MÜNCHEN!

It means ‘the place of the monks‘ and München (Munich in English) has a fascinating history from the beginnings of the monks settling here more than a thousand years ago through Ludwig II and his building of palaces around Bavaria and his rather untimely death up to the early 20th Century when the NSDAP was forming and they attempted to overthrow the Bavarian Government.

Click on this photo to join us and see why KRISTIE HERNANDEZ, Member #7799 had this to say about her time on this ‘Patrol’:
“Thank you!  I had the best time ever!  I will never forget you, this trip or my new friends!  I felt so alone after we went our separate ways (end of the tour).  I am so happy that you took us on such a great tour!”

Click on the photo to see why we had such a great time.

   NÜRNBERG!

This is a city 200 years older than München and is filled with history from centuries past up to the defining moment of the 20th Century. 

We go places of history not available to anyone else and we also go to fascinating places as you will see here.

Click on this photo and join us in Nürnberg and see why US Marine Corps combat veteran BILL NAPIER, Member #2290-C/LIFE said:
“…..a true sense of the history of this great country.”

This was BILL‘s 6th ‘Patrol‘ with us.

Click on the photo to see why we had such a great time and remember – we told you that Tom Cruise did not live here………

     FESTIVALS!

Nobody does festivals like Germany!  The food is awesome, the beer flows endlessly from some of the world’s finest breweries, the music is fun and powerful………and the people are fantastic.

USAF veteran KARL YOCHER, Member #7542 said it so well:
“I thoroughly enjoyed my time on the patrol.  The sights, the sounds were all great.  Traveling in great company was a breath of fresh air and it was nice being with folks who were like minded and appreciated the history behind the places we visited.  I guess I’ll have to book a place on a Northern Patrol!!“

Click on this photo and join us.

Bunkers!  Tunnels!
      Pure History!

It appears that HARRY COOPER, Member #1-LIFE is knocking with the expectation that someone will answer and let him in.

Our Member “TOM” has been with us for three ‘Patrols‘ so far, and this is what he emailed to us when he got back home:
“Thanks for everything, Harry.  You’re the only one in the world who can do what you do!“

Click on the photo of HARRY and the door to join us in the deep, dark ‘Tunnels of Time‘ on this tour.

   SALZBURG!

This day we live the history in this ancient city, go high into the sky to visit the castle and have lunch in a tavern that first opened in the year 1300!

JEANNIE deGENNARO, Member #8039 emailed this:
“It was truly an amazing trip and I had such a fabulous time.  I feel this trip really enhanced my life in such a positive way.”

Click on this photo of the castle and join us.

Königsee!

It means “King’s Lake” and it proves that it really IS good to be the king!  We spend several hours cruising on this beautiful lake then a handful of us venture into ruins of a time gone by.

US Marine Corps combat veteran BILL NAPIER, Member #2290-C/LIFE had this to say:
“We shared in the rich history and truly scenic views of the cities and countryside of Germany.“

Click on this photo and see what BILL means.

WOW!  WE ARE SPEECHLESS!

What can be in this building?  Roller rink?  Gigantic donuts?  Flying saucers?  We will not tip you off…..you will have to see for yourself.

More input from USAF vet KARL YOCHER, Member #7542:
“If any Members have not gone on this tour, they don’t know what they are missing.  The experiences were priceless, the food was great and the company was great.  This was an excellent way to see Germany and with the added ‘exclusive’ features of the tour, you can’t go wrong.“

Click on the photo and see what this really is.

Concentration Camp Ebensee

We visit this concentration/forced labor camp that was begun in September of 1943 as the Allied bombing campaign was devastating everything above ground.  This was the main gate to the facility.

There is a VERY rare photo of the 3rd most powerful man in the 3rd Reich.  Can you guess who?

Click on the photo and join us in a camp not well known.

