Helga has worked at the Kantine since July 15, 1967. Henry worked for 28 years at the base motor pool. The couple married in 1976, and 20 years later Henry retired and started working for his wife, whom he now refers to affectionately as “The Boss.”
So you guys have been married for 31 years and worked together for 11 years. Do you even want to look at each other after a long day of slinging schnitzel?
Helga: Sometimes we have troubles.
Henry: No — all is OK.
Are you just saying that because your boss is sitting across the table from you, Henry?
Henry: No, we’re a good team.
Helga: We’ve been married for 31 years. These days, two years is a long time — even for Germans.
Are the soldiers you serve now fatter than the soldiers of the 1960s?
Helga: No, well, yeah. They like my food.
Who eats more, the Americans or the Germans?
Helga: Americans, definitely.
Henry: The Germans are a little heavier, but that’s from all the beer, not the food.
Helga: Yeah. I have one German who comes in at 7 a.m. and drinks a beer every day — 7 in the morning. He sits over there in the corner. Sometimes he’s in at 6:30.
So the Americans don’t do that kind of morning drinking?
Helga: We aren’t allowed to sell beer to the Americans anymore. In the past we could.
What’s the best thing you serve in this joint?
The best is the schnitzel and the gyros.
What’s your schnitzel secret?
Henry: Don’t tell him that.
Helga: Oh — this is very secret.
What do you think about American cuisine?
Helga: Thanksgiving I eat in the dining facility every year. This is good. I like turkey and tacos and the steak.
How about sweet potatoes?
Henry and Helga: No.
Have you ever had to throw anyone out?
Henry: Yeah. Tipsy.
Helga: But no fights.
In 40 years, no fights?
Helga: Nope. The soldiers are always well-behaved.
I find that hard to believe. No dirty language? Have the soldiers taught you any bad words since you started here?
Helga: Yeah, but I don’t think I can say it to you.
We don’t have to print it if it’s bad.
Helga: (Whispers)
Oh, gosh, you’re right. We can’t print that. Do soldiers say that a lot?
Helga: Yes, but they’re not saying it to me. They’re saying it to each other.
Helga and Henry Rauner
Title: Longtime proprietors of the Kantine Rauner on Spinelli Barracks in Mannheim, Germany.
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