Yes, I was in the Army while I was there.
I was stationed in Hanau, worked in Buedingen and lived in a REAL TINY town of Mittelgrundau. I returned back to the states for about a year and then got stationed in Augsburg.
My oldest daughter was born in Gelnhausen. I loved it over there and I would go back in a heartbeat.
When I lived in Mittelgrundau, my 18 m/o son used to walk to the the "grocery" store (for lack of a better term) to get himself a piece of candy, then to the meat market for some bierschienken (can't spell - sorry) and would finish his trip by stopping at the biermeister to get 2 bottles of beer for him and Opa. We were the only Americans in the town at the time and we were very well known. It was probably the only reason that Frank got away with his "shopping{ trips. Every 2 weeks I made the same rounds to pay off his tab! lol
I lived next door to an SS officer. He was a really sweet man and I always baked him chocolate chip cookies. Senility had set in for this man and according to his daughter, up until he passed away, the only thing he ever talked about was the American who would bring him cookies.
We loved it over there and once we realized that as long as we "TRIED" the German people were the friendliest people around. Germany has some of the mos beautiful lands and the best people. We were acutally (not literally) "adopted" by a German family and we later found out that this was the highest compliment that could be paid.
Guess I better ush, once I start talking about Germany - I never know when to HUSH!!
Crafty