Chapter 22

Singapore was a bust. Hong Kong was too. Hawaii was part of FED A. Australia burned far too often. New Zealand was ... sheep. We kept getting back to Europe ... and Germany. Germany. Great schools, nearly all classes taught in English.

"They have weird cults," said The Wanzor.

"What do you call time travelers?" Vee asked by way of rebuttal.

"I see," Wendy responded.

Russia had tried to reunite to its Soviet States and Satellites in the early part of the century ... NATO stomped that vision into dust. Vee didn't want Berlin or any of the North Sea schools. As they wended their way south they eliminated schools as too many, too much and too cold. Too many students, too many old school academics and too friggin cold.

Suddenly Lake Constance was in front of them and Switzerland on the other shore. They had eliminated 99% of the schools in Germany ... but, hey ... what's this?

University of Konstanz; a new school as schools go ... under a hundred years old, but not by much ... the school had a private beach, there was a grass not exactly an aerodrome, more of a gliderdrome nearby. The summers were hot, fall and spring are beautiful. Winter is ... winter and skiing, skating, rathskellers and sausage. Living was mostly off campus ... tuition was free and the school was one of the few who appreciated her.

The campus was still bigger than what a country girl was used to, but Vee could live with a student population of ten thousand and eighty thousand townies.

The Regents had a problem with a 14 year old Islander ... a princess to boot and she flew her own aircraft. Her bodyguard was so similar that the staff had a very hard time understanding who was whom. They were willing to try, though.

"Can you afford to live here?" was the big question.

"I can afford to buy. What is for sale?" settled that.

Once upon a time ... long, long ago, there was a flying field ... Luftwaffe ... on the south shore of the Bodensee ... across the lake from the school. Abandoned but not forgotten since 1945. That sometimes it was used for Army maneuvers ... sometimes it was a Ausbildungszentrum Spezielle Operationen base of operations and training for Special Forces ... what ever ... the base was in decent shape and the caverns slash hangars were excellent exploration ... and the German military had permission to use it. But, the former base was privately owned and it wasn't for sale.

Wendy, The Wanzor, grinned at her and said, "I'll be right back."

Out and back in a flicker, The Wanzor was a little dirtier than when she left. "Yes, somebody owns it ... You," she said to Vee.

"Grandmother? What did you do?"

"Germany was for sale cheap after the surrender. I found the man who had leased the land to the Wehrmacht. He was just itching to get out of Dodge and I provided sufficient funds for him to live a life of comfort if not absolute luxury in Argentina ... and took him there."

The base was very pretty; rolling hills and grassy flatlands backdropped by pine covered peaks and a mini castle in ruins setting off the view. One of her first acts was to contact the tipi people ... the re-enactors of Indian days on the Plains ... and invite them to use the base for their Fall party.

Vee was up for some experimentation; fourteen ... heading for fifteen ... and one thing is certain ... southern Germany has its share of odd people; Reggae music, Rastafarians, Amerindian religious practices, Wiccan, pagan, Lutherans ... the south of Germany isn't Berlin.

Her freshman year, wasn't really a year. She took an immersion German as a second language class. It wasn't at the University ... it was at a military base ... that may or may not have been in Germany ... The Wanzor wasn't telling.

"Grandma?"

"Yes Vee?"

"You have really strange friends."

"Why, thank you, Granddaughter."

Vee blinked.