I am going to go ahead and be honest here: I am a clean freak. I like my house to be clean, very, very clean! Most of the time I consider this a good thing, but with the good does come some bad. For instance, my husband always tells me that he hates the day before we go out of town and particularly the 2 hours before we leave because I turn in to a crazy cleaning freak and can't leave the house until everything is nicely put away and tidied. Even if we are just going on a quick day trip, I still have this weird obsession with making sure that the house is in perfect order before we take off. I always feel that somebody will randomly drop by the second after we return from a trip and see the house all nasty and out of sorts.
Today, I went to our new house to wait for our unaccompanied baggage to be delivered. While I was waiting I decided to do some house cleaning. I knew the floors looked pretty bad, the cabinets were dirty and the tiny fridge wasn't cleaned but I had no idea just how bad they were! I started mopping the living room floors and had to change the water 3X just for one room! I actually used an entire bottle of Pine Sol today, which I never thought possible to do in one day! Every time I made one sweep with the mop I had to go wash it off, because the mop was just disgusting! I am pretty sure that whoever lived there before us must have been part swine because that house was a sty! It made me start to think: why do some people believe that it is not necessary to mop, wipe the cabinets or pick up their dog poop before they move out??? After several hours of intense cleaning the house is now starting to seem more livable, which is good because I was sort of having a hard time picturing it as "home." I am pretty sure that when we get our stuff tomorrow and finish cleaning up a bit more it could start to actually be home, instead of some nasty poorly maintained rental house.
Feb 24, 2010
Feb 15, 2010
House Hunting 2
The very first house we visited was a 12 square meter (that’s about 1200 square feet) duplex in Birkenfeld a quick 20 minutes from post. The house was still occupied and so the housing office had to call to set up a time that we could visit the house while the tenants would be there. Fortunately for us, an extremely friendly CID (Criminal Investigations Divisions, one of the cooler jobs in the Army where the individuals in the units don’t wear ACUs but, wear civilian clothes) Staff Sergeant came and picked us from the housing office and drove us to see the house. He also took us on a tour of the town. Birkenfeld is an adorable village with a fairly large downtown area that has several restaurants and pubs, a large grocery store, a pet store, a shoe store, a hospital and quite a few hotels. The duplex was within walking distance of the town square and all the local conveniences. The duplex itself was fairly nice and the kitchen included a dishwasher, which is not all that common! The backyard area was large and had several fruit trees but was not fenced.
The second house we toured was a 260 year old farm house in Neiderbrombach, a tiny village about 10 minutes from Birkenfeld and a 25 minute drive to post. The house was completely updated yet still maintained the homes original integrity. I immediately fell in love with this old house, everything about it was adorable! Everything about the house was fresh and homey. And the kitchen was entirely new, I loved everything about it from the windowsill above the sink to the pot rack above the stove! Off the kitchen was a ‘garden patio’ as the Germans refer to it and an original outdoor fire stove. In the basement (or dungeon as the guy showing us the house referred to it) was a barrel to make sauerkraut….at this point I am thinking I am in cooking heaven, an outdoor stove, a special place for me to learn to make sauerkraut, a pot rack, and a windowsill to grow herbs….yep, pretty much heaven! The downstairs had a really nice laundry area and a dining room. Before we head upstairs I am pretty sure that this house is the one. But then we walked up the 260 year old staircase and my perception of the house started to diminish. These were steepest stairs I have seriously ever seen, picture more a ladder than a stairwell. The owner told us that we probably shouldn’t have a few beers and then try to climb those stairs….ahhaahah. The upstairs however continued with the houses adorableness, the bedrooms upstairs each had a chandelier above where the bed would go and both of the rooms upstairs were extremely large! Then we go in the upstairs bathroom which was HUGE and had hook-ups for a washer/dryer upstairs which of course I would prefer because then I wouldn’t have to carry laundry up and down those stairs….I mean ladder. But something weird was in the upstairs bathroom: a urinal! I immediately begin thinking how I can possibly hide that urinal???? Meanwhile, Andrew is thinking how great this is and how he wouldn’t have to put down the toilet seat anymore! The house also had a balcony upstairs but did not have a bathtub and really didn’t have a backyard for Autumn. I still remember that house fondly but might not if I had to climb those stairs a couple of times a day.
