John Wayne In Germany.

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    :cowboy: Has anyone here ever been to Germany? If or if not, and if you ever go there; please go to this place.


    Go to Heidelberg and go to the Zum Rothen Ochsen which is not far from a hugh Cathedral. It is a place that openly boasts of The Duke staying there whenever he visited Heidelberg.


    I was there in mid October 2000, and the owner had on display two huge guest registry books for people to see.


    Anyway, I was having a dinner there when the owner came up to me with a big grin on her face. She saw I was wearing a John Wayne t-shirt and had asked if I was a big fan of him. I said yes and she then told me that this was The Dukes favorite place to hang out at when he was in Germany.


    The two huge guest registries were used since around the turn of the century. There are many many famous signatures in them including John Wayne, Marilyn Monroe, John F. Kennedy etc. Of course, these registries were only for famous people to sign. In them you also had people like Fieldmarschall Paul von Hindenburg, Erwin Rommel, past leaders of Europe including many members of the Royalty.


    If ever thay way, stop by there and have dinner. The food is great, service is great as well as the atmosphere.


    TRK.

    Es Ist Verboten Mit Gefangenen In Einzelhaft Zu Sprechen..

    Hello Ringo. I have never been to Germany, though my Great Grandparents immigrated from there. But on a side note, I am a printing pressman by trade, and the press I run is a Heidelberg, made in Germany. I guess the plant that made them is or was in that city. Those Germans really know how to make presses. I imagine it is neat being in a place Duke frequented and to see the impact or impression he left behind on the others there. I bet his name in that registry is one of the few EVERYONE knows. Dukefan1 B)

    "I couldn't go to sleep at night if the director didn't call 'cut'. "

    Thanks for pointing that out! I'll make sure to include that next time I'm in Germany. As far as I know, Wayne visited Germany once: When he was promoting The Conqueror, he got a trophy from German movie distributors and there are pictures of him visiting the US sector at the Brandenburger tor. Do you know of more visits?

    Welcome back DukeFan1


    If my memory serves me right its been a long time sice you have last been around here, I hope who will be a regular once again.


    Thanks for that story about Duke in Germany, does anyone know of any interesting stories of the Duke in the UK was he ever in Northern Ireland? I know his mum was from there.


    :agent:

    Regards
    Robbie

    :cowboy: Dukefan1, itdo, Robbie,


    Dukefan1, if you ever get the chance to go there please take it. The scenery is fantastic, as well as the views of all the Castles and ancient architecture etc. I went on vacation there for 1 month from Sept 16 to Oct 15 2000. The place is simply a beautiful country like ours. I was really amazed at what I saw there because where I live--we have nothing much but Mesquite and Palm Trees, bushes and weeds. A bit of over exaggeration but you get the general idea.


    Did you know that in what was West Germany that there are over 10,000 castles and castle ruins there. When I was there I only walked through the Hohentwiel castle ruins in Singen, Meersburg castle in Meersburg (both near or on Lake Konstanz) and Heidelberg castle.


    I am also one who really loves to study architectur and I greatly enjoyed the many variations of what I saw there. The oldest room I stayed the night in was in the famed city of Hamlin (Hameln) and my room was over 700 years old. Just around the corner to this place is of all things, an Internet Cafe. :wacko: I simply have to agree with you that the Germans do and did make products to last and last.


    Itdo, your quite welcome. Thanks for your story as well. I see that he visited Berlin which is more than a few hours away (by car) from Heidelberg. I can't say for a fact how many times he visited Germany but according to the lady that I talked with in Zum Rothen Ochsen (The Red Ox) I think she said he was in Heidelberg on at least a few occasions. I do not know what years or why. I was told that Heidelberg was his favorite place in Germany. A good friend of mine who was born and raised in Heidelberg im sure might know more of John Wayne being there. I will ask him and see if he remembers anything about his visit(s) and will let you know.


    Hi Robbie, your quite welcome.


    TRK.

    Es Ist Verboten Mit Gefangenen In Einzelhaft Zu Sprechen..

    Thanks for the welcome back, Robbie. I have been lurking around, just haven't posted in a while. I am like you, Ringo, where I am in awe of buildings and castles that span centuries. In our country (U.S.A.), our architecture goes back only so far, but Europe has so many places and buildings that were centuries old when our old buildings were built. To just stand in them and feel the history that went on there really is an adventure. Germany always was on my fantasy list of places to visit if and when I become wealthy enough to travel at leisure. Hope to see it one day! Dukefan1 B)

    "I couldn't go to sleep at night if the director didn't call 'cut'. "

    I visited a few castles when I was stationed in Germany with the military. By far the most impressive (IMO) was Neuschwanstein in Bavaria. We didn't go inside but took several pictures from the outside. Here is a picture found on the internet of this most famous of German castles. I read one time that the Disney people took this as a model for their Disneyland castle.


    De gustibus non est disputandum

    You are correct Stumpy, Disney did use that castle as inspiration for the 2 castles at his theme parks in LA and Orlando.

    Life is hard, its even harder when your stupid!!
    -John Wayne

    Did you know that the town at the Schloss Neuschwanstein was the background for THE GREAT ESCAPE. They filmed all the escape scenes in this area, as a matter of fact, you can see James Garner's plane flying over the castle in one scene. Pretty, isn't it?

