Archived from UCI Literary Journalism Department Submissions
By: H. Elizabeth Williams
Wiesbaden, Germany: 1990.
Patrick Williams was stationed at an American Air Force Lindsey Air Station as an E-3 Airman First Class. He was assigned to a communications center where he processed transmissions and receipts, and handled them accordingly based on classification.
Williams, age 20, had been there for over a year and a half. With most of the people that celebrate 4th of July already on base, his two friends Bill and Todd approached him to go to Munich for the night.
“This was a last minute spontaneous idea, but I went with it. I asked where we would stay and when they said just in the train station I was in disbelief, but interested, so I said sure why not!” Williams exclaimed. “I was the one most familiar with the train system out of all of us, and even if it still is in a foreign country it was an adventure.”
A few hours later, they boarded the train with nothing but their wallets and beer money, and with 424 kilometers (263 miles) to go, a few beers courtesy of Germany’s public drinking laws to hold them over until arrival.
“This was not a down the street trip, this was across the country,” Williams clarified.
Their train left in the late morning and arrived around 7pm that night. The first stop of the night had been the obvious: more beer. Hofbrauhaus, the world famous beer hall and the center of Oktoberfest each year, was packed with festivities.
“It seemed like all of Germany was in one place,” he recalled. The walls were lined with German flags and traditional calls of their country. Not a single person went without a beer in their hand, and German folk songs echoed through the hall as the classic German beer maids carried the max in beer steins and filtered through the sausage and pretzel smelling crowds. Strangers laughed with strangers, no anger over spilled beer and it seemed everyone had known each other for years, including with the American soldiers like them.
“It was like seeing Mardi Gras in New Orleans even with it not being that time of year. It’s just a staple like this beer hall is in Germany,” Williams reminisced.
Five hours and many beers later, he and his friends decided to check in for the night, i.e. the train station lobby.
“I was not aware that people normally did what we were about to do. To be frank, I thought they were yanking my chain and there were just going to be a few homeless people throughout like in the U.S. It didn’t sound normal to do,” He voiced his concern. But, sure enough, when the three of them arrived there were wall to wall of at least 100 traveling people sleeping every which way they could fit. Snores and drunk murmuring filled the lobby as they searched for a crack in the wall of people, hoping for a spot on the slight padded layer of flooring. With no such luck, they zoned in on an unpadded spot in the locker rooms. The three of them laid out against a row of lockers and used just their jacket or arm as a makeshift pillow. It was 2 a.m. with slight shivers caused by the night cooling tiles beneath them that woke them up at least 4 times throughout their 5 star stay.
“Polizei! Raus!” Bang! Bang! “Polizei! Raus!”
5:00 A.M.- German police ran their batons down the lockers and throughout the train station in an effort to alert everyone to move on for the day.
“We only got a few hours of sleep at best, but being American we did not want to mess with those guys. We did what we were told, which was to get up and get out of there,” Williams said.
A danish or two for breakfast later, three hungover men checked the train schedule to plan when to head back to base and found they had a few hours to kill. Which only meant one thing: back to Hofbrauhaus. A few drinks before they hit the road back to base agreed with the three of them at 11 a.m. and it was decided.
In the middle of their drinking they met a couple of English girls and tried joking and talking with them over another round of beer. Williams, having not even comprehended for a moment that they were talking to British people, raised a glass to Independence Day, sang the start of the National Anthem to them, and encouraged the girls to join in.
“It didn’t even click until they started laughing. One of the girls I remember said, ‘ah, rubbing it in our faces cause we lost huh?’ and I was glad they were good sports about it. Could have ended differently as Americans in a foreign country beer hall,” Williams said.
They ended their trip with that slip up and decided which train to take back to base and back to responsibilities which included giving instructions to another officer on the phone for a shift change because they were probably going to be late to the shift.
Williams sat on the train and found himself people watching for a bit, taking in the aftermath of his adventure out in Munich.
“Looking back, even though I was in the military, I was only 20 in a foreign country and didn’t speak their language. I had never been to Munich and only knew loosely how to use their train system. With no idea where I was going or staying, I was just expecting adventure and it did not disappoint,” Williams reminisced. “It was a very bold thing to do. No regrets.”
Williams sat back in the ripped up leather seat, looked out the train car window and took a sip of his German beer two hours before his next shift with a smile.
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