Knuckle-heads, Hohenfels and a German Bakery

Today was supposed to be a pretty easy day.  Get up at 0530, run a few miles, then meet with a few troops at 0700 I was taking down to Hohenfels to enbed with an Engineer Battalion.  Well, you know how it goes, nothing really ever goes as planned. 

When we went outside for PT it was raining - again - 15 days in a row and counting.  But rain can not stop our dedication to fitness, or the fact we need to run off last night's snitzel, pommes, and two slices of struedel.  Running in the rain is all good anyway.  It keeps you cool.

At 0700 when the troops were supposed to meet me.  They were not there.  The Sergant Major was and he was a perflexed as I.  We were told they had driven down to the mini-PX to get some coffee.  Bad Move.  At 0645 every morning, every road on that side of post is barricaded by the MPs for mass formations of PT and no vehicle is allowed to move until PT is over.  They were trapped.  We had to be 100 miles south at 8.  This was not a good start to the morning.  To make matters worse, they had left thier camera equpiment on the other side of post - the side that was barricaded.  I was mildly pissed.  I will leave it at that.

We finally got our crap together and headed south through the rolling hills of southern Germany.  We rolled up to the back gate of Hohenfels and drove across the countless ranges covered with tank, artillery, and engineer units training.  This is always an impressive sight to see finely trained units training. 

When we got on main post we pulled up to "the flagpole"  the post headquarters, dare I say an uncomfortable place to be, but in my job a regular place to be.  We met up with the post PAO (public affairs officer) and his deputy to coordinate the embed of our soldiers. 

It ended up they were to be put sent out with  a recovery team that was pulling a stuck tank out of the mud.  That takes some doing.  And when they were finished they were then joining an EOD (explosive ordinance disposal) team to blow up some munitions, and then they were being attached to a sapper team to complete the day with some Hooah crazy army training. 

Only in public affairs are you continually placed in the seat of the action on post. Every commander wants us to report on the exciting things that are happening in his unit, so he works his staff to ensure our soldiers are there to report. on it.  I told my troops this at our end of the day briefing.  I told them they are the luckiest people in the army.  They get to experience the most exciting things that are happening all of the time and then walk away to write the story.

After we dropped off the troops we refueled the vehicle and headed back to Grafenwoehr.  But we had noticed on the way down this morning, there was a little bakery in a little village in the middle ofnowhere.  Now who am I to pass that place up.  Fresly baked goods every morning.  Cakes, struedels, and assorted foods I have never seen the likes of. 

I don't spead German so well and in these little villages they don't speak a word of English.  So I just smile, point and politely say, "Eine struedel bitte".  It works.  They appreciate the effort and laugh at me at the same time.  Hell, this morning I was bold and said, "Auch, caffee milch bitte".  You know what, I got a crazy delicious slice of heaven and a robust cup of European coffee for like two bucks. 

Ok, so it was'nt such a bad morning after all.  I had to deal with some knuckle heads, but in the end there was a beautiful drive through the German countryside, some great conversation, and a visit to one of my favorite places, a German bakerei early in the morning. 

I can't wait for tomorrow when I head for Stutgart. 

Waiting All Afternoon for the Churchbell to Ring

We released the troops after lunch today so they could enjoy some of the local German culture and because it is a four-day weekend for the military.  Apparently yesterday was a German holiday - Assumption Day - Yeah, you got me.  The post is pretty much deserted, so it is a bit difficult to produce news stories about training that is not going on. 

So we cut the troops loose.  They were happy of course.  Most of them anyway - some soldiers bitch no matter what, but that is part of being in the military.  But for most, they are happy when they are free.  But little do they recognize, that I am free too. 

Let me take you back a little.  Yesterday I headed over to Bamburg to check out the city and especially to eat at a gesthaus that has been operating since the 15th century.  Now a place that has been serving food for that long must have their food down.  Besides, they still brew bier the way they did back in the 15th century.  Now a lot of breweries claim to hold onto the ancient ways, but this place goes so far as to dry their hops over coals they way it was originally done.  The result, smokey bier.  It sounds kind of gross, but again, they have been doing it for 600 years and they have it down.  It was smooth, with a smokieness, that was like a liquid bar-b-que.  Kind of a strange drink, but intersting all the same.  So since I had ordered what ended up being a huge chunk of pork, the smokiness went quite well.  Good meal.  And the couple of biers that followed were quite nice too.

