p.s. excuse our microwave, it was given to us, which we appreciate...but with no plate :)
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Friday, September 2, 2011
Good Morning...
Without fail, EVERYTIME I make oatmeal this is what happens. I do the same thing Donavan does, or anyone else...any suggestions?!
p.s. excuse our microwave, it was given to us, which we appreciate...but with no plate :)
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
p.s. excuse our microwave, it was given to us, which we appreciate...but with no plate :)
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Rollin' like a Big Shot....
Tada! Here it is, our new baby: The Blue Oyster Revival. We snagged this beauty for 500 big ones, a 1993 Volkswagen Golf.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
We have some catching up to do...
We made it....12 hours of flying, we're finally here!
I wish I had though to take a picture of our 8 pieces of luggage :/
Our new wheels...spoiler alert! We are buying a beater car tomorrow!
Schweinshaxe (shh-wine-hocks) & Knudel (k-nuhd-al)
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I wish I had though to take a picture of our 8 pieces of luggage :/
Our new wheels...spoiler alert! We are buying a beater car tomorrow!
Schweinshaxe (shh-wine-hocks) & Knudel (k-nuhd-al)
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Going back in time....Our second update
Day Two:
Well after 10 hours of sleep we woke up refreshed at 7:30 am...we ate our Honey Nut Cheerios while taking in the scenery on one of our two patios :) We are on the third floor and have a bird's eye view of the 'neighborhood'...I wouldn't really call it that, there are 5 buildings: three are 3 stories and 4 apartments wide (2/3 bedrooms), the other two are 3 stories and 2 apartments wide (these are 4/5 bedrooms). We have 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom, very European style...all hardwood floors, huge ceiling to floor windows, built in wardrobes in bedrooms, wall heaters in each room (bathroom one doubles as a towel warmer), no air conditioning, but we have a washer and dryer and more cupboard space than I know what to do with!!! I am anxious for our household goods to arrive so I can spice this place up :) We walked to the shopping center (it's a little larger than a football field) and had coffee @ Expresso. It was now 8:30 am and we were ready to get stuff done....we quickly found out that this sleepy, little Artillery Kaserne doesn't get going til 10am...that's more my style!!! So we decided to explore off base, not my idea for my first day in a foreign country but it was either that or be left behind! The walk along the Zugspitstrasse ( zoog-spit-straw-sa) into the Marienplatz was about a mile but the cool weather and amazing 360* view made it enjoyable...we also quickly found out that bicycles are the transportation of choice around here, add that to my mental checklist ;) We sat down for a traditional German lunch @ Mahonplatz...at first they gave us a German menu and spoke to us in German, the confused look on my face must have said it all because the waiter soon brought an English menu and sent someone else over to get our order. Donavan ordered the special of the day... A fried hamhock, I didn't get as adventurous but I did order out of my comfort zone, I got a hot sausage pot, basically a pot of bowling water and 3 different kind of sausages....the older German couple next to us literally STARED at us as we ate, the MOST awkward experience of my life, they were not only staring but speaking to us in german about how we were to eat the sausages!!! We decided to walk a different route along the river back to base and at some point we were pretty sure we might end up in Austria, we came across some great picnic spots, a sunbathing park and a few really old, cool bridges, the kind you see in movies! Once we finally found our way back it was time to actually get some business done so we went to the PX to look for warm clothes and toiletries, we left with neither, we did however leave with 2 brand-spankin' new bikes!!! Helmets are required on base so we had to get those too, helmet hair is not required but quite common ;) Next week we'll be getting baskets to put on the handlebars and back so we can carry our groceries and stuff around, for now Donavan wears a backpack. Riding behind him is truly comical, he's got his helmet on, backpack stuffed full and he zips around and jumps curbs! The combination of living on the third floor and biking everywhere should give me some pretty nice legs by the time we leave here :) After dinner (lasagna from our sponsor) we rode across the street to the Edelweiss Resort to go to the gym, yes we get to use the RESORT gym, so my view on the elliptical is literally the Swiss Alps, we're so spoiled!!! Going to bed early again, well I guess it's not really early, it's normal for waking up at 7am, but with no nightly TV to watch it seems that's all there is left to do!
I've been typing these up in my notes then when we are around some WiFi I send them through email, once we get our own WiFi I will be able to start our blog and upload pictures, but for now this is the best way to document so I don't forget what goes on....hope you're enjoying knowing some of the details! Come visit And see for yourself!
