Heidelberg

Wednesday, I had to go to Heidelberg to a doctor's appointment. The clinic here didn't have the right kind of doctor so they sent me up to Heidelberg. It's about 1-1/2 to 2 hours drive away so Brad went with me and I took the day off. After my appointment we went walking around Heidelberg. It's a college town, plus they have an old castle above the city. This picture, which I got off the web, shows the city. It's one of the more famous sites in Germany. When we got up to the castle and went to take pictures, we discovered that - though we had brought the camera - we had forgotten the memory card at home and couldn't take any pictures! We'll have to go back :-)

After we walked around the castle, we drove down to the area near the river that has all the shops and restaurants. Here you could really see how much of a tourist town this place was because they had Starbucks, Hard Rock Cafe, Baskin Robbins, etc. and everywhere we went the shopkeepers spoke English. Finding parking was quite an adventure though, we were driving along a side street when it kicked us out on the main pedestrian thoroughfare. We were driving in the middle of the walkway - no other cars around - no way to turn around - driving real slow so people could get out of our way - when Brad saw a bus off to the side and zipped over there thinking - salvation! We had definitely taken a wrong turn somewhere :-) After we got past the people we found a place to park and went and ate lunch and people watched.

The one shop there that we thought was really neat was a Christmas store. The intricate woodwork in the German Christmas decorations is simply amazing. Brad and I are going to have to leave Germany with a whole new set of Christmas decor!

A New Clock

Last weekend, Brad and I took things easy. We got up on Saturday and followed what has become our weekend routine. We took the train downtown and walked around the fresh food market buying raspberries and tomatoes. I bought some flowers and a mint plant. Then we went into the indoor market where they sell all the more exotic food goods where we got some bread, fresh mozzarella and pine nuts. Then we walked around the flea market :-) This is Brad's favorite part. The flea market always has a bunch of cool antiques, but we've been looking hard at the clocks. Well, last weekend we found this wonderful Dutch Zaanse clock. I thought it was really nice looking and pointed it out to Brad, who negotiated it down to a price we were willing to pay. I really like the silver and gold against the dark walnut. The clock rings once on the half hour and chimes out the hour. It's an eight day clock so the weights have long chains they hang off of. When hanging it up we had to keep this in mind and put it high enough. To adjust the time you just have to raise and lower the weight, so we've been adjusting it for the last week and think we finally have it just right.

Zwiebel Fest

It feels like it's been so long since I posted anything so I thought I'd catch up today. Two weeks ago Brad and I went to the Zweibel Fest, which translates to Onion Festival. They serve everything with onions there including onion cake (kind of like quiche) to steak and onions. Fortunately there were no onion desserts - that would just be too gross. If it were an episode of Iron Chef America, I imagine one of the chefs would have made onion ice cream - on that show they're always making the grossest ice cream... So Brad, I and Chris Santos, a friend of ours, hopped the train and headed off. The fest was in Esslingen, which Brad and I want to go back to someday, it was really a neat town, with some really interesting buildings! This building with the clock and the WWI monument in front of it is just an example of the interesting buildings there. When we got there, we looked around. It was a small fest, just taking up one small square area with all the restaurant booths set up around the outside edges and some more on the inner edges. You could walk through the fest in one big square. There were people at the fest, but it wasn't really crowded so we ate dinner, then walked up the hill behind the fest to the top where there is this old fortress. It was quite a haul up several steps to the top, but you can see the awesome view. We sat at a cafe on the top of the hill, inside the walls and had a cup of coffee (me) and beers (Brad & Chris). After hanging out there for a while, we headed back down to the fest to discover that it was now extremely busy, and there was no where to sit down at all! Plus the crowds were packed in the walkway. So we circled, like buzzards, looking for a place to sit down when a couple got up and left. We squeezed ourselves in to a space that really fit two people and spoke with the german couple across from us. They spoke a little English so we were able to communicate, somewhat. It was a lot of fun. When it got later we all headed back to the train and home.

