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.