h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Germany has many military bases beloniging to other countries in it.

USAF Ramstein is the largest concentration of Americans outside the states and there are other bases. There are also a few british bases in the north, mainly army, but there is one RAF base at Bruggen. there is also a multinational presence on some of these bases as other NATO countries use part of them.

Because of this there are larger areas where Germany appears to transform into the USA or the UK, with pubs, car showrooms etc all in English.

(I know this coz I live on JHQ, the Brit/NATO HQ in Germany)

Yes, this was really an amazing phenomenon. Even today however, there are Americans in the bases around Heidelberg and in Patrick Henry Village (so I hear) they put on very professional musicals. I hope to go to the next one - maybe as a Christmas treat.

The Americans in the villages and on the bases are a very distint type of person. When there were plenty of Yanks about you used to get two sorts - a: those who made a great effort to find out about where they were living and really got involved and in the end knew more than the locals and b: those who couldn't even point out where they were on a globe and who had almost no idea that Germans spoke another language and used another currency - any points of contact with either the language or the monetary system being an unnecessary evil (only useful for buying drugs)

Nowadays I hope they are making more effort to integrate, although I can hardly blame them if they don't. Three years in Dubai, followed by three years in Italy and then three years here in Germany .... it's a bit much for most.

At this point, with no irony or bad feelings intended - best regards to my cousin Paul and his wife DeAnn who are posted up the road from me at the aforementioned Ramstein. They are lovely people and a credit to their country.

There are some who try to integrate, but as far as I have seen, most tend to live in the little enclaves that they have set up. I am reminded of one time I was in the town of Trier, at a street cafe, when I noticed some Americans at the next table. When the (German) waiter came to present the bill, they tried to pay in dollars! And they could not understand why the German cafe in Germany would not take dollars... in the end they paid with american express, but it was an interesting illustration of the way some american forces personnel beleive that countries should adapt to them rather than them adapting to countries.

It pays to integrate. I was in Germany with the Canadian Army (RCEME) from '63 to '65. I came home for Christmas one year ( to apply for a job (got it, left Army)). Before I left, I wanted to buy some German cigarettes for the folks back home, because their odour was let's say 'distinctive'. The woman serving me picked the pack I selected out of the display case (Simon Artz, Ovals) and asked her husband 'Was costet ?". He replied " Kanadier ?, zwanzig mark" . I left without the cigarettes.

Yes, i can see that your knowledge of German helped there, but DM20 isnt that much...

it was back then - the DM was 27 cents Cdn, so that was $C5 when the street price for non-Kanadier's was probably 7 DM. ( we got Cdn cig's on the base ( Soest, Westphalia - beautiful walled city) for about 50 cents). I found people much friendlier when you at least attempted to speak their language. (zwei bier, bitte.)

ah yes, an essential phrase... beer is DM1 where i live.. thats about (US) $2 or (GB) £0.30p

Where is JHQ ? How long are you there for ? ( he asked, interrogatively)
$US2 for a beer ? That's $C3. Glad I was there in '63. I was with NATO then, but HQ was in gay Paree ( when gay was different too. ) Our company was invited to the REME base in Paderborn once. First time I ever bowled 9-pins. After a few Hiag & Haig Pinch(es) (well, maybe 8) I was recruited to set the pins.
Another trip down nostaglia lane - well actually in was BundesStrasse Ein - we were heading out for the fall maneuvres in Senelager, and a Vulcan flew over our convoy. I thought it was the end of the world ! It must have been all of 600 m high, and doing less than 200 knots. That's as close as I want to come to knowing how Richard Dreyfuss felt in ET.

JHQ is the NATO and British HQ in Germany, near Moenchengladbach... has been since the late fifties i think...

Sennelager is actually where I am now, my mum works here but i live at JHQ where my college is...

DM 20 is actually alot for some cigarettes when you think of the fact that they are about DM 5 a pack nowadays.

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