Inspired by some positive feedback I got from a stateside reader (in contrast to what my son says about this blog), I decided to take a little walk through the Camp King neighborhood on this beautiful Indian summer day.

Camp King Oberursel

The Officers' Club at Camp King Oberursel

Officers' Club a.k.a. Mountain Lodge in Oberursel

In June 2010, I had written a short post about Officers’ Club at Camp King finds Investor. Unfortunately, nothing has been done on the outside since then.

Basement window of the Officers' Club

Overgrown by weeds.

Overlooking the grounds of the former Camp King Oberursel

This photo was taken on the steps of the back entrance, looking down the hill side, towards Hohemarkstrasse (not in view).

Near the front entrance of the Officers' Club Oberursel

The area around the Officers’ Club shows some very modern apartment buildings and some one-family homes in the half-timbered style.

Nothing really much has changed since the Mountain Lodge/Officers’ Club got its new owner. And time is not on its side – another ten years without occupancy and then…?

A photo of the beautiful  Mountain Lodge in wintertime.

On Saturday, 20th August, 2011 there will be a tour of the area in Oberursel known as “Camp King” with local historian Manfred Kopp.

The tour covers the history of the area from the Reichssiedlungshof in the 1930s, through the time of the Dulag Luft up to the end of the U.S. Army presence in the town.

The meeting point is the Edeka parking lot at the corner of Camp-King-Allee at 2 pm, and the tour costs 3 EURO.  It ends at the Kirchenladen where archive material can be viewed.

This is an interesting opportunity for local residents to learn more about the history of the area that they live in.

In my last post  from 18 June, I had reported about the difficulties in finding an investor to take on the Officers’ Club. All that has changed within the last two weeks – after 17 years of lying idle.

The Taunuszeitung, dated 30 June 2010, had the following article Luxus hinterm Fachwerk (extravagance behind the half-timber). The Oberurseler Woche, date 01 July 2010, also carried an article titled  Im Offizierskasino entstehen Wohnungen (The Officers’ Club will change into apartments).

Over the years, several investors had been interested in the Officers’ Club, but none of their plans of turning it into any kind of business got approved. The residents of this Villenviertel (exclusive residential area) had enough say-so to put any type of business plans to rest.

This has come to an end with the current investor’s proposal for turning the building into privately owned apartments. To do that, the investor set up his own corporation, Mountain Lodge Grundstücks-GmbH, and bought the areal of 1200 qm (close to three acres) from the city of Oberursel.

The Officers’ Club (also called Mountain Lodge around here) has found a new purpose, and the previous hope of getting the basement to house the Camp King archives is lost. Manfred Kopp, the Camp King archivist, is still without a permanent home for the Camp King archives, but we will continue looking for an appropriate location.

I usually do not blog about a customer service experience, but this one is too unusual to pass up.

For the past five years or so, we have used the Brillenhaus in our neighborhood and were quite satisfied with the service. But with this new and young team, obviously lacking in soft skills, customer service has changed.

My experience there went as following:

* 07  Juni – ordered our son’s contact lenses at the shop, which were supposed to be in two days later.

* 10. Juni – another trip to the shop to pick up the promised merchandise. The lenses were not in, but the sales associate promised to call once the shipment had arrived.

* 15. June – sent an e-mail to inquire about my order.

* 15 June – got a phone-call to inform me the lenses had arrived.

* 16 June – another trip to the Brillenhaus to pick them up.

* 20 June -  our son noticed that I had been handed one wrong packet in terms of  prescription.

* 21 June – sent in my claim by e-mail, and inquired whether the right prescription lenses were available. Also pointed out the urgency of this matter, as our son needed them before his upcoming trip.

* 22 June – sent a friendly reminder in regards to my previous mail.

* 23 June – another trip to the shop, where I inquired if they had gotten my mail. Yes, was the answer. Once again I had to ask if they had the right lenses available and after a quick fumble under the counter, the right packet was produced and handed over.

Nothing else was said. No apology either.

I have been told Fielmann in Oberursel has a good and reliable staff – with excellent customer service.

A stateside reader and former military family member left a comment on a previous post about the Mountain Lodge, situated on Camp King’s hillside. This served as a reminder to check into its progress.

In February, I had reported about the city’s plans to turn the Mountain Lodge into a culture center by year end. This was to include giving the Camp King archives a final home on its former grounds. As of now, the archives are still being housed in a damp basement of some café in our neighborhood, just outside of Camp King.

Boarded-up Mountain Lodge Camp King Oberursel

Earlier today, I took a stroll  to take a closer look at the building. Yes, it is still boarded up and knowing German bureaucracy, I see no way of having this project even started by year end. Could be due to a lack of funds as well, since the city is getting into high gear for the Hessentag 2011 event.

Mountain Lodge stairway

Another speculation is the Mountain Lodge’s neighborhood. Early on in the building process, there had been talk of turning the building into a fancy restaurant. But the German neighbors did not agree to it. When building a new house or changing the existing function of a building, there has to be a common consent or the project dies right then and there.

Then there was talk of turning the building into a hotel, and again this proposal was rejected as well. After that private investors shied away from the building, and now this might only leave the city of Oberursel to pour some finances and purpose into it.

Hearsay has it that most of Camp King residents are part of the Erbengeneration. This Erbengeneration (generation of heirs) inherited money from parents/grandparents who worked hard in the early post war years and left substantial sums to this new generation of settlers. The reputation of these well-heeled folks is not too grand around here.

Today, I have sent an inquiry in regards to the Mountain Lodge and its future to the Oberursel Municipal Administration. I wonder if I get a response… My most recent inquiry to the city archives of Oberursel, mailed 24 March and a friendly reminder on 30 April, have not been answered yet.