UBB.threads

Fellas,

I hope anyone who likes a good story will take the time to read Tom Wittmann's excellent narrative about our recent adventures in Germany. I can honestly say this was the best vacation I ever had; good company, food and beer, the scenery, talking to the people, fabulous museums to explore at Wewelsburg, Solingen and München and the impressive ruin of the Zeppelinfeld at Nürnberg were just some of our itinerary.

We took our evening meals in some lovely restaurants and cafes
in big cities and the smallest of hamlets and villages - every meal was first-class with lots of courteous, knowledgeable and friendly people, you simply couldn't get a bad meal, unless of course you went to McDonalds or Boogerking ...

Hope a few of you boys might enjoy this, if you do, I'll resize and post some of my own snaps of our travels here, too. Here's one of the chain that was returned to the town of Rodenberg.

Best regards!

Bill

www.wwiidaggers.com/banter.htm

Wow. What more can I say?

Bill, I would enjoy pictures of your trip.

--dj--Joe

Joe,

Here goes, first stop ... Rodenberg.

Johnny - thanks for your private mail, much appreciated.

Best!

Willi

2/11

I'm with Joe and would like to see some pictures.

Gary

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Excellent camera work Bill. Brings a tear to my eyes. Wish I'd been there.

Regards,--dj--Joe

Glad your Germany vacation went good for you WWII and I think it's great how the shooting chain has found it's way back home.
Also,that's a cool old windmill in photo #4.

Bill, did you get to observe any of the shooting competition?

--dj--Joe

Joe,

We got to see the the whole magilla, from soup to nuts. The shooting clubhouse was a beautiful modern affair built by the members. The first floor held the meeting room and bar, done in natural wood-finishes with lots of ornate shelving that displayed the many old and new awards of the club's delegates. A small hallway led to the armory that held all the weapons, where strict protocol was followed. The main indoor range was a state-of-the-art facility with about twenty firing stations. Here the shooters were positioned at twenty-five meters from their small 4x4 inch targets. The thing that surprised me was that they were using ultra-quality pellet rifles that looked like something right out of the Star Wars films.

Elaborate optical systems were the order of the day, and you might think that everyone would be a "crack-shot" with this set-up ... but then you'd be wrong. At nearly a hundred feet that itty-bitty target looked something about the size of a fly, heh. Three shots per man and the deal was sealed, who'd be the new king? Everything was verified, signed and double-checked before the score results were established and announced to the rank and file. There was an electric feeling in the air as the men came outside after their "try," and we all relaxed, smoked and drank beer, told some dirty jokes and just enjoyed each other's company.

The basement held several more inside/outside ranges of verying distances for larger caliber rifles and handguns. The arrangement was cleverly designed and well built, to include some nifty sound-baffles and safety arrangements - a top-notch shooting-facility for the citizens of Rodenberg.

Then it was back to the main festival tent for a hearty meal and the final announcements for the competition's winners and the new Kings - one junior member and the all-important, senior category. The place went wild with applause as the two went up to receive their honors - the brass-band played brilliantly and the beer and drinks flowed like water... if it sounds like fun, let me assure you!

An important detail that I came to know was the fact that part of the new king's traditional yearly duties is to host and pay for several large parties, during the course of his reign. ... and that means entertaining, feeding, wining and dining and providing for about a thousand people at a clip, no small bill to pay !! Some of these guys have to save their butts off - that is, if they're even good enough to become king! So it's quite a big honor and responsibility to properly fulfill your duties as Schützen-König.

Our hosts were absolutely the best, it was like having an "extended-family" of about five-thousand ... :-)

Next stop was Paderborn and Himmler's Wewelsburg Castle ... the inside being a fabulous "regional-museum," that housed sculpture, paintings and other works of craftsmanship and art dating back many, many centuries. You could spend several days in there to see and appreciate everything in their collection. The best part was the SS exhibit across the courtyard, in a beautiful new museum/annex. It has to be one of the best SS collections available to the public - the photographs, documents, biographies and displays were absolutely, incredibly, mind-boggling! If you started pulling out all the drawers to look at the well-protected documents, you'd need at least a week just for that. I can't urge you fellas enough, if you have an interest in the SS, this is the place for you!

Hope these few snaps will give you some kind of feeling for the place..?

Best!

B~

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Thanks Bill, sounds like you had a memorable time.

--dj--Joe

Willi:

One heck of a trip and fantastic pictures and memories to bring back.

Congratulations and thank you for sharing some of this with us.

John

Cracking pictures, Bill it looks like you had a great time,that's certainly a holiday of a lifetime I'm glad it worked out so well for you and the Family Wittmann.

Gary

The trip, the photos and the gesture...all very impressive.

Thanks for sharing.

Gents,

The only thing that could've possibly made the trip better is if you were all there to enjoy it with us!

Best!

B~

Ps another very cool place was the Zeppelinfeld, site of all
the big November rallies.