    Since you do, allow me to point this one out
    (spoilers ahead!)
    When Charles Bronson rows his boat, you'll see a bridge and town in background.
    When James Coburn sits in the café, supposedly in France, you'll see a bridge (over which the Resistance approaches) - same bridge and town! :lol:
    Found out when I visited the town and looked for the old locations. The townspeople are used to tourists who get there to look at Schloss Neuschwanstein - and totally unprepared for guys who ask about The Great Escape.

    :cowboy: Greetings Dukefan1, Stumpy, Itdo and Viper.


    Dukefan1, I certainly do love their architecture styles. I remember being on the outer edges of Hamburg when Susanne (my German friend) and I stopped at a cafe for a snack. We parked about a block from the cafe and got out to walk. Well, several of the nearby houses had straw roofs......just like the type you see in the Hager the Horrible comic strips. I thought that was cool to see and even took a few photos. Apparently that was one of the styles you see in the Hamburg area.


    We went into that cafe and sat next to a river that had very large Goldfish in it. I had my first taste of Schwartzwald cake (Black Forest cake) which was teh best cake I ever ate.


    That evening (Saturday) we stayed at a nice place on the outskirts of Hamburg. I forgot its name. This place was along the river and was very beautiful. Swans were even swimming in the water. The next day we were going to try to see the famous Cathedral in Hamburg but did not get the chance to unfortunately. I love the Gothic style buildings as well.


    But speaking of Cathedrals, if ever in Bavaria (Garmish-Partenkirchen) you HAVE to go visit the Weiss Kirche (The White Church) From the outside, it looked like just any of many buildings I saw in Germany. The inside decor was so fantastically done and was absolutely beautiful and amazing. The art and woodwork IMO just cannot be bested. I had not known that it was forbidden to take photographs of the inside but, I took several and found out too late about that rule. Nobody got mad or anything but, it was just frowned upon.


    Stumpy, thank you for showing Schloss Neuschwanstein. It is beautiful and is also my favorite castle in Germany. Thank goodness for the "Mad King" King Ludwig II. He built I think three magnificent castles which nearly bankrupted his Kingdom. Heidelberg Schloss is my second favorite German castle. I have some photos of it I took on the famous lighted bridge of the castle at nighttime. Unfortunately my camera could not capture much detail. BTW, if you have ever seen the movie: The Odessa File" w/ Jon Voight and Maximilian Schell. You get a great view of the lighted bridge (in the daytime) when his character makes it to Heidelberg. You will see the twin towers that are at the front of the bridge. Well, unseen in the movie is a beautiful and huge Cathedral about 2 blocks away from the bridge. And about a block or so to the left and rear of the cathedral is where Zum Rothen Ochsen is located.

    Es Ist Verboten Mit Gefangenen In Einzelhaft Zu Sprechen..

    Here I am - a day late and a dollar short again -


    I was fortunate enough to be an Air Force brat and we went with my father when he was stationed in Frankfurt am Main from the summer of '54 though the winter of '56-'57. Unfortunately, I was at that formative age where I didn't really appreciate the opportunities afforded to me. I now regret that there were many things I could have done while there.
    I did get to go through Neuschweinstein Castle (King Ludwig II's hangout) - those rooms were cold!! - brrrr!
    You're right - it is really a beautiful country.

    Cheers - Jay:beer:
    "Not hardly!!!"


    During my last military tour in Germany (1970-74), I was stationed at Stuttgart. While there we made many driving tours of Bavaria and the Black Forest area. We also attended the '72 Olympics in Munich which sadly enough, was marred by the Arab terrorist attack on the Israeli athletes. Despite that traumatic event, we had a good time and I fell in love with Munich. We attended 2 or 3 Oktoberfests (the world's biggest beer bust) in that fair city.


    We also spent a couple of weeks at the U.S. Armed Forces Recreation Center in Obersalzberg, staying in the General Walker Hotel, which had been converted from a Nazi-era barracks built to house SS troops detailed to guard Hitler's compound at the Berghof. I did a considerable amount of exploring of the surrounding countryside, even venturing into underground bunkers built in the area. One of the most fascinating places in the Obersalzberg-Berchtesgaden area was the Eagles Nest, or Kehlsteinhaus, a retreat that the Nazi Party had built for Hitler on a peak overlooking Obersalzberg. I told my wife I could understand why Hitler felt like a "Master of the World" when ensconced in Kehlsteinhaus, because the view from that mountaintop is fabulous. During my 25 years in the service, I visited some beautiful spots around the world but I don't think any of them surpasses Bavaria (especially the Berchtesgaden area) for scenic beauty. Wish I was filthy rich, I'd live down there.

    De gustibus non est disputandum

    I remember seeing those castles in the movies,beautiful.i will have to watch the great escape again...lol although i have to do it alone when none is going to be around because they do not want to see it again.....i literally wore the tape out and had to go buy the DVD i watched it that much.


    -InHarmsWay

    :cowboy: Hi Stumpy, I was in the general area of the Adlers Horst but never got to see it. Instead, we stayed a bit over a day at Forsthaus Grasack near Garmish-Partenkirchen. All of that area is very beautiful. My traveling friend Susanne took me to tour the famed Weisskirche as well. No photo's were allowed to be taken of the insides of the Kirche but, I talked to a lady who was one of it's caretakers and she allowed me to take pictures.


    Anyone ever been to either Zeppelin Museums in Friedrichshafen or in Meersberg? I was only able to make the one in Meersberg and was the only one allowed to take photo's in there as well. It pays to kiss a Fraulein's hand. :jump:

    Es Ist Verboten Mit Gefangenen In Einzelhaft Zu Sprechen..