Look out, Europe! Marion Hunter has arrived!

As I was growing up, I always remember my mother talking about her year in Europe.  While I knew she had gone over there to teach school, to hear her tell her tales you’d think she’d gone over for a debutante’s tour across the pond.  Most of what she talked about were the places she had gone and the things she had seen.  Like being in Jerusalem and Bethlehem at Christmas and at the Vatican in Rome.  And of course we were always looking at her slides, which were mostly of her travels or Army base stuff.  I don’t ever remember the slide of her students, but maybe that was because it’s just the tops of their little bitty heads! J

To hear Mother tell it, this was the grandest adventure she ever had.  After reading her diary, I can certainly understand why she thought so.  I often wondered when in the world she actually had time to teach school after reading about all the places she and her friends went.  Reading the diary gave me insight into the things she didn’t share, like the day to day life (and the nightlife!) on an Army base in a foreign country.  She was there less than a decade after the end of World War II and so there were still places that were scarred from battle and they were so close to the Iron Curtain, which is hard for me to imagine.  Those were the days when you had to visit Israel and Egypt in a particular order, I remember her telling me.  I am amazed that she went to places that were still brimming with conflict without, apparently, a second thought.

The first time I went to Europe was in the mid-80’s (I can never remember the exact year).  I went with my best friend Debbie.  Her brother-in-law was in the Air Force and stationed in Germany and Debbie had gone over the year before and then asked me to come with her for her second trip.  I remember being a little disappointed that Mother and Daddy didn’t seem more enthusiastic about my trip when I told them, but then again, they were pretty matter of fact people, so I guess they were excited in their own way.  But they did talk to me about where we were going and what we’d be doing.  I think they were just pleased that I was getting an opportunity to go over there.

I went during the glory days of European travel. J  This was pre-Euro and the dollar was super strong against every currency.  I think we got 3 ½ marks to the dollar and 11 francs to the dollar and 22 schillings to the dollar!  So I was able to buy a lot for a little.  I still remember Debbie’s sister Beverly giving us each about 25 schillings when we were in Salzburg and telling us not to spend it all in one place. J  I was amazed at how much we had to buy to actually spend it all!

We visited places that my mother wrote about, like Paris and Garmisch and Salzburg.  It was fun to see her pictures of places I had taken pictures of.  But I didn’t really appreciate it as much as I did once I read her diary and really got to “hear” her experiences and compare them to mine.  By the time I was reading the diary I had made two more trips to Europe and had been to some places she had not and had also spent time in Florence and Venice, following again in her footsteps.

But I’m getting a little ahead of myself.  I don’t know if she had any plans for what she would do while she was in Europe.  I don’t know how much was spontaneous or whether she had her own “bucket list” of places she hoped to see.  But first she had to get adjusted to living in a foreign land.  My brother Paul and his family have been living in France for about three years and I would imagine they had some of the same challenges that Mother did, adjusting to different customs and cultures and ways of doing things.  Not knowing the language and feeling very out of place.  And so her odyssey begins in late August of 1953….

August 24, 1953

We changed trains in Nurnberg at 10 o’clock this morning.  Got on the Munich train - coaches.  These are just like the ones in the movies – six in a compartment.  Also you pull the windows down from the top and you hang out.

The countryside is beautiful.  Every spare inch of ground is under cultivation, and it all looks so neat.

You see flowers everywhere.  Even the train stations (Bahnhof) have flowering plants hanging on the platforms.

You can still see evidences of the bombings everywhere.  They have built back a lot and are still building.  Almost all of the men wear the short pants and long socks.  Most of the people ride bicycles or motor scooters.  You can even see people putting their bicycles on the trains with them.  It’s all very fascinating.

When we got to Munich, people from the RTO met us at the station.  They took us to the Army base for some processing.  Then we came to the Hotel Columbia – run by the Army.  We have nice big rooms (2 in a room) for 75 cents a night.  We came home and took a nap.  Then Ruth, Barbara and I went out to find a restaurant.  What with our couple of German words and almost all sign language we found a sidewalk café.  It was very atmospheric.  We had a good dinner for about 25 cents, but I couldn’t tell you what we ate.  When we walked in, everyone stared at us.  It certainly did seem funny – we are the foreigners now.

It certainly is frustrating not to be able to understand people or to be able to talk to them.  But maybe we will some eventually.

We didn’t run into a single person who spoke English.  But it was fun.