This past week we were able to resume house hunting again and the housing office mentioned a few houses in a subdivision in Birkenfeld that had come available. There were 2 different houses in the same housing area that were owned by the same landlord, so setting up an appointment to see both was easy enough. The first we saw was a 3 bedroom townhouse, 1/5 bath with a fenced backyard! It was a tri-level house so essentially every floor had a new room. The ground floor had a garage, utility room and storage area. The first floor (which is really the 2nd floor) had the kitchen (with a walk in pantry…the first I had seen in Germany), half bath, living and dining area and the entry to the backyard. The top floor had 3 bedrooms and a bath. This house instantly gets points for having a fenced yard and a pantry, neither of which we had seen before.
I should probably talk about the bedrooms in Germany. German houses are really not set-up for American bedroom furniture. Nearly, all the houses are multi-level and the top floor is generally the area where the bedrooms reside. The bedrooms are nestled snuggly amongst the area that Americans would commonly have an attic, the area where the roof line is highly slanted and the dormers would be. So in every house we have seen (minus the farm house with the steep stairs and urinal) fitting our furniture will prove to be a fun task!
The other house we visited in the same housing complex was a larger 4 bedroom townhome but set up much the same way as the 3 bedroom, only it had 2 full baths and the 4th bedroom is on the ground floor. The living area is about double the size of the other house, but it didn’t have a pantry :(, it did however have a fairly nice sized fenced yard, which instantly makes us incredibly happy. I think we have pretty much come to the decision that this will be the house we choose, mostly enticed by the fenced yard, normal stairs and bathtub!
Feb 14, 2010
House hunting
Moving to Germany has been nothing less than cleverly controlled chaos. Amidst the well implemented in-processing schedule, we have had many errands and other necessary tasks to complete on our own time. After successfully completing the driver’s training course and passing the driver’s test Andrew and I both now own USAEUR licenses which greatly frees our ability to traverse as needed. Now that we are mobile, we have started the process of looking at housing, setting up cell phones, registering and inspecting our vehicle, searching for a second vehicle and other assorted moving related tasks.
Searching for houses in Germany is both easy and difficult at the same time. The process of house hunting is made incredibly simple and pain free by the housing office. Finding a house that is suitable for your needs however, is not always as easy. We have looked at 6 houses during our housing quest and I must admit none are as horrible as I had prepared myself for.
Upon finding out we were moving to Germany we had been told to prepare for tiny quarters and to put a great deal of our stuff into storage to ensure that all of our belongings fit accordingly. And in fairness if we had appropriate housing quarters available on post, we would likely find ourselves quite squished. However, all of the houses we have found off post have been quite large and suitable. Out of the six houses we have toured, 4 our livable and I’d say that 66% is not nearly as bad as I had expected!
Let me start by telling you about the 2 that were well, not so livable! The first was in a decent sized village, Idar-Oberstein (really 2 combined villages, Idar & Oberstein, that everybody rather cleverly refers to as: Idar-Oberstein) the house was weird to put it best. The description of the house stated that it was a 1400 sq. feet, 3 bedroom, 2 bath house. But I am here to tell you that no third bedroom was anywhere to be found! Essentially the house was 2 identical floor laid on top of one another. The bottom floor had only 1 livable room-perhaps a living room (though I am not truly sure what this one space downstairs would be used for), the other space was a garage (yet, with no garage door), a utility room, a room for the oil tanks (which is how most houses in Germany are heated, the tanks are quite large, picture 2-3 GIANT gasoline tanks), and an absolutely disgusting bathroom! The 2nd floor, had one large room living area off of space that Germans like to commonly refer to as a kitchen, I think of it more of a closet with a stove and a tiny, tiny, tiny refrigerator. I am not quite sure how or why Germans have not jumped on the full size refrigerator thing, but they haven’t! Picture a fridge the size a college student would have in their dorm. Off the living area was a small room, Germans always say it’s a nursery or a dressing room, and off the small dressing/nursery room was a decent sized bedroom…honestly, the only bedroom in the whole house! On the other side of the stairs was a bathroom, not great, but not as nasty as the bathroom downstairs. The only redeeming quality of this house was that it had a fenced in backyard, even though it was a disgustingly filthy backyard and patio! Oh, did I mention it had blue carpet, counters and tile?
