Ghent, Belgium

Two weekends ago on July 20, 2013 A. from the blog Around the Wherever and I decided to take a trip to Ghent, Belgium. We decided to book a trip with the USO since it requires almost no planning and both of us where a bit busy.  The USO “is an organization on post that provides services and entertainment to those in or affiliated with the military.” I was a bit wary about taking a trip with them due to the fact that the majority of the trip with the USO is a tour and pre-planned, and for someone like myself and A. who like to venture on our own we were unsure of how the trip would turn out.

Upon arrival the first thing we did was get paired with our tour guide. Teun (our tour guide) is a professor at a local university there in Gehnt. He was an excellent guide, and taught us that the Dutch can make a sexual joke out of just about anything.

We began by going through the Red Light District where woman sat in the window like some kind of display waiting to be bought. Following Teun showed us the differences in the French and Belgian parts of the city as well as how you could tell the age of a building by the type of stone used.  

One of the more interesting parts of the tour I found to be of a carving of a father and daughter that was above a door way. The father was sentenced to death by starvation, when the daughter visited him, since she had just had a child, let him drink milk from her breast in order to help sustain his life. Later the father was proved to be innocent and set free.

We were also lucky enough to visit on the 1^st day of a 10 day festival. Every year Ghent holds the largest street festival in all of Europe. Due to this fact A. and I discovered two interesting things:

1)      Public toilets, known as pissers, where everywhere. For an American this was slightly disturbing because as you can see from the picture, they were on random street corners, and completely open. At one point I saw three men using the quad-pisser at once….

2)      As an opening for the first day of the festival a big parade was scheduled to take place that afternoon. As A. and I walked around we began to notice that several people had on some interesting clown hats. It became our mission to obtain one of such hats for ourselves. After much walking and much excitement, we found the source.

We determined we must wear the hat the rest of the day. Overjoyed, we then headed to the visitor center to see what we could do in our free time.  The people at the visitor center found these two crazy Americans so amusing that of course they needed to take our picture and post it to their Facebook page.

Meeting back with the group for a boat ride through the city, and then a bit more exploration of our own, we ended the day knowing we needed to come back!

There is so much more I could talk about Ghent, it was too much fun, but blog post are not book of course lol, so I guess one day you shall have to venture there yourself and find out :) 

In conclusion a quote from A.

“At $99 per person for the trip, which included roundtrip busing, a tour led by college faculty, and a boat ride, the trip was less expensive than just buying train tickets on our own would have been. The upside was that even though the trip had two planned events, we also had about five hours to do our own thing.”

A little more Germany with a mix of Luxembourg

Saturday July 13 my plan was to go to Munich and Dachau on another trip with the local ODR, but after  nice little drive through the town at 4 am I discovered that they had canceled the trip and forgot to inform me. Needless to say I was rather disgusted and disappointed since that is one of the trips I was looking forward to the most.

So at the last minute I decided I would take some trips closer to K-town so it would not be a waste of a weekend, and on the positive side I have since discovered that the USO offers the same trip the last weekend I will be in Germany! Still disappointed about the whole thing, since that means I will have to shuffle my other plans for that weekend, but I'll survive.


On Saturday I went to the local Japanese garden followed by the nearby town of Otterberg for dinner with Tiffany and the girls:

The Japanese garden seems like a perfect place to just get away from the city for a bit, relax and journal. I really need to get back there without the girls before I leave and just… reflect. I love the little red bridge they have there going over a nice waterfall. Who would have guessed right in the middle of town such a thing existed. If you couldn’t see the building from outside the trees, you would think you were in a totally different place.

Otterberg I loved! Not because of all the things to do and see, but because of its simple beauty. I have decided, if possible, that is where I want to live when I come back. It has a smaller feel to it, warm and inviting, I guess would be a more accurate description. When we first arrived the bells at the church in the center of town were ringing, and echoing off the local hills, it was the kind of thing that just makes you stop for a moment and go “wow.” You can’t find that anywhere in the US, at least nowhere I have ever been.

