Chapter 4: Adventures in Deutschland!: May 2011

Greetings from Germany!!! I know this blog debut is WELL over due, but it wouldn't be me if I didn't procrastinate a little. :o)

It's been almost three weeks since I got off the military-contracted flight and stepped foot in Deutschland. You see, most civilians aren't usually as "priviledged" as me. For the most part, they get to take a commercial aircraft with comfy seats and tv's in the headrest. I, however, had the pleasure of flying in an aircraft that I was sure shuttled Gitmo detainees with all the "luxuries" it offered. There was no TVs in the headrest or WiFi on the plane. The seats were tiny and the AF guy to my left practically slept on top of me the whole time. Usually I would have complained or made some loud sighing gestures but I was hopped up on my happy-flying-pills and couldn't have cared less at the time. I did get redemption in the morning when I pointed out to the guy that his knee was soaked from the baby's bottle that fell inbetween the seats in front of us. At first he shrugged. Then I said "eww... hope it wasn't breast milk," and I was certain I was going to have to hand him the airsickness bag. He might have even gagged a little. It was a good way to end the flight.

After meeting my supervisor and coworker at the airport and exchanging pleasantries, my supervisor thought it was a good idea to immediately get my new CAC (for all you non-military, it's a government photo ID card). So after flying 12+ hours, I sit down to get my picture taken and smile the best I could (I'm pretty sure my breath was kickin' like Bruce Lee so I tried to keep my mouth closed). As you can imagine, the picture wasn't exactly Miss America. I pretty much looked like I was pulled out of a cardboard box after I did a round of Meth. My clothes are all askew, and my eyes are fairly glassy. Awesome... I get to have this picture follow me around for the next 3 years.

Aside from that, the next few days went really smoothly. In processing after a PCS can be a pain, but my supervisor practically held my hand through the whole thing. There was a lot of stuff to understand (housing, travel vouchers, benefits, finance, etc), and I'm certain my head would have exploded if my supervior wasn't there to help me out. He even loaded up my hotel room full of food so when I woke up at 3 in the morning because of the time difference and jet lag, I had something to eat. On top of all that, he also helped me find a car and a house to rent. He's been super thoughtful and I owe him big time! Anyways, I ended up buying a used but really clean and well taken care of sporty Mazda 3. Though it's a year older than my good old Pontiac Sunfire, I feel like I've actually upgraded. I have 4 doors and automatic everything. Awesome for me. As far as my new house goes, I'll write about that once I get settled in. I dont get the keys until next Monday, which means another week of hotel living. Ugh!

Of the few weeks I've been here, I've been able to do a little bit of exploring. First weekend I walked around Ramstein Village which is where my hotel is located. In the middile of town they were having a little Easter Market which meant there was meat, vegetable/fruit, and flower stands. The town also dressed up their village fountain to make it look like an Easter basket. It was pretty but the person dressed up as a creepy Easter bunny was ruining the whole effect. If I was a kid, I would have cried and ran in the opposite direction. Hell, even as an adult I was trying to avoid the thing. To make it worse, the padding they added to make the bunny round was lopsided. Poor creepy Easter bunny looked like he had some sort of tumor. Yikes!

The second weekend I went with a coworker and some of her friends to Ikea (ha, so European!) and to Stuttgart's Spring Festival. Both were super fun. Let me tell you what though, Europeans are serious about Ikea. We arrived slightly early, before it opened. But there were people lined up as if they were giving away somethin free. I had to check to see if it was Black Friday, but nope, just a typical shopping day in Germany. Wowsaz! As much as I am making fun of these people, the spirit of Ikea came over me, and I squeezed my way to the front of the line. When the workers took down the barrier to the main showroom, it was like some gave the green light on the Daytona 500. I almost got trampled, but I held my own. Funny thing is, I only bought two tiny little things and one was for my niece. However, I did get a couple ideas for my new place, and I think a few of us are going back with a truck in a two weekends to make big purchases. I'm sure I'll have good blogging material when it comes to me trying to put together Ikea furniture. Btw, on the way to Stuttgard we passed by a nuclear plant which was a first time for me. All I could think of was the Simpsons. D'oh!

So my favorite thing since I've gotten here has been the spring festival, Stuttgarter Frühlingsfest. Fun times!! It's basically a carnival with beer tents. There are carni rides BUT unlike their US counterparts, the rides and attractions look sturdy and clean. Plus the ride operators have all their teeth. My group went straight for the beer tents. We hung out there for several hours drinking, listening to music, and joining in on the occasional drancing on the table song. I ended up having 2 litres of beer and a few shots. I suppose I could of had a few more but I was feeling pretty happy at the time. Some of the group tried out a few of the rides, but I was content to hang out in the tent and people watch. BTW, Germans really do wear lederhosen and those provacative dresses (called dirndls) to events. And you can bet your sweet ass, I'll be wearing one to Oktoberfest. Couldn't get any more awesome than that.

This weekend I did a few things as well. I went to girls night on Friday. I had good food and got to know some of the ladies. It's definitely an interesting crowd... Yesterday I went to the castle in Landstuhl. It's up on a hill, and I got a pretty view of Landstuhl, Ramstein, and my new home, Steinwenden. I LOVE LOVE LOVE castles, so I know this is just a first in a long list I'll be seeing while here. It was a gorgeous day so everything seemed that much prettier. I took some pictures but I haven't uploaded them onto the computer. I'll post them in another entry. I also went to an italian restaurant for a coworker's goodbye dinner (he's slumming it in Turkey at a 5 star hotel for 6 months. Rough!) It was flippin' good!! The owners were actually from Italy and boy oh boy do they know how to cook. I had the most delicious spaghetti and lasagna. I'm thinking I'll be going back again. :o)

I know this post is long, but I had a lot to catch you up on! Next time I'll hopefully be posting some pictures of my new country german haus. In the mean time, enjoy the pictures below.

Love you all!