Live From Germany

We're Here
Hello to Everyone, and I'm sorry we've been out of touch for so long! Cody and I are doing well here in Germany - we are settling in and getting acclimated to the weather, the food and the people here. This update will mostly contain pictures, but they say those are worth a thousand words anyhow, right?

Landstuhl, Germany
The first pictures are of Landstuhl, the town we stayed in when we first got here. We stayed in a little hotel called the Green Lantern for the first 16 days and found that a situation comprising of no stove, no microwave, no laundry, no English television channels, no free phone calls and internet at 18 cents/minute makes for an unhappy Megan. At least Landstuhl is a very pretty little town and offered me plenty of sightseeing.

The picture above wasn't our hotel - we just liked the staircase in front.

There are a ton of churches and chapels everywhere you look - above is the chapel that was closest to our hotel. It had a little graveyard in the back and was in between two larger churches.

Home Sweet Home

During our search for houses off base, we encountered several very strange layouts (including a kitchen you could only access through the guest bedroom), and several really awful ideas - you know the Wal-Mart smiley face? Imagine a HOUSE - an entire house - painted that color.

In the end (in my opinion), we found the most perfect little house in all of Germany. We ended up in the quaint, but close-to-everything little town of Kindsbach.

Above is our front door - to the right is the Master bedroom.

Here you see the living room, the dining room and the balcony.

I love my kitchen - the pictures don't do it justice - it's so bright and cheery!

Above is the Master Bedroom - below is the view from our window.

Above is the Guest Bedroom (With a closet!! Very Rare!) and below is the view, including the town's church in the background.

I think the bathroom is my favorite room in the house. Again, the photos do not do justice to the amount of sunshine that pours into this room - and just look at that marvelous bath! P.S. The floors are heated and there is a towel warmer so you'll be nice and toasty at all times!

And now to the room that is completely open to suggestions - below is a picture of the attic/loft - this is what the stairs lead to in the second picture. All I know so far is that this is where we plan to put all the musical instruments. Any other ideas are welcome.

Of course it wouldn't be a full tour without showing everyone my German Washer and Dryer. The washer is a small version of an American front loader, except of course that all the options are in German. The dryers here are very weird - instead of using heat to dry, they literally "suck" all the water out of the clothes! We have to empty a little compartment of the dryer where the water is drained at the end of each cycle!

And last, but not least, our super fantastic view from the kitchen and balcony!

Even though we're still adjusting to Germany in so many ways, we are happy here. Hopefully within the next week or two, I'll have some more detailed pictures up of the town, Cody's work, etc. so stay tuned.

Much love to everyone at home - we miss you all more than you can imagine!

Girls' Getaway in San Francisco!

Because of our impending move to Germany, my Mom and I decided we needed one last mad dash together to get in some much-needed girl time. We spent 5 days in San Francisco, our favorite city and had a wonderful time and some great adventures. Below are just a few of the highlights of the trip!

Here are some shots of the city:

Here we are in Sausalito, CA across the bay.

The next few photos were taken in Muir Woods a National Park full of Giant Redwoods.

Here is a picture of the hotel room we reserved.

Now it wouldn't be a trip without a story to tell - here it is. We had a fabulous first day, walking for miles around to all of our favorite places. Above is a picture of the hotel we reserved. It was a great little hotel right off of Union Square - admittedly not five-star, but just what we needed.

We arrived back to the room after a late dinner and were really ready to crash after vigorously sightseeing for nearly 18 hours. One hour of sleep had been granted to us (this would make it 11:30 am) when a car alarm went off right below our window. It wouldn't have been bad if the owner of the car knew how to turn it off.... but he didn't. After five minutes of trying to sleep through the sirens and honking horn sound effects, we called down to the front desk to find out what was going on. The car was a rental, he said, and the guest who had rented it couldn't figure out how to turn the alarm off. We resigned ourselves to waiting it out... the alarm blared intermittently for the next ten minutes and then finally gave out.

By 12:00 am, we had settled back into a sound sleep, but a half hour later we woke to the sound of a garbage truck. In a city as busy as San Francisco, it's necessary to perform garbage pickup at night in the absence of traffic. We waited patiently until the sound of the truck faded away into the distance and thought we would have no more trouble. We were wrong. Perhaps because the city is so compact - perhaps because it was late and they wanted to reduce the noise - perhaps just because they have a weird system there - the full garbage bins (we're talking the industrial metal ones used by businesses) are taken to a garage to be emptied all at once and are then taken one by one to be replaced. You'll never guess where that garage was in relation to our hotel. Of course it was across the street. We called down to the front desk once again to find out if garbage pickup happened every night - at least we were in luck there - it only occured once a week. The front desk agent then told us reluctantly that the street sweepers were expected for the following night...

