Monday, January 14, 2013

Grüße aus Deutschland! (Greetings from Germany)

As I open my blogger post page, everything is in German!  Luckily, Chrome offers to translate pages.  :-)

Update since last post... it took four days for the movers to get everything out.  And they had to empty the house in a blizzard.  Cheyenne sent us off with a bang!  A snowy bang that is.  Thank goodness our rental car that got us down to the Denver airport had four wheel drive!

The blizzard at the beginning.

Saturday morning we sent our puppy Schnauzer off by herself to our friends in Illinois.  That was very hard.  She is so young, but I knew it was the best decision.  Sending her to Illinois is only temporary.  We will pick her up this summer when we go to visit Bryce's family.  But, with so many unknown circumstances regarding our travel, it is just easier to bring one dog at a time.  After dropping off Sophie, we were off to Baltimore.  Dexter (the other dog) surprised us by being a much better airplane traveler than we had expected.  After years of getting car sick, I was expecting the worst.  And also being known for barking at everything.. I was again, expecting the worst.  The only time he ever started to growl or bark, was when other dogs were present.  I was very pleased.  

Saying goodbye to Sophie

After an eight hour layover in Baltimore, we boarded our two-story plane.  The plane was full of soldiers deploying and other families with children.  I was a little worried about Emma screaming and disturbing other passengers, but I felt better knowing that everyone on the flight was either in the same position as us (PCS'ing with children) or had been through it before, and would be more understanding of an irritable child.  Where if we were flying commercially, there would be people who might not be more understanding.  If you have never flown on a military operated flight, you are missing out on a lot of benefits.  We were lucky enough to each have a TV, with free access to everything On Demand.  We each got to watch our own movies, or listen to music.  It was a very pleasant journey.  Emma fell asleep very early and slept the majority of the flight.  Another highlight of the flight was that they served Tillamook Cheese!  

When we landed at Ramstein, it was a very different process landing into a different country than I've dealt with before when landing from a commercial flight internationally.  With snow on the ground, we were all surprised.. as we packed for 40 degree weather, not weather in the 20's.  And since in a few weeks we will be in 80+ degree weather.. we were a bit chilly.

My friends from Forest Grove that I grew up with, who are currently stationed at Ramstein, were awesome enough to pick us up at the airport.  Considering, there was no transportation set up for us to get where we needed to be in Stuttgart, which is over two hours away... it was nice arriving to familiar faces who saved the day.  Since we couldn't secure lodging that was pet friendly, my friends offered to let us stay with them while in Germany.  So, we decided that Bryce would continue to Stuttgart without us.  The girls, the dog, and I are staying in Ramstein with my friends.  They have a cousin visiting them as well, so we get to tag along on some sight seeing.  It's also nice to be able to catch up as well as have people to visit with while Bryce is at his conference.  The plan right now is to rent a car on Thursday to join Bryce, as he has a four day weekend.  Then we can do some sight seeing as a family.

In the car after we landed in Germany

The girls went to bed pretty easily.  Adjusting to the time zone is proving pretty easy as well.  Emma woke up at 2am, but I was able to cuddle with her in a chair the rest of the night.  I just wanted to keep her calm and not wake Lilly.  Lilly was difficult to wake up, but at least I can tell her to tough it out.  So, everyone is adjusting well, but I'm sure having other kids and another dog to play with is helping the transition.  In a few days when we are staying in lodging, it might be a little different.

There is more snow in the forecast   However, it shows that it's -12 degrees in Cheyenne this morning.  With a "feels like" -34.  So, I am not complaining about the cold and snow here at 28 degrees!  At least the sun has finally come out.  I didn't pack a warm jacket, so I had to invest in a Ramstein tourist sweatshirt to add to my collection.  I'm sure it might be worn every day as a jacket, so.. if you see pictures of me in the same day everything.. I swear I'm changing my clothes!

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for the great update -- and I had to giggle when you mentioned Tillamook Cheese -- I'm sure that alone made your trip enjoyable! If I'm ever at a loss as to what to give you as a gift I know I'd be a hit with CHEESE (Tillamook of course).
    Love you -- miss you. Enjoy the sightseeing.

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