Downrange with America's Afrika Korps

It has been way too long since I've updated this blog. So much has happened since our trip to Bacharach that it's hard to know where to begin. In a nutshell, I've just returned from a short stint at the Naval Expeditionary Base at Camp Lemonier, Djibouti which is why I have been out of touch lately. Anyhow, the trip downrange had me travel through four continents in four days (N. America, Europe, Asia, and Africa).

My journey started in Orlando, FL where we had been vacationing (and searching for some of that Florida sun which we never really found). Eventually my journey took me through places such as Riyahd, Saudi Arabia and Dubai, UAE. Now I've been to Turkey so it's not like I haven't been to a muslim country before but seeing these places in person was very cool. The tables were definitely turned in Saudi. Unlike in the West, I was the odd man out since I wasn't wearing the white robe and checkerboard head scarf.

After a series of long layovers, delayed/canceled flights, etc I eventually arrived at my destination. Keep in mind that Djibouti isn't exactly a resort destination. Think of those commercials where you can sponsor an African kid for only two dollars per day...and make it even worse. That's Djibouti. Ten miles from Somalia. We're there to turn this place around I suppose. Anyhow, I won't bore you with the details about my work down there but I will share some cool pix. Take a look:

Galley...Navy speak for chow hall...in the center of camp

Inside "the wire" at Camp LeMonier. (Cool historical fact: The camp was an abandoned French Foreign Legion Base which explains the name)
Home Sweet Home. These Containerized Living Units or CLUs reminded me of a trailer park. However, these beat the snot of tent living

Baking in the 120 degree heat. The crazy heat reminded me of my visits to Palm Springs in the dead of summer but only more humid

Dream Realized in Bacharach

Ever since I've been stationed here in Europe, I've squandered many precious moments wishing I could stay in a castle for one night. Keep in mind our usual travel accommodations consist of a family friendly budget hotel or billeting at a US military base so the notion of staying in a castle is a significant departure from the norm. Maybe it is the little boy in me but staying overnight in a castle had a wonderful appeal about it. Last weekend this dream was realized and we stayed at Burg Stahleck in Bacharach.

Before I go into detail about our castle, let me tell you a little about Bacharach. On the way there Jen asked me what my favorite German city was. That was a tough one for me. Munich has the hofbrauhaus and Garmish has it's Bavarian charm. Berlin has an incredible sense of history and Rothenberg is ripped straight out of a fairytale. All of these places fall just short of Bacharach in my book. In 1842 Victor Hugo wrote about the village by stating, "No doors, no roof or windows, a magnificent skeleton puts its silhouette against the sky. Above it, the ivy-covered castle ruins provide a fitting crown. This is Bacharach, land of fairy tales, covered with legends and sagas."

The crown jewel of Bacharach is it's towering castle on a hill overlooking the mighty Rhine river. We've visited this castle or Burg many times before. We liked it so much that it seems we've dragged all of our visitors to the place over the last three years. To be honest, we've been there so many times that it was starting to get boring. Staying overnight, however, provided us with a completely unique experience.

The best part about all of this was the price. Our whole family stayed at the castle (w/private room/shower/breakfast) for only 42 euro or around 55 bucks. This place is the best kept secret in Europe! Now if only we could find such deals in Rome or Paris. Here are some of the highlights:

Spring Flowers and our Desert RoseJen and I leaving...reluctantly...our castle for the dayLuke Loves His Ice Cream (just like his dad)

All of us the next day sopping wet and exploring St Goar's Burg Rheinfels

Car Free Day on the Mosel River

If I could bring just one custom to the US from Germany, it would have to be the Car free days. Dig this: A county would shut down its main highway (like Foothill or Sepulveda Blvd in LA) to cars and encourage the locals to take over on bikes. What a concept! We've done a few of these and had a blast each time! Not only is it a great workout, it's also a great cultural experience and a good excuse to rub elbows with your neighbors.

Zell Mural

Banks of the Mosel River right before Zell

Last weekend we headed up to the Wine village of Zell. This picturesque village is the home to the famed Schwartze Katze (Black Cat) wine. The stuff is also known as the nectar of the GODS! It's great! Anyhow, we ditched the car and strapped in the kids and took off on a pair of wheels. Factor in favorable weather and a stunning route down the river and we had ourselves quite the outing.