   KNIGHT after KNIGHT

This is the city hall of Munich and every day at 11am and at noon, the tower comes to life with a host of life-sized figures of the medieval days that dance, whirl and spin as the music plays.  Then the Bavarian knight comes from one side on his horse in his traditional white and blue armor to fight the knight from some other region – we do not know where but every time the Bavarian knight knocks the other knight off his horse.  Day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year and century after century the Bavarian knight always knocks the other knight off his horse.  One might think this other knight would find another hobby rather than getting his butt kicked twice a day every day.

Notice that we said the colors of the Bavarian knight are white and blue – definitely NOT blue and white!  There is so much history here in Munich – join us next time and live it for yourself.

 CAREFUL – DON’T LOOK!

This is still on a building there in Munich but it is okay to look at this emblem now because they have removed the Swastika from it.  As we all know, if you look at the Swastika your brain will melt, you will foam at the mouth then have an almost uncontrollable urge to give all your money to the Spitlickers!  That is a fate worse than death.

Joking aside, it is great they left such beautiful works of art for historians to see.

Look at the expression on the face of the driver in the above two photos.  He is doing his job but most likely wishing he was somewhere else.

His expression has changed quite a bit for the better in the photo to the left.  It was nice that JEANNIE deGENNARO, Member #8039 could make this guy smile while he was working.

BILL NAPIER, Member #2290-C/LIFE and KARL YOCHER, Member #7542 look to the camera while VIKTOR HIRSCHMANN, Member #6773-LIFE gets right down to the menu and the reason we are here.

This is the THIRD Sharkhunters ‘Patrol‘ for VIKTOR while the US Marine combat veteran NAPIER is on his SIXTH Sharkhunters ‘Patrol‘.  KARL says he will be with us next year.  It is also the THIRD for ‘TOM‘ who does not like his photo taken.

Sharkhunters ‘Patrols‘ are unlike any other because of what we see, what we do and who we meet.

The Hofbräuhaus first opened their doors in 1516.  Naturally, much has changed but the atmosphere is definitely traditional German with the fantastic food and the flowing beer.

The artwork on the walls and ceilings is unlike nothing else in the world.  This is a beautiful place and the food is outstanding as well.

The artwork in this huge third floor room is also magnificent, but this is where history was made – this is the room that seats some 800 people and it was in this room that Adolf Hitler made speeches as he climbed to power.  Think back to the newsreels and the newly released DVDs of his speeches – many of them were filmed right in this very room.

Nürnberg…….the very name shouts history, history and more history and we begin with a tour of the Party Rally Grounds with our good friends MICHAEL KAISER, Member #6166-LIFE and HOLGER WINEBERGER, Member #7589-LIFE.

There are so many photos from our 2016 Southern Patrol that we felt it best to break the activities into sub-pages otherwise, the load times would be too long.

Click here to join us in this historic place.  We have posted this photo of how the tribunal looked during the 1930’s to compare with the way it looks today.

The Congresshalle was under construction until the war broke out.  When that happened, construction was abandoned but this place was going to be a massive building.

This was quite similar to the Coliseum in Rome but so huge that the Coliseum could fit inside this structure.

Click on this photo to join us in this historic place.

Let us continue with a short drive out of Nürnberg to a beautiful castle that is still in the family von Stauffenberg and has been their for centuries.  No, Tom Cruise did not live here and neither did Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg.  During the war years, his uncle Bertold lived here but Claus visited thirty-seven times in just two years preceding the attempt on Hitler’s life at Wolfsschanze.  Bertold was subjected to torture by the Gestapo because everyone related to the conspirators or even remotely friendly with them was tortured and a great many hanged……using piano wire.  It was not a pleasant way to die – but this is a beautiful day and we enjoyed this castle.

Click on the photo of Count Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg and ride along with us to this beautiful castle.

This will make you wonder………so click on this picture and come with us to the Nürnberg Castle, to a 14th Century tower that is now a museum, to a World War Two air raid tower that is now an incredible museum……..and to a very special shop.  If you know anything about the U-Bootwaffe, you must know this item.

Click on the memory of ERICH TOPP, Member #118 and join us in the “Tunnels of Time“.

