On the 2nd Day of Christmas...

...their luggage never came! Can you believe it? I've just got to put a plug in for every airline except British Airways. While each individual person has been nice, the airline as a whole is not functioning. Now their luggage is with an independent delivery company who they don't have a phone number for. How ridiculous!
We went to the KMCC yesterday to meet Jer for lunch and buy some clothing essentials. Jer got off work early, so he was able to come on our day trip with us to Weisbaden.
Before writing about our trip, first I want to write about a little history on my family. My Dad joined the Air Force shortly after my parents were married. He graduated from BYU, went off to boot camp and training, then his first assignment was in Weisbaden, Germany. My mom had studied German in college, even choosing it as her major, so this was a wonderful opportunity for her. After a year of marriage, they added Julie to their family. Julie was born in Weisbaden. This is the reason for our family's interest in Germany and the German language in school.
My parents and Julie moved back to the States when Julie was still very young. This trip to Germany is her first time to see where she was born, the house she lived in, the city they lived in, etc. It is very exciting!
Weisbaden is about an hour's drive away from here. If we lived in the States, it would take longer, but we have the high speed autobahn! Driving a steady 90-100 mph feels quite normal now.
Our first destination was the address to the house where Mom, Dad and Julie used to live. It was upstairs, and the owners lived downstairs. That is still very common here. We parked the car and got some pictures of the street sign, then walked down to the house. I took an email I'd printed out from my mom with contact information.
We found the house. There was a lot of construction. A man walked out the door and I asked him about the house. He didn't live there, but went back in to get the owner. She came out to talk to me. She was so nice!
I explained why we were there. I told her the contact name my mom had given me. She knew the name. She said the previous tenants moved and that she had lived across the street for 20 years and finally bought the place. They tore down the old building and rebuilt. Even the address number changed from 19 to 11. She said it apologetically as she knew it would be a little sad for us. I asked her about the hospital where Julie was born. At the time, it was an American military hospital, but later it became a German hospital. She said that hospital was also torn down and no longer existed. She was so patient and kind. She had a lot of good information for us.
It is a little sad these things aren't still around. After about 35 years, we can't expect everything to be the same. But, we took pictures of the neighborhood, watched people walking their babies in buggies down the sidewalk and imagined our cute, young Mom doing the same thing. We really missed our parents and wished they could have been there with us.
When we left the neighborhood, we went into the city. We know Mom and Dad will recognize the big church! We also tried to take various pictures from the car of the city so they could try to recognize other parts.
This is the biggest Christmas market we have attended yet! Over 100 booths. Each booth had a number. I think the highest number I saw (I wasn't really paying attention) was in the 130's. It was beautifully decorated too. Maybe it was because it was the magical land of Weisbaden, and maybe add also that my sisters were there with us, but it was definitely the best Christmas Market in Germany!
Oh, so many booths! So many things I didn't even know existed! Such cool things! We found these weird hand-only gloves, so we manipulated the hand to say, "I love you," in ASL.
We ate there. The girls got baguette bread with garlic and cheese and tomatoes (only on mine and Emily's). Jer got a platter with different things: jo jos (fat fries), french fries, chicken nuggets, and some other stuff. They put 3 or 4 different dipping sauces on there. One of them was a fruity sauce. We all tried it and agreed we would have never thought to do it, but it went perfectly with the dish and tasted really good!
Then we got dessert. YUM! Deciding to stick with a daily serving of fruit, we went to the fruit stand. Jer got a white chocolate covered pear with a candy elephant, Julie ate the candy elephant, I had milk chocolate covered grapes and Emily got milk chocolate covered pineapple. So delicious!
We enjoyed the market. It was so fun to be with my sisters and say, "Look at this!" and, "Come, look how cute!" It was cool to be excited with them. I just really love my sisters and loved the entire evening.
As we were on our last stretch of booths heading back to the car, there was a boy choir singing on the stage. They were really good and it really added to the festive atmosphere. The church bells also chimed loudly and beautifully, making the perfect ending to a wonderful evening.

On the 1st day of Christmas...