Taking a wine break during the trek (only 3 KM into it)

Wasn't all cool and the gang, however. Luke melted down after a few clicks down the road. Rather than struggle on, we decided to pull off, find a wine tent, and let the kids run wild. Turned out for the best. We weren't going very far regardless.

Kids Say the Darndest Things: Travel Edition

We've logged many a mile lately between the trip to Torino, Bruges, Switzerland, etc. This usually means mom and dad go nuts while the kids go crazy. Not fun. Luckily Julia and Luke are turning into pretty funny kiddos.

To pass the 2.5 hour trip back from Torino, Italy, Julia and I played a game called the Zoo Game. The idea was based upon a video game that we play where one builds an amusement park from the ground up. However, since we were in the car we had to rely on our imagination to play the game.

After getting past the easy questions (i.e. What kinda animals will your zoo have?), I asked Julia if she wanted to hire members of our family to work at the zoo. Here's the breakdown:

Jen: Decorator
Me: Animal doctor (not to be confused with veterinarian)
Tia Nena: Train driver
Uncle Daniel: Wore a costume and made the kids laugh
Funny uncle John and uncle Nick: In charge of the beer tent and making more kids laugh
Grandma Lauretta: Julia's personal assistant
Grandma Beth: Tour guide
Uncle Nick Baldwin: Stroller rental attendant
Aunt Kathryn: Accountant and Financial Consultant (quit after Julia let too many people in for free)
Grandpa Gary: Security, Fix it man, and Custodial Engineer
Luke: Security (according to Julia, Luke was the "heavy" and carried a weapon to be used to shoot the ugly people who tried to get into the park. Jen and i were laughing too hard to correct her)
Grandpa Dan: Helped people who had problems (the "fixer")
Auntie Mandi: Taught kids about the animals
Aunt Ashley: Ticket Taker
and last but not least, Julia: CEO

What the last three years have meant

A long time ago I promised I would keep this blog focused on travel. For the most part, I've kept my promise. I really could care less about everyone else's politics, religion, job, etc. and I am pretty sure most feel the same way about my views. But then I came across the following article in a German magazine called Der Speigel and I believe it does a good job explaining what my job is all about. Here's a short excerpt:

"He arrives in the form of a broken man, a body almost completely covered in gauze bandages, darkened in spots, and connected to various machines -- he is unconscious. The chaplain at the head of the welcoming committee personally greets the new arrival, just as every new arrival at Landstuhl is greeted personally, whether he is awake, asleep or in a coma. The priest stands next to the stretcher and leans in toward the patient, almost as if he were bowing, and, addressing him by his first name: Michael, he says, "you are safe now. You're in Germany."

Take a look at the full article at the following link: http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,471654,00.html

The 13th of May marks three years for me in Germany. In these three years I've done a lot of traveling and had a blast in the process. However, it will be the job that I did during this time that I will remember the most.

Do You Fondue? Spring in Switzerland

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Made another "run for the border" last week and we're wiped out. Soooo, commentary to follow but just pix for now. --Greg

Hitting the Tulip Trail

As anybody who travels with kids will tell you, it's really hard to please everybody. Rarely do we find a place that really satisfies both kids and the parents. The tulip gardens at Keukenhof, Holland was one of those places that did just that. Keukenhof is the world's largest tulip garden boasting no less than seven million of these flowers. But it's not just flowers; it had a little something for everyone. While mom and dad were enjoying the endless views of tulips, dafodils, and blue bonnets, the kids were busy petting baby sheep, playing in the fountains, or climbing up an authentic Dutch windmill. Oh yeah, it helped that the sun was shining and the mercury was well into the seventies. Take a look!

Old Glory: This year's theme was New York

Our grown up little girl. Julia had her sniffer going all day long.

Luke making a new friend

Julia showing Luke how it's done

Jen and Luke were tempted to hitch a ride with this guy

Smoke and Mirrors

Everytime we travel somewhere we've already visited, we try to make a point of seeing something different. This time we decided to visit the quaint Dutch town of Delft. Some will know the name from the famous blue and white pottery that put this town on the map. For us, however, it was the cute and unspoiled town that was the big draw, not the pottery. Delft is very much like Amsterdam in terms of bridges, narrow streets, and canals. Unlike Amsterdam, Delft isn't overrun with lame tourist shops peddling pictures of prostitutes or tee shirts depicting cartoons of "must try" reefer. No crass commercialism there. Just a really pretty town. See for yourself:

Luke, unbeknownst to us, must be a celebrity in Asia. Everytime we encountered a flock of Chinese tourists, they always got a huge smile and politely asked to take his picture. Jen and I get a big kick of of this every time. We ran into this a couple years ago here in Holland while traveling with my in-laws. Grandma Lauretta nearly needed a hyperventilation bag after laughing so hard when a group asked to take their picture with Julia. Good stuff!