The 2nd unlivable house was a house that was built in 1573. Yes, the 1500s!!! It was an old watermill that was used and is still used to create electricity. The inside had been renovated, but not quite to our standards. The house was situated in Offenbach, a quaint village nestled amidst fur covered hills with a glorious view and a picturesque creek that runs through the property (that creek is what runs the mill). The house itself was rich in history and had a historical marker to maintain the integrity and history of the house/property. Outside the house was adorable; inside however, it left much to be desired. Let’s just say the kitchen had nothing more than a sink (really, that is all it had a giant room with a sink). This is not terribly uncommon for German houses for some reason they expect tenants to bring their own appliances and kitchen cabinets…sorry, but I don’t actually have any kitchen cabinets in my household goods, so that house was immediately scratched off the list, even though we stayed and talked with the landlord for an hour as he explained the history/property/architecture of the house. The landlord was a walking encyclopedia of facts and figures and even though the house was a bust I am still happy we toured that house simply for the history…I wish I had brought my camera!
Also, I should probably mention that exactly zero of the houses had any semblance of a closet, fortunately the Army issues you wardrobes to hang your clothes, but I am still bumfuzzled by where the Germans hang their clothes!
Searching for houses in Germany is both easy and difficult at the same time. The process of house hunting is made incredibly simple and pain free by the housing office. Finding a house that is suitable for your needs however, is not always as easy. We have looked at 6 houses during our housing quest and I must admit none are as horrible as I had prepared myself for.
Upon finding out we were moving to Germany we had been told to prepare for tiny quarters and to put a great deal of our stuff into storage to ensure that all of our belongings fit accordingly. And in fairness if we had appropriate housing quarters available on post, we would likely find ourselves quite squished. However, all of the houses we have found off post have been quite large and suitable. Out of the six houses we have toured, 4 our livable and I’d say that 66% is not nearly as bad as I had expected!
Let me start by telling you about the 2 that were well, not so livable! The first was in a decent sized village, Idar-Oberstein (really 2 combined villages, Idar & Oberstein, that everybody rather cleverly refers to as: Idar-Oberstein) the house was weird to put it best. The description of the house stated that it was a 1400 sq. feet, 3 bedroom, 2 bath house. But I am here to tell you that no third bedroom was anywhere to be found! Essentially the house was 2 identical floor laid on top of one another. The bottom floor had only 1 livable room-perhaps a living room (though I am not truly sure what this one space downstairs would be used for), the other space was a garage (yet, with no garage door), a utility room, a room for the oil tanks (which is how most houses in Germany are heated, the tanks are quite large, picture 2-3 GIANT gasoline tanks), and an absolutely disgusting bathroom! The 2nd floor, had one large room living area off of space that Germans like to commonly refer to as a kitchen, I think of it more of a closet with a stove and a tiny, tiny, tiny refrigerator. I am not quite sure how or why Germans have not jumped on the full size refrigerator thing, but they haven’t! Picture a fridge the size a college student would have in their dorm. Off the living area was a small room, Germans always say it’s a nursery or a dressing room, and off the small dressing/nursery room was a decent sized bedroom…honestly, the only bedroom in the whole house! On the other side of the stairs was a bathroom, not great, but not as nasty as the bathroom downstairs. The only redeeming quality of this house was that it had a fenced in backyard, even though it was a disgustingly filthy backyard and patio! Oh, did I mention it had blue carpet, counters and tile?
The 2nd unlivable house was a house that was built in 1573. Yes, the 1500s!!! It was an old watermill that was used and is still used to create electricity. The inside had been renovated, but not quite to our standards. The house was situated in Offenbach, a quaint village nestled amidst fur covered hills with a glorious view and a picturesque creek that runs through the property (that creek is what runs the mill). The house itself was rich in history and had a historical marker to maintain the integrity and history of the house/property. Outside the house was adorable; inside however, it left much to be desired. Let’s just say the kitchen had nothing more than a sink (really, that is all it had a giant room with a sink). This is not terribly uncommon for German houses for some reason they expect tenants to bring their own appliances and kitchen cabinets…sorry, but I don’t actually have any kitchen cabinets in my household goods, so that house was immediately scratched off the list, even though we stayed and talked with the landlord for an hour as he explained the history/property/architecture of the house. The landlord was a walking encyclopedia of facts and figures and even though the house was a bust I am still happy we toured that house simply for the history…I wish I had brought my camera!
Also, I should probably mention that exactly zero of the houses had any semblance of a closet, fortunately the Army issues you wardrobes to hang your clothes, but I am still bumfuzzled by where the Germans hang their clothes!