I cannot express how excited I am to come back next year and work here. I say it over and over again, but the more I learn the more working here seems so perfect for what I want right now in life.

The next day, Sunday I went to Luxembourg City, Luxembourg and Trier, Germany. Trier was a last a last minute decision so I went to the city without a plan, but I wish I would have had more time, also with it being a Sunday although the main sights were open several of the little shops that really help make a trip were closed.

While in Luxemburg I visited Place d' Armes, Luxembourg's Notre Dame Cathedral, and Adolphe Bridge just to name a few places I ventured.  I had written down the top places to see for Luxembourg, but had no set plan. It was a relaxing walk of randomly wondering the city.

One of my favorite places to visit while I was there is this random church I happen to run across. I don't even remember the name. But when I entered the place was entirely empty with some music playing in the background. Down the center aisle in between the pews was a whole row of candles. The cathedral was simple, but in that simplicity was so much beauty. It was a great place to just light a candle, reflect, and take a moment to appreciate the now.







As I mentioned above, I wish I had more time in Trier. Of the two cities I visited that day Trier was my favorite. It seemed like a very "artsy" city that was filled with history, churches, old buildings, and tons to do. Unfortunately I arrived at around 3pm an most places began to close around 6pm so I didn't have to much time.



(The picture above and two the left are of the main cathedral in the town. It was so magnificent, as many churches are here.)

 

Under the Tuscan Sun

            Italy: Day 1, Travel Day, July 3

Tiffany, Vivi, Sophia and I left the house in the morning at 3:30 am. The THOUGHT was if we left in the middle of the night the girls would just sleep most of the morning and we would also miss a lot of traffic… we should have known better. As soon as Vivi hit the car she began talking, and talking, and then some more talking. To make things more interesting the traffic we were SUPPOSE to miss, only lasted about 2 hrs before we hit stalls and detours. What a great start…

Finally at 10am we stopped to get some gas and have some breakfast. We had stopped several other places before this point, but nothing was available to eat until 10. Note for future reference, “convince restaurants” such as McDonalds are NOT convenient in Europe.

After we had some food, only to hit the road again and discover that I had left my purse in the gas station! It contained my whole identity, passport, credit cards, SS card, instillation pass, international drivers licenses, drivers licenses, and about 200 Euro plus some USD!! I was freaking out to say the least. After 1.5 hours I was afraid it was gone. After a quick turn around, I ran back in to the place I had left it, and to my disbelief it was still there with all the contents.

We made it down to Italy around dinner time. A 9 hour trip that had been 13 long hours.

Italy: Day 2, Beach Day/ 4^th of July

Day two was a 180 turn around. We woke up, got some breakfast and hit the beach that was just across the street. It was a white rock beach with beautiful blue water. I loved the look, but the rocks rather hurt.

After a morning of walking around we had lunch, let the girls nap, and then headed over to the American beach that was located 2 km from our hotel to spend the 4^th of July evening. One of my favorite parts of the trip was floating in the ocean with Vivi and watching the sun go down over the nearby islands and Italian village in the distance, it was BEAUTIFUL.

After the sun set, instead of a fireworks show they had a water and laser light show. I’m sure the locals loved all the American’s playing God Bless the USA over loud speakers on the beach.

Italy: Day 3, Leaning Tower of Pisa, July 5th

Wow! Where to start? We slept in this morning since the night before was so long. We got up around 10 and was out the door by 10:30. We caught the city bus outside our hotel and made our way into downtown Pisa.

Once there we headed straight to the Leaning tower of Pisa. Less eventful than I imagined, but incredible none the less, it’s something I have always wanted to see.

Following we made our way down the streets outside the walls and visited several local vendors. It is very easy to get caught up and sped too much! They have some really good prices on several things including pashminas, which I LOVE!

We had lunch at a local Italian place, which was delicious! I had some sort of pasta with some kind egg and bacon, never had pasta quite like it.

After a nap and some much needed rest we ended the day with the pool and a delicious dinner at one of Tiffany’s co-workers house that lived nearby. That was a treat as well since she had lived in Italy since 1984!

