Picnics and Castles

Germany is a beautiful contry. I loved the city of Heidelberg, but that could be due to the tours Trudy gave me. I was able to see and learn more about it because it was her home.

Most of our tours were with other G.I. families. Shortly after I arrived, Eddie's family came over. Eddie was a "good ole boy with sophistication" His wife was another matter. They had a little girl about 5 and a boy not quite 2. We babysat for the little girl several times, the little boy didn't leave his Mother for anything. We all went on a few picnics and toured the local area and it's castles. This took place shortly after their arrival. It wasn't long till she decided she belonged with G.I. families of higher rank. Other than babysitting with Cindy, I can only dig up one memory of time spent with them. Eddie was driving on what looked like a timber road in the woods. His wife, I can't even remember her name, and I were in the back seat with the boy. G had Cindy on his lap in front. The path was rough and Eddie stopped several times to point something out. We were looking for a clearning to have our picnic. It was during one of the stops that I looked back a bit and found myself looking eye to eye at a wild rabbit. I gasped out loud. Rabbits shouldn't be that big. Granted I was in a small car. The rabbit could have been on ground a tiny bit higher than the path we were on, but he was eye to eye with me. The men laughed at me. They had seen the rabbits around the base and out on their manovers. They are big. This one was sitting on his haunches and didn't even seem afraid of us. Later, when I saw deer I couldn't get over how small they were. They looked just like the white tail deer I was familiar with, but quite a bit smaller. Now, the squirrels looked the same. And I recognized the birds I saw. Germany is also home to a lot of wild boar. It's a big hunting attraction. They are dangerous and aggressive. We had been warned not to walk in the woods and to stay alert for them, because of their aggression. So, our picnics were always close to the car or protected in the shell of a castle.

Castles had always fascinated me and I wanted to see everyone we could find. In Germany the larger the castle, the larger the town or city that grew around it. There were some very small castles scattered in wild areas, but a lot of them had been destroyed beyond repair. Either by the centuries, or bombs or from people taking the stone for other construction. These are free to explore, if you can find them, though they can be dangerous. If there is a castle in good repair, you will probably have to pay to see it. Not that the price is prohibitive, the amount was always small. I never lost my fascination for the castles, but I did learn they weren't as romantic as I'd dreamed. They really are damp and dark and drafty with uneven floors only safe to walk on where centuries of feet have worn them down. The archers slits were deeper than I'd imagined and dark and cold. It didn't take much imagination, while sitting in one, to vision the men shooting arrows at the enemy. But, it took a lot of imagination to wonder how they ever saw anything or could hit anything. The view was narrow and the sides V'd to a point that ended at the opening, so there wasn't room to maneuver. Most castles are on high ground, and the walk, (that wide area on top of the outer wall) if it was intact, always gave you a beautiful view. The most interesting castles are the big ones that originally proteted whole neighborhoods. I loved touring them, but had to join a group and wasn't allowed to wander and explore. The small remote castles were the ones we most enjoyed for our picnics. Occasionally you had one to yourself, but usually there were other tourists and G.I. families coming and going.

It was at a remote, almost complete castle where I had another memory that has occasionally come back to haunt me. There was no road leading up the hill. It was a tourist attraction and there was a parking lot below and a narrow path upwards. Stone steps had been put in the steepest part of the path up, but mostly it was a climb through woods. I had my camera and had fallen behind the others. There was a sharp turn and when I came aroung the stone corner I was startled by a man and I made my usual gasp that subs for a scream. Then I got a better look at him. He was a small hunchback. My gasp must have seemed like a response he was use to getting for his appearance. He had dropped his head and hunkered down as if to avoid offending me. I was immediately shamed. My gasp had been due to being startled and not because of any aversion to him. I reached out and lay my hand on his shoulder and said in English how sorry I was and it was that he had suddenly appeared that startled me. I knew he wouldn't understand the words, but I hoped my tone would be understood. He didn't even look up. He scurried away and disappeared down the path. It ruined my day. And the memory comes back to haunt me occasionally. That I could have caused the kind of hurt that I felt at the horrid school.