...my sisters finally came!!! I cannot go into it--mostly because I'm sick of the story and hate thinking about the extreme disappointment, but after many delays, Julie and Emily arrived! I was waiting at this gate for about 25 minutes. I was so excited I couldn't stand still. I bit my lip to keep from crying. When my emotions are really heightened I cry. No matter the emotion. I just couldn't stand waiting any longer. I started pacing.
Reason for the delay: check out the picture from outside my window. There was 3 times that much snow on the East Coast. The US and Europe snow storms combined to make them a day late in arriving. But they finally made it! Unfortunately, their luggage still hasn't found its way here.
Our first stop was the Frankfurt LDS temple. It was hiding. We couldn't see it until we were about 1/4 mile away. But it is really beautiful and peaceful.
After the temple, we made the 2+ hour drive to Trier. We finally found parking 1/2 a mile away and walked to the Altstadt. We came upon the Porta Nigra (gate to the old city) and the Constantine Basilica from the outside, but went inside the beautiful Cathedral of Trier. In all my travels, I still think this is the most beautiful, ornate church I've been in. Last time I went here it was full of tourists. This time it was quite empty and silent. It was also dark and had minimal lighting. It had a different feel. I liked it better.
We enjoyed the Christmas market. You can never enjoy a Christmas market too much. It was so much fun to be with my sisters looking at all the cool things. I was sad Jer had to work and couldn't be with us too. I've missed my sisters so much I just loved being with them.
We got fruit covered in chocolate. There were so many different kinds of fruit, and then each was dipped in our choice of white, milk or dark chocolate. Julie had mandarin oranges in dark chocolate. Emily had a banana in milk chocolate. I had the strawberries (which were sweet, yummy berries!) in milk chocolate. When I say "dipped" I do not mean there was a tiny layer of crispy chocolate that flakes off at the first bite. No, the chocolate was sufficiently thick and oh, so delicious! I think we must be healthy and eat this kind of fruit every day!
We left after dark and as soon as we got to the car, it started to rain. It didn't sprinkle at all until we opened the car doors. We were so lucky!
We headed to Matt and Christina's house to pick up Christina. It is conveniently on the way back from Trier. Matt and Jer went to pick up Casey (Matt's troop) and meet us at the yummy German restaurant.
Everyone in my family has chosen German for the foreign language in school. Besides me and my parents, nobody else has had the opportunity to come to Germany to use it. It was fun to see Emily get flustered trying to remember German words. After Christina ordered, Emily ordered by saying, "Same." It was really funny! Julie took German in college too, so has had more experience with the language. She was excited to speak German and ordered in German. She did learn some new words and learned about how the local dialect is different from what she learned in school.
It is so fun to see Julie and Emily enjoy the German culture and cuisine!
By the end of the night, we were all exhausted. I slept really hard last night and woke up almost 2 1/2 hours ago. Julie and Emily are still sleeping and it's 9am. :)

Secret Santa

Today we woke up to snow again! It has snowed every day this whole week. Just enough to keep everything but the roads covered in white. This morning the roads and walkways were covered. I, of course, needed to go outside and get a better look. So, I got my coat, gloves and hat and headed out. I didn't make it far because as soon as I opened the door, I noticed this on my doorstep. How cool! Someone Secret Santa'd us! We don't know who it was from. There was no note. But this is what we found inside. It has just set the tone to a wonderful and very cold (currently 10 degrees!) day. Thank you, Secret Santa!

First Snow

On Saturday, Matt, Christina and I drove up to Heidelberg. (Jer didn't go because he was sick). It is so beautiful at night. And the pedestrian-only streets were decked with Christmas lights, trees, foods, and people. We parked on the opposite side of the Neckar River and walked across the Old Bridge. There were tiny snow flurries as we walked bundled with gloves, scarves, hats, and coats. I stopped to get a picture of the castle. I didn't notice the metal loop in front of my camera until after I took the picture. But it was much colder standing above the water, so I decided I didn't care and started moving again.
We made it home safely, built a fire, and the four of us (Jer included now) watched Jeff Dunham's Christmas Special. He is so funny! We sat around eating Rice Krispie treats, drinking hot chocolate and laughing. We went to bed late: 1:00am. It was a great day.
When going to bed late on a weekend, it's almost always a sure bet we will wake up late too. When I got up it was very bright, so I opened the window (yes, the window you can't see through) to see outside.
SNOW!
I LOVE the snow!
I walked for about an hour around the neighborhood. I took many pictures. I love peaceful snow scenes. They are just so calming to look at whether a picture, painting or real life.
While I was out, a car passed by me really slowly. People inside were waving at me. They were my German neighbors! I really like my neighbors. I think they may have caught me enjoying the taste of a snowflake. I'm sure the smile on my face remained that entire hour I was outside!
It snowed all day except for about an hour when the sky opened up to show off its beautiful blue hue. It started snowing again after that.
I hope I never get too old to feel excitement about waking up to a blanket of snow. I hope I am never too old to bundle up and go outside to play in it. I hope I never lose the childlike enthusiasm of catching a snowflake on my tongue. I hope I never tire of its soft, white beauty.