Having a smokey rauchbier in Bamburg.

On the way to Bamburg we had deciede to take our time and enjoy the German countryside insead of rushing at 120 mph down the autobahn.  Don't get me wrong, driving as fast as you want is pretty cool, but we wanted to see something more than a blurrrrrrrr today.  The road we headed down went into a gorge with houses and castles build into the rocky crags that protruded from the mountains.  We decided that tomorrow we had to come back.

A rainy day in farming village of Pottstein.

Today we did.  Of course it rained.  It has rained for 15 days straight here.  It is some kind of Monsoon season in Germany.  They tell us it has something to do with the the crazy high temperatures and fires in Russia that is driving the rain this way.   I don't know about all of that but I do know we get soaked every day. 

But I digress -  We headed into Pottenstein to a brewery we had read about.  We walked into the brewery, but there was no one in there.  We just stood in the middle of the empty room.  We have learned that German's aren't real big on locking their doors when they are closed so we often find ourselves walking into closed German businesses, restaurants, and on a couple of occasions -  people's houses.  Damn rude Americans.  We realized the restaurant was closed and went to another gasthaus, and another, and yet another even going so far as to drive to another town just trying to get a bier at 5 p.m.  I asked in a couple of places and was told in fluent German, which I don't understand very well, that they don't serve meals or bier until after 6 p.m. and then went on to elaborate, in German, something about the church.   

Now this is crazy.  Every store closes at 5, and every restaurant does not open until at least 6.  What are you supposed to do with that hour.  Talk to people; who does that?  As we walked up to restaurants, people kept pointing to the church.  At first I thought they wanted me to go there to pray or give a donation.  Once we got to the second town, Grossweinstein - still seeking food and drink - we actually did go into the church. 

Grossweinstein is a tiny town, in the middle of a gorge in the middle of nowhere Germany and they have one of the most magnificent churches I have ever seen.  Wow!!  We walked around, took a few pictures, and even dropped all of our pocked change into the donation box.  Money well spent. 

Inside the Cathederal in the village of Grossweinstein.

As we walked out of the church, the bells began to ring.  It seemed the holiday was officially over and the gesthauses opened.  That was what the locals had been trying to tell us all afternoon, "We don't open until the bell rings".  So many rules in Germany to learn.  Who knew they  paid such attention to such things.  But we were happy - we could get some food.

We spotted a remote little hotel bakerei down the hill, walked in and were greeted by a German grandmother looking lady.  The entry of the restaurant was shelves of cookies, candies, and struedel.  I was thinking, who needs dinner and a bier.  But I am in Germany, so I ordered a nice snitzel, complete with pommes and salat.  A healthy meal as they go over here.  Grandma was happy with my choices, smiled and patted me on the shoulder.  This was a small place that apparently she and her husband owned.  So the cooking was "homemade".  Oh yeah.  To go with the meal I ordered a fantastic Weissbier made by some local monk.  Not a bad choice either.  Both the meal and the bier were excellent. 

Tonight's very German Cook.

To make it all perfect, we headed to the dessert counter and ordered a struedel.  One of my buddies ordered two.  Grandma laughed and said something in German about him getting fat.  After dinner we took the struedel back to the barracks.  I just finished mine.  Good stuff.

So today was another success.  We made some good contacts with training units, and even better we learned something new about Germany.  On a holiday, don't even think about dinner until the bell rings.

And what is Assumption Day you ask: It is the day that celebrates the rising of Mary into the heavens.

Calling the Day Short

We worked pretty late again tonight.  We are covering quite a few training events that are happening here at Graf.  Today the major event involves the U.S. Army training the U.S. Marine Corps on how to train the Republic of Georgia to fight in Afghanistan.  The Army and Marines are enough of a clash, throw in the Georgians, who we are struggling to break their use of American Civil War tactics and you have the recipe for a long day.  I will post some of our product from this event and others in the coming day.

So I must be getting old, because when the day was over, I simply returned to the barracks and went to sleep. 