Feb 12, 2010
Snowglobes!
I love snow globes! My affinity for snow globes goes back to my childhood days when a childhood "boyfriend" (I use the term lightly as we were in 5th grade) bought me a sweet snow globe that had an adorable lioness and her cub cozied amidst a jungle of trees and other lush greenery. Today, I own over 50! YES, 50!!! I have big ones, small ones, Christmas ones, glitter ones, cute ones, ugly ones, Easter ones, music playing ones, non-music playing ones, souvenir ones...you name it, I have it! And I absolutely love them all....even the ugly ones! On any given day I could pick up any one from my collection and be assured that the sweet tune it plays and the splendor of shaking up the snow/glitter inside will always make me smile! Currently, all of my little globes of wintery goodness are in storage somewhere in Germany and even though I don't have any to physically pick up and shake, it is ok because I am essentially living in a giant snow globe!
See I live in a giant globe!
It is odd because sometimes the sun will be shining and it will still be snowing! There will be moments of zero snowfall and the next second it will be snowing like crazy. Andrew and I are just overgrown kids and so playing in the snow is right up our alley. We went sledding down a snow covered hill with a cardboard sled, had a snowball fight, made snow angels and attempted to make a snowman (it didn't work because the snow was too soft and fluffy). Even though living in a snow globe is fun for playing, I am pretty much over the snow and ready for sunshine and grass!
Feb 9, 2010
My car is back!
Yesterday Andrew took the driver’s orientation class and made his first attempt at taking/passing the USAREUR (United States Army Europe) driver’s license. We were desperate for our vehicle! Our car actually beat us to Germany but sadly, we could not rescue her until one of us had a USAREUR license. We had heard many horror stories about how difficult the driver’s examination was but did not fully understand the extent of the difficulty until well…Andrew failed it! Now, I guess I should clarify: he didn’t actually fail it, he missed 17 out of 100 and was only allowed to miss 15…sigh! So the day we had been waiting for, for well…a week, had to wait one more day for Andrew to retake (and pass) the test so we can have wheels again!!! I feel like a 15 year old, anxiously awaiting the big Birthday that frees you from riding with your older siblings, friends or parents.
There she is!!!
Andrew with his USAEUR license
There she is!!!
Feb 3, 2010
Day 1 - Germany!
**Disclaimer - This is likely to be a very long post due to the mass quantities of events that have transpired over the past few days!**
Sunday, January 31 - After arriving in Atlanta the previous day, Andrew and I basically did nothing but make phone calls and look up things regarding the move. At 2200 we headed out to the airport bulky baggage claim to pick up our beloved dog that was flying to see us from Austin. She didn't seem to traumatized by the experience and she got to sleep with us at the hotel so, I think all was forgiven, little did she know......
After we landed at Frankfurt (around 35 minutes behind schedule) airport we were sent on a long trolley ride through snow covered Frankfurt to the main terminal. Upon arriving at the baggage claim area, we waited for around an hour and half for them to finally retrieve our luggage (I am still not really certain what happened, but the important part is that all of our luggage and most importantly our dog was found!). After a 14 hour jaunt in her cage, Autumn still did not seem all that traumatized and she didn't even potty in her crate (she did however potty on the sidewalk just outside the terminal...but really, who could blame her?)! She is seriously the best dog ever!!!!