Ingolstadt is a charming place – it is either a small city or a big town, about halfway between Nürnberg and München.  It is the home of the Bavarian Army Museum, headquarters of the Audi automotive company – and they have an exciting ‘Volksfest‘ and that finds our Sharkhunters here for the festivities.

As one would expect in these times, security was very heavy but it did not impede our fun in any way.  If fact, after a while one merely overlooked the security as if they weren’t there.

There are souvenir stands, games to play, great goodies to eat and there were carnival rides, some of which appeared to have derived from medieval torture devices!  So ‘TOM‘, JEANNIE deGENNARO, Member #8039 and VIKTOR HIRSCHMANN, Member #6773-LIFE went on one such ride.  VIKTOR later described it as a ‘Near death experience‘.  Some guys just know how to have fun!

When it is time to begin the festivities, the band comes marching in and playing, of all things, the Colonel Bogie March or better known as the March from the River Kwai.  Why a German band at a German festival would play a British march is anyone’s guess.  They were all wearing helmets with sparklers flaming away off the top of the helmets.

What an incredible breakfast!  But we eat like this all the time we are in Germany.  The food is great here and at every other hotel we use.  You just can’t get a bad meal in Germany or Austria.

HARRY COOPER, Member #1-LIFE and JEANNIE deGENARRO, Member #8039 are ready for the day on the Wies’n.  That means the ‘meadow‘ and that is where the world’s biggest beer party is held every year – OKTOBERFEST!  And we are all ready for it.  The first Oktoberfest was held in October as the wedding feast for Prince (later King) Ludwig but in Germany, the weather usually turns rainy, cold and snowy in early October, so the fest was moved forward to the two weeks ending on the first week-end in October.  Okay, it is confusing but it works here.

JEANNIE was told that if you have the bow on your right hip, it means you are married.  If the bow is on your left hip it means that you are available and her bow is…………

When we first came to Oktoberfest a couple decades ago, the police presence was not very large at all.  The biggest problem they had to deal with back then were unruly drunks.  Times sure have changed and the police are everywhere – those that we see.  There is no doubt there were large numbers of police in plain clothes in the crowd as well.  They were effective as there were no problems at all, and we had a super day! 

We enter via the main gate and are immediately caught up in the fun, the excitement and the revelry of all that makes up Oktoberfest.  That is the food, the games, the sideshows and naturally the beer.

The following photos are the excitement of Oktoberfest.  See if you can spot our Sharkhunters Members in the crowd.

These photos are all along the midway of Oktoberfest.  Join us and walk along.  You’ll love it!

We sat down in here and this is their menu.  Still have idea what we had – but it sure was good.

Check the following photos – did we have a great time?  Look at the faces!  You can be sure we had a great time……and great food,

The car in the photo above has absolutely nothing to do with our ‘Patrol‘ but it is rare and unique, so we posted the photo.  It is called a ‘Trabant‘ and they were produced in East Germany during the times of the Soviet Union.  They were cheap and easy to maintain as there are only something like 9 moving parts in the engine.

We are at the coal bunkers and as we see above right, the sign says ‘Sharkhunters Welcome Here‘……well, that’s what we think it says.  These gigantic bunkers are constructed in such a way that trucks on the road above would dump their loads of coal into the top of the bunkers and when the homes, offices etc. in this area needed coal for their furnaces, trucks would back in and a chute above was opened for the coal to go into the trucks.  It was rumored that in the last portal, there was a door at the back that led into the tunnel complex so we slid over the debris and entered the bunker and sure enough – there was the door!  But it was welded shut – bummer!  The photo below is in a different portal – and that door is shut too.  Something seems really unfair about that….

KRISTIE HERNANDEZ, Member #7799 takes one last photo before we board the special busses that take us literally a mile in the sky.  When we get off the bus, we enter the tunnel below left and go down a very long hallway to the elevator.  This is the very same tunnel and the very same elevator that Hitler, his guests and world leaders used when visiting the Eagle’s Nest.
 

In the two photos above we are in the highly polished brass walls of the elevator that takes us more than 400 meters even higher!  The Kehlstein road and the house were built under orders of Martin Bormann for Hitler’s birthday.