Holiday Party

Tonight we went to a party. It was held off base for Jer's squadron. I usually enjoy these parties because I get to see people from Jer's work outside the workplace. The people he works with here are so great. It is such a better group here. It feels more like a work family than work people you want to avoid during non-work hours.
We had professional pictures taken when we first arrived--before we even went into the banquet hall. I think we'll get them back next week.
We sat next to one of the girls Jer works with. I went to a Pampered Chef party with her a couple of months ago. She is really nice. We ate dinner and enjoyed the company at the table. Then the fun began!
There are always raffles at these work Christmas parties. We sit in anticipation waiting for our ticket number to be called. It never happens. We are not the type of people who win things. It's just not in the stars for us, I guess.
Tonight that all changed!
The MC called our names! Now, there were about 130-150 people at the party tonight. It was very unlikely one of us would be called to play a raffle game. But, not only did he call Jer's name, he called my name right after that. I was confused. They kept telling me to go up on stage, but I thought they messed up. Really? Could they have really drawn both of our names one right after the other? I'm no mathematician, but I am sure the odds of that happening are many thousands to one. If someone wants to figure out the odds for me, be my guest. It might be interesting to know.
Anyway, we went up on stage to play Plinko. Jer went first and won a coupon book for different services around the bases; for example, one free bowling game and shoe rental, free chips and dip when ordering an entree at such-and-such restaurant, etc. It's not the best prize to win, but he won!
My turn. At first it landed on the IPod. Then it bounced out into the Casual Monday slot. Nobody else's ball bounced out once it hit the bottom. It was really weird. Since I'm a civilian, I get to wear casual clothes every Monday anyway, so they took that prize off and replaced it with another, then let me play again. I won a $20 AAFES (BX) gift card! Cool! Then Michelle, the girl I was sitting next to, won some cool prizes and gave me her workout video I was eying. I'm a winner!
I'm so excited we won stuff! Maybe the planets were aligned just right tonight. Our birthdays are only 2 days apart, so it HAS to have something to do with being Leos, right? :)
There were many other games played. At some point 3 guys had to dress up like Santa, an elf, and Mrs. Claus in a sexy gown with knee highs. It was so funny. This is also a tradition at each party we've been to. The guys are good sports and everyone enjoys a laugh as they come back from dressing and get on stage and dance.
When the party was over, we hung around near the door for a while to make sure nobody needed a DD. We were there an extra hour and during that time, Santa came by. I got my picture taken with him. I sure hope Santa brings me something nice this year. I've been extra good! :)
We ended up driving someone home. Jer drove her in her car, then I followed in ours. I am truly an advocate of not drinking and driving. Arrive alive!
It was so fun to meet new people. We won some prizes, we ate really good German food and thoroughly enjoyed our evening out together.

Kaiserslautern Christmas Market

Jer was able to get off early the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. We decided that sitting around the rest of the day would be pretty boring, so we ventured out to the Kaiserslautern Christmas market. I left my camera right here near the computer, but thankfully Jer has a camera on his cell phone. So, sorry these pictures aren't the best quality, and some I couldn't get without a flash (the pictures of us did not turn out at all), but at least I have some.
We were quite impressed with the K-Town Christmas market. The first one we went to (see previous post) was SO small, when we got to this one we were there for a couple of hours! There are MANY food and drink booths at these markets. More than I would have expected.
There is something called Glühwein that is very popular during this time of year. It is a hot, mulled, red wine with spices in it. At one booth, they sold Kinderglühwein (for kids, aka, without alcohol). Jer ordered that and I got a steamed milk with honey. Both drinks were really yummy. Something that is different in Germany (and has held true at all the Christmas markets we've visited so far) is that any time you order a drink, it's given to you in a real mug. You have to pay a deposit (around €2) for the mug and you get the money back when you turn it in. They are very environmentally friendly here (well, except for the fact that nearly everyone smokes, but I'll save that for another post).
They had live music too. There is a program with different musicians performing each day. One of the days the American schools were going to perform. I think we missed it.
It was a beautifully decorated Christmas market. We have not been impressed with the town to this point (too busy, higher petty crimes, and you must have a GPS to navigate to anything there), but their Christmas market has redeemed itself.
It only started to rain the last 10 minutes we were there. On our way back to the car, we stopped at a yummy confectionary booth and bought a strawberry (flavored) chocolate-covered banana. It was a perfect evening out with Jer.