HAPPY EASTER!

Scenes of Spring

We've been pretty busy lining up our move to San Antonio these days. When were not planning the move, we've been loving this incredible spring weather. Due to some meteorological anomaly, we've enjoyed some great weather in the past week or so. After one of the longest and coldest winters on record in Germany, mid-sixties feels FANTASTIC! It reminds me of the "Springtime for Hitler" scene from the Producers.

Here are some of pix of our gang enjoying the sun:

Gardener Luke tending to his tulips

Farmer boy Luke lost in the balls

Volkmarching in Rodenbach's Skulpturepark. We've done this village's walk three years in a row!

Our kids with their good friends at the Stuttgart Wilhema Zoo

COMING SOON: Best of Europe Awards

As seen in Conde Nast and National Geographic!

"Distinguished critics Greg and Jennifer Baldwin rate the best and worst of Europe. These Europhiles do not pull their punches as they sort through the good, bad, and ugly of the European continent. Guest critic Julia Baldwin scheduled to participate (subject to change depending on the mood of this discerning critic)"

Slàinte! Guiness and Summer Found in Co Kerry, Ireland

Talk about the luck of the Irish. Last year in Dublin we just happened to stumble upon a rare weekend of sunshine. Oh yeah, it was the middle of summer and the Irish were complaining they hadn't had a sunny day all year until that very weekend. Fast forward a year or so and we find ourselves in a very sunny yet again. This time it was for Saint Paddy's Week. Strangly enough it felt like summer to us who live in Germany. It felt great!!!

The bright, warm sunshine we encountered as we stepped off our Ryan Air flight was definitely a sign of things to come. In retrospect, this was one of the best trips we've taken since we've been stationed here. It's impossible to cover everything but easily the best thing about Ireland is the very friendly people. Ireland is aptly named the land of a thousand welcomes and we discovered why when we checked into our B&B. Our host, Michael and Barbara, were extremely welcoming and kind. Rather than customers at a non descript hotel, we were treated like family. They even kidnapped me one night and took me out to a local pub for a few rounds of Guiness.

One of the biggest surprises was the food. The bread over there was simply delicious and the soup was amazing. Also, I was never a big fan of Guiness until this trip. They always say that the stuff tastes differently in Ireland and they're right. Part of the problem was that there is a technique to drinking this "blonde in a black dress". The trick is to wait a few minutes after the pour to let the drink settle. A local helped me out and said that drinking it too quick is like "heresy around here". Good tip.

Finally we got a chance to rub elbows with the locals at a pub called "Danny Mann's" in Killarney. There we watched the Irish rugby team win the "Grand Slam" for the first time in 61 years. Talk about Irish Pride! These guys went nuts everytime their boys stuck it to the Welsh. Even though we didn't really understand the nuances of the game, we got the gist of it and had an absolute blast.

Until later, Slàinte "Slan-juh" (cheers!)

Cute sign at the Ladies View, Killarney Natl ParkDingle (an Deingan) HarborA Couple Cute Irish Ladies in DingleWindy Ventry Strand, Dingle Peninsula

"Jaunting Car" on the way to Muckross House outside of Killarney

Celtic Milestone Marker outside of our B&BThe White, Orange, and Green overlooking Dingle Harbor

Torc Waterfall, Killarney Nat'l Park

Luke eyeing my Guiness at Danny Mann's Pub in downtown Killarney

Navy Days Revisited

Nearly a year has passed since my cruise on the USS Mt Whitney. Time has really flown by! Don't get me wrong, I am in no hurry to board another warship for a long time...the memories are plenty! A friend of mine, Maj Claudia Eid (centered), shared her pix with me and fortunately they're a lot better than the ones I took. Check it out--

Me off the coast of Calabria, Italy (The old Country!)

Officer Stateroom--Six to a room, baby!

Underway Replenishment courtesey of the USS Patuxent

Manning that 50 Cal while transiting the Straights of Messina