Visit to Bad Aibling

Hi guys,

Ty and I arrived in Bad Aibling not too long ago and before checking into the hotel, we drove to the old base to check things out.

We first pulled up to a German guard and gate, and when I asked if this used to be the old American base, he told me to go up the road some more.  He said he thought it was ok for us to look around.

I didn’t know there was a German station there. Was it there in 1968?   We drove up further and found another gate which was open with some ominous looking signs that might have meant private or whatever, but we went in anyway.

The road took us straight to the round domes, which I thought used to be satellite radar dishes. We passed a fairly decent “tennis court” and another one that was completely run down with weeds and grass growing within it.

I took pictures. I’m not sure, but I think your tennis courts may have been the one grown up with weeds. We then drove up the road where the bowling alley, teen center and Commissary used to be, then to the snack bar, and beyond to the barracks.

All in all, I took about 120 pictures, but will have to wait until I get home to upload that amount of photos.

I found the the new hotel that was in the newspaper clipping you sent
me, and there’s a daycare center close to the main entrance. The
main entrance doesn’t have a gate anymore. It looks like they’re
making apartments out of a few of the barracks.

The outside of the snack bar looks the same with the steps and all. The inside of the snack bar is completely renovated, and it looks like they’re making it a bar or something. We didn’t go inside anything except for the snackbar and there were workman there.

Through the windows of one the barrack doors was a big emblem on the wall that read “truth conquers”. Do you remember that?  I tried to get pictures of every building.

Through the windows of the commissary were the same ramps and entrance doors, and the old commissary hours of operation. The teen center looked the same. The officer’s homes close to the main entrance were still intact, but the trees and bushes and grass were overtaking everything.

The flag pole is still there in the green center. Someone mows that green center area. Most of the base is grown up with weeds and looks like its been uninhabited for a long time.

Bad Aibling looks different to me. There are many modern looking
buildings. While traveling around Garmisch, many of the towns looked
very touristy. I don’t remember that from before. It certainly has
changed.

We went to where the American hotel was at Eibsee close to
Garmisch. It used to be called the General Walker Hotel. I asked
the girl at the front desk what the history was of their hotel, and
she said that it was an American Hotel up until 1979. Now it’s a
really ritzy place and very posh for the wealthy Germans. I had to
ask permission to go in and take a look around.

Tomorrow we’ll head a little north to Kleinhohenrain (about 7 km) and
see my old home. The countryside is absolutely beautiful. I love
the huge farm houses with their barns attached to the main house.

We stay tonight and tomorrow night, and then we head to Berchestgaden.

Can’t wait to share my photos with you all.

Julie

(Next is Julie’s original comment on Balta blog.)

Hi,

My husband and I are getting ready to take a trip to Bad Aibling (in two weeks), so I decided to google the place and see what was on the internet. Your blog site came up and surprised me . I was in Bad Aibling from 1968 to 1970. My father was Richard Young who was part of Project Wildbore. I haven’t been back since 1970 and wanted to find out if you could still visit the station, if anyone was there, or if it was completely locked up. I’ve read that it has closed.

Does anyone remember much about the Wildbore group? Our family lived off-base in a little town called Kleinhohenrain, but we had base privileges and went to the American high school in Munich. We took the Army bus to get there from BAS. I remember hanging out in a cafeteria, going to the movies, using their dark room to develop pictures, going to the teen center for dances, and visiting school friends in their homes on base. I know no one is going to know me, but it would be nice to find out if anyone knew some of the people my father worked with. It would be nice to connect with them if possible.

I’m really looking forward to revisiting the area and seeing Garmisch, Berchesdaden, Munich, Chiemsee and other towns in the area. I expect to see a lot of changes since 1970. I was only a teenager then, and have wanted to go back for years. Our family had the best time living there. It sounds like others feel the same way from what I’ve found on the web.

Thanks for letting me comment on your site. It’s been fun reading other comments from people who have been there.

Julie (Young) Rhodes