Italy: Day 4, Florence, July 6^th

Florence… wow I could spend a week there on museums alone! We began the day with the Duomo and Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise! I was so excited about this, it’s something wrote about in art history about 6 years ago.

After some more shopping, another great Italian lunch, and some sights along the way it was time to go to the Uffizi Gallery where “the Birth of Venus” is kept, my favorite painting of all time!!! I only had 50 minutes to get through the gallery due to a shortage on time. This is ridiculously short if you know art galleries. I got out with just enough time to make it to Academia gallery to see the statue of David. After a couple wrong turns, however, I missed the last slot by 2 minutes L

A 1 hour train ride and 20 min taxi later we were back in Pisa where our hotel was.

Italy: Day 5, Travel Home, July 7^th

Nothing to eventful on this day, we stopped in La Spezia Italy for some lunch. It was a nice walk along the harbor and some great Focaccia bread, a long drive back, beautiful scenery through Switzerland, and a tired bunch upon arrival.

Heidelberg Germany

This past weekend June 29th, the girls, Tiffany, and I ventured into Heidelberg for a day trip. The day consisted of visiting the Heidelberg Castle,

(picture from the town Below)                                                                            (overlook from the top)

 

 

Having lunch at a local place called Schmidt's with more Flammkuechen :D

 

And too be honest the last half of the day consisted mainly of walking up and down the main shopping strip! Very simply, but exciting day.

 

 

Frankfurt and Langen Germany

So it occurred to me today that I am two weekends behind in blogging and I leave for Italy tomorrow night for 5 days. So I shall attempt to post two blogs tonight, though it is already 11:10pm here as I begin typing and I am rather tired and have a lot of prep work to do... so I'll see how far I get.

The weekend of June 22 and 23 I decided to visit an old friend who lives an hour away from K-town in the quaint little of Langen. Here was a break down of my first day:

Woke up and left Kaiserslautern, Germany at around 12pm. Drove the 1.5 hours to Langen, where Franzi lives, then Caught the 2:15pm train into Frankfurt. We visited many places including where the Germans signed the “constitution” after WWII, took a ride around town on the Express trolley, ventured through the local festivals that were taking place, enjoyed some local crepes, and ended our time in Frankfurt by seeing the Frankfurt Dom or Cathedral. After arriving back to Langen we had traditional German Flammkuechen and wieners.


  Day 2:

After staying the night at Franzi’s and venturing into Frankfurt the day before we decided that she would show me around her town so I could get a real taste of daily life within Germany. After sleeping in for a bit, we woke up and had a late breakfast with her mother, after we set out to explore the city a bit. I got to see her high school, city hall, civic center, and much more. While out there was a local fair that happens in her town once a year that was happening. We went through the rows of vendors and games, stopping to shop a bit along the way.

For lunch she took me to her favorite place to have a traditional German doner. It’s a flat bread, with meat, lettuce, and a yogurt dressing. It was delicious, but HUGE!

Then, it was time to head back into Frankfurt for a tour we were hoping to take. We made it to the station in time to see the train pull off. So instead with a quick change of plans we decided to go back to her house and spend some more time just talking and catching up.

 

It was so great being able to see Franzi, the last we saw each other was when I was a senior in high school, so three years ago! Unlike a lot of my other weekend trips I have taken since arriving to German this one was very unscheduled and relaxed. I’m very happy I was able to meet her. It gave me such insight to the “real” life of living like a local.

I was able to meet her mom and her mom’s boyfriend, which was a unique experience in itself because since neither knew English well, Franzi became our translator. I just felt like I became a temporary part of the family.

The thing I love to do most while I travel is get out of the main, tourist roads and see it from the local perspective. And by making friends all over the world I am slowly being able to do just that. I can’t wait to start my life over here in a year (hopefully)! There is just so much culture, and things to see and do, the sky seems like the limit. 