But to keep you interested, here is a picture from a few days ago.

A Frothy Mug of Kulmbacker

European Time

Something was lost when our ancestors immigrated to the new world.  They left something behind in the old. 

As Chuck and I were walking through the streets to 14th century Wieden last night looking for a place to grab a bite to eat it was a remarkable sight to see thousands of Europeans sitting in their sidewalk cafe's casually chatting away with one another.

Now I have noticed ever since I arrived that any German restaurant would immediately go out of business in America.  To us the restaurant business is all about turning over customers, to the Germans this is a foreign concept.  Last night we sat down for a couple of locals brewed beers and a bowl of soup.  The people at the tables around us looked as through they had been there for quite some time when we arrived.  When we finished our meal over an hour later, there had been no movement at the tables around us.  These men and women continued to casually have thier drinks and quietly converse.

Germans in Bayreuth talk  for hours while enjoying their local bier.

This is the next difference I have noticed.  Background noise and the need to talk loudly. After hours of consuming some pretty stout drinks, the conversation does not get loud, there are no obnoxious drunks.  Hell, I have yet to see a drunk in a country that regularly consumes alcohol every evening.  The only drunk people I have seen are American soldiers stumbling in the back gate of the post around midnight every night. 

So I have to wonder why the difference.  These people are our ancestors and we still hold many of their traditions.  Yet somehow our lives are far more frantic and stressed.  I hope that our young soldiers can learn at least this much on this training mission: slow down and enjoy life.

Yet Another Birthday "Away with the Army"

Twenty of the past 25 birthdays I have found myself somewhere with the army.  It has ranged anywhere from the CQ desk as a private, to the back of an M-1 Abrams tank in the middle of the forest, to Baghdad Iraq, to Grafenwoehr Germany this year.  This is not to complain; it is simply a fact that I accept and have to come to expect. 

This year I did not even realize it was the 9th until I opened my email account and saw the 30-40 birthday wishes from people all over the world.  Facebook is a pretty cool thing.  There was even a pretty cool, though slightly pornographic, video from Laura.  No perverts - it was not of Laura - just log onto Facebook and watch the song.  Good stuff.

Here are a few pictures of how a few of us celebrated this evening after work:

Bayreuth, Germany for a mug of swartze bier

A plate of Franconian Ribs, Saurkraut, and a potato dumpling.   It went nicely with the bier.

A Few Photos From Berlin

This restaurant near the Bundestag is scared from the final
battle for Berlin between the Germans and the Soviets.

"The Wall" has been replaced by cobblestone throughout
the city so no one can forget how they were once divided.

Berliner Mauer (East Side Gallery) this is an art gallery
that has been painted on the former Soviet side of the Berlin Wall.

Checkpoint Charlie complete with McDonald's and actors.

"On Holiday" ...in German

We just got in from Parkstein which is a small town on the Czech border that is built on top of an ancient volcano.  Volcanoes in Germany you say?  Yep.  If you have ever been to the Devil's Postpile in California, well imagine one a few hundred feet  high with an old church built at the top of it, which was build over an ancient castle. 

We totally ended up there by change.  When I picked up my rental car today at noon, I just happened to ask the German woman behind the counter where I should go tonight.  She asked, "Do you want to eat or do you want to party?"  "Well both of course."  She recommended some local city and could tell from the look on my face that a modern city was not what I was looking for.  "Well, it is further, but you may like Parkstein." 

So we loaded up the car and headed to town.  From miles away you could see this mountain with a distinctive church placed at the crest.  As we drove into the town, it was like we have found many other German towns, abandoned.  There was not a soul on the streets.  We drove up the cobblestone streets that wound around and up the mountain.  Our first stop was a bakerei, but it was 6:00 P.M. and they were closing for the day.  A couple of houses down was what appeared to be a restaurant.  It was dark inside, but the door was unlocked so I walked in.  A woman came rushing into the poorly lit room surprised to see me there.  "Are you open?", I asked.  "Yes, for bier only".  This is getting to be a recurring theme.  We all sat down as she pulled us some drafts in giant German glasses and then she vanished into the darkness.

