Hello from Germany! I've finally been able to get to a computer long enough to give an update of our new life in Europe. Even signing in to this blog has changed. When I signed in to do a new post, all the links came up in German, so hopefully I can figure it out enough to get a post done. (To the right, I am standing in front of the Romerhof hotel. Our room is in the building to the left on the second story. You can see our two windows inside the balcony.)
What a difference a couple of weeks makes! The last blog I posted was the day before the movers were to arrive and pack all of our belongings up. It was bittersweet. I do miss Hawaii, just not the heat. And I have even missed that a couple of days when it's been cold and rainy here. I was terribly sick the whole time we were packing and flying to Germany. Thankfully, 3 weeks later, I'm finally getting over it.
We left Hawaii on Thursday, March 22 and flew to North Carolina to spend a couple of days with Kristy and the kids. We really had a nice time with them. It would have been great if we'd had more time there, but we made the most of it. We really enjoyed Kristy's cooking :) I think she's close to the best cook ever. I aspire to be like her when I grow up ;o) It was nice being with the kids again. Of course, neither one wanted to leave Uncle Sam alone, as you can see in the pictures. Even Hadassah had to be like him and put her hat on.
Hadassah was in a her bathrobe stage when we were there. It was so cute! When Kristy came to get us at the airport there she was with Hadassah walking beside her in her bathrobe. I guess she just discovered how snuggly it is.
Sam and I took a coconut with us from Hawaii to show them what a natural one looks like. Sam worked at getting into it one night out on the back porch. I think they all really enjoyed that. I wish I would have felt better, but we had a really nice time with them.
We left Fayetteville on Sunday, March 25. Since it was going to be a long trip, we gave Gabby a pill to help relax her. I know these long trips are even harder on her. The pill had a strange effect on her. She was acting a little loopy and then bit me really hard, so I just closed up her cage and left her alone. I think she was feeling strange from the medicine. The flight over wasn't as long and hard as I expected it to be. We really had a wonderful experience flying with Delta. They actually still serve meals and the flight attendants were very nice.
Flying into Germany was really interesting. Even the layout of the land was different than the United States. Flying over large cities in the states just looks like the city goes on for miles. On the contrary, flying into Stuttgart you could just see lots of small villages everywhere. Lots of open countryside and small villages spinkled here and there. It looked exactly like what I invisioned Germany would look like.
Going through the German customs was a little intimidating to me actually. When we stepped off the plane, suddenly everything was written in German and I couldn't understand any of it. I was definitely relying on Sam to get me to where we needed to be. The customs guard asked if we were here on business or pleasure. It went very smoothly. No one asked to see any paperwork on Gabby. We mentioned her, but they just waved us on.
Sam's new boss, Jackie and Stacy (who has been a life saver to us here) were at the airport to pick us up. Stacy left to get a litterbox and litter for Gabby, while Jackie took us to the Romerhof, where we were going to be staying. Jackie said she would be back in 1 1/2 hours to pick us up for in processing. There's nothing like being up all night flying, then having to go right to work when you arrive. I didn't get a shower because I didn't have the right plug to use my hair dryer or curling iron, which was a little frustrating. I hadn't thought about needing that right away.
When Jackie picked us up, we went to NAF(which is at Kelly Barracks) and I sat in on the in processing because the information they were going to tell us pertained to me as well (living quarters allowance, driver's license, ID cards, etc.). They didn't seem to like me going in with him, but Sam wanted me there as well, since he was so tired. He wanted me to take notes for later.
I've felt really bad for Sam because from that first day on, he really didn't get a break. The next day, Stacy picked us up and took us to get our ID cards and we went by her house as well. We were so impressed with her place. The pictures they sent while we were still in Hawaii did not do the house justice. It's so nice. We were incredibly fortunate to have it fall in our laps like it did. We plan to buy her car when they leave too. That one will be mine to drive and Sam will have his truck. I sold my truck in Hawaii just a few hours before going to the airport. I had a hard time selling it. I loved my truck.
Monday was our two week anniversary being in Germany. It seems like we've been here so much longer than that. I'm adjusting, but really miss America, my home, familiar places and English speaking people. I miss going to a restaurant and being able to read the menu, having water with my meal and ice in my soda.
