Memories of Germany
So many to pick from. Some of my first memories were of everything being so big, the table and chairs were made for giants, not for kids like me. And I used to hate eating meat, so I would stick it under the table, till one day the smell gave it away. I had a dream years later of drawing on the wall, behind the sofa, and it was true. I would draw on the wall, in secret. When I was found out there was hell to pay. Mostly I was left alone to my Nannies . One gave me Tuberculosis. The other one gave me love; Gisela. She used to make cakes, with glazing on the top. She was warm and loving; during the war she had taken care of children. She hated the Nazis, because of what they did to the children. They used to kill the ones who they thought were not ‘perfect’.
We had a white German Shepard dog; it was saved for some reason because Germans tried to keep the race pure. He was called Bullet like the Long Ranger’s dog. He used to run away all the time.
I remember scenes from the past. Like when we would go to Garmisch-Partenkirchen to the military hotel where they had skating shows. We traveled around Europe; Italy and other countries. My first real memory of my youth took place in Italy. I was on the beach on Brindisi, and ants started biting me. My mother had to strip me naked and wash me under a beach shower. I was mortified by being nude in public. We were staying at a hotel call the tail of the moon; la coda della luna.
My brother and I collected stamps. Our mother drive us to the forbidden areas where the Hungarian refugees lived, amongst the ruins of Post War Germany.
I remember the flight we took from Germany to Britain. We had missed the boat in Bremerhaven, because I was sick (Tuberculosis?). This was the first time I had ever flown. It was marvellous. We flew in a Boeing 377 Stratocruiser with 4 piston motors and it had a bar under the cockpit. I vaguely remember the voyage back on the ocean liner.
Returning to Germany over the years I garnered more experiences. In 1967, I spent the summer in Vahingen outside of the city of Stuttgart. It was close to the American barracks where my art teachers taught. It was the summer where I became a man. At least in theory. I was independent. I was my own man, I made my own decisions. And I was responsible for myself and my mistakes. My brother was suppose to be there to chaperone me, but he was off with his chums and girl friend.
I got invited to drink in the woods with a bunch of guys and maybe girls. Mostly I painted and learned about life. Kind of heady for a fifteen year old. We traveled around Germany by car. We visited old cities, and saw the modern Germany that had developed after 15 years. We went on a river cruise on the Rhine. I was fascinated by the history of the castles and kept drawing them as they went by. But in the middle of the cruise we stopped to pick up a drowned body in the river - like a bloated white fish floating in the water. I also saw a woman who was wearing a transparent blouse which hardly hid her breasts.
One day we spent the night at Rothenburg ob der Tauber. I got up early to walk around the town, it was a magical moment with the town empty of people. We also went to Kassel Germany and visited Basel Switzerland. We visited museum, and got an eye full of art.
When my brother told me he was getting married, I didn’t believe it. And I told his fiancée I was against it. It didn’t work out anyway.
In the 70s I crossed Europe, and I had to pass through Germany. One day I was hitchhiking outside of Munich and some good looking women got me a ride on a wine tank truck to the disappointment of the driver. Another time I was crossing into East Germany on my way to Berlin, and I got a lift form a young woman who was the daughter of a judge. I hankered for her, but I was too young for her.
In the 80s I returned to Germany with my family. It was a modern country filled with super highways and rich people. I had interviewed for a job in Munich, and I wandered around the river where there was nude bathing. The World Cup was going on, and the final was Germany versus England; the final the streets were empty of people. Strange. We traveled to Germany , the same villages as before, and found them as clean as ever. In one city we experienced the mind set of a people who follow the rules. My wife dressed up in a drindle (Bavarian dress) and got taken for a German by an American tourist - much to her chagrin.
It was while we visited our American friends, who lived in Germany, when we got in touch with the Modern German. The one who marries a foreigner, because he can’t stand German women; too demanding. We visited Nurnberg’s Christmas market and Rothenberg, in the snow. What a wonderful experience with a young child in tow.