At 2:00 am when there was no garbage left in the city... we were exhausted. We thought at last our chance for sleep had come. It just so happens that 2:00 am is last call for bars in California. I'm sure not everyone who left the bar five blocks away was drunk, but one one man definitely was - very much so. He apparently felt very strongly about something and felt the need to share those feelings with the quiet that surrounded him. By this time, all we could do was laugh. It just wasn't our night to sleep. We called down to the front desk a thrid time, and calmly explained to the front desk agent that if we could not sleep, we could not stay in their hotel. He was very understanding and more than happy to move us to one of the hotel's sister properties, the Kinsington Park hotel.

If it sounds ritzy, it is. This wasn't just any sister property - this was the rich-sister-from-the-East-Coast-who-married-well-and-had-a-trust-fund property. It was gorgeous. And because we had been inconvinienced, the manager at the Kensington Park upgraded us to one of their premium rooms. My mom and I thought it was well worth the first night's inconvinience to have had the opportunity to stay here the rest of the week!!

It just goes to show that there is a silver lining to every cloud! Here I am, getting some much-needed rest in a verrry comfortable bed.

The day we arrived, we couldn't help but notice enormous lines outside of all the major department stores - the line above was wrapped around Macy's. It turned out that Estee Lauder, as a part of a class-action lawsuit, had to give away free products to any customers who had purchased their merchandise at any point during the previous three years. Because there was no way of verifying who had purchased anything, everyone who saw the line got into it. My mom and I found a much shorter line at Saks Fifth Avenue and got some free Chanel perfume.

We happened to be there at the same time as Chinese New Year - we missed the Grand Parade by a couple of days, but here is the dragon. It takes an incredible number of people to animate a dragon of this size.

We saw some of the most beautiful and peaceful beaches while we were there. The ones below range from Stinson Beach to views from the 17-mile drive outside of Monterey.

One thing about this city that constantly amazes me is it's ingenuity. Check out some of the ways people make their living:

The next few pictures are especially for the benefit of Auntie Gail to take her mind off of her poor broken foot! Here is Schroeder's - a former favorite stomping ground! Is it anything like you remembered?

Although we didn't eat at Schroeder's, we experienced some incredible little restaurants - here are some pictures of just a few!

It's safe to say that we ate very well on our trip!

We had such a wonderful time!

On the homefront - all of our furniture has now been packed up and shipped in crates over to Germany (we are told it will take between 45 and 60 days for it to get there). We are currently living out of four suitcases, and were lucky enough to have my mom invite us to stay with her until we leave.

How to Move to Germany

Our move to Ramstein is officially a month and a half away.

It has been quite an ordeal getting to this point, and I must confess that we are already burnt out on the moving process. Allow me to relate the hoops we have had to jump through to get to where we are.

This is our first PCS. As such, you would think the Air Force would provide some sort of couples orientation, complete with a checklist and a timeline for things on the checklist to be completed. Of course, no such orientation, checklist, or timeline exist. The only information I have been able to find has been on non-official sites like SpouseBuzz or Yahoo!Answers. Just for grins (and maybe for our next PCS), I'm going to post the checklist we should have been given:

-Get "The Packet"
-When Are We Leaving?
-The Port Call Checklist
-Learn All About Shipping Your Vehicle
-When Are the Movers Coming?


1.) Get "The Packet"

Get in touch with MPF's Outbound Assignments IMMEDIATELY. They should have a whole stack of papers to sign, have signed, etc. Our packet included our medical clearance sheets, our dental clearance sheets and a set of extremely vague instructions on obtaining an official passport.

For anyone involved or enrolled in military healthcare, you know that getting a non-emergency appointment for a lowly spouse in a timely manner is practically unheard of. I was extremely fortunate mid-November to be given an appointment for late December. Because these appointments are so ridiculously hard to come by, have absolutely everything ready. Active duty members are given a single sheet of paper to ensure their medical clearance. We were able to get this form signed the day we recieved it.