My lessons learned:
(1) do the tourist stuff early
(2) once you find a place to sit, don't give it up
(3) onion cake is not very good but onions with steak is awesome and onions in potatoes is really good too
(4) crepes with nutella are always a success
(5) the waitresses will hunt you down demanding the cost of the broken glass if you make the mistake of breaking one. (Not like in the states where they just absorb the cost, here, if you break it, you buy it)

Something else we've learned from going to all these fests is that the Germans don't believe in plastic cups or plates. They give you glass cups and plates, you give them a deposit of normally 1-2 euros. When you bring the dishes back, they give you back your deposit. I think this is a really good thing since beer tastes so much better in a glass than in a plastic cup.

Sunset

These are two awesome pictures Brad took right outside out apartment. What a view. While these aren't our building, our's is just like it. I know I owe everyone some pictures of our place, and they're coming! Soon...I promise!

The Wierdest Toilet

When we were preparing to move to Germany and doing all the research to figure out what the deal was here, one of the wierd things Brad came across was a reference to the strange German toilets. The thing he told me was the toilets had a platform that you'd go on, so you could check out your stuff afterwards. He says they are called Inspection Toilets. I thought he was kidding, especially after we arrived here and none of the toilets were like that. Well, I was WRONG. At work this is the kind of toilets we have. These strange toilets do exist, and they are gross! Not only do I not want to see the results of my business, but they stink! Since everything is left in the air, instead of in the water where the stuff is supposed to be, it makes the bathroom at work smelly. You can imagine Brad's great amusement when I told him he was right. Check here for more info and a hilarious blog about these things.

Friday night in Stuttgart

I wish I could type that we've been up to fun and exciting stuff this week, but in reality it's been pretty boring. I'm settling in to my job, still working until 6-7 p.m. but we're finally getting ahead of things instead of trying desperately to catch up. My job at AFRICOM is in Global Force Management, what we do is request the forces that AFRICOM needs to accomplish our missions. So we deal with the Joint Staff and other commands to make sure we get what we need. My part of the job is the annual requirements -- my counterparts work on emergent (like right NOW) requirements. The disadvantage is I have to go back to the states, one time already with three (3!!) more trips in Sept and October. I guess I'll be racking up the Delta flyer miles... Brad said I need to build up the miles so I can upgrade him into one of those chairs that turns into a bed :-)

I made a few changes to the blog. Let me know if you like them.

Brad is settling in, making friends and figuring his way out around town and on the bases. He's got it all wired already. He's also building planes and giving people tips on RC setups. So far we're both really liking it here.

Tomorrow we're going to the Esslingen Onion Fest. We'll take some pictures and I'll let you all know about it.

Tampa and Sommerfest

I've had a busy time the last two weeks, last week I went to Tampa, Florida for a conference. I had all these plans for things I would do in the states, everything from going to the bookstore, to buying Brad glue at the model shop, to getting my hair cut, plus more. But instead, I ended up working all the time! (Okay I did get books and the glue but still...) And it's a miserable experience to spend all that time in the airplane, airports, and another airplane. I was figuring it out and it comes out to about 15 hours of travel, with a 10 hour flight going to the states and an 8 hour flight coming back.

One funny story while I was in Tampa is me, and my counterparts who were also from Stuttgart attending the conference all went to SOCOM (Special Operations Command) to a meeting. Anyhow, we had gone to get lunch and on the return we (as visitors without passcodes to the doors) were calling back to our escort when someone came out of the door. So I held the door for my counterparts, while the one guy wouldn't get off the phone (even though he wasn't talking to anyone). I guess at SOCOM their doors are alarmed and the security guys were searching for a blond female officer that had held the door open and then let in other people also! To add insult to injury, they then tell us since we had clearances and green badges that our badges would have worked on the doors!!

Saturday, after I flew back into Stuttgart, Brad and I went downtown Stuttgart. We went to the flea market and checked things out, then had a cup of coffee -- Brad had a beer -- and a piece of cake. It was really good. After taking it easy for a while we headed over to the Stuttgart Sommerfest. This festival, is big, spreading out over two large areas. There are a lot of food stands and (of course) beer stands. You can see just one small segment of the festival behind Brad in this photo. We walked around a lot but then I was tired so we headed home. The real appeal to the Sommerfest is in the evenings there are five stages set up with bands playing all different kinds of music. On Sunday evening we went back, meeting up with some people (Chris, who attended the school in Norfolk with me and his friend Alex), drank beer, ate supper and listened to music. We ended up hanging out by a pretty good celtic rock band. Best of all, Brad and I had ridden our bikes to the train station, so after we got off the train we rode home - the best part being that neither of us were driving so we could both have beers :-)

There are five festivals here in Stuttgart - the spring beer fest, the fish market (which we went to), the Summerfest (check that one off too), Octoberfest, and Christmas festival. So far we've attended all the ones we've been here for and enjoyed them all :-).