First Christmas Market

Today I did a lot of yard work. It hasn't been raining for the second day in a row, so I needed to take advantage of it. My German neighbor across the street saw me and came over to talk and even helped me for a little bit. She is so nice. Later, when I was almost done, my German next-door-neighbor also came outside to talk. I feel so lucky to be able to get to know my German neighbors. So many Americans will live here for years and not learn even pleasantries such as, "How are you," " Have a nice day," or "Excuse me." I think they are really missing out on the whole experience of Germany. I love living out in the community. I love our house and our neighborhood. I love living here!
We went to our first Christmas market tonight. It is the first one of the season for this area. We drove to Queidersbach--a tiny little town up the hill, behind Burg Nanstein, through a tunnel, and back down on a narrow, windy road. We found excellent parking and made our way through the little shops, stalls and crowd.
First stop was a sweets shop. We looked at some novelty Christmas hats and ignored the candy, goodies, chocolate and baked goods. Then, at a different shop, Jer got a traditional German food with french fries. We stood at an outdoor table and were soon joined by a man in his 50s and a college-aged student. It is very common here to have tall (yet small in circumference) standing-only tables near an eatery. It is also common to share a table with someone you don't know (even at sit-down tables). We all had great conversation, half in German and half in English. They were the best unknown company we've ever eaten with!
Afterward, we looked at hats. We each bought a new hat with ear muffs that were made in Germany. This was my favorite booth. Such variety and so cute!
We got some hot drinks and talked for a while until the man from the hat shop tapped me on the shoulder and asked me to come help him. He said I speak German very well and he needed help understanding a customer who only spoke English. I was a little taken aback because I know my German isn't perfectly fluent, but I was also willing to help them both. I spent about 10 minutes interpreting for both of them. I feel really humbled that he found me out of the crowd and asked me to help. Yet, it's SO very cool to be able to speak the language well enough that I can communicate.
There was a wonderful trumpet player soloing along to recorded accompaniment. He stood up near the church, above the throngs of people. His music filled the air with Christmas carols and lullabies. Christmas lights adorned the town square and the smells of food wafted out from the shops.
We stopped at the sweets shop again on our way out. This time we bought some goodies! Jer and I each got some gingerbread. It was so good! It was definitely made with real ginger--not artificial flavoring. It tasted like German baked goods--oh so yummy!
Our first Christmas market was fabulous! It was quite small, but very festive and very fun.

30 Thankful Days in Photos: Day 30

It's finally here. The day that has been both dreaded and welcome. I'm a little surprised that I made it, but also not surprised at all. You see, when I set my mind to do something, it usually gets done. I'm just stubborn that way.
There are many things that I thought of to blog about, but they just didn't make it into a post. Some things didn't make it because I couldn't think of anything more elaborate than, "I'm thankful for _____." Others didn't make it because I wouldn't have been able to have a new, accompanying picture. This is the case with my family members. Still, there are some things that I've realized I'm thankful for that propelled me to feel a deep gratitude in my heart, where it remains a wonderful, personal reminder that my life is good and I am blessed.
When I set out to blog with accompanying pictures for 30 days straight about things I'm thankful for, my goal was to make it the entire 30 days. I didn't have any lofty goals or grandiose, nirvana-like ideas. I did assume, however, that this challenge would be good for myself by helping me recognize things I'm thankful for that I hadn't recognized before or forgot about. I thought it might lead me be a more positive person. And that it has.
All-in-all, blogging about being thankful has been good for my soul. I took on my younger brother's (Matthew) challenge to "be more thankful more often" in a way that would help be actually feel thankful more often, not just be thankful.
So today, I want to express my thankfulness for the wisdom of a 20-year-old man who compelled me to be thankful. The entire experience has been uplifting and good. It has been the perfect preface to a season where there is a holiday to remind me to be grateful. This blog has been the ideal avenue for me to evolve into a person I want to be more like: my little brother.

