Summer 2006 Rewind

So this blog started about one year after we first moved to Germany so I figured I would revisit our early days in Europe.

Cochem walkplatz

I flew directly to Frankfurt from Maxwell AFB, AL where I was attending Sq Officers School. Jen and Julia stayed back in California while I got things together in Germany. In retrospect, this was probably the best thing we could have done. Those of you who've been assigned to USAFE can attest to the fact that the initial few weeks are fun but REALLY stressful.

Not only is there a new language to learn and cultural bugaboos to be aware of, but you have to do all the normal things like wait for your car to be shipped and find a place to live. To make matters worse, I was rediculously sick when I checked into my billeting on Kapaun AB. Thank GOD I didn't have to drag everyone around with me while getting everything together. All the while, all I wanted to do was hit the Autobahn (BTW, huge disappointment) and see Europe.

The girls on the Hamburg waterfront

Once Jen, Julia, and Reagan did arrive, we had a house with all of our furniture there, I'd purchased a piece of crap Opel to get around, and I'd gotten off to a good start at my job at TPMRC. It made life so much easier! I was so excited to begin our three year European vacation!

A few days after landing in Germany, we headed down to Kaiserslautern (aka "K-town, downtown, little America, etc"). Now at the time K town was one of the host cities to the 2006 World Cup and as we soon discovered, these guys loved their soccer! The altstadt (old town) of K-town was bustling with revelers and I thought to myself, "hey, these germans get a bad rap. They seem like fun luvin folks and really cut loose. This assignment is going to be alright." Come to find out that most of these people were from places like Italy and Spain who's national team was playing in Kaiserslautern. After the world cup left, downtown seemed so dead for the next three years.

Downtown during the World Cup (Drinking in public=perfectly acceptable!)

Sadly, America didn't do so well during this event so we quickly started to root for our new "home team", Germany. I do remember going downtown after work with my my buddy Donnie and we watched the Germans play Argentina on a big screen setup in one of the platz's. Germany, who were probably three point underdogs, pulled off the win in a shootout and the crowd erupted with euphoria! Beer was flying, people were shouting, girls were hugging, and the guys where chanting, "Berlin! Berlin! We're going to Berlin!" in German (the finals were held in Berlin).

Julia in K-town on 4 July 06

A few days later Germany advanced to the semifinals where they were slated to play Italy. Friends from Aviano were nice enough to come up and stay with us during this time so for a time we were a house divided. Like us, they were pulling for their newly adopted country and who could blame them! The Italians treat the sport as a religion. Anyhow, the game was close and the tension was really building in our place but Italy was triumphant and would go on to beat France in the finals (Thank God!). Whatever. We were in Europe--doing what Europeans did--and getting paid to do it! What a great start to our three years.

Our friend Maria with JJ in K Town.

More Blasts from the Past

Greg at Edwards AFB airshow in 1982Luke at Randolph AFB airshow in 2009

Hopefully Luke will have better luck becoming a pilot than me. Let's all hope he gets his mother's good vision.

Europe Then and Now

After class one afternoon in our apartment in Lubbock, Jen and I impulsively hatched a plan to take a trip to Europe. It was 1996 and we college students on the rice and ramen budget but I had a few bucks from selling my truck. We decided if not now, when? And so a few months later we boarded an AA jet from LAX to Heathrow Airport. Here are a few pix of our trip then compared to modern day pix:

Then: Jen in Paris 1996...Now: Jen in Paris 2008Then: Piazza del Poppolo 1996

...Now: Piazza del Poppolo 2009

Then: Greg in Piazza del Poppolo, New Years Eve 1996

...Now: Greg (and my kiddos in pix 2) in the same spot in 2009

Bringing a bit of Europe to Texas

Europe withdrawal. I'm not sure if this qualifies as a clinical diagnosis but I'm pretty sure I'm suffering from it. To ease the transition, I put a few European touches in our Texas home. First is the Talavera tile kitchen table. These handpainted tiles originated from a small town in central Spain (although I'm guessing many of ours came from Mexico) and bring much needed color into our kitchen.

Outside is a different story. South Texas is the land of oak trees and grassland. To remind us of our time in Italy, I planted a "pasta garden" of sorts. Our humble farm consists of eggplant, tomatoes, basil, rosemary, lettuce, and some other stuff for good measure. Before long all of this stuff will be on our table for an Italian dinner.

Finally, here are our kiddies at the Frederickburg Oktoberfest!

And the Final Tally Is...

16. This is the total number of countries we visited as a family during our 3 year European Tour. These countries include Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France Czech Republic, Spain, Italy, Vatican City, Sweden, Ireland, UK, Greece, Croatia, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg.