We just settled in like it was our own house.  As a matter of fact, I wondered if we were not just sitting in some ladies kitchen having a bier.  We saw a deck of cards on the counter, sorted them out and played a couple of games of Euchre.  It was challenging because the cards were German marked.  The only suit that looked familiar was hearts.  It was difficult even to determine the jacks from the queens or kings.  No matter, the lady came back, refilled our glasses and smiled at us. 

At about that time a band began to jam in the room above us.  "Say, hey! Hear the sound of the falling rain Coming down like an Armageddon flame (Hey!) The shame ..."  She looked up and said, "My son, he practices for a [concert]".  I said, "Green Day".  "Yes, Green Day."  I thought American Idiot was unique on Broadway when Laura and I want to see it in New York last month.  I have to tell you, it German it has a pretty unique sound too. I thought it would make Sami smile.  The kid jammed a few more songs then came down to join us in the dining room, but not quite join us, he stood at the bar and just looked at us - for a long time. 

After a while we asked the lady where we could get something to eat.  She gave us that look of "You know I don't speak English and you damn sure don't understand German.  "My son, he speaks English".  Well not really.  I think maybe he had the class in high school, but I had German in high school and there we sat attempting to understand how to get up the hill and eat at the "vegetable haus".  Now I am not real big on vegetables, but hey, sometimes you take what you can get.  Back into the car we went as a group of old men joyously rambled into the restaurant.

On up the hill we went.  Eventually we found the vegetable house, which happily served lots of sausages loaded with saurcraut and sauce.  There were no vegetables on the plate.  As we entered we noted the town was setting up for an outdoor play at the base of the church and just outside of the restaurant.  To be brief the food was great and I should not that since we were well away from the military and away from tourism, quite reasonibly priced.  As we left we walked out into the rain.  It has rained for 3-4 days straight here.  I was certain that the outdoor play would be rained out.  Not a chance.  There they were, dressed in their traditional clothing, passionately delivering their lines as the rain streaked the stage lit air. 

It has been a good first week.  We have experienced much and have completed some good stories.  A large group of us are headed to Berlin in the morning.  We plan to continue to work hard but to also thoroughly enjoy ourselves.  So far I have a bunch of happy soldiers.

Close Air Support

Our mission over the past couple of days has been to embed with U.S., Belgian, and Danish Air Force forward observers for a close air support mission.  Here is the radio spot we produced for AFN and a few photos for the paper...

LEAD:


AIR SUPPORT IS VITAL TO PROTECTING SERVICEMEMBERS AND COMPLETING THE MISSION AND THE JOINT MULTINATIONAL TRAINING COMMAND OFFERS A COURSE TO PREPARE SERVICEMEMBERS TO MOVE FORWARD AND DIRECT COMBAT AIRCRAFT. SPECIALIST MEGAN WESSELS EXPLAINS.


ANNOUNCER:

U-S SERVICEMEMBERS TEAMED UP WITH BELGIAN, DANISH, AND OTHER NATO ALLIES AT GRAFENWOEHR GERMANY, TO BE CHALLENGED PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY IN EXERCISE ALLIED STRIKE TEN. THE EXERCISE FOCUSES ON TRAINING JOINT TERMINAL ATTACK CONTROLLERS, OR J-TACS. J-TACS ARE U-S AND NATO SERVICEMEMBERS WHO EMBED WITH DEPLOYED UNITS TO DIRECT AIR SUPPORT. THE EXERCISE INCLUDED LANE TRAINING AND WORKED TOWARD ITS MAIN OBJECTIVE, LIVE FIRE AIR STRIKES. BELGIAN FIRST SERGEANT MAJOR JORDY VON CARE-COVE-AH APPRECIATES THE UNIQUE TRAINING FACILITIES THE JOINT MULTINATIONAL TRAINING COMMAND OFFERS.

SOUNDBITE 10 SECONDS:

Belgian 1st Sergeant Major… Train as we fight.

EXERCISES LIKE ALLIED STRIKE TEN PROVIDE U-S AND NATO FORCES CLOSE AIR SUPPORT TRAINING THAT ENSURES MISSION SUCCESS. FOR THE 7TH ARMY JOINT MULTINATIONAL TRAINING COMMAND, I’M SPECIALIST MEGAN WESSELS, GRAFENWOEHR GERMANY.