August 25, 1953

More processing all day.  Got up at 6 o’clock for breakfast – had to wait in line again and finally got served about 7 o’clock.  Got the bus about 7:30 out to the McGraw Kaserne (the post) [former military installation in Munich, used by the US military during the occupation of Germany after WWII].

Spent all morning processing.  Then Barbara had trouble with her papers so it took us until about 2 o’clock.  Then took a taxi to the American Embassy to have our passports amended in order to travel in the rest of Europe.

Then Muriel, Barbara and I went to the Bahnhof on the trolley.  It was a scream.  We got on and asked how much.  He told us but we couldn’t understand.  Finally Muriel figured it out.  Anyway we rode and trusted to luck and our luck held out because we got there.  We picked up our tickets and went to the outdoor café in the station.  Here we struggled with our meager German and our sign language and ordered Kaffe and kuchen.  While were looking for a phrase in our dictionary, the man with whom we were sitting asked us in perfect English if he could be of any help.  We just howled but he was very nice.  When we left the girl followed us and told us that we hadn’t paid for our coffee.  We couldn’t understand at first.

Then we got another trolley back to the Hotel and had the same trouble as before.  Tonight we went to the “Hofbrau Haus” for dinner.  We had a little trouble getting there on the trolley, but we made it.  The Hofbrau Haus is a tremendous hall where they serve beer in steins that hold a little over a quart.  We had wonderful steaks for about $1.50.  You sit at tables for at least 8 and they fill up all of the places.  They seated us with a very nice Swedish couple.  Eventually they left and our table filled up with Americans.  There was a Colonel Houston and his wife there who know Aunt Lillian and Uncle Merlin.

There was an orchestra and everyone danced.  Just before time to go home a woman from the audience sang.  Everybody hooked elbows and swayed and sang.  Then we all stood up on the chairs.  Then they usually stand on the tables, but she said that everyone had had too much beer for that tonight.

Some German boys came over to the table and talked to us.  They told us that what we had been saying for good night was good naked.

Just before we left we went into the “little girl’s room”.  A woman rushed in and wiped off the seat with a rag first.  Then when we washed our hands, she handed us the same old towel everybody else had used.

We really had a wonderful time at a typical German beer hall!

The toilets here are most peculiar.  The tank is way up on the wall.  You either push a button or pull a chain to flush them.  And the seats are very narrow.

We have had a grand time in Munich – 2^nd largest city in Germany.  The post where they processed us used to be the Nazi Quartermaster Headquarters.  The room we used was a conference room where Hitler and all of the wheels probably met.

August 26, 1953

Left Munich at 9 o’clock.  We had to change at Neufahrn where we supposedly had 2 minutes to get our bags off and change trains.  We madly pushed our bags through the windows and rushed over to our train.  It was third class – wooden floors and wooden seats.  I don’t believe that there was one other person on it who could speak English.

The school officer met us at the station in Straubing.  The town looks very nice – what we saw of it.  The driver took us to headquarters where we met the colonel and the adjutant.  The adjutant took us to our quarters and to lunch.  We are living at the Officers Club and have separate rooms.  We had our choice of living together or not, but we decided to live in separate rooms because of the space.  I have a nice size room and a dressing room large enough for our bags.  There is not too much in the room, but it is nice.  We eat here too.

This is the headquarters for the 6^th Cavalry Armored Regiment.  It is the last outpost before the Czech border.  Our troops patrol the border.  We are less than 20 miles from the Russians.  They tell us we are the very end.

Our hold luggage was here yesterday, so we spent the afternoon unpacking.  Late this afternoon we went by the office and met Capt. Jack Jernigan.  He asked us to go out on a party tonight with a gang.  It turned out to be a battalion staff party for their colonel who is leaving.  It was a progressive dinner and was wonderful.  We saw some movies that one of the boys had made around here.

Everyone was wonderful to us and so very friendly.  In fact everybody so far has been grand to us.  We really did start off with a bang.  It looks like this is going to be a nice assignment.

By the way!  This used to be a German Luftwaffe base.

August 27, 1953

This morning we got to sleep until we woke up for the first time since we left home.  After breakfast we walked around the post some – went to the APO, the PX, and the school.  The school seems to be very nice.  It used to be an officer’s club when the Germans were here.  We talked to the secretary and she was very nice and helpful.  The principal hasn’t come yet so we are on duty but actually we aren’t doing a thing.  We still don’t know what grades we will have.