+5 for Greg. These include: Hungary, Portugal, Dubai, Turkey, Djibouti (Saudi and Ethiopia don't count since I never left the airport)

The total number really should have been at least 20 now that I think about it. We were about 3 kilometers away from Slovenia when we visited Trieste, Italy. Also, we came within throwing distance of Poland when visiting Berlin. Same is true for Lichtenstein and Denmark. The good news is that we will most definitely be back.

Oktoberfest aus Kalifornia

What a party! We wanted to bring a bit of Oktoberfest to our friends back in Kalifornia. The result? Wunderbar. Thanks to all who came! Check out a few pix:\

Julia's Memories of Europe

As crazy as it sounds, the memories of Europe are fading fast in the minds of our kids. In an attempt to capture what we can, here is a brief list of favorites from our daugther, Julia:

Best Friend: Dylan Naglic who lived in Vogelweh
Favorite City: Brugges, Belgium
Favorite Museum: Imperial War Museum, London (Dad is beaming!!!)
Favorite Place to Visit: "Dinosaur Park" aka Gartenshau in Kaiserslautern
Favority Thing to Eat: Macaroni and Cheese at our house in Bann
Funnest Thing she did: Play at the Playground at Donnelly Park at Ramstein
Coolest Purchase: Anything from H and M in Downtown K-town
First Thing I Remember in Germany: Eating at Aurora restaurant in Sorrento, Italy
The Wettest I've Ever Been: Was actually in Florida..."It was a torrential downpour"
I Remember These People from our Village: Norbert and Luzia (our neighbors)
Favorite Shop in our Village: Netto!
Favorite Treat from Netto: Donuts & Cheese Pretzels from the Bakerei, Kinder eggs from store
Favorite Outfit in Germany: Long sleeve dresses and tights
Favorite Memory in Garmisch: Going for a swim in the pool and the jaccuzzi
Animals I Remember in our village of Bann: Dogs and Goats
What Luke Looked Like When He Was Born: A little old grandpa (she's right!)
Best Part About Volksmarching: Getting a "prize" at the end esp in Rothenberg ob der Tauber

Europe Revisited...sort of

Just when we thought this blog was dead...we're back for some more! Now that we are settled here in San Antonio, we've had a chance to get out there and see some stuff. Some of the sights and sounds around here instantly conjure up memories of our time in Europe. For example, we stopped in Solvang on our way up to Santa Cruz and it was just like a sunny version of a Nordic country. Check it out:

A few days before Santa Cruz my folks threw a welcome home party for me. We supplied a lot of the alcohol from our stash that we brought back from Europe. Not only did it taste European, it looked it too. My folks let me put up some stringed lights which instantly turned their patio into a scene ripped right out of Italy. Take a look at the aftermath shot:

We also had the chance to visit a biergarten in my new favorite town of Fredricksburg. This town may be in the middle of Texas but its all German down to its soul. Ah, it was really nice to be back in one of Europe's best gifts to the world: the Biergarten. Here is a couple pix (and yes, Luke stole my nearly empty pils bier):

Finally, here is a Germany flashback pix. This particular picture is of a guillotine urinal. I tried to explain this thing to my Dad and others and they couldn't believe it. So here is some proof. Too bad I wasn't able take a video...the blade dropped once you flushed. Only in Germany.

Auf Wiedersehen, Germany. Howdy, Texas

We're home! After three years (and change) in Europe, it feels great to be back.

So what does this mean for the future of this blog? Not 100% sure. I do plan on uploading additional retrospective posts since we've been away from the internet a lot lately. Also, we didn't start the blog until one year into the assignment so we would like to revisit some of that year as well. After that, we will see what happens.

Ugly American? Not Quite!

"What happened to the Ugly American, the one with the loud shirt and the loud voice, expecting the natives to speak English? Has he been shouldered aside by the Arrogant French?
That’s the conclusion one could draw from a survey this month of 4,500 hotel owners around the world who rated the French the world’s worst tourists, bad at foreign languages, arrogant and tight-fisted. Spaniards, deemed noisy and messy, came second in a field of 27. Americans ranked 9th on the list of the top 10 best."

Read the rest of the article here:

http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2009/07/16/the-ugly-american-and-other-stereotypes/

I knew we Americans got a bad rap. The Ugly American stereotype is one conjured up from ignorance. Honestly, almost all Americans we came across in our travels were anything but the loud and obnoxious bumpkins we are portrayed as. In fact, most of our fellow countrymen seemed eager to immerse themselves in a new culture and tended to be very mellow. For example, we encountered many cheap and loud foreigners in Pamplona last year that spoke English. Problem was they weren't Americans; they were Aussies. In the streets of Madrid there were plenty of drunk bubbas stumbling about in English. Yanks? No, they were Brits on a bender with their mates. Maybe in the non English speaking parts of Europe people assume all people who speak English are Americans thus we are guilty by association. Who knows.