Sometimes we are here and the sun beats down us like summertime; other times there are three inches of snow.  Today it is cold – in the low twenties and there are little spots of snow hitting us so we take a nice look around at the sights from up here.

An earlier visitor had placed memorial candles here (above left) but the rain had extinguished the flame so KARL dutifully drained out the water and lit the candles again.

Below are random photos of this place and some of our Members.

The most visible part of the cemetery is the grave of Dietrich Eckart, one of the founders of the NSDAP.  It is said that he was an important mentor to Adolf Hitler.  His grave is well kept and as we see here, there are always memorial candles burning here.

Both photos below – this is fairly new in this cemetery; photos and memories of sons who did not return from far-away lands.

AHA!  More food……..we are heading for a long and busy day in this magnificent old medieval castle city so we enjoy a hearty breakfast.  Our friend JEFF CARSON (the Tunnel King), Member #7228-LIFE joined us.

The next several photos are the palace grounds here and the various statues including those of Mozart, who was born very near to the statue in the photo below.

In the two photos above we see the massive castle high above the city, and that is where we are headed next.

After a prayer or two, we board what appears to be a self-propelled casket and we are shot up the very steep incline into the castle waaaaay up in the clouds.

The photos that follow are in and around the castle far above the city…..including a restaurant that features great hot chocolate and ice cream sundaes.  Come on – it is cold up here and we need the hot chocolate.

Lunch in a historic place!  Thanks to a friend in Austria who prefers not to be named, we have reservations in a very historic tavern.  You will remember the sausage restaurant in Nürnberg that was in business in 1419?  The Zipfer was already 119 years old before zum Güldner Stern opened their doors the first time.  Zipfer opened for business in the year 1300!  The Salzburg historian Hofadvokat Judas Taddäus Zaurner lived here as did the sister of Mozart (Nannerl); the musician and Mozart researcher Erich Schenk was born here on 5 May 1912.

As we walked toward this historic place through a narrow passage, our way was blocked by seemingly a homeless man.  We tried to walk around him but each time, he moved to block our path.

What was the outcome of our encounter with this homeless man?  In English, he said “Hello Harry” so upon a closer look, it turned out to be our good friend TONY BOWLEY, Member #7726!  By sheer coincidence he was wandering about in Salzburg sightseeing and he just happened to bump into our group.  Naturally we invited him to join us for lunch.

As we see in the photo below, TONY hadn’t shaved and his hair was uncombed.  He said he looked this way because he had been eating real food and he made us promise not to take his photograph eating food – only drinking beer.

Actually, we both look a little beat up…………

The two photos directly above are of the grave of Paula Hitler, Adolf Hitler’s sister.  Why is there a plaque with another name – a man and his wife?  There is a long story here but this is the grave of Paula Hitler.

To the left is the marker for Fritz Todt.  He was in charge of construction for the Reich until he loudly berated Hitler in front of his officers at the Wolfsschanze, claiming that Hitler had blundered and lost the war.  The next day as Todt’s plane lifted off the runway for his return to Berlin, the plane was only about 300 meters in the air and it mysteriously blew up………………  His wife and daughters killed themselves a few days after the end of the war.  It is reported that the round the clock rapes of the French forces were the reason for their suicides.

As with any tourist
attraction, natural or man-made, we must first walk through a hundred
meters or so of snack bars, souvenir stands, food vendors etc. to find
what we came to see.

After we have our fill of the gift shops etc. we board our boat for the
quiet and scenic voyage to the far end of Königsee.  It is not
necessary to describe each and every photo, every sight we enjoy. 
Just relax and enjoy the view for yourself.

Now we are at the far end
of Königsee and we get off the boat for a short hike to Öbersee. 
This had been the far end of Königsee until the land shifted and this
section was raised somewhat.

First, however, nature calls!  It is cold, many of us have had cold
drinks or even coffee and we have been aboard more than an hour so as we
see in the photo below, some of the group have made a mad dash for the
rest rooms.