Promotion to Commander

Here they are - my promotion photos! MajGen Jackson, my Directorate boss promoted me. It was a nice ceremony, outside by the tanks (though you can't see them in either photo, they are on both sides of the area we're standing at.

Commander

I am now a Commander in the Navy!!! Woohoo! I'll post some pictures later :-)

The Dog Recovery Nightmare

Since our dogs were too big (dog plus kennel has to be less than 100 lbs for most airlines) we had to ship them cargo. Hence the dog nightmare began.

1. We needed to get together all the right paperwork. What the "right" paperwork is, is a mystery since everyone you go to and all the websites seem to have different answers. What we figured out in the end is we needed:
- 15 digit id chip
- rabies vaccination more than 30 days but less than 90 days old
- a German/English veterinarian form
- a USDA vet certification
- within 10 days another letter from the vet saying the dog's fit to travel

2. Next we needed to figure out where to send them from. Since almost all airlines have flight restrictions where they won't ship your dogs between 15May and 15Sep due to the temperatures outside, we went with Continental Airlines. They have air conditioned vans they'll put the dogs in when they're on the tarmac. The closest airport to Minnesota, where the dogs were (Thanks Mom!), that the planes could accommodate a large kennel through the cargo doors was Chicago, we had to get them to Chicago. We called 6 weeks out and they had a flight from Chicago to Newark to Frankfurt. We booked them on that flight. They told us to call back two weeks out once their flight schedules were finalized. We did, and then the flights went Chicago to Houston, stay overnight in Houston, then to Newark and then to Frankfurt. In Houston they kennel them for the night. Of course, they then tell us that the don't have our reservation and the flight already has 4 dogs on it (their limit is 5). Argh!!!!!! After Brad did some smooth talking, and arguing since we'd already booked for the flight, they got the dogs scheduled on it (whew).

3. Then Brad flew back with the girls to Dallas, took a flight to Chicago, rented a truck and drove to Minnesota. He spent a couple days there (including his Birthday), and then drove to Chicago. Of course, they couldn't tell us where in Chicago he'd be driving and it's not on any of their websites... When he got close though the GPS gave him the address. Next, they told him to check the dogs in two hours before the flight (at 3:00 p.m.) but he found online that the cargo terminal closed at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday - a little detail they should have mentioned. Checking in the dogs went well, no issues and the dogs were on their way. Brad was scheduled to fly out the next day (we'd left a day in between just in case something went wrong).

The dogs were scheduled to land on Tuesday at 9:25, Brad at 10:15

4. Brad called and told me that there was no way the kennels would fit in my Passat so I rented a van. I didn't realize when I was making the reservations that I was renting a transport van. The thing was tall enough in the back that Brad could stand up in it, it had no air conditioning, and it was impossible to park. But it was the day before I was coming to pick them up and I had no time to make any other plans, so I went with it...

