The Keep

The Keep

Once a year, military personnel get a two-week vacation. For many who are not making the military a career, this vacation time is actually a pay bonus. When I applied for my two-week vacation, everyone said that I was crazy. They told me to take the money. I replied, “In my life, I will have a chance to see a lot of money, but I may never have another chance to see Europe.”  Actually, I was able to take two vacations in Germany. This particular vacation involved a train trip—a grand tour of the countries of Western Europe.

It is June, all of the grand war games are completed and the dirty ‘commies’ did not invade us. The weather in Germany at this time is still cool, but pleasant. My mentor and guide, my dear friend Juliana, was making all the arrangements for me. My vacation begins on June 7 at midnight. Not being one for waiting around, Juliana picks me up at my apartment and takes me to the ABLAST. On June 8, I check out at exactly 0.00 hours military time.

We decided to take the train for a couple of different reasons, the main reason being that it is just easier to cross borders on a train and it is fun. If you have never ridden in a train with someone of the opposite sex that you like very well, you should. I do not think elaboration is necessary. I prefer the second-class accommodations, but since I am not paying, I traveled first-class with a sleeper room. That means we have all facilities in our compartment and we do not have to share our room. The trains in Europe are fast, with an express traveling at 70 miles-per-hour, not a bullet train but still plenty fast.

The first few days we will hit some of the highlights of Germany. Juliana will be doing some arranging while we travel. The trip from Manheim to Stuttgart will take a few hours with very little to see. We stop in Ulm to visit the world’s tallest cathedral in the world. Many tourists visit the cathedral, but we try not to look like tourists. Impossible for me, but Juliana being German and well traveled has no problem. Juliana plans for this trip is to avoid having a plan at all. We have no idea where we will go next. Stuttgart is not far from Ulm and we will get there early and spend the day there.  

Stuttgart for most automotive people is the home Daimler-Benz. Their most recognized trademark is, of course, the Mercedes Benz. We went on a tour of their racing division. One would think that a place where they build cars would be greasy.  Not so, the ceramic tile floors are spotless. At the end of the tour little Miss Charming (Juliana) asks if she could test-drive one of their racing cars. I thought the answer would be a resounding “NO,” but little Miss Charming manages to charm a tour guide to check if there is a car we could drive on the test track. Guess what—there is. We were able to drive a Mercedes Benz 300 SLR.  During the fifties the 300 SLR was just about unbeatable on the sport car circuit. Tragedy overshadows the SLR’s victories when the 300 SLR, leading the 1955 24-Hours of Le Mans, was involved in a horrific accident. The accident involved the car driven by Pierre Levegh. Eighty-two spectators, along with competitor Levegh, lost their lives in what remains the highest-fatality accident in the history of motorsports.  The unusual design and construction of the SLR were directly responsible for the loss of life.  The car was very light and had an extremely powerful engine.  The car had an innovative air brake to help it slow down, but the air brakes and the drum brakes could not slow the car enough to prevent Levegh from hitting the back of an Austin-Healey.  The collision caused the SLR to become airborne.  The ultra-lightweight body and frame were made of an aluminum alloy with high magnesium content.  The alloy ignited causing significant injury and loss of life among the spectators; the race fire crew's unpreparedness exacerbated the magnesium fire, as they initially tried to extinguish it with water (which only made it burn hotter.) Following this tragedy, Mercedes withdrew from competitive motorsports until the mid-1980s.  They still made cars for other racing teams.  Our car was a refined version of the 1955 model.  Refined, because the engine had two turbo chargers and the car’s horsepower was around 550-horsepower.  We were told to keep the car below 160 miles-per-hour. Juliana, of course, drove first since she is paying the bills.  All I can remember is damn!  They said not to exceed 160 miles-per-hour.  I figured at least a nosebleed and possible brain damage.  The acceleration simply hurt.  You have to realize that this test course is neither a straightaway nor a simple oval; this is like driving on an open road.  

After recovering from the test drive, we rent a car and drive to a former concentration camp outside of Stuttgart. This was not a pleasant part of the trip, but it was interesting. We learned how inhumane civilized people could treat their fellow humans. The camp was a work camp; local industry could work the prisoners to death. One of the interesting, although terrible, aspects of the camp was the central yard. In this area, the German SS guards tortured and executed prisoners. The United States Army, after liberating the camp, designated it as an Army prison. They say that after the first rain, they had to remove all of the prisoners and guards. The water on the ground was black from the blood soaking out of the ground.

Driving back to Stuttgart, we needed to find a place for the night. We found a small Keep converted into a guesthouse. A Keep is a small-fortified outpost, usually on the border of principalities. It is a little castle. The Keep was on a small hill that was high enough for us to see for miles around Stuttgart. The vista was beautiful. The room was comfortable and had all the normal conveniences, such as a bed and private WC, and even our own private turret. From the turret, we could sit and watch the sunset. There were 11 people staying at the Keep during this time. We all ate at a common table and the meals were good German food. For supper, we had sour sirloin stroganoff, asparagus, and beer. Dessert consisted of cream puffs. Juliana is the only person I ever saw that could eat a cream puff without getting powdered sugar on her face. It was rather romantic sitting on the turret, watching the sunset and the stars. This would lead to trouble in the morning.

Breakfast was served at eight a.m. sharp. One thing I may not have told about Juliana is that because of her profession, she is in extremely good physical shape. In fact, one could say that she is rather athletic. Every morning, rain or shine, we are up a 6 a.m. and run a minimum of one hour, and I mean ‘run,’ not jog. After our little run, we go to the Keep to have breakfast. Everyone is at the table when we enter the dining area. There are men and women sitting at the table. Everyone gets up and starts applauding. I think that perhaps they are applauding our run. Wrong!  Remember I said we had a private Turret and it was romantic to sit out there and watch the sunset. What we did not know is that there was a common overlook above us. Well, the result of the romantic setting…ahem, led to romance. We did not realize that everyone could see us from the overlook. A couple of Jagermeisters and two hours later, we retreat to our room, not suspecting a thing. Now, I can never return because I wonder if everyone was watching the whole two hours.

©2012 Michael L. Wright&Relinda Ruth