It has been a tough
schedule so far and many have decided to take it easy the rest of the
day.  A handful of other adventurers set out with JEFF CARSON,
Member #7228 to visit the ruins of buildings of the Reich on the
Obersalzburg.  This was a military compound on the mountain for
recreation as well as military use.

We begin here with the ruins of the Theater Hall.  Those gigantic
monoliths supported the floor joists of the theater.  In winter
1944, a very heavy snowfall collapsed the roof and as the war was going
very badly for Germany, there was no effort to repair or rebuild the
Theater Hall.  After the end of the war, villagers took the wood to
rebuild their homes and to use for heating.

Both above – we are
standing in the fuse storage building looking down at the storage
building for the shells and munitions.

In the photo below we are in the shell and munitions storage area
looking up at the storage facility for the fuses.

On the two photos above
we see how nature is rapidly taking back this area.  At this rate,
we figure ten years at the most and it will all be gone.

Photo left – we see how serene things look high up on this mountain.

Most are not aware that the energy drink Red Bull is headquartered in Salzburg.  The two photos above are of their hangar that is jam packed with great things.

For instance, there is this ‘FOLLOW ME‘ truck and for those who did not serve in the Air Force, let me explain.   When a plane lands on an air base, a ‘FOLLOW ME‘ truck is waiting as the plane leaves the runway for the taxi strip; we had yellow Chevrolet pick-up trucks at the Air Force Base where I served.  The ‘FOLLOW ME‘ truck knew which spot in what row the plane was to be parked so the plane followed the truck to his parking spot.

In this hangar we see many great things such as this Formula One race car.  There are other race cars but this one is #17 and every race car I ever owned and drove was #17 as we see below right.  Okay, so we had to take the photo of #17 here in the hangar……….humor me.

Above – I am in the #17 Dodge Charger passing the #19 at about 190mph during the Texas 500 many years ago but the race cars are not the reason we are here.

Red Bull has some magnificently restored warbirds here.  There are many jet fighters of various air forces, but the former U.S. Army Air Corps and U.S. Navy planes are of great interest here.

Photo left and both photos below are their B-25 Mitchell medium bomber.  The B-25 saw service in all theaters of World War Two and were almost like a fighter as they were quite fast, very maneuverable and in addition to their bomb load, they carried many guns.

The Lockheed P-38 Lightning was an incredible fighter for her day.  With contra-rotating engines, she could turn and bank left of right with ease without fighting engine torque as in the single engine fighters.  All her guns were in the nose so the firepower was concentrated at any range.

Single engine fighters had guns in the wings – either three or four in each wing so there was a point where the bullets converged; usually about 400 yards in front of the plane.  The Lightning could climb almost vertically, was highly maneuverable and packed a powerful punch with her six .50 caliber machine guns and two 20mm guns in the nose.

Richard Bong, the American Ace of Aces shot down 40 enemy aircraft while flying a P-38 Lightning.  This is the only P-38 in Europe, one of a handful in the world – and these planes fly!

Somehow we always manage to find the snack bar and here in the Red Bull hangar there are restaurants and snack bars where we can indulge our ‘sweet tooth‘.

This is pretty much an Austrian treat called ‘Heiße Liebe‘.  Strictly translated, that means ‘Hot Love‘.  We see the three scoops of vanilla ice cream with a huge mound of whipped cream on top – but in that little dish to the left of the ice cream is a load of hot raspberries that we pour over the ice cream.  The hot tea and little cookie on the other plate make the finishing touch to a great snack and a terrific day here in the Red Bull hangar.

Most are not aware that the energy drink Red Bull is headquartered in Salzburg.  The two photos above are of their hangar that is jam packed with great things.

For instance, there is this ‘FOLLOW ME‘ truck and for those who did not serve in the Air Force, let me explain.   When a plane lands on an air base, a ‘FOLLOW ME‘ truck is waiting as the plane leaves the runway for the taxi strip; we had yellow Chevrolet pick-up trucks at the Air Force Base where I served.  The ‘FOLLOW ME‘ truck knew which spot in what row the plane was to be parked so the plane followed the truck to his parking spot.