5. Step 1: Then Tuesday arrived. Frankfurt is 190 km from home and goes past a big city I left home at 5:30. I got there at 7:45. The continental airlines people had given me an address and that's where I headed. When I got to the cargo area, the first thing I had to do is go into a security office and check in to get a pass to go into the cargo area. Of course the guy didn't talk any English and I didn't talk any German so even this first task started out harder than needed. I headed for the building I was told about to find that the building was just their business offices, and no one was at work. So I went to LUG Cargo, which shared the same building. The girl helping me spoke a little English and told me that I was in the right place, I just needed to go to a different entry. Building 437 - entry C. I went into that entry and the guy in there told me to go somewhere else! Argh! I went and got some orange juice and more money for the parking meter I was parked at. Then I tried 437 C again, this time going upstairs to the Import office. At this time it was 9:00. They told me, again not much English, to come back an hour after the plane landed, maybe 1/2 hour more. I thought I'd try to go get Brad... Of course, I realized as I was driving around I didn't know what terminal to go to. I got lucky, found a place to park the beast, and ran in and read the directory. Then I circled around the right terminal about 5 times. I couldn't park in the parking lot because the beast was too tall to fit, and I couldn't parallel park 'cause it was too long. Finally I got lucky when someone left an end spot out front that was 1-1/2 spaces wide. The spots right on the curb outside the airport are 15 minute parking spots, you just have to pay for them. I, of course, didn't have any change. So I ran to a food counter, got some change, and was finally parked legally (though very crookedly). I went and waited for Brad, running out and getting another 15 minutes after a big. I waited until 12:00. Brad's plane had landed at 10:30. By this time, the place he was coming out didn't have his plane listed anymore, and I'd seen the pilots leave with their luggage. The dogs were waiting so I went back to get them...

I had to get another card to get into the cargo area again, went back to LUG, paid for the dogs, then they sent me to a whole other area of the airport to pick the dogs up...

Step 2: I drive 5 miles to this other area, (it was called the Frankfurt Animal Lounge) and they at least had the dogs. They give me the papers that Brad sent with the dogs and send me to the vets (in the same building).

Step 3: The vet takes the paperwork and tells me to come back in 30 minutes. I think, hey, I could go get Brad. I get back in the beast, and head out. But the gates won't open. I repark and someone tells me that I need a passcard to get out and send me to a little shack. By the time I get a card it's been 15 minutes. I go back to the vet, they give me the paperwork, charge me $200 for their efforts.

Step 4: The Animal Lounge people then tell me I need to go get a customs stamp. He then sends me to building 451 (that's all he says) He doesn't say where in 451, or that 451 is the size of a high school... I find the customs office, but the guy their doesn't know what I need and sends me to get a form from the U.S. people so I don't have to pay customs. He sends me to another building to get this form, but that guy (finally someone who speaks English!) tells me he only does official military imports and sends me to the main terminal. I go back to the main terminal and finally find brad (3 hours after he landed). The MPs have no idea what I'm talking about and we wait an hour for another guy to come in, he heads back to the Animal Lounge with us. The Animal Lounge people call customs, who claim they never saw me, and send me back over to 451. The office I had gone to is now locked, but someone sends us to another building (it's a small building outside building 451), where they finally know what to do, stamp our paperwork and send us back to the Animal Lounge.

Step 5: The Animal Lounge finally give us the dogs, of course, after charging us $100 for them watching the dogs for the day. It is now 5:00 p.m. and we head home.

On the way home we hit the mother of all traffic jams (people were out of their cars), divert around it and take backroads home, finally getting back at 9:00 p.m.

It was a tortuous, crazy day...

Riding my bike to work

These last two weeks I've been riding my bike to work when I can. A few times I rode in with someone else I work with, who rides in every day and just happens to live on the other end of the building I live in. If I ride with him, it takes me about 30 minutes. If I go on my own it has taken me:
- 2-1/2 hours: the first time I was so horribly lost I finally cried Mercy and took the train back to near my house - the sun had set, I didn't have any lights on my bike and I went past the same spots over and over again. When I looked at the map I found it took me over two hours to travel 3 miles...
- 45 minutes: I went directly home the same way we drive so it was further in distance but I didn't get lost.
- 60 minutes: I tried to get to work on my own but took a wrong turn and ended up going down a huge hill into a valley -- of course then I had to peddle my way back out of it - all uphill
- 50 minutes: Getting closer, tonight I only had to backtrack about 4 times but found my way on my own without needing the GPS or the main roads.

Since I haven't found time to workout at work yet, at least I'm getting my workouts coming and going from work!

There are a million bike trails here, and the Germans are all out walking and biking on them in the evenings. I always see a lot of people. The other great thing is the bike trails aren't just lanes next to the road, they are little roads of their own. The weather has been great also, though the last couple days have been horribly muggy! When I ride home and get there, all sweaty, I just can't cool off in our non-air conditioned house or my non-air conditioned work!