When in... Germany!
A week ago I took about 5 flights to get here, because the Army loves my airport anxiety so much they decided to give me three layovers, and delays. We made it to Baltimore, checked out the USO and waited in the long line for the Patriot Express. Turns out, from BWI Airport, the flight is only 7 hours for military personnel. All guests coming to see us will have to travel commercial, but we will know more about that later.
The plane was massive. I mean 10 seats wide and three cabins long! We got two full meals, watched 5 movies, and slept of course. When we arrived in Ramstein Air Base we were immediately sent to customs (which was literally a passport check for military personnel) and sent on a bus to Vilseck, Germany. The bus ride was 6 long hours on top of the 24 hour long trip it took to get to Germany (because of my layovers and connecting flights). Needless to say I am glad that Archer did not come along this journey. I will have to book him a better flight next time!
Anyways, riding in the bus was interesting because we immediately got onto the Autobahn. TALK ABOUT SCARY! There were cars flying by us, driving in the shoulder which was about an inch thick past the white line, just to get around us. The suggested (and yes I say suggested) speed limit was 130 KMPH. I'm not sure of the conversions for that yet, but I'm sure in time I will figure it out. We had a 30 minute break at a McDonald's along the way. Everything was of course in German and in Euros. They had about 5 choices on the menu: Chicken, Nuggets, Burgers, Fish and the "western menu". The western menu must have been their interpretation of the way American's eat because each option had BBQ sauce and fried onions, and then you could add other weird ingredients. We found it hilarious. There is the option of a soda if you like Coke, Sprite or Orange soda. If you don't like those flavors you can get water from the tap, aka some weird form of tonic water.
We arrived at our base, the Rose Barracks in Vilseck, Germany, and was picked up by Mike's first sponsor, a really nice Sgt who lived off post. He brought us to get some food and some beer, and sent us off to our hotel room. Only higher ranks and soldiers that are married get to stay in the hotel rooms, everyone else stays in the barracks. Mike realized how lucky he was when he met someone staying in the barracks. Imagine a freshman college dorm, military style.... GROSS! :)
We were able to have the following day off to catch up on sleep, relax and try to get used to the time difference due to Germany's version of Labor Day- May Day. Thanks to a mix up in Mike's unit, he ended up working and I ended up internet surfing! The following day, in processing day 1, we were able to get the essentials set up and learn about how things work in this area. We proceeded to open bank accounts and buy cell phones, because apparently everyone needs a phone number to get in touch with you! And here I was thinking that I could disappear and have everyone leave me alone.... ;)
When the weekend hit, we decided to do our best and find some awesome things to do. We first got the Batman series and began to watch all three Dark Knight movies. Mike hasn't seen any of them!
Saturday we went to the ATM for Euros and took a taxi out into Vilseck. We found an awesome bakery, a shop and had lunch. The taxi driver told us that there wasn't much to see in the little town. However, we found buildings, streets, flowers, culture, and then some. It is amazing the difference between cultures just by how they build their homes and pave the streets. There were cobblestone sidewalks and flowers everywhere. Small alleyways leading into courtyards and very 'old Germany' type of houses. The picture above is of a church down the road from where we were.
The food is amazing also. We spent most of the first weekend here eating German food and drinking German beer! In fact, I actually like the black lager that we found. It is nothing like that nasty watered down stuff from the states! It is full of rich flavor and it is extremely strong. It is also less expensive to buy in comparison to water, which is amazing also. The food is made fresh all the time. We had fresh pastries for breakfast and schnitzel sandwiches for lunch. Typically, the Wienerschnitzel is made out of veal. However, certain countries in Europe make the sandwich differently. It gets its name not from the type of meat, but from the cut of the meat. It is very thinly sliced meat of any sort- veal, pork, beef, chicken, etc. In Germany, you can mostly just find pork in the sandwiches. The pizzeria we went to made our rolls fresh, right in front of us, then proceeded to make the sandwich however we chose. It was amazing! Although I don't like pork- I LOVED THIS!
We then traveled back to our hotel room to drop some things off and took the free bus service to the big base- Grafenwoehr. There is a connecting road in between the two bases specifically for us to travel back and forth. The bus between our base and the big base is free, which is so awesome. We went to the PX up there- which is huge! We got lunch and we bought Bikes!! We figured if the weather is nice, this is going to be the best way to get around until we are able to get a vehicle. The big PX is awesome, it is almost like Wal Mart mixed with a Macy's. It has everything! Food choices include Brunner Becker (German fast food), Popeyes, Charlie's, Taco Bell, Burger King, Subway, and Pizza Hut. I got a tuna sandwich from the German restaurant. It had cream cheese on it... different but good.
The only downfall that I have noticed are the choices in the commissary- there aren't many organic choices when it comes to foods, as well as fresh meats and things like that. I am so excited to learn my way around a bit more and venture out into the fresh markets to get food. They typically happen twice a week, every week. It is just a matter of getting there that I need to figure out! Luckily, there is train that runs from Vilseck to Nurenburg and then Nurenburg to anywhere else- Italy, Munich, France, Poland, etc.!!!
It will be probably a month before we get a house (boooo- have to use a microwave until then) and then another month until we get our stuff. Bright side is that Michael is NOT deploying!! I repeat- he is not deploying. Now, this may be a relief to everyone reading this, but he isn't very excited. He is a soldier and that is what soldiers do! They fight for and defend our country (USA). Not to mention, he could seriously rank up while down range, and do great things for his career whether it is within the Army or out of the Army. As we will be here for three years, this could always change. He is part of the readiness reserve unit, in case something bad happens to those who are deploying, God (Goddess) forbid.
Things to look forward to:
In the meantime, he is going to get adjusted to his new unit, explore Germany with me and whatever friends we can find, and we are going to begin planning our wedding ceremony! I am looking for and have applied for a job, as well as multiple volunteer and internship opportunities and I have only been here 6 days. Things are looking good for us so far. For those of you who haven't spoken with us, this is what we've been doing. This week is full of more in processing and meetings, so Mike will be very busy- to any of his family members who were wondering.
FYI- We are 6 hours ahead of NY/SC! You can contact me if you download the app Viber to your smart phone OR message me on Facebook- I have a texting app that will work if I text your US number first, as long as I am connected to Wifi. Other than that we can use Skype and Facebook as a great way to communicate. :)
Hope you enjoyed this update! Sorry it has been over a month- that PCS kicked my ass. But now that I have more time, I will update more.
TTFN
Ryanne
Comments
Post a Comment