Kaiserslautern Germany, Daily Life

I have now been living in Kaiserslautern for over a month and 1/2! Time sure does fly when your having fun. I feel as though I have learned so much. I realized that although I have been blogging about my trips I never spent much time to discusses my thoughts on Germany at large, the city I'm in, and the family I'm staying with. Most important the girls that I'm taking care of as an Au Pair.

I'll start with the girls. I think I have spoke a bit on my first post, but pictures are definitely needed to see their cuteness.

The oldest is Vivianna. She is 4 years old and can best be described as  ball of never ending energy. She is always ready to go go go!











The younger one is Sophia. She is a few moths shy of 2 years old. She is sweet, thoughtful, and very observant.












This picture I feels really shows their personality. We had a "photo shoot" one night, and this was my favorite picture.















This is the view from my bathroom window. I took it on one of the first mornings after arriving. The house is a three story, bright orange, German house. My room and bathroom is on the third floor.




We take walks around the block quite regularly to go on snail huts or go to the local play park. I always think it is so beautiful, every time we round the corner to go down the hill we can see a nearby church steeple. That's one thing I still can't get over about all of Europe. There are always random, beautiful churches, cathedrals, or castles everywhere you go it seems.








This is one of my favorite photos. On the way to the nearby outlet malls, on a rainy day, a beautiful rainbow came out over a little German village.








Germany is such a beautiful place. The people here are so environmentally conscious. It make me want to be a part of DoDEA when I graduate all the more. Working as a civilian with the military seems like the perfect job for me and the more I find out the more I want to move here! The possibilities seem endless and things I never even dreamed of seem to be a reality here as far as job opportunities.

Now some about the town. The town is comprised of 150,000 people (for me a good size town)! 50,000 of the people residing in the town are American's that work with the military in some way. Kaiserslautern holds the largest population of American's outside of the United States itself. So it makes it very easy for someone who doesn't know German, such as myself to get around the town and do things. People here are very nice and accepting of people of different cultures and languages.

I can't wait to finish out my stay here, and travels to nearby towns and countries. I am having such an amazing and life changing time. I could have never imagined how much I would have fallen in love with living here, among such a beautiful country and people.

London

This past weekend (June 7-10) I had the wonderful opportunity to go to London, England! I flew on Ryan Air, my first budget flight. Round trip was only $45. I left Frankfurt Hahn and flew to London Stansted, from there I was a 45 min bus ride from downtown London. By the time I got there on Friday (June 7) it was 4pm. I had to make it across town and find my way to the booth where I would pick up my London pass, which I purchased just like the Amsterdam pass so I could get discounts on places I would visit.

After, I made my way to my hostel The Pride of Paddington. I had never stayed in a hostel so I was a bit nervous, but it turned out to be a wonderful experience where I met several wonderful people. I  checked in, changed clothes, had a quick dinner with someone else who had just checked in, then ran to the tube with just enough time to head back downtown for a 7:30 show of The Lion King! I had been wanting to see it for a while and final I would be watching my first Broadway play in London!!The costuming was great, it was a smaller stage than I expected, but I'm happy I went.

By the time it was over it was late enough, and I was tired enough from my travel, that I headed back to Paddington for a good nights sleep.

Saturday morning (June 9) I hit the ground running. After a relaxing breakfast with three other girls I met, I headed toward Westminster Abby.

Followed by Big Bed of course and Parliament building 

Then I made my way via tube tubes to Tower hill, Tower of London and Tower Bridge.

(Tower of London)

Winding back down through crowds of people and street musician, I attempted to see Shakespeare's Globe theater, but it was closed so I stopped at the London Bridge Experience.... BIG mistake, I thought it would be history of the bridge, photos, information, etc. it was some history combined into a haunted house. I left half way though. 

Finally I made my way to London Eye just in time for sunset :)

 (London Eye)

 I ended the day in the center of all of London Piccadilly Circus, and had a fabulous dinner in China town. 

(Piccadilly Circus)

 The next day I decided to take things a bit slower. After a nice breakfast with some of the girls from the hostel again. I made my way to Buckingham Palace and made it just in time for changing of the guards at 11:30 am. It was once again very crowded but thank goodness, I made my way up closer and had a pretty good view.