Something that's been hard to get used to is people staring at me. The Germans blatently stare. Especially when I wear my flip flops (slippers). I guess no one wears open toed shoes here. Walking down the sidewalk, I see them look at my feet then up to my face. It really does get a little annoying, when I don't care to be noticed anyhow. Everyone tells me to just stare back. People don't smile at you here either. They stare, but don't smile.
The toilets are quite different too, but I won't get into that here :) I do like American toilets better though. I think Gabby's getting quite bored in our hotel room. She has nothing to chase. She misses her roaches, geckos, spiders, etc.
Here are a few other things that I've noticed are different than America -
* I guess they don't use wash clothes here. In our room and in stores, all I see are bath towels and hand towels. Hmmmm
* The security at the Military posts is very strict. Our ID cards have a barcode that the guards scan and it shows a picture of the ID card holder.
* You can't get water with your meal without paying for it. And you have to specify if you don't want bubbly water. Most times, if you don't say otherwise, you'll get bubbly.
* German's don't serve ice with their drinks. If you ask for it, they look at you like you're crazy. One evening Sam asked for ice in my soda and when it came I swear it looked like they went to the freezer in the basement and chips some ice off the freezer walls. I'm giving up on asking for ice unless I'm at a restaurant on post.
* Going to grocery stores on the economy is a little daunting to me still. Everything is in German, as you would imagine. So, I can't read any of the labels.
* Stores close very early here. One night around 8:00, Sam and I were bored so we took the bus to the Swabien Gallery (small mall). Everything was closed, except for Kaufland which is a grocery store. I guess they have approval to be open until 10:00.
* Very little is open on Sunday. I've seen a few stores open around the Bahnhof (bus/train station), but that's about it.
* You can't wash your car here. You have to go to a car wash. I guess so soap doesn't get on the ground???
* They don't have normal beds here. Our bed is two twins pushed together. They keep slipping apart and they're hard. Needless to say, we're not sleeping too well these days. We have a new matress bought, waiting at the PX for us to more into our house.
* I don't know what this is about, but they have the oddest hair colors here and bright pink seems to be a big trend. Seriously, we were at the store the other day and I saw this very distinguished older lady. She was dressed very nicely and looked very put together, then she turned and I saw she had streaks of bright pink throughout her gray hair. I just don't get it. I haven't seen true red hair here, but lots of burgandy and bright orange.
* People drive crazy here! Fast and crazy. Sam and I managed to pass our driver's license a week ago Monday, but it's a little intimidating to drive. One of Sam's staff loaned him a car, so this morning for the first time I drove to Patch. I made it alright, but I have to really think about what I'm doing and keep German laws in mind and not revert to America.
Well, that's about it for now. It's hard to remember everything I noticed when we arrived because it's been a very busy two weeks. Here are a few more pictures from our time in Fayetteville and a few from here in Germany.
Not sure what this is. I don't think I'd take it on the autobahn though.
This was last Sunday. We were walking to the Vaihingen Bahnhof to catch a train to Stacy's house for dinner.
Sam standing by a train as it comes in. The wind from the train is making his hair look funky
Last Friday evening Sam worked at the SAS Lock-in and didn't get off until 8:00 Saturday morning. He slept most of that day, but that evening we went to eat at a Chinese restaurant here in Vaihingen. The food I got did not set well with me, so we didn't go to church on Sunday. Later in the day when I was feeling a little better we went for a drive. We wanted to find Robinson Barracks, which is mostly military housing, but also has the furniture store. We got pretty lost, but took some nice pictures along the way. The one above is just driving into a village. I think we were lost at this place, but we stopped and took some pictures of these old buildings.
An old Bavarian style building. I love the old style buildings here.
An old barn beside the road
A vineyard on the way to Robinson Barracks
We did finally make it to Robinson and this is looking down the hill from the furniture store
An old castle like building in Stuttgart city center
Ivy growing up the side of this old building
Me standing in from of a fountain at the city center
Sam with the city center in the background Like I said, the pictures really don't do it justice. There is so much detail on the old buildings that you just can't see in a picture. Well, that's about it for now. Sam will be getting off of work before too long and I want to go to the commissary before that, so I better get busy.