Boom Boom for Bam-Bam

It's official: Luke loves fireworks! We headed to Kapaun AS last night to celebrate the 4th and our son (aka Bam-Bam because he likes to take objects and whack them over and over) was

riveted by the fireworks. This was his first time watching fireworks since last year he was stuck in Brugge, Belgium. Anyhow, God Bless America! We will see you very soon!

Tuscany, The Eternal City and Eternal Travel Truths

Happy Independence Day my fellow Americans! It's the fourth of July, the sun is shining here in Germany, and we're back from our Italian Blitz...It's great to be alive! Time to light the grill as well as some fireworks today.

So, our last hurrah here in Europe took place in the land of vespas and pasta. Our travels took us to Tuscany (including Pisa, Lucca, Tireannia, and Camp Darby) and Rome, the Eternal City.

One of the highlights included a wonderful dinner in the heart of Rome. Keep in mind that leading up to this dinner, our Italian culinary experience had been super disappointing. Overpriced food that tasted like crap was pretty much the norm. And then we found an inviting ristorante while wondering the streets near the Piazza Del Poppolo in Central Rome. It didn't look like anything extraordinary from the outside but it definitely had character. As we sat under an umbrella and began to feast on our pasta, we were amazed! Not only was the food unbelievable but the kids behaved and the weather cooled off significantly. Oh, did I mention the wine? I had the best vino rosso I've ever had!

We also had a blast in the Tuscan town of Lucca. This place is off the map of many foreigners which made it that much better for us. It really had an authenticity about it which was such a welcomed contrast to tourist trampled Pisa. We decided to set off on bikes and pedal the city walls. Later on we headed to the Piazza San Michelle (Saint Michael Square) and do what Italians do best: peoplewatch. From what I read, Italians head to the town square for nearly every reason. Need to get the latest gossip? Head to the piazza. Need to check out the ladies/fellas in their latest clothes? Head to the piazza. Need to take a hit out on your enemy? Head to the piazza. For Luke, the piazza was a place to pick up chicks. As you can see in the pix, a couple of Italian cuties had their sights set on our little guy.

Another high point was the American Beach in Tirhennia which is just west of the American Army base at Camp Darby. Of all the beaches we visited, this was most like a SoCal beach anywhere in Europe. It was hard to leave. If I were to have done it all over again, I probably would have skipped everything else and hung out at this beach all week. The kids loved it and so did mom and dad. It's hard to please everyone but the beach does it to us every time.

Okay, so we had some good times on this trip. That being said, this trip was ROUGH! Between insane Italian pace, the searing heat, the tricky logistics, the blown budget, etc, etc, we were glad to be home when our plane landed at Frankfurt Hahn early this morning. But the biggest struggle we encountered was traveling with our little ones. This reinforced one of the enduring travel truths: Travel with small kids is tough business! Every day they get older, travel becomes that much more difficult. It was easier for them and us when they were smaller and easier to cart around/entertain/feed/please/etc. My parents definitely learned this enduring truth a long time ago. I remember my parents took my brothers and I on a six state, Western US tour-de-force when we were all really young. A few years ago they told me what a pain in the butt that trip was and I think they vowed never to do it again. I can now relate after this trip!

Don't get me wrong, I know how lucky we are. We have two wonderful kids who put up with three years (a little less for baby Luke) of hard-core European travel. Now that they are getting older we find ourselves transitioning to a new, more stable lifestyle in San Antonio. I am convinced that this will be better for all of us. The timing couldn't be better. Julia is going to Kindergarten next year and Jen is planning to return to work while we're in SA. Gone are the days of visiting a new village/city/country every weekend. It's been fun but we anticipate a lot of exciting weekends chillaxing in our backyard with our little ones as we set up shop in the Alamo City.

Here are some pix from our trip:

Tuscan Sunflowers

Amore!

On the steps of the Piazza del Poppolo (same steps where Jen and I celebrated new years in 1996)

Riding the Statues

Swiss Guards at the Vatican

Hadrian's Column across from the Forum

Saint Luke at Saint Peter's

Link to Jen's snapfish page for all of our photos

http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=871965017/a=8867595/

"If Only We Knew About This Place Earlier..."

I've found myself saying this quite a bit these days. Late last summer we uttered these words while driving through the half timbered houses adorned by flower boxes overflowing with geraniums in the Salzgammergut-Austrian lakes district. I said it again when we rolled into in Montreaux Switzerland and marveled at the gorgeous Swiss Riviera. When we stumbled upon Colmar (see pix above) and Kaysersberg in France, I said it one more time..."Damn, I wish we would have found this place earlier."