30 Thankful Days in Photos: Day 29

Jer was happy to help me out with my post today when I told him what it would be about.
Today I am thankful for turkey and chicken!
I don't eat beef (or any red meat) or pork. I haven't eaten these things for 15 years. It started when I got sick as a teenager and found out the hard way that every time I ate beef or pork I would get sick. Not just nauseated, but very ill. I've ended up in the hospital after being served pork even though I told the waitress I couldn't tolerate it.
The meat in my diet consists of poultry and seafood (I LOVE shrimp!). People who are new to learning this about me ask me if I crave a hamburger or steak or other such grossness. I never crave these things. I think all kinds of beef look gross, and I can't stand the smell of it cooking. It smells like rotton meat. Pork, on the other hand, sometimes looks good. I just can't eat it.
Instead, I eat turkey or chicken alternatives. They are almost always healthier, less greasy, and does not sacrifice taste. Just to give an idea, here are some things that can be found in turkey or chicken form: hot dogs, burgers, bacon, ham, steak, jerky, chili, ground meat, pepperoni, roast, bologna and other lunch meat... The list goes on and on. I can make almost any recipe and use chicken or turkey products instead of beef and pork. My diet is not limited like people might think at first.
My diet is limited, however, when we go out to eat. I must make sure what I'm ordering is edible. Germans eat a lot of pork. I mean, a LOT! They eat more pork than any other meat, I think. Beef is a close second. I have learned to read the German menus and even ask if they serve a chicken alternative. This is how I found out that I love Putenschnitzel (turkey schnitzel)! My other favorite food in Germany: döner kebap. It is most common in Germany to have pork or lamb döner, but because of the high military influence in this area, many restaurants cater to the American palat and most serve a combo of chicken and turkey.
Tonight we went out to eat at my favorite döner kebap restaurant. I love the owner. He recognizes me when I come in. He will always speak German to me at a pace I can keep up with. Tonight we were really lucky to be the sole customers: it's really dark, rainy, and cold--I'm sure that's why nobody else was there. I explained in German that I do a blog post and I would like to take pictures of his food and restaurant because it is unique. (It also serves turkey/chicken döner). It's not commonly found in the States. He obliged. Such a nice guy! We had more conversation about where I'm from in the US, and how the city there is. I will definitely be taking my sisters here when they come for Christmas!
Because of my diet, I was a little worried about moving here. I didn't know how well the commissary would be stocked with the meats I like to use. And I had a feeling, which turned out to be correct, that I wouldn't be able to find such items in a German market. But the only thing I haven't been able to find here is turkey ham.
So, today I'm not only thankful for chicken and turkey, but I'm also thankful that because I can't digest beef or pork, I eat leaner meats. I feel healthier for that.

30 Thankful Days in Photos: Day 28

We had a fun weekend with Evan and family here. After we went exploring in Landstuhl, out to lunch, then back home, they packed up and headed out. I have enjoyed the extra company. It made our weekend less monotonous.
After they left I started cleaning. I do this any time any guests ever come to stay--especially when that includes kids. I did it at our old house in Virginia too. I know the house is bound to be a bit messier with anyone extra staying. It's just the way it is, I expect it, and enjoy the time with extra people.
I deep cleaned for three hours straight today. That wasn't just the guest bedrooms and bathroom (and laundry), but also my bathroom, the powder room (1/2 bath), kitchen, living room, dining room, couches, stairwell, and wiping down all the surfaces, doorhandles and light switches that needed it anyway.
Now I can sit down and relax. It feels good to be in my nice, clean house. I am really thankful for a clean house. It's much easier to feel comfortable and at ease after I've cleaned.

30 Thankful Days in Photos: Day 27

It's so cold today! We went with Evan and family up to Burg Nanstein in Landstuhl this afternoon. It wasn't raining but had been all morning, so it was very wet and cold. The drive was so beautiful.
Today I'm thankful for castles. They are always situated on top of a mountain. They provide the best views and have such lush foliage. Last time we went to Burg Nanstein we'd been in Germany for only 3 days. It's much different in the fall than it is in the spring. I thought it was so beautiful here when we first came. And it was. Now it's different