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......

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!!!