 (Gate at Buckingham Palace, you can see the guards through the gate)

 (From a distance)

Then after a short train ride, Karren and I (a girl I met at The Pride of Paddington) arrived at Windsor Castle where the queen was at! Although I didn't get to see her :( The tour was very interesting, and although it took up the rest of the day, I felt, was well worth it. 

(Windsor Castle)

 Making the way back to Paddington I said goodbye to Karren and decided to make my way back downtown to spend some time. Since I had to leave to the airport at 3 am I didn't book a room for the night. My thought was I would leave Paddington take the double decker bus downtown, and then spend from 11pm - 3am having a fun night life in downtown London, boy was that the wrong decision.

I board the bus at Paddington and instead of getting on the East route, I discovered I was on the West route. No problem I thought, I was rather enjoying the ride. Well when the bus finally arrived at the furthest west stop instead of circling back around I found the bus driver was pulling in to the service station for the night! I hesitantly made my way down from the second deck to find the bus driver was as surprised as I was to find he still had a passenger, who clearly had no idea what they were doing still on the bus. He directed me to the nearest bus station.

So in the middle of nowhere London with my hand fixed to my pepper spray, I began to attempt to navigate my way back toward civilization. When arriving at the bus stop it was to my dismay that I then discovered there were no direct routes to my destination. So I had two choices attempt to make several bus switches and slowly make my way, or option two walk another half block and try to take the tube before it closed. By this time it was 11:15 and the tubes closed at 11:30.

I was well versed in the tubes so I decided to take my chances. I rode the route, switching at the proper stop making it with 2 min. to spare for the last tube of the night to Piccadilly Circus (downtown London)! I made my way up from the tubes to my disappointment once more, the once roaring downtown life I had experience the night before on Saturday, was all but a dream. Left on Sunday night was the reminates of people trying to hurry home, and homeless people.

The only two places that appeared to be opened, in all irony, were KFC and McDonald's. I made my way to KFC so I could at least sit for a min., decide what I was going to do for the next three hours, and use the restroom. I stepped in for 5 min., by the time I came out there were coops, and security men everywhere. Not just in KFC but down the entire strip! I decided I would take my chances and head on to the station and wait for my bus at 3 am.

Finally arriving at 1 am, the station was all but deserted at well! So what else did I have to do? I found a set on some stairs bundled up and waited. To make matters worse it was 55 degrees and all I had on was a rain jacket and a T-shirt with jeans.

Thank goodness the bus arrived early at 2:10 and I arrived at the airport an hour later, exhausted. Still having  3 hours now before my plane flew out, I found a stop on the ground and tried to get some shut eye before the flight.

It is an experience I won't soon forget, and despite all the trouble I had on the last night I would't change a thing. Everyone needs some excitement in life and a small walk on the dangerous side of life.

Tips for London:
**Note times the tubes and buses run
**Only the weekend life runs late
**If you have the time go to Windsor Castle, it's well worth the time
**Don't miss changing of the guard, despite the crowds you should see it at least once  (daily at 11:30)

Amsterdam

Well as usual I am behind in blogging, but I feel rightfully so. June 1st I took a trip to Amsterdam, but as soon as I got back I began prepping for a 4 day journey to London. So between planning, taking care of the girls, researching, planning, etc. things got a bit hectic. Anyway I'm back on the horse and ready to ride. 

What to say about Amsterdam, crazy, fun, and way to much to do for the 12 hours I had there. It was the first city I felt completely and totally overwhelmed by the shear number of people. I enjoy city life, but this was just to much. Don't get me wrong, I loved the visit and the sites/ places to visit, but the queues everywhere were crazy. 

This trip, like the others I have taken, was do so via the ODR. So we left K-town (aka Kaiserslaughtern) at 4am and got the city at around 10am. I decided to explore this city alone, since there was noone on the bus I really made a connection with along the way.