Sent from my iPad
Well after 10 hours of sleep we woke up refreshed at 7:30 am...we ate our Honey Nut Cheerios while taking in the scenery on one of our two patios :) We are on the third floor and have a bird's eye view of the 'neighborhood'...I wouldn't really call it that, there are 5 buildings: three are 3 stories and 4 apartments wide (2/3 bedrooms), the other two are 3 stories and 2 apartments wide (these are 4/5 bedrooms). We have 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom, very European style...all hardwood floors, huge ceiling to floor windows, built in wardrobes in bedrooms, wall heaters in each room (bathroom one doubles as a towel warmer), no air conditioning, but we have a washer and dryer and more cupboard space than I know what to do with!!! I am anxious for our household goods to arrive so I can spice this place up :) We walked to the shopping center (it's a little larger than a football field) and had coffee @ Expresso. It was now 8:30 am and we were ready to get stuff done....we quickly found out that this sleepy, little Artillery Kaserne doesn't get going til 10am...that's more my style!!! So we decided to explore off base, not my idea for my first day in a foreign country but it was either that or be left behind! The walk along the Zugspitstrasse ( zoog-spit-straw-sa) into the Marienplatz was about a mile but the cool weather and amazing 360* view made it enjoyable...we also quickly found out that bicycles are the transportation of choice around here, add that to my mental checklist ;) We sat down for a traditional German lunch @ Mahonplatz...at first they gave us a German menu and spoke to us in German, the confused look on my face must have said it all because the waiter soon brought an English menu and sent someone else over to get our order. Donavan ordered the special of the day... A fried hamhock, I didn't get as adventurous but I did order out of my comfort zone, I got a hot sausage pot, basically a pot of bowling water and 3 different kind of sausages....the older German couple next to us literally STARED at us as we ate, the MOST awkward experience of my life, they were not only staring but speaking to us in german about how we were to eat the sausages!!! We decided to walk a different route along the river back to base and at some point we were pretty sure we might end up in Austria, we came across some great picnic spots, a sunbathing park and a few really old, cool bridges, the kind you see in movies! Once we finally found our way back it was time to actually get some business done so we went to the PX to look for warm clothes and toiletries, we left with neither, we did however leave with 2 brand-spankin' new bikes!!! Helmets are required on base so we had to get those too, helmet hair is not required but quite common ;) Next week we'll be getting baskets to put on the handlebars and back so we can carry our groceries and stuff around, for now Donavan wears a backpack. Riding behind him is truly comical, he's got his helmet on, backpack stuffed full and he zips around and jumps curbs! The combination of living on the third floor and biking everywhere should give me some pretty nice legs by the time we leave here :) After dinner (lasagna from our sponsor) we rode across the street to the Edelweiss Resort to go to the gym, yes we get to use the RESORT gym, so my view on the elliptical is literally the Swiss Alps, we're so spoiled!!! Going to bed early again, well I guess it's not really early, it's normal for waking up at 7am, but with no nightly TV to watch it seems that's all there is left to do!
I've been typing these up in my notes then when we are around some WiFi I send them through email, once we get our own WiFi I will be able to start our blog and upload pictures, but for now this is the best way to document so I don't forget what goes on....hope you're enjoying knowing some of the details! Come visit And see for yourself!
Sent from my iPad
Going back in time....Our first update!
Day One:
Hallo!
That's about the extent of my German so far!! Before I forget our address is: Valenzuela
CMR 409
PO Box 391
APO AE 09053-0391
Our flight was long but the length wasn't really an issue...that space was...never fly America Airlines!! But once we arrived it set in that we are here to stay :) Something really interesting about the Frankfurt Airport is that they have a section of "prayer rooms" 5 total I think, for Catholicism, Judaism, Buddhism and 2 others I can't remember. Once we made it through customs we were kind of greeted by a lesion that instructed us to meet him after we gathered our luggage, so after we found our 8 bags and loaded them onto our cart we made our way through the sea of people to meet up with the representative. There were about 25 soldiers total that morning that were PCSing and immediately I found out what it's like to be a soldier...kinda. Single file line, keep space in between you and the guy in front of you, but not too much, be aware of your surroundings, check in here, sign here, fill this out, answer this, answer that, etc. We finally met up with the Provost Sgt from Garmisch, SFC Parker & his wife, Amanda. They were nice and talkative but not really what we wanted to do after 15 hours of traveling ;) anyway our first official meal in Germany was Hooters at the airport. Then we started on the 5.5 hour drive down to Garmisch, the scenery was truly incredible, it was so green, kind of reminded me of Yosemite how everything is green and the mountain are sheer, grey rocks. I did happen to doze off and when I woke up we were going 112 MPH...talk about adapting quickly!! That happened to be our average speed of travel on the parts of the Bahn without a speed limit....other times the minimum is 80 KM!! Oh and they don't give speeding tickets here, just tickets for driving to slow because then you are considered "an obstacle". I don't think I'll be getting my German license soon, drivers are VERY aggressive. We arrived at the Artillery Kaserne (German term for military post) around 6 pm and were greeted by our sponsor, Sgt Briggs and his wife, Kerri and daughter, Camryn. They showed us our apartment which already has lender furniture in it...couch, 2 chairs, coffee and end tables, dining room table, tv, queen bed in master, twin in guest room, dishes and appliances! They also made us a dinner and gave us a mini- stock of toilet paper, paper towels, dish soap, etc. We were so exhausted but we showered and decded to go explore anyway! We walked around the entire base in less that 20 minutes...from our apartment to the school, library, headquarters, police station, px, commissary, bank, coffee shop, playground and back to our apartment...that's it! There is no cable TV available and Netflix/Hulu aren't in Europe....soooo instead of everyone being inside after dinner everyone is out bike riding, playing softball and other outdoor activities, it's nice to actually 'see' the people in the community. I just wonder how it will be when there is snow on the ground for 6 months!! We went to bed early at 8 o'clock....I was exhausted and hungry! Day 2 is coming next! Talk to you soon hopefully!!
