FLASHBACK: Munich (1954-1957)

The Army shipped Ken & Mary to Munich, Germany in 1955.  

A decade after World War II, Bavaria had resumed its picturesque traditions, including Oktoberfest parades . . . 

 

and eating and drinking at the local Gasthof.

I wouldn't have guessed roller skating, too.

Then again, I don't remember any of it though this stool moved around the world with us.

Here I am with my first bestie, Pat Martin.  A girl, natch.

I've always bonded more easily with the the fairer sex.  Possibly because they didn't make fun of my beanie.

Butchie Auld and I didn't know from political correctness.  Dobbie, my favorite stuffed animal, was his hand-me-down.  It's still in a cedar chest at 47 Pianos.

My first elephant at the Munich zoo.

My first snow, too.

And sunglasses.  When I showed this picture to David, he laughed uncharitably and said "Even at three you had to be cool."  Blame Mary.

Every kid in Germany needs a sled.

Ken loved nothing more than to pose me in front of a car or motorcycle, preferably a VW.

My panache peaked around age three.

Ken and Mary introduced me to road trips at an early age.  Note the VW racing down the autobahn.

Berchtesgaden, Hitler's getaway, is a short drive from Munich.  

It's just as gorgeous in the summer.

Ken and Mary probably went to Paris and Lake Geneva on their own.

But they brought me along to Scandinavia.  Here I am in Copenhagen . . . 

and at Tivoli Gardens.

A ferry transported us and the Karmann Ghia from Denmark to Sweden.

Would you believe the three of us lived out of a single suitcase?

Hello Oslo!

Ken bought me a bike with training wheels before we left Germany.

We had to take the train to Frankfurt to fly back to America.  We rode past an enormous industrial fire, my first memory.