Letters To Home - June 12, 1951

Mannheim, Germany
June 12, 1951

Arrived in Bremerhaven 7:45 a.m. Sunday, after a very smooth trip from England. The Channel and the North Sea both quite smooth, but chilly.

After berthing, we stayed on the ship until almost 8:30 in the evening, then boarded a train. Had a mis-conception about German railroads. One might think that, due to the war, the German railway system would be in shambles. Not so. The train we rode would stack up to almost anything in the States; air-conditioned, smooth road bed. The engine was steam, and fast.

From Bremerhaven to Mannheim is about 600 miles, which we made in 12 1/2-hours, counting stops. Our coach developed a hot box, so we had to transfer into another coach at Hanover. We stopped in Bremen and bought sandwiches, then made another stop in a litle town to pick up a kitchen car.

First impressions of Germany are favorable. Pretty little homes in a pretty country. Beautiful gardens, too. The rows are planted so neatly, almost geometric in design.

We are now living in large squad tents. We're scheduled to move out Friday to our permanent base. We were originally scheduled to go to Grafenvere, but now has been changed to Schweinfurt. We'll be living in barracks formerly used by the German flyers in World War II.

Six of us went into Mannheim to pick up some supplies. Have never seen so many bicycles before.

Understand we will be getting a cigarette allowance of 15 cartons per week, plus a pound of coffee or Nescafe. There seems to be a lively black market in operation here. Cigarettes are supposed to sell on the black market for eighteen marks per carton, which is about $4.50 U. S. We will pay $1.00 per carton.

We received our army money yesterday. American money not allowed here, except on the black market. The stuff we were issued reminds me of Monopoly money. No coins, either. The dollar and ten dollar bills are large. The nickel, dime, quarter and half-dollar bills are small and different color than the big bills. We use this money in the PX only. If we spend money in town, we must buy German money at the going rate of exchange. The German mark is presently worth 24-cents; for a dollar bill, we get in return four marks and twenty pfennigs.

I tried some German beer last evening; quite strong compared to the American kind. The German versions of Coke and Pepsi seem to be sweeter than American. We can buy a can of pork and beans for 10-cents. Coke is 5-cents per bottle, beer 10-cents a liter. Milk is also 10-cents a liter, and comes from Denmark. Ice cream is 25-cents per pint.