Upon FINALLY receiving our luggage, we headed up to the 3rd floor to a holding area for all military personnel where we waited for our shuttle to Baumholder. We arrived at the airport at 9:45 and we didn't get on the shuttle until 3. I think you can see just how long of a day this was beginning to be! After a short shuttle drop off to Wiesbaden, Andrew and I, the busdriver and the giant bus filled with only the 3 of us, head off to Baumholder. Somewhere between the timeframe of 1 hour and 2 hours down the road an all out blizzard begins! The local natives were telling me that this is the worst winter in 30 years and that this was the worst storm of the season (and we get to arrive in it...YAY!). Our busdriver begins to be concerned by the situation at hand and starts saying random German phrases followed by and occasional, "Ai, yi, yi!" The busdriver, calls Baumholder to let the Welcome Center know that we are almost there but unfortunately by this time the roads are red (thats bad but not as bad as black which was soon to follow) so everybody on post has already gone home for the day. The busdriver then decides that he would just drop us off at the on-post hotel and somebody can check us in tomorrow....only one problem, the bus can't actually get to the hotel because of the roads. So he drops us off several hundred feet from the entrance and calls a military police personnel to help him back out and get off post. From there we haul a cart through the snow covered road to pick up our belongings (which was certainly no easy feat). Finally, we arrive in the hotel room around 6:30pm. By this time, we are pretty hungry because the only thing we had to eat all day was a tiny container of fruit they gave us on the plane before we landed and a small bratwurst bun at the airport. After quickly brushing our teeth (which hadn't been brushed for over 24 hours...YUM!) we decide that we better head out to find some chow before it gets too late. So we put on the warmest clothes, shoes, gloves and scarves we could find and head out into the BLIZZARD, which at this time my husband was not allowing me to call a blizzard...even though I was pretty sure it was one! One problem...we don't really know where we are going and now it is dark and snowing....directly into our eyes! We start heading in the basic direction the hotel attendant pointed us, when an MP drives by and asks us where we were headed in this crazy storm, and points out that roads are pretty bad (which by this time he did NOT need to tell us b/c were walking on the roads and had already found out how slippery they were). I explain to him that we just got in and were hungry and headed for some food, he tells us to get in and he would drop us off. At the time, this seemed like a life saver! ONLY, it turned out to be a nightmare! He drives us to the other freaking side of post and drops us off at the PX instead of the Rheinlander Center just down the road from the hotel as we were originally planning for. We jump out of the car and he tells us, "to be careful out there and if they PX is closed that a chow hall was across the street." As we start heading for the Subway, the employees step out and tell us that it closed early due to the weather. The chow hall was also closed, so now we have 2 huge problems: 1. I am HUNGRY! 2. we are lost in a snowstorm, without a map and its nightfall!
Fortunately, I am a people person...and a woman, so I am not at all afraid to ask for directions! I see 2 young kids (I say kids b/c they are MUCH younger than I am (18) but really, they are grown adults serving their country, so that makes them much, much, more than just kids) throwing snowballs at eachother and gallantly trouncing around in their massive snow gear. I ask them, if they know of a place to eat that would be open and one looks at the other with this joyous face and says, "We could take them to the Taco Bell, it closes at 8pm." Graciously, they lead us the shortest way they could think of to get there (which unfortunately means, unplowed roads and severly snow covered stairways (HUGE, long massively covered with snow stairways). We get to the Taco Bell and alas, CLOSED! Now, these 2 young lads were not to be stopped by this tiny setback. "I bet the bowling alley is still open if you want to try there." Sure, I reply, by this time Andrew seems hesitant because he truly has no idea where we are and I can see him beginning to get nervous about our trek back to the hotel. But, let me tell you nothing is going to stop me from eating...I was starving!!!! So I press onward, following these 2 spry E-2 to the bowling alley, which I have been assured will in fact be open and does serve food!
Finally, we arrive at the bowling alley and they are shuting down the food bar. NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! I quickly hussle to the snackbar and beg for them to sell us something, the already made (though admittedly disgusting looking) pizza, I suggest. The owner of the snack bar understands that this is not a bad proposely and agrees to sell as anything that was already made, basically leaving us with the option of pizza or french fries. So we graciously purchase the pizza and 2 beers (our first meal in Germany HAD to include a good hearty German beer). Andrew scarfs down the food and looks at me as if suggesting that I hurry as well so we can quickly get back to the walk at foot. At the exact moment that I had silently agreed to scarf down my food, these 2 young men ask us if we wanted them to wait on us and they would lead us back to the hotel. "YES!" I replied, afterall this ensures us that we will indeed get back to the hotel without getting lost and it allows me to eat my pizza at a normal pace....2 wins!
Upon the completion of our first German meal, we begin journeying back to the hotel, again through unplowed snow pathways and deep snow covered stairways. By this time, I begin feeling pretty sorry for these 2 guys, appreciative...but sorry, and I tell them that we owe them a beer sometime. I know what you're thinking...they are only 18!!! But, the drinking age on post in Germany is 18 and off post is 16...so we really do in fact owe these kids a beer! Andrew, tell them that if they see him again, to remind him thet we owe them a beer....because we really owe them a beer!!!!!
Andrew as the journey is beginning.