Tonight we miscalculated and got downstairs too late to be served in the dining room, so we ate in the bar.  Met a boy from Kings Mtn.  We sat around and chatted and played cards.  Then about 10 o’clock we went downtown to two of the night spots – “The Capitol”.

This outfit and the other two cavalry battalions are the ones that have to delay when and if the Russians ever do attack.  They delay for 12 hours while the rest of the troops here fall back to the Rhine.  If and when the bell is rung, they say to grab a bag and leave immediately – don’t go back for anything.  Actually the Intelligence will know 48 hours in advance.  But I am not worried because I have lots of faith in the US Army.  We really are in an exciting spot.

This is still a wonderful place and everybody is grand to us.  The word has certainly gotten around that we are here!  It’s nice all right!

The weather has been wonderful ever since we left home.  Here it is nice and warm during the day and cool at night.

August 28, 1953

We were going to catch a train to Berchtesgaden this afternoon, but one of the boys told us he would give us a ride to Munich.  He forgot us so we went ahead and got the cattle car to Munich even though we couldn’t get a train until in the morning.  Stayed at the Excelsior [near the Karlsplatz].  We went into the bar to get something to eat and ran into some of the girls from the ship.  There were a bunch of boys too.  After they closed the bar we all went to a joint – “The Coliseum”.  Inside it looked like the South Sea Islands.  On each table was a telephone and over each table a lamp with a number.  You dialed this number to get the table you wanted.  More fun!  A German boy asked me to dance.  He was a fairly good dancer, but he couldn’t speak English, and I couldn’t speak German.  So we danced in dead silence.  It certainly was frustrating but most interesting.

August 29, 1953

Got the train for Berchtesgaden this morning.  It is in the Bavarian Alps and they are beautiful.  The trip down was gorgeous.  When we got here we had missed Barbara.  Staying at the Duertches Haus for $1 a night.  Then we got the army bus over to Salzberg, Austria free.  (It is grand to be connected with the US Army – they certainly do a lot for you).  We ran into Barbara and some of the other girls there.  Went up to the fortress that was built in 1666.  You go up on the funicular, which is run with water – put in the top and drained out at the bottom.  It was most interesting and the view was gorgeous from up there.  Then we met the rest at the Goldener Hirsch Hotel for dinner – famous place and had steak.  Had Salzberger nockerls for dessert and it was out of this world – sort of a lemon meringue.  Then we went back up to the fortress to watch the Bavarian folk dances and songs – yodeling.  It was so much fun and most colorful.

When I was in Berchtesgaden and Salzburg, we were on an Army/Air Force Recreation tour; I'm sure the same kind of thing Mother was on.  We visted Eagle's Nest, which was Hitler's summer home - I'm guessing since it was so close to the end of WWII that you might not have been able to visit back then.  We also did "The Sound of Music" tour, which of course didn't exist back when Mother was there!

Both times we crossed the Austrian border, we had to pull out our passports – crossed my first border today.  This countryside is beautiful and most picturesque.

August 30, 1953

We got the Army bus to Lake Konigsee this morning and took a boat trip around the lake.  It is just beautiful – right in the middle of the mountains.  It is the deepest – 750 ft. – and the coldest lake in Germany.  We stopped at a little chapel on the lake.  There was a beergarden next to it.  Most of the people had on this Bavarian dress.  There was also a band.  Germany is just like I have always pictured it.  I just love it here.

We went to the Bavarian show this afternoon at the hotel.  It wasn’t as good as last night.

We got the train to Munich and when we got here, found out we couldn’t get one until tomorrow morning at 6:10.  So we are staying at the Excelsior.

Got to take a bath tonight.  Most places here have showers.  Really they do have the funniest plumbing I have ever seen and everywhere you go it is different.

August 31, 1953

Got up at 5:15 to get the 6:10 train to Straubing.  Got here about 9 o’clock – just in time to get the bus back to the Kaserne.  It went all over town first, so we got our first look at Straubing.  It looks like a nice little town.

Went straight to the school.  Our principal hasn’t shown up yet – a week overdue, and nobody knows where he is.

There are 21 students in the 1^st grade and 22 in the 2^nd.  It looks like I might have them both.  There are going to be 2 little boys in the 1^st grade who only speak Spanish.  It’s really great.  (For some reason, I hear sarcasm in that remark, but maybe that's just me.)