Return to My Roots

I knew getting into this blog that I would be totally inconsistent with posting. It’s been months since my last blog post. Many others may update their readers in one post with what’s gone on in their lives, but not this guy. To be honest it’s been kind of slow in my world lately. I will update with a couple of posts to kind of catch up. Although I really wanted to start with this.

I was born in Bad Tolz, Germany while my father was stationed there. The American post that was there was a Non-Commissioned Officer Academy and my Dad was stationed there as a military police officer. It was a tiny post in the middle of Bavaria. So with that being said, I was actually born in a German hospital.

We left there when I was a little over 2 years old. So not there long enough for me to remember anything about it. I’ve seen pictures that my Mom has and some that my Grandmother would pull out every so often. It has always been my dream to go back there and just check it out. I think there was a part of me that almost felt like a part of my identity was missing.

I put together a trip to take my mom. You want to talk about a dream come true. I scheduled the trip in the middle of November and we MADE IT WORK!!!!

I left Riyadh just after midnight and scheduled the plane to arrive before my Mom would get to Munich. Which actually turned out perfect because I was able to catch some sleep on the flight. i arrived in Munich and found the restaurant that Mom and I determined to be a good meeting place. Let me tell you, nothing finer than some German sausages for breakfast. Oh and of course, after no drinks since the summer, German beer!

Mom got there and we made a run for our Airbnb. Short walk to our apartment, with a detour and some careful sleuthing to find the key to the apartment, we made it.

We spent that first day checking out Munich. Luckily our apartment was close to the train station. We hopped the train and made our way to Marienplatz. It’s the main market street in Munich with the beautiful Glockenspiel centrally located.

We saw the Glockenspiel strike and were actually able to catch the “show.” I have seen pictures of it in the past, and even little models of cuckoo clocks that are built with it as a model. But let me tell you now, there is nothing like being able to see life size cuckoo models moving. I always imagined something like out of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Nothing like that at all!! I felt like a child watching a Punch and Judy show.

Next on our agenda was the infamous Hofbrauhaus. More German beer, and of course pretzels and sausages! The atmosphere just walking in the entrance, you know for sure you are in the beer hall of Oktoberfest. There was a live brass quartet playing German marches and the place is full of benches.

That night we all crashed hard. We had BIG plans for the next morning. Looking for a breakfast place, and one centrally located to the main train station, we found of all places California Bean. The coffee was amazing, but I went for this amazing plate of sausages and bacon covered in fried eggs. After months without pork, I tend to gorge myself whenever I get the chance. AND IT WAS GOOD!!!

We all were full and happy at this point! We made our way to the Hofbahnhaus (Central Train Station), and boarded our train to Bad Tolz!!!! A 2 hour train ride through the Bavarian countryside and there we were, MY birthplace. Seriously, A BUCKET LIST ITEM!!!!

The first thing we try to do is find a taxi. Seriously like one of the hardest things of the whole trip. Of course we don’t have a German SIM card for our phones, so calling was out of the picture. There was one taxi hanging around, but he was scheduled to have a pick up. It was going to be 15 minutes or so, so we went to the taxi pick up area (which was completely empty) . So after looking at taxi ads and realizing we couldn’t get through (because of no SIM), we stood and took our chances. Low and behold, the taxi that was waiting on a customer pulls around and says his pickup didn’t show . YES!! We jump in and off we go!

The driver was born and raised in Bad Tolz, and it made it so much easier for us as he remembered some of the things that weren’t there anymore. He took us to the housing area where my parents had lived when there. Mom was able to point out the hill that she took me to for my first sled ride. The buildings were still there and mostly the same. Mom and I walked right up and she told me exactly what windows were ours.

Next on the agenda was the hospital. It was set in this backdrop of gorgeous trees with a beautiful garden to the front of it. My only thought was, imagine this place in spring! We walked to the entrance and right there it was, just above the main door and to the left was the room I was born in. I thought about going in and trying to explain my story to see the room, but thought that may be just a bit on the creepy side, and I really didn’t want a run-in with security in Germany.

After the hospital, Mom had the taxi take us to where the Academy used to be. All the buildings had been renovated into apartments. It was this part where I really just sat back and listened and learned. Mom told me about how the buildings were set up as far as offices and the school went. Then she told me, that as a way to earn extra money for us, she would be hired to wax the floors in the female barracks for the school. This absolutely blew my mind in two ways. First, I’ve always known my mom to be a hard worker, but doing that is not easy work and is time consuming. I know she did it to provide for me the best she could. Second, WHERE THE HELL WAS THAT WHEN I WENT TO THE NCO ACADEMY!!!!

We decided here to have a late lunch. There was a little Chinese place in the middle of the academy area and we settled in for a bite. This is where we struggled with the language barrier the most. We muddled our way through and order and sat and talked. I listened to memories my mom had and enjoyed being able to make new memories with her.

After that we walked around “downtown,” where the MarketStrasse for the town is. We checked out an old church and then the shops. Some souvenirs we bought and it was time to head back to the train. Along the way, the taxi driver tells me that Bad Tolz has a FREAKING HOCKEY TEAM and there is a game that night. I con Mom into stopping and trying to pick up some merch. I end up buying a hoodie, a scarf, and a beanie.

Back to the train and another 2 hour ride back to Munich. Once back in Munich, back to apartment and straight to bed.

The next morning we had plans to go to Neuschwanstein Castle. This is the castle that the Cinderella castle in Disney is based off of. It is majestic, beautiful, and when you know the history, eerie.

It started with a bus ride where we all ended up separated. Worked out, I took a nap LOL! We get to this beautiful little town thats basically a couple of hotels and some restaurants. Then the shocker comes in, we are walking to the castle. May not sound like a big deal, but 45 mins uphill with switchbacks, while watching for cars and carriages on their way up or down. Let me tell you by the time we got to the castle, I was already smoked.

The tour through the castle was pretty cool, and learning the history fo the castle really made me think it was written out of a novel. The castle had its own “theater” so that the king at the time could have his own opera house basically. He had used all of the family’s saved money to build the castle. And shut himself away inside of it for the last of his young years. There are many stories surrounding his death. Whether he was assassinated or died in a drowning accident, noone knows.

Back on the bus and back to Munich we went. YAY, another nap for me LOL! We knew we needed a brief dinner and get Mom back to the apartment so she could pack to leave. There was a little restaurant across the street from our apartment, so we headed there. Dinner was excellent, and of course more pretzels and beer for me.

The next morning it was time to send my momma home. What a bittersweet moment. But being my mom she would only let me go to the train station with her. She would find the rest of the way herself. I never in my wildest dreams that not only would I ever be able to get back to my birthplace, but also have a personal tour guide who knew the whole story. My next bucket list is to be able to take my oldest daughter back with me and show her where her Daddy was born.

So there it is. A little late (OK, OK, a LOT late). I am going to defintely try to be more active than I have been.