 

Belgian Forward Observers call in "fast movers" for an air strike.

A Tornado banks after delivering its payload.

The Effects of a 500lb bomb.

I Would Rather People Think I Am a Whore Than an Idiot

This morning as I got out of the shower three German firemen burst through my door yelling that my life was in danger!  They rushed in yelling for me to get out of the building and then left.  The fire alarm was going off but I figured, I am in the shower, if the building burns I am about as safe as I can get, and if I get out I may burn up.  They did not appreciate my American logic.

Chuck and I got up this morning at 5 am to go for a morning run.  It is not like running in Michigan which is flat, this is like running in Kentucky.  I really should have worked out a little bit before I came here.  So the shower was much needed.  But at the insistance of the German firemen I threw on my uniform and went outside. 

As I joinded the fire evacuees outside I learned that one of the troops enjoyed the German hospitality just a little too much last night.  Chuck and I came in pretty early last night but some of the young soldiers from our building stayed out a little later.  This morning as we drove from Graf to Vilseck on twisting roads this troop needed to pull over to the side of the road.  In the middle her road side activities she became concerned that the police would pull up to find out what the problem is.  So she lifted her head and said, "If the police stop just tell them I am throwing up because I am pregnant; I would rather people think I am a whore than an idiot."  I think this one will be staying in for the rest of her time in Europe.

So this is all before 8 am this morning.  It was going to be a long day.  I spent the rest of the day setting up missions for tomorrow.  Inprocessing is over and it is time to get to work.  Tomorrow we are covering an airborne heavy drop operation and a combined arms aireal exercise involving the US, Netherlands,
France and several other countries.  Our troops will move tactically with Air Force forward observers as they call in air strikes involving straffing missions and dropping 500 pound bombs.  It will be a grueling day for them but will be totally awesome at he same time.  The great part is, it is supposed to rain off and on all day tomorrow.  This is real training.  The colonel I was coordinating with was completely excited to find any way possible to get our public affairs troops in the mix.  You have to love the power of the camera.  Like I said earlier, everyone wants to be on TV. 

We finally finished with work tonight after 7 pm so Chuck and I decided to take a walk into town to get something to eat.  Everything was closed.  These people shut up shop early.  On the edge of town we found a run down guesthouse.  As we walked in an old woman met us at the door and said, "What do you want?"  "Food!"  She informed us the business had been closed every since her husband died last year.  Now we noticed there were a few British soldiers eating so we asked if we could at least have a bier.  She smiled and waved us in.  We sat down and she started to tell us stories about her life and the Brits joined in too.  She had moved to Graf and opened the restaurant just after the war in 1945 when she married a German soldier.   As she talked the Brits got in a "brisk discussion" about American vs. British Imperialism.

Our waitress Helga who kissed Elvis in 1960

Yeah, I know.  We are in a restaurant that has been closed for years, on the edge of town, drinking a bier with the wife of a former nazi and three Brits who resent the fact America had displaced them in their position of world power.   It had that feeling you sometimes get when watching a movie when you are thinking, "Get the heck out of there!"  A lucky break for us was when the guy from Scotland started to argue with the one from London and then the one who was born in Wales joined in each "discussing" UK relations.  We sat back and watched.  It was at this point we decided it might be a good idea to depart.  We shook hands with Ian and his UK brothers, waved good-bye to Helga and headed back up the road. 

Escape!  Little did I realize how right the German firemen were this morning.

Rain and Schnitzel

Today we had rain and we had Schnitzel...

We slept in until 0900 this morning to adjust to the drastic time change.  It didn't help much, but I am never one to complain about not getting up early.  Most of the morning was filled with paper work. The army does love paper work, which now is more so computer work, but somehow still takes just as long.  So now our ID cards are scanned into the system so the guy at the gate will let us in and we are in the Grafenwoehr system to use computers.  And of course we sat through the obligatory briefing about everything.   We had lunch at the DFAC, that's modern Army for dining facility or for old timers - "chow hall".  The food was pretty good with the most important part being, the ice cream machine was working.  That is happiness for any kid or GI.  I think in many ways they are much the same. 

