Germany Part II

Alte Rathaus-city hall in Darmstadt

Our next assignment in Germany was to Darmstadt, a city in the state of Hesse about 20 miles south of Frankfurt.  When we first arrived there were no apartments available on the base and we had to rent a German one.  We found one about 25 miles from Darmstadt in a small village  called Goddelau.  Nice apartment, very new and modern, but like most German apartments it came with no light fixtures, no kitchen cupboards or sink  and no closets.  The Army gave us furniture, a stove and a refrigerator, the rest we had to buy.
We were there a few  months before we moved on post.
With our daughter older and starting school I managed to take a German class and I remember quite a bit of it, thankfully.
While living in Darmstadt we got involved in the sport of Volksmarching.  That's a noncompetitive series of walks, generally 10, 15 or 20 kilometers.  They were usually set up to take you through scenic areas, by castles and historic little towns.  We loved doing them and would frequently do 2 a weekend.  You earned a medal and got to eat lots of fresh grilled bratwurst and in the winter sip some warm gluhwine.
We went all over southern Germany to do marches and even did one in Belgium.
Mac's company commander was a believer in adventure training and he organized a 2 day journey down the Rhine River in assault boats---wives got to go for the first day.  He also organized a trip to Garmisch - Partenkirchen so we could all learn to ski.
Near Darmstadt are the remains of Castle Frankenstein.  Now you know with a name like that we had to visit it.

Volksmarch medals, not ours, have no idea what happened to all of ours.

Castle Frankenstein

We loved our time there and it remains  such a good memory, we were sorry to leave.