 I had bought the Amsterdam tourist pass so it was one fee for several museums I wanted to see. I navigated my way to the Rijksmuseum. The next quote I got for the internet explaining what was there. 

"The museum has on display 8,000 objects of art and history, from their total collection of 1 million objects from the years 1200–2000, among which are some masterpieces by Rembrandt, Frans Hals, and Johannes Vermeer. The museum also has a small Asian collection which is on display in the Asian Pavilion."

I really enjoyed the Rijksmuseum, and saw many paintings I had once only studied from a book. 

From there I made my way to the Van Gogh museum that was just across the way. Anyone who knows me well knows my love of Van Gogh, so of course that was a "must-do" on my list. Best of all I got to see my favorite painting "The Potato Eaters."

After two museums I was ready for a change of pace, I made my way back to where I started in the center of town in order to take a boat ride through some of the several canals that are in Amsterdam  I really enjoyed this tour because I got to relax, eat a pretzel and see many more of the main sites of Amsterdam including the Anne Frank house. 

With just a few hours left I ended the day with eating and shopping of course. I wandered up and down the busy streets stopping at whatever caught my eye. My best souvenir yet... wooden shoes! While wandering I run up on a protest against the Turkish media that of course I had to stop and film/take photos of. 

I hope one day I can go back and see some sites I had missed.

Tips for Amsterdam:
**"Coffee shops" are to be avoided, as they are code names for where to get drugs.
**Do NOT enter the red light district
**Watch your belongs careful and count your money from vendors
**Pot is sold... pretty much everywhere, so just be aware and watch out
**See the sights, have fun, just don't be stupid

Metz, France

After a day of rest on Sunday from my long trip to Prague, Monday (5/27) Tiffany, Sophia, Vivianna, and I ventured on a nice day trip to Metz, France. It is a quaint town about 75 miles from Kaiserslautern filled with great views, amazing cathedrals, and great shopping. If you are ever in the area I definitely recommend going.

We ventured around the city saw some great cathedrals (3 to be exact), lots of fountains, and just had some fun with the girls as we made our way around. It was a wonderful day and surprisingly stayed bright and sunny all day! Which was an added bonus.

Sophia Left Vivianna Right

**As always all the pictures can be found on my Facebook

Prague, Czech Republic

This past Saturday 5/25/2013 I ventured into downtown Prague. Once more I went with the local ODR. Some sites included:

Charles Bridge

Jewish Quarter (Josefov)

Lesser Town Bridge Tower

Prague Castle 

Old Town Hall Tower and Astronomical Clock

Old Town Square 

St. George's Basilica 

I was looking most forward most to seeing the Jewish Quarter, unfortunately I did not account for Saturday being Shabbat so other than just walking through and taking some photos all of the museums and tours in that part of town were closed down for the day. (If you ever have the chance to visit Prague yourself I advise you keep this in mind, especially if you are interested in WWII memorial pertaining specifically to the Jews such as myself).

Despite the minor set set back I still had an amazing. Just like Berlin the day began slow as Neil (a guy I met on the bus) and I tried to gain our bearing on the city. We walked around a bit and made our way down to the river where we took a boat up and down the river which provided a perfect time to just sit, grab a drink, and determine our plans for the day.

After the boat ride we ventured across the Charles Bridge, that had several artist and craftsmen selling items, and stopping at a nice little bistro before heading up to Prague Castle.
One thing to keep in mind is that "service with a smile" is NOT the case in Europe, making it for a very interesting experience as and American. The servers are not there to please you, they are there simply to serve.

After a delicious lunch we continued on an up and up and up several stairs finally arriving at Prague castle, which was my favorite part of the day. Inside the castle walls was a small "town" in itself with its main part being a gorgeous cathedral.

From the top of the hill we could see out across Prague, which was an amazing view the pictures don't give it justice.

We made our way down the hill back to the town square where some sort of  cultural festival was taking place. After a few performance we finished the day with a local festival that was taking place near by. Another great trip I won't soon forget!

