Weisbaden Germany

Hello one and all from Weisbaden Germany.

Sterling and I have been here about 3 weeks now and are enjoying our time here so far. We have been very busy, trying to figure out the "lay of the land" and sleep schedules.

For example, when we arrived on the 28th of January, in Frankfurt, we were met by a coworker of Sterling's from his new office. We drove about 40 minutes to our hotel in Weisbaden, dropped our luggage off and then went to the army offices to handle all the paperwork and to get our official I.D.'s taken care of.

When we were finished with that,  we went to Sterling's office to check in and help him to gain access to his computer, as well as meet some of the people he will be working.  He enjoyed meeting people and seeing his space that he is working in.

Our temporary quarters is on the Weisbaden Garrison U.S. Army Base. It is interesting because you see military personnel all over the place and American restaurants and entertainment.

Our room, while compact, is like an extended stay hotel in the States. It is comfortable and cozy and gives us what we need to get by.

This is the living room of our suite.

What is interesting to note is that the housekeepers are both male and female. I have never seen that before. They come and clean every day and check in to make sure that we have everything we need. They speak English and are a very nice group of people

The nice thing about this tour is that even though we are civilians, we are here with the Department of Defense and therefore, are able to receive the same privileges as the military. We are able to access the Commissary, PX and all the other things that the military can. We even are issued "Ration Cards" for purchases such as hard alcohol, coffee and tobacco. Seems weird but it allows us not to have to pay the 19% tax rate on the German economy and that is huge.

Because this is a military town and we are not restricted to stay here, we can branch out to the local economy. Means that we have to carry both American money and Euros as most of the local vendors won't accept our money. It is fun though seeing the pretty buildings and the old architecture that is here. Really is a Bavarian paradise. This is just an example of what we have been seeing. Beautiful huh!

This is $5.00 in Euro. Can't tell you what it is worth in American money because the exchange rate fluctuates all the time. We have to accept that and build a bit of a "nest" into our long term plans for the fluctuation.

  









The Sunrises are really pretty here and we get to see them while all of you are gearing down from a long hard day. There is a nine hour time difference between us here in Germany and you all in Washington so, if it is 12:00 pm in Seattle, it is 9:00 at night here in Germany and we are getting ready for bed.  Gotta love the view though.

Sterling and I have been sampling some of the local restaurants in the area and have found them to be good. We have eaten traditional German food like pork knuckles and have sampled the German's version of American food, like steak. Both are good and I have not decided which one I like better or not. Guess time will tell.

The  below picture was taken at a restaurant not too far from here. I can't remember what the real name of it is but the Americans (Mandy and John Melgaard to name who) call it "Steak on a Rock". It is really interesting because you order your steak and they bring it to you on a super sizzling, block of stone. It cooks while you are eating it and you can control how you want it done. Serve it up with a baked potato smothered in Sour Cream and Chives and a good German beer and you are set for life. MMMMM!!! GOOD STUFF!!!!

We were happy that we were able to watch the Seahawks blow out the Bronco's during Super Bowl Sunday on Armed Forces Network.  For us, the game aired at 12:30 pm so we took power naps ahead of time to be able to stay up and watch. There were also several parties that were going on as well with one being across the driveway at the base Entertainment Center. We chose to watch in our hotel room and were able to Skpe with Gary and Teresa, during the game. Almost made us feel like we were there. Thank you G&T for bringing us "home" for the game. (Sterling had already arranged to take Monday off from work so that was quite good for him).

 We also were able to stream the parade on our computer. If we would have been home, I would have been right in the middle of the chaos in downtown. While I would have loved it, it was just as fun to watch it from a distance. Gary, Teresa, Mandy and John kept us posted on this and sent pictures of them or family members enjoying the festivities.  We also saw alot of Facebook posts of the Skittles all over the place and I am pleased to say, we had ours here in Germany!!!!!! GO HAWKS!!!!

We were able to take delivery of our Miata the day after the game. In order for an American to get approval of a vehicle in Germany, the car has to be inspected and authorized. Then it has to be plated for Germany. We were lucky that the Miata met all the criteria and was easily plated and registered here. Oh ya, it likes it when we drive on the Autobahn. Here is what the plates look like:

We will be moving into our permanent housing situation in March, and feel fortunate that we found an apartment so quickly. It is a bit outside of town but affords all the comforts necessary.  It features 3 bedrooms 1 1/2 baths, a living room and kitchen. There are laundry facilities on site and we get a storage area and a one car garage. This is all in a secured building. Best part is that it has a HUGE deck that is connected to the front of the building and is on a bus line leading directly into town.  We should be able to live with only one car and that will be huge as parking is at a premium here. There is plenty of space around our apartment though and we like that alot. I cannot wait to move and set up housekeeping here. I already have ideas on how to decorate our new space. (Sorry Sterling!) Pictures will be forth coming.

Last but not least for now, I have committed myself to some volunteer work with the USO. This organization is designed to assist the military and their families and offers tours of Europe, German speaking classes and all kinds of other things to make sure that our armed forces and their families are well taken care of. I am also pleased because this is the organization that my dad was involved with in the 60's. He would be very proud!

My duties will be to accompany different tours around Europe and be the go between for the Americans and whatever local group we are visiting. I am excited to get started on this venture and will be taking my first tour, albeit as an observer for train purposes, in March. We will be going to Amsterdam. I look forward to seeing and experiencing what is out there and it will be a great way to meet others like me that are here.

Well all, this is it for now. We are happy and content and while we miss our family and friends tremendously, we do not regret our decision to move here.  We hope that all of you are happy and healthy and look forward to hearing from you. Better yet, hop on a plane and come for a visit. We would love to have you any time.

With much love to you all,

Sterling and Deb.

Disclaimer - This is the first time that I have ever written a blog so feel free to comment on it and tell me what you think.