While I was spending a 2 year visit to Germany, courtesy of Uncle Sam's Army, one of my favorite places to spend time was the Garmisch-Partenkirchen area of Bavaria. It's located next to the Alps. The army had hotels that GIs could stay in really cheap. But there were rules and restrictions on who you could have in your room. Like NO girls! I'd rather spend a little more and rent a room at the Post Hotel, right on Marienplatz down town. The Post hotel had a dining room for dinner or seating for dancing to a live German band on a small dance floor on Saturday nights. Upstairs were several rooms for rent with no dumb rules.
Garmisch-Partenkirchen is two towns that united in 1935. You have a great view of Zugspitz, Germany's highest peak at 2,962 meters, About 10,000 feet. Partenkirchen is quaint with its cobblestone streets. Garmisch was more fun. It was a great place to ski in winter or hike in summer.
My buddy Jim and I had come from Augsburg on the train. It was an easy trip. While we were just walking around seeing the sights we stopped at a sidewalk café. It was pretty busy for a Saturday morning. The waitress had just brought our hot tea and some pastries. Two pretty young girls walked up to the café. They weren't seeing any open tables so I invited them to join us. There was just 2 of us and 2 of them, and our table had 4 chairs. They exchanged a few words between themselves in German. I understood part of what they were saying. They smiled and said, "Danke." (Thanks in German.) They sat down.
I said. "Ich bin Bob. Er ist Jim. Und du?"
The pretty blond one answered. "Ich bin Gisela."
The brunette smiled. "Trudy."
I asked. "Sprechen sie English?"
Gisela answered. "Yes, I'm quite fluent in American English. Not so much in the British Queen's English. I work for the port authority in Hamburg so I had to take some special classes in American English to be able to work there. Sprechen sie Deutsche?"
I answered. "Ein bisschen, aber Nicht viel." (Not much.)
Trudy had learned a lot of English from Gisela. We all agreed to pretty much just use American English.
They ordered some juice to drink. We shared our pastries. We talked for a while.
They told Jim and me that they were on holiday from Hamburg. And that Hamburg is a major port city on the Elbe River in Northern Germany. We told them we were American and in Germany with the U.S. Army. We were in Garmisch to see the sights and have dinner and go dancing later.
I asked. "Tanzen sie?" Trying to use a little Deutsche to be polite.
Gisela answered. "I love to dance. Where can we dance here?"
I said. "Maybe we can spend the afternoon sightseeing together. And Jim and I will treat you girls to dinner and dancing at the Post Hotel."
Gisela spoke. "I didn't know there was dancing at the Post Hotel. We have a room there."
I said. "The Post Hotel only has dancing on Saturday nights."
Jim and Trudy were having their own conversation.
Gisela spoke to Trudy in German. It sounded to me that she was trying to convince Trudy to join in and the four of us could have fun together.
I asked Jim. "You OK with us being a foursome for the day?"
He answered. "Sounds like a plan."
Trudy spoke. "OK."
We finished the pastries and our drinks, we all stood up. Gisela took my hand and Trudy took Jim's hand. The girls did the choosing. We were off to see the sights. We saw quite a bit of the town and admired the view of Zugspitz. It was pretty but it still had snow on it. We walked all over just holding hands, talking and sharing soft kisses. Their English was actually excellent.
When evening came we walked to the Post Hotel. The girls wanted to change clothes before dinner.
They went up to their room while Jim and I got a table for four. The girls came down in skirts and blouses, rather than the pants and sweaters they'd had on earlier. They looked even prettier.
I asked the girls to just order for us and I would pay for everyone. The girls talked briefly. We were served pork cutlets with noodles in a cream sauce, carrots, bread and white wine. It was delicious.
We watched the band come in and set up. The band leader played accordion, with drums and other instruments behind him.
When the band played the first song I asked Gisela. "Tanz mit mir, bitte."
She answered in English. "I'd love to."
We spent the evening talking, dancing, sharing some kisses and drinking wine. Everyone was having a good time. Gisela and me. Trudy and Jim. Jim and I traded partners for a couple of dances, but really preferred dancing with the girl who had chosen us.
When it got late, and since we planned on spending part of Sunday together, we decided to call it a night. Each couple held hands going up the stairway and down the hallway to their room. Our room was a few doors down.
Each couple was standing there to share a goodnight hug and a nice kiss. The kiss Gisela gave me was waaaayy more than just nice. She kissed me again... With her tongue searching deep in my mouth.
Gisela surprised me when she tested my Deutsche. She quietly asked. "Willst du mit mir schlafen?"
I whipered in English. "I would love to sleep with you!"
Jim and Trudy were trying to say goodnight between kisses.
Gisela turned to Trudy and spoke in German. "Wir sehen uns am Morgen."
I said. "See you tomorrow."