In this hangar we see many great things such as this Formula One race car.  There are other race cars but this one is #17 and every race car I ever owned and drove was #17 as we see below right.  Okay, so we had to take the photo of #17 here in the hangar……….humor me.

Above – I am in the #17 Dodge Charger passing the #19 at about 190mph during the Texas 500 many years ago but the race cars are not the reason we are here.

Red Bull has some magnificently restored warbirds here.  There are many jet fighters of various air forces, but the former U.S. Army Air Corps and U.S. Navy planes are of great interest here.

Photo left and both photos below are their B-25 Mitchell medium bomber.  The B-25 saw service in all theaters of World War Two and were almost like a fighter as they were quite fast, very maneuverable and in addition to their bomb load, they carried many guns.

The Lockheed P-38 Lightning was an incredible fighter for her day.  With contra-rotating engines, she could turn and bank left of right with ease without fighting engine torque as in the single engine fighters.  All her guns were in the nose so the firepower was concentrated at any range.

Single engine fighters had guns in the wings – either three or four in each wing so there was a point where the bullets converged; usually about 400 yards in front of the plane.  The Lightning could climb almost vertically, was highly maneuverable and packed a powerful punch with her six .50 caliber machine guns and two 20mm guns in the nose.

Richard Bong, the American Ace of Aces shot down 40 enemy aircraft while flying a P-38 Lightning.  This is the only P-38 in Europe, one of a handful in the world – and these planes fly!

Somehow we always manage to find the snack bar and here in the Red Bull hangar there are restaurants and snack bars where we can indulge our ‘sweet tooth‘.

This is pretty much an Austrian treat called ‘Heiße Liebe‘.  Strictly translated, that means ‘Hot Love‘.  We see the three scoops of vanilla ice cream with a huge mound of whipped cream on top – but in that little dish to the left of the ice cream is a load of hot raspberries that we pour over the ice cream.  The hot tea and little cookie on the other plate make the finishing touch to a great snack and a terrific day here in the Red Bull hangar.

We set out on a drive into Austria and naturally, we must stop to eat along the Autobahn – you KNOW we travel Europe from restaurant to restaurant.  The food is great and the way it is presented is an art form unto itself.  Join us…..and check out the view (below right) we have from the parking lot.  To call it breathtaking just doesn’t do it justice!

Once we are on the grounds, we see the massive wooden gate (upper left) that once was in the gateway we saw on the main page.  There is also a memorial plaque to the U.S. Army troops who secured this area and we walk through the stone entrance to the memorial grounds.

Our host, Dr. Quatember, opens the gigantic iron gate to let us into the tunnel and we see the memorial (photo right).

Originally intended to house the rocket production that was to be moved here from Peenemünde, but that plan was abandoned due to the systematic destruction of German production and transport facilities by Allied bombings.

Gasoline production was done in Unit “A” of this facility while tank transmissions were made in tunnels 4 and 5 of Unit “B”.

Above left – how this tunnel looked in the late war years;
Above – how this tunnel looks today;
Left – the foundation for the diesel generating plant;
Below left – an unfinished part of this tunnel;
Below – remains of the stairway to the upper floor.

The machinery, the workers etc. were down on this level while the engineers, technicians etc. had offices on the floor above which was climate controlled for comfort.

HUH?  The officer on the far right of this photo is none other than Obergrupenführer SS Hans Kammler!  This is an incredibly rare photo of this man who, as the third most powerful man in the 3rd Reich, was in charge of all the secret projects.  Here he makes a rare visit to Ebensee and we have him on film.

We remember that he killed himself at the end of the war to keep from giving secrets to the Allies…..or his SS Guard killed him to keep him from……..you get the picture.  However, like all the rest from Operation ‘Paperclip‘ Kammler came to the USA.  Our friend CLARK McCLELLAND, Member #7728 met him in the office of Dr. Debus, Chief of NASA where CLARK served 35 years as an engineer.  CLARK also met ‘Dr. Grün‘ there which means ‘Dr. Green‘ and that was the code name for Heinrich ‘Gestapo‘ Müller.