It's probably for the best. Had we discovered these places earlier in our tour, we would have gone back three, four, five times. This sort of thing kinda runs in my family. Growing up I returned to Laguna Beach every year with my family. I cannot count how many times I've been to Vegas and Palm Springs. Visiting these places has become a "tradition". Don't get me wrong, there's something comforting about returning to the same place year after year (especially in Orange County). However, returning to the same place every year means we are missing out on the joy of discovering new places. It reminds me of some of the folks I met growing up who've never left CA or ventured past the borders of Texas.

So a couple weeks ago we experienced the thrill of discovery once again when we headed to Southeast France. As luck would have it, we accidentally stopped in the medieval town of Kaysersberg while I checked my map. The kids were melting down from a long drive so we decided to let them run around while I checked my map. Best thing that ever happened to us! This place was awesome! It reminded us of a French Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Later on that day we explored the old town of Colmar which also took our breath away. This place was distinctly French. I'll take an old village like this any day over a sprawling metropolis like Berlin or London.

Kaysersberg, FR

After a few wrong turns, a colossal kid meltdown, and a couple of newly discovered villages, we finally arrived at our primary destination: Montange des Singes or Monkey Mountain. Much like the San Diego Wild Animal Park, visitors get to enjoy the wildlife up close and personal. The place was essentially a preserve for North African monkeys where visitors we're permitted to litereally walk amongst hundreds of monkeys. Once you were inside the preserve, the only barriers were for the humans, not for the animals (see below). This was one of those places that we liked just as much as the kids. Take a look:

julia and her new BFF
"We're surrounded! They're everywhere"

Happy Fathers Day!!!

Here's a shout out to all the fathers out there. Happy Fathers Day! Most importantly, I want to send some love my dad's way. Now forgive me if I get a bit personal with this but how many dads out there would fly all the way out to Europe just to run away from some blood thirsty bulls through the streets of Pamplona? ...at the ripe age of 60? How many of them would rappel down an underground canyon the size of the Statue of Liberty in Calaveras County? And just how many would go to court for their son to get them off a bogus ticket from an overzealous cop? Mine. Thanks Dad!

Thanks also goes out to my father-in-law, Gary. He and my mother-in-law made their way out here to Germany a few weeks ago to help Jen and I with the move while I was in Africa. Very cool. We found a way to have some fun too by slipping across the border and enjoying some delicious French cuisine in Sargurrimines. Still raving about it.

Now that I have kids, I too can proudly claim the dad title. While I haven't done anything uber cool with them like I mentioned in the paragraphs above, I've definitely shared some good times with Julia and Luke. Here are some pix with my kiddos from the last couple weeks:

Luke helping me out with a pre Paintball BBQ at Pulaski Barracks

Julia, Luke, a monkey and I at France's Monkey Mountain

A Taste of America

Ah, Florida! What a change from European destinations. For one, it was hot! Really hot! I'm sure our three years here in the chilly environs of Northern Europe made it feel even hotter. We all said this was good training for us as we move to a very sticky San Antonio. Also, Florida is chock full of family friendly destinations. While Europe has the Louvre and the Vatican, Florida counters with Disneyworld and Gatorland. Needless to say, it was nice to shift gears for a while.



While I was in a conference during the first week, Jen and the kids hit up all five Disney parks. I joined them the final day for a trip out to Epcot center (my favorite of all them all). I was anxious to see Europe transplanted into Central Florida. In "Germany", we got our pretzel and colabier fix while our kids tumbled around one of the many playgrounds throughout the park. I think I surprised the German girl at the counter when I was able to place my order and chat with her in German. You could tell she was happy to speak in her native tongue. Like the Germans here in Kaiserslautern, I was anxious to try out my German in the US. Aside from that, the highlight was watching our kids while they took in the park. Seeing their reactions enabled Jen and I to relive some of the magic we experienced at their age.



We headed south for Miami once we were through with Orlando. A bad cold and terrible weather prevented us from seeing much of the city but we did get a chance to see the Everglades. Seeing these alligators up close in their natural environment was definitely one of the highlights of the trip.



Another highlight of our trip was Key Largo. We fell in love with this northern-most town on the Florida Keys. We were greeted with white sand beaches, hammocks swinging in the distance, Bob Marley playing in background, warm water, and tropical drinks served up at the tiki bar. It was about as close to Hawaii as we could get without boarding a plane to Honolulu. Jen and I agreed that we will DEFINITELY be returning to this place.

The final highlight was spending a few hours with my brother Nick and sister-in-law Nena. We ran into these guys at Miami's hip South Beach. We chowed down on some great Cuban sandwiches and plantains while we washed it down with Presidente beer. Good times! Looking forward to a lot more of this sort of stuff when we return to America in a few weeks.