Sunday, January 31 - After arriving in Atlanta the previous day, Andrew and I basically did nothing but make phone calls and look up things regarding the move. At 2200 we headed out to the airport bulky baggage claim to pick up our beloved dog that was flying to see us from Austin. She didn't seem to traumatized by the experience and she got to sleep with us at the hotel so, I think all was forgiven, little did she know......
Monday, February 1 - After checking out of the hotel, we walked the dog around various hotel parking lots, cemetaries, parks and safe looking neighborhoods for about an hour and a half in the hopes of getting Autumn good and tired before her long venture across the world. At 4pm, we dropped off the doggie and our luggage with Lufthansa and began the waiting and sitting for or trek ahead. Our flight was delayed about an hour and a half, but was reaussured by the Lufthansa staff that the flight would make up some time in air and that the pilots were going to take a shorter router and we should still land in Germany around the same time as expected. We finally boarded the aircraft around 7:30 (instead of the original 5:45 board time). It was a giant airbus, that was actually really, really nice. The flight was only about half full so we had plenty of space for our belongings and our elbows! Let me take this time to suggest that the American Airlines take a page from the Germans and start make flying more enjoyable as Lufthansa did! Included in the flight at no extra charge was our own pillow and blanket (fresh), personal media screens on the back of each seat (that you could chose your own movie, tv show, music stations, kid stations or the flight map to watch), free beverages (you know the adult kind), snacks and meals....the flight was actually not bad at all!
After we landed at Frankfurt (around 35 minutes behind schedule) airport we were sent on a long trolley ride through snow covered Frankfurt to the main terminal. Upon arriving at the baggage claim area, we waited for around an hour and half for them to finally retrieve our luggage (I am still not really certain what happened, but the important part is that all of our luggage and most importantly our dog was found!). After a 14 hour jaunt in her cage, Autumn still did not seem all that traumatized and she didn't even potty in her crate (she did however potty on the sidewalk just outside the terminal...but really, who could blame her?)! She is seriously the best dog ever!!!!
Upon FINALLY receiving our luggage, we headed up to the 3rd floor to a holding area for all military personnel where we waited for our shuttle to Baumholder. We arrived at the airport at 9:45 and we didn't get on the shuttle until 3. I think you can see just how long of a day this was beginning to be! After a short shuttle drop off to Wiesbaden, Andrew and I, the busdriver and the giant bus filled with only the 3 of us, head off to Baumholder. Somewhere between the timeframe of 1 hour and 2 hours down the road an all out blizzard begins! The local natives were telling me that this is the worst winter in 30 years and that this was the worst storm of the season (and we get to arrive in it...YAY!). Our busdriver begins to be concerned by the situation at hand and starts saying random German phrases followed by and occasional, "Ai, yi, yi!" The busdriver, calls Baumholder to let the Welcome Center know that we are almost there but unfortunately by this time the roads are red (thats bad but not as bad as black which was soon to follow) so everybody on post has already gone home for the day. The busdriver then decides that he would just drop us off at the on-post hotel and somebody can check us in tomorrow....only one problem, the bus can't actually get to the hotel because of the roads. So he drops us off several hundred feet from the entrance and calls a military police personnel to help him back out and get off post. From there we haul a cart through the snow covered road to pick up our belongings (which was certainly no easy feat). Finally, we arrive in the hotel room around 6:30pm. By this time, we are pretty hungry because the only thing we had to eat all day was a tiny container of fruit they gave us on the plane before we landed and a small bratwurst bun at the airport. After quickly brushing our teeth (which hadn't been brushed for over 24 hours...YUM!) we decide that we better head out to find some chow before it gets too late. So we put on the warmest clothes, shoes, gloves and scarves we could find and head out into the BLIZZARD, which at this time my husband was not allowing me to call a blizzard...even though I was pretty sure it was one! One problem...we don't really know where we are going and now it is dark and snowing....directly into our eyes! We start heading in the basic direction the hotel attendant pointed us, when an MP drives by and asks us where we were headed in this crazy storm, and points out that roads are pretty bad (which by this time he did NOT need to tell us b/c were walking on the roads and had already found out how slippery they were). I explain to him that we just got in and were hungry and headed for some food, he tells us to get in and he would drop us off. At the time, this seemed like a life saver! ONLY, it turned out to be a nightmare! He drives us to the other freaking side of post and drops us off at the PX instead of the Rheinlander Center just down the road from the hotel as we were originally planning for. We jump out of the car and he tells us, "to be careful out there and if they PX is closed that a chow hall was across the street." As we start heading for the Subway, the employees step out and tell us that it closed early due to the weather. The chow hall was also closed, so now we have 2 huge problems: 1. I am HUNGRY! 2. we are lost in a snowstorm, without a map and its nightfall!