Through it all it rained like crazy.  This made some of our troops pretty unhappy because not only did they get wet, but they had left their windows open and all of their clothes and even in some cases their beds got wet.  Now that is unhappiness.  If all of your stuff is wet, you may as well be in the field.  One more day of processing and that is where we will spend most of our time. 

Grafenwohr Water Tower in 1911

We met up with the key players at range control - a bunch of crusty old Master Sergeants - who directed us to the major training events that are happening over the next couple of weeks.  We are setting it up so that our troops will be working with tanks, MRAPs (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles), helicopters, and even Air Force Jets that are working with the Army for some "combined operations".  Our interest in all of this, they are loud, make lots of dust, and look cool as hell as they come over the horizon.  This is the stuff of good training.  We get all of this combined with rain, which means they are also throwing lots of mud in the battles. 

Our piece in all of this is to capture it on film or video and produce 60 second pieces primarily for AFN (Armed Forces Network) but also for other media sources. I have been on the tanks and other equipment, but it is also pretty interesting setting up multiple shots as the battles go on.  They certainly are not going to stop for a pose.  We have to get it as it happens.   The great thing for our troops is they get to be in the middle of the action as it develops around them.  In addition to this we put them in the armored vehicles so they can capture that perspective as well.   Being in public affairs has to be one of the most interesting jobs in the military.  We are everywhere and everyone welcomes you because they all want to be on TV or in the newspaper.  It benefits everyone.

German Soldiers at Grafenwohr in 1919

After work tonight we walked off post into the old village of Grafenwoehr, stopped by a bakery for some peach strudel, before walking on down to a restaurant for some schnitzel.  It was great and filling, just as we had expected.  After dinner we walked the cobblestone streets checking out the churches and stores. 

Just as we were about to head back to post we saw a trail that headed up a wooded hill.  It was dark and creepy so of course up we went.  Glowing in the distance was a cave illuminated by candles.  It turns out this was sanctuary constructed in the 1840s.  Someone in the village must walk up this hill every night to light the candles and to place fresh flowers at the feet of the statue of Mary. You have to love these old European villages. 

So far it is good to be at the famous training center.  Sooner or later, everyone in the army ends up here, even Elvis,

Savannah, and now me too. 

First Day at Grafenwohr

Yesterday afternoon we flew into Frankfurt and then caught a hop over to Nuremberg.  We were picked up in a small bus and driven down country roads that looked a lot like northern Michigan.  The Sergeant Major for Grafenworh was our "tour guide" showing us the best villages to visit and where the best local restaurants were.  The trouble began when we tried to actually get on post. 

The military installations are guarded by German contractors who are absolutely by the book.  Now even though each of us had a valid US military ID, none of them were in the Graf computer system, so we were not getting on this post.  After 30 minutes of "negotiation" we were allowed to pass, but I still get the feeling he was not happy about the situation.  We will all be put into the system today, so the troops will all be able to enjoy the local communities.  Who wants to come to Germany and be stuck on post? 

This is our housing at Graf

Our training begins tomorrow so we had the evening to get into our rooms, go to the Commissary to pick up food and supplies, and then to get a quick nap. 

We were invited to the 53rd Annual Grafenwohr German-American Volksfest.  It is a three-day event and we were just in time for the last night.  It is held out on one of the training areas here on post.  They have contracted buses to transport everyone there so no one needs to drive.  Great plan. 

This volksfest smacked of a mid-western county fair.  They had carnies, rides, food vendors, and lots of beer tents.  There was a beer tent dedicated to country western with a live band, one to hip hop, and a traditional one with a big brass "umpa-umpa" band.  This was the only one that was serving beer in big one litre mugs served out of wooden kegs, so in we went.  We got a table near the band, ordered a round, and joined in the beer hall singing. 

Eine Bier Bitte

A highlight of the evening was when the Bundeswehr (German Army) rolled up in a tank to join in the festivities.  I learned from these guys to order two beers at once.  They showed how you can easily throw your weapon across your shoulder to accomplish this.  These guys looked fierce, unshaven, and dirty, but promptly joined in the singing of "Eine Grosse" which I take it is the unofficial national song. 

This morning we begin our training.  The first couple of days will be classroom before we start joining units training in the field.