No matter where I went there was always plenty to do besides work. Munich made a great base to work from. You could be in Garmisch Partenkirchen in an hour or so depending on weather. Garmisch was a great place. Skiing in the winter boating and swimming in the summer. The US government took over the Eibsee hotel after the war and it was used as a recreation area for US troops.
Before and during the war it was used as an R&R location for German troops. The ski area was great and you could rent a complete skiing outfit for a $1.50 a day. I tried but I never got the hang of skiing.
McGraw Kaserne was where our office was located. I didn’t have a lot of reason to spend a lot of time in Munch. The people we had there were good and had been doing their job longer than I had been in the Army. They always welcomed me to Munich, then we went and played. The Englischer Garden was always a stop for lunch during the summer. The Garden was a clothing optional location and there were probably more American GI’s watching than there were topless and bottomless bathers.
The top listened to radio programs on all of AFN were “Luncheon in Munchin” and “Bouncing in Bavaria.” I don’t remember the guys names but they were good and funny and you could hear him all over Germany. Kinda like Robin Williams and Good Morning Viet Nam. The picture below is the Englischer Garden. When I was managing in Europe in the 80’s one of my salesmen took me here for lunch. He was disappointed when he found out I had been there many times. With all the miles I had driven I also showed him some short cuts to the different bases.
The other obvious stop if you are in Munich is the Hofbrauhaus. Check the grip this gal has.
There was always a rather large crowd and if you were inclined to pick a fight you could always find a drunk German kid or two that were ready to fight. Speaking of fighting, one corner of the building on the outside still had bullet holes where a machine gun had strafed the side of the building.
Besides our office at McGraw, AFFES Headquarters was located there also the 66th MI (The guys you never saw) as well and a number of other medium sized units.
One other place that was close to Munich was the Eagle’s Nest at Berchtesgaden.
It was Hitler’s retreat. The views were spectacular and you could see for miles. Not sure what they have done with it. Most of the areas in and around Munich have been given back to the German government. The Eibsee Hotel where I stayed a number of times for only $3.00 per night, cost almost $80.00 a night when I was back there in the mid 1980’s. The “club house” where they rented out ski equipment is now an old storage building.
IT YOU WERE HERE OR IN STUTTGART IN THE ARMY I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU.
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