Fortunately, I am a people person...and a woman, so I am not at all afraid to ask for directions! I see 2 young kids (I say kids b/c they are MUCH younger than I am (18) but really, they are grown adults serving their country, so that makes them much, much, more than just kids) throwing snowballs at eachother and gallantly trouncing around in their massive snow gear. I ask them, if they know of a place to eat that would be open and one looks at the other with this joyous face and says, "We could take them to the Taco Bell, it closes at 8pm." Graciously, they lead us the shortest way they could think of to get there (which unfortunately means, unplowed roads and severly snow covered stairways (HUGE, long massively covered with snow stairways). We get to the Taco Bell and alas, CLOSED! Now, these 2 young lads were not to be stopped by this tiny setback. "I bet the bowling alley is still open if you want to try there." Sure, I reply, by this time Andrew seems hesitant because he truly has no idea where we are and I can see him beginning to get nervous about our trek back to the hotel. But, let me tell you nothing is going to stop me from eating...I was starving!!!! So I press onward, following these 2 spry E-2 to the bowling alley, which I have been assured will in fact be open and does serve food!
Finally, we arrive at the bowling alley and they are shuting down the food bar. NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! I quickly hussle to the snackbar and beg for them to sell us something, the already made (though admittedly disgusting looking) pizza, I suggest. The owner of the snack bar understands that this is not a bad proposely and agrees to sell as anything that was already made, basically leaving us with the option of pizza or french fries. So we graciously purchase the pizza and 2 beers (our first meal in Germany HAD to include a good hearty German beer). Andrew scarfs down the food and looks at me as if suggesting that I hurry as well so we can quickly get back to the walk at foot. At the exact moment that I had silently agreed to scarf down my food, these 2 young men ask us if we wanted them to wait on us and they would lead us back to the hotel. "YES!" I replied, afterall this ensures us that we will indeed get back to the hotel without getting lost and it allows me to eat my pizza at a normal pace....2 wins!
Upon the completion of our first German meal, we begin journeying back to the hotel, again through unplowed snow pathways and deep snow covered stairways. By this time, I begin feeling pretty sorry for these 2 guys, appreciative...but sorry, and I tell them that we owe them a beer sometime. I know what you're thinking...they are only 18!!! But, the drinking age on post in Germany is 18 and off post is 16...so we really do in fact owe these kids a beer! Andrew, tell them that if they see him again, to remind him thet we owe them a beer....because we really owe them a beer!!!!!
Andrew as the journey is beginning.
Throwing a snowball...this was taken when the concept of snow was still a novelty. Rest assured I am over it!
The snow is higher than that today.
My aggravated face!
Andrew's first sip of German beer....in Germany!
My first sip.
Our first dinner in Germany, nothing German about it but the beer!
Mybag after the bazillion mile walk in the blizzard.
I wanted to take pictures for documentation but my camera (not my DSLR) was overwhelmed by the crazy amount of blizzard fall! The snow was sort of annoying but very, very beautiful!!!
Feb 1, 2010
Airborne!!!!
My husband got his wings and I believe that technically makes him a parachutist!
Here he is after I pinned on his wings.
In addition to watching him graduate from Airborne school, I got to see the Phillips and my sweet baby Clayter! I love the Phillips so much and am going to miss watching that little sweetheart grow. I can't believe I am leaving him just as he has learned to say, "Aunt G." He has learned to say Aunt G so good in fact, Andrew is also clumped into the "Aunt G" category...I am pretty sure my husband should take that as a compliment...because everybody knows that Aunt G is everybody's favorite person!!!
Cute picture of Clayton
Clayton following after the guys after the ran by...so cute!
After graduation we visited the National Infantry Museum, which I must admit was incredibly impressive. Inside the museum is the only ETS 2000 (Engagement Skills Trainer that the military uses to save $$$ and ammunition) that civilians can experience and for the low cost of $5 you can try it too! First I shot with the M4 and then they gentlemen running the range requested that I try the M16 to see if I would shoot better and alas I did! I shot 15 out of 20 targets and hitting 10 targets qualifies. So don't mess with me I am good with an M16!
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