Sent from my iPad
Hallo!
That's about the extent of my German so far!! Before I forget our address is: Valenzuela
CMR 409
PO Box 391
APO AE 09053-0391
Our flight was long but the length wasn't really an issue...that space was...never fly America Airlines!! But once we arrived it set in that we are here to stay :) Something really interesting about the Frankfurt Airport is that they have a section of "prayer rooms" 5 total I think, for Catholicism, Judaism, Buddhism and 2 others I can't remember. Once we made it through customs we were kind of greeted by a lesion that instructed us to meet him after we gathered our luggage, so after we found our 8 bags and loaded them onto our cart we made our way through the sea of people to meet up with the representative. There were about 25 soldiers total that morning that were PCSing and immediately I found out what it's like to be a soldier...kinda. Single file line, keep space in between you and the guy in front of you, but not too much, be aware of your surroundings, check in here, sign here, fill this out, answer this, answer that, etc. We finally met up with the Provost Sgt from Garmisch, SFC Parker & his wife, Amanda. They were nice and talkative but not really what we wanted to do after 15 hours of traveling ;) anyway our first official meal in Germany was Hooters at the airport. Then we started on the 5.5 hour drive down to Garmisch, the scenery was truly incredible, it was so green, kind of reminded me of Yosemite how everything is green and the mountain are sheer, grey rocks. I did happen to doze off and when I woke up we were going 112 MPH...talk about adapting quickly!! That happened to be our average speed of travel on the parts of the Bahn without a speed limit....other times the minimum is 80 KM!! Oh and they don't give speeding tickets here, just tickets for driving to slow because then you are considered "an obstacle". I don't think I'll be getting my German license soon, drivers are VERY aggressive. We arrived at the Artillery Kaserne (German term for military post) around 6 pm and were greeted by our sponsor, Sgt Briggs and his wife, Kerri and daughter, Camryn. They showed us our apartment which already has lender furniture in it...couch, 2 chairs, coffee and end tables, dining room table, tv, queen bed in master, twin in guest room, dishes and appliances! They also made us a dinner and gave us a mini- stock of toilet paper, paper towels, dish soap, etc. We were so exhausted but we showered and decded to go explore anyway! We walked around the entire base in less that 20 minutes...from our apartment to the school, library, headquarters, police station, px, commissary, bank, coffee shop, playground and back to our apartment...that's it! There is no cable TV available and Netflix/Hulu aren't in Europe....soooo instead of everyone being inside after dinner everyone is out bike riding, playing softball and other outdoor activities, it's nice to actually 'see' the people in the community. I just wonder how it will be when there is snow on the ground for 6 months!! We went to bed early at 8 o'clock....I was exhausted and hungry! Day 2 is coming next! Talk to you soon hopefully!!
Sent from my iPad
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
We're up and running....
Well, not literally. We're cuddled up on our 'lender' couch, but our Blog is ready to go! For those of you who have received our email updates you know we have been here a month...today! We still feel like we're on vacation as we ride our bikes through the campground (a shortcut we discovered early on) to the Commissary, the sound of water rushing down the river, cool breeze stirring up the pine scent and the roads full of children on their bikes and scooters. Today I went by myself and as I wandered through the aisles (there's 4, don't get the wrong idea) most would think only having one brand to choose from would be nice, not for this girl, part of my resistance to change includes buying items that aren't stocked in my mom's kitchen! Needless to say, change is upon us and I have struggled a little, but earlier this evening I was reading a blog from an old friend who is living in Paraguay with her husband and daughter, she too talked about change and adjusting, but almost eveytime she also talked about the blessing of being there! Hmmm, there's something to think about :)
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