** If you every have a chance to travel with the military ODR or USO DO IT! Their trips are great and at a good price for transportation.
**All pictures from this trip can be found on my Facebook
**As a note, when traveling further east in Europe a male friend for females to come along is advised, particularly if venturing outside the main part of the city, but of course not necessary just advised.

Berlin

Saturday May 11th I took my first weekend trip out of Kaiserslautern, I know I had mentioned I would not be going until the 25th, but I got a last second trip with ODR (outdoor recreation) on base to Berlin!! It was so wonderful. ODR has express trips that are basically 24 hour days. You drive over night, get to the city, spend all day there exploring on your own or with someone you meet on the bus, and then leave late that night. So here is an overview of how my day broke down:

1 am we left base and drove to Berlin.
9 am we arrived in the city.
Once at the city Vanessa (a girl I met on the bus who was also traveling alone) and I set out to explore the city.
The day began slow. We first at at Einsteins which was a small coffee shop with some of the best butter and croissants.

Following,  we made our way over to the Berlin cathedral or Berliner Dom. 

After making our way to the top and looking out over the city 

We headed to Brandenburg gate to start a walking tour

On the tour we saw the memorial for the murdered Jews of Europe

Then Check Point Charley 

And several other places along the way. After a few hours of walking around on the tour we broke off on our own again. We ventured on to see the Berlin wall,

 running into some crazy Germans raising money for a bachelor party on the way,

 tried to figure out the rail system (getting lost a few times along the way), finally making it to Ku' damm shopping, and ending the day with the TV tower

 before trying to make our way across town in 10 min,  pouring rain, and dealing with an angry German taxi driver to make it to the bus on time! Over all it was a great trip and I had a great time, even when we ended up on the outskirts of town haha. We arrived back to Kaiserslautern around 5 am.

 (For all the pics and places I went you can find them on my Facebook under the album Berlin.) 

**When traveling in Germany always have spare change to use the restroom. 

Just Settling In

Well as you might have guessed, I have arrived in Germany safely. The last few days I've been getting to know the girls and trying to get over my jet lag (which is not that bad this time). I have stated planning my weekend trips. It's amazing how cheap you can get from one country to the next. I'm not sure where all I'm going just yet, a lot will depend on price, but London, Paris, Dublin, Berlin, and somewhere in Italy is defiantly on my list of "to-do's."  My first excursion, hopefully, will be the weekend of the 25th which will give me some time to get more familiar with Kaiserslautern first.

Yesterday I drove in a foreign country for the first time! It was a good experience, though I hope without someone telling me where to go I can find my way around, the roads and rules are somewhat different from the U.S. The autobahn is different than I expected. Certain areas have speed limits where others there are none. Further since you can drive so fast a minor finder bender backs the road up for miles.

 I never realized that the military base here is actually in about 7 different locations around the city. Each one is self contained, which is pretty amazing. You enter the base and It's like you are back in the U.S., except with military personal all around. Tomorrow the plan is to get my instillation pass so that I can enter the bases without a person signing me in and out. (This is so I can take the girls to lessons, go to the PX, the base library, go on base for German lessons, etc.).

Jet Setters Anonymous

Guten Tag! Tomorrow I will set off on the adventure of a lifetime. For three moths (87 days to be exact) I will be living and working in Keizerslanden Germany as an Au-pair. My job will be to take care of two darling little girls and be a "co-parent" for a military family stationed there. During the week I will explore the local city with the girls and live the life of a typical German. During the weekends I will have the opportunity to travel to different neighboring countries through a special program the Department of Defense (Dod) has.

This blog has several purpose. First for those who wish to follow my trek and keep in touch this is a good way to do so. Second since the plan is to travel to many parts of Germany as well as Europe while there I will be giving traveling advice and tidbits along the way. Finally, for my own enjoyment. Although I am far from be called a "great" writer it is one of my passions in life whenever I get the chance to share my thought on paper.

There is not a set day that I will post (it all depends on what is happening and internet access) but I will post a minimum of once a week.

On a final note interesting facts/ travel advice will be marked with a *.

*The only place to receive an international drivers licences in the USA is at AAA for $15.