My clearance was another matter entirely. My clearance consisted of 17 pages - no joke. I had to fill out each one carefully BEFORE my appointment so that the doctor had only to sign each page. After getting all the pages signed, I was required to meet with three doctors in order to determine my "fitness" to travel. Do yourself a favor at this point - smile politely and tell them that you are perfectly healthy both mentally and physically, because it really felt like a bit of a witch hunt, leading questions included.

The Dental clearances will require the Active Duty member to visit the base clinic for an exam. For spouses, most civillian dentists will just let you drop off the form for them to sign.

And finally, to the vague passport instructions. Because it was not otherwise indicated, my husband and I assumed that he'd be the one who would need an "Official" passport. On a whim, I filled out the same paperwork and had some passport photos ready just in case I was required to have one too. Once again, the lack of informaiton here just astounds me. It turned out that I was the only one required to get an Official Passport - my husband only needed his CAC card and a civillian passport. As a side note - I am also required to have a civillian passport - the official one only gets me onto Ramstein for the first time - that is truly its only funtion.

2.) When Are We Leaving?

Your initial orders will have a "Report No Later Than" date. Ours is March 31, 2009. Because we didn't want to push things, we decided our "Preferred Travel Date" would be March 1, 2009. The decision is really up to you. I know my husband was particularly eager to get out of his current work setting and into a new one, so choosing an early travel date was an obvious decision for us. The reason this question gets it's own listing is that your "Preferred Travel Date" (which is the date you want to get on a plane and go to your new base) will be the single piece of information that everything else hinges upon. This is something to decide as soon as possible after receiving your initial orders.

3.) The Port Call Checklist & 4.) Shipping Your Vehicle

Although "checklist" is in the title, don't be fooled - this form is in no way helpful. If at all possible, it only confuses things further. This is the form where you enter in your "Preferred Travel Date." It is also the form that deals with shipping your vehicle. There are a couple of things to note about this section. Or rather, there are two different options to choose from. You can ship your vehicle "in advance" or ship it "en-route." Shipping in advance means that you plan to drive your vehicle to the port nearest to your location and fly back (at the expense of the government) BEFORE leaving for your new base. The Ports the Air Force will ship from are:

-Atlanta, GA
-Baltimore, MD
-Charleston, SC
-Dallas, TX
-Los Angeles, CA
-New York City, NY/NJ
-New Orleans, LA
-Portsmouth, VA
-Richmond, CA
-Orlando, FL
-San Diego, CA
-Seattle, WA
-St. Louis, MO

The closest port to us is Dallas, TX. When we spoke to a representative there, we were told that it would take approx. 52 days to ship our car from Dallas, TX to Ramstein AB. We were also told that we could bring in the vehicle as far in advance as we chose (although this may vary with other ports). If you choose this option, the sooner you ship your car out, the sooner you'll have it in your new location.

Shipping a vehicle en-route means that you plan to drive to the port closest to your location and then depart from that city to your new base. If you choose this option, you'll be without your vehicle for approx. 52 days (if you're going to Germany).

5.) When Are The Movers Coming?

Now there is an amusing story behind this question. And by amusing, I mean that I might someday look back and be able to laugh about this. At one and a half months away, I was beginning to wonder about the logistics for moving, especially since base housing was asking when our unit would be available. Perplexed at how I could possibly be expected to know what schedule the movers were operating on, I asked the good people at the housing office when the movers usually came by. "Oh about a week before you leave," they told me. Okay I thought That gives me a timeline to work with. But something was still nagging me at the back of my mind so I broke down and sent an inquiry out via Yahoo!Answers:

"When Can I Expect The Movers To Come?"

Here are some examples of replies I reveived:

"Haven't you gone to the Household Goods Office yet?"

"Weren't you told to see TMO to schedule the movers to come?"

"You have to schedule for them to come by - they don't just come on their own!"

Well of course it seems obvious once you read the posts, and I assure you I felt appropriately dumb. What kind of a person would have waited like an idiot until the day of their departure for someone to swing by and pack their stuff without realizing that they had to schedule it? Me, that's who. I can offer as my only pathetic excuse that this is our first move, and no one at any point told us that there was a Household Goods Office or to visit it. Thank God I asked.

This is the faithful narration of all our drama to date. We both are hoping that all the loose ends have been sufficietly tied off now and that our next post will, indeed, be Live From Germany.