  By this time every square inch of the city was taken up by a warm or semi warm body.  You would find it hard to believe the crowd that was there.  By this time in the afternoon it was impossible to get closer to the track than what seemed to be a least 3 miles.  After walking and walking I found a spot where I could see exactly 5 feet of race track with a high powered telescope.  I think I saw one or two blurs that were the race cars, and I heard something that sounded like the roar of engines or maybe it was my ears ringing.  Finally I gave up, went back to my car and left Monaco.  It just wasn't worth it.  Really I had a great time just being among all the excitement, and seeing all the interesting people.

From Monaco I went down the coast about 25 miles to Cannes.  Although Cannes is another big resort area, at this time it wasn't too crowded, even though the Film Festival was going on.  I stayed there for the rest of Sunday and all of Monday.  I found a very cheap hotel called the Hotel Verginia!  The best part about it was that included in the price of the room, you also got two meals a day.  Cannes is another haven of the rich, but it wasn't as bad as Monaco.  I went to one film while I was there, that was part of the festival.  If you go to the films at night it is mandatory that you wear a tux.  Needless to say I went to one in the afternoon.  I happened to see and American film, which was just so-so, but it was very serious business to everyone who was there.  Each movie is rated by a panel of international judges and at the end of the film everyone claps like they had just seen a play or something.  It was very interesting, and a least I can say that I've been to the Canne Film Festival.  Besides the Film Festival, there is not that much to see in Canne, except for the beach, which isn't as good as a lot of the ones I've seen in Oregon and Washington.  Oh, I had one experience in Canne that I won't soon forget.  I was walking around the city and I came to a crosswalk without any stop signs or lights.  There was however, a very clearly marked crosswalk which I was in.  I was about half way in the crosswalk when I noticed a car coming a good distance away.  He had plenty of time to stop or at least avoid me.  The next thing I knew he was a foot away and still going at a good rate of speed I must say.  Somehow or another I managed to leap just at the right moment and landed on his front hood!  I was not hurt at all, but I was just really lucky in this case.  The thing that really got me, more than being hit was that this guy was mad at me!  He only spoke French, but I got the idea that he thought I should have watched out for him!  I very seldom get real mad, especially at strangers, but this was about enough to do it.I think he may have learned some very expressive American slang, and if I had been listening more closely I probably would have learned some interesting French.

Oh well, no harm was done, and not too many people can say that they were hit while driving in Italy, and run over while walking in France...and live to tell about it, at least!  From then on I take extreme care in crossing all European streets!

From Cannes I made somewhat of a change in my original plans.  I drove north from cannes to Lyon France and then over to Geneva Switzerland.  I spent about a day and a half in that city.  Geneva was another city that I really enjoyed.  There is something about that city that give one a completely safe feeling when walking the streets no matter where or at what time of day or night.  All the main international and world organizations are headquartered in Geneva, so it has a very international feeling about it.  Mostly I just spent my time there walking around and looking at everything.  They have some very interesting stores there.  If I hadn't already had a good watch, Geneva would have been the place to buy one.  There is a least one watch store on every street!

From Geneva I went to Interlaken switzerland.  On the way to Interlaken I went over a road that until they build a road straight up Mt Everest, will surely take all prizes as the most hair raising and spectacular road in the world!  It was an 80 or 90 degree grade all the way, mixed in with 180 turns.  it was only 2 lanes, with 10000 foot drop offs on every side.  It was a very beautiful drive, but somewhat unnerving.

I really liked Switzerland.  It must have some of the most beautiful scenery in the world.  The area around Interlaken is very very nice.  The water of the two lakes is, I believe the cleanest looking I have ever seen.

Well that just about wraps up the story about my leave.  From Interlaken I went all the way back up to Frankfurt and the next week I spent with relatives who flew over, as I told you before.  Mainly I spent that week in areas of Germany that I had already seen.  I did spend a couple of days in Munich and managed to get away long enough to go into one of Munich's famous beer halls where I ordered a beer that was in a liter mug.  It was truthfully a fairly enjoyable week as well.

Well now I'm back in Bamburg and what I would like most is a chance now to rest up from my leave.  it was quite an experience.

I think this is my longest letter yet, so I must stop for now.  I took 6 rolls of film on my trip and I am anxious to get them developed so I can see them and then send them on to you

Well that's about all , will try to write again soon......

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.

April 21, 1971 #2

 Dear Mom & Dad
Well here are 10 more pictures all taken in the Illishiem area.

Here are two views of my car that you haven't seen before.  The first one is the inside as you can see.  It takes a little acrobatics to get in but once you get the hang of it, it is no problem.  It has a surprising amount of leg room, and is very comfortable.  As you can see I don't have a radio yet, but plan to get one soon.

This is the front compartment, which has a small luggage space and spare tire.

Here is an interesting shot of a helicopter about to land at the air strip in Illishiem.

In the small town of Bad Windsheim, 3 KM's from Illishiem, I took this picture of this very large statue near the Rathaus (City-Hall)

In Germany there is a very popular sport which you seldom see in the states and that is glider flying.  People who are interested in this sport form clubs, and pool their money and buy two or three gliders for the use of all the members.  Every Sunday afternoon the local glider club would bring their planes to a field near Storck Barracks and practice their sport.  They take any one who wants to go up for rides gladly, for 10 Marks.  ($3.00)  I never got up enough nerve to go up, but they say it is a lot of fun.  It was fun enough for me, just to watch.  This picture is of a glider just as it is taking off.  The plane is attached to a cable which is connected to a wench way down at the other end of the field.  The wench starts up and pulls the glider toward it until the plane has enough speed to gain a high altitude.  It's kind of like running with a kite, until it begins to fly.  When the glider is high enough the cable is disconnected and the glider is then on its own with nothing but the wind to keep it up.

Here is one of them just as it is about to land.  I think this picture came out pretty well.

 Here some people are moving this one out of the way to make room for another glider about to land.

Here is a closer view of a couple of them.  Two people can fit in the cockpit.

Another shot of one about to land.

I think this last picture is my favorite so far.  This is really not too common of a sight any more in Germany.  Tractors do most of the farm work, but if you go far enough out in the country you can still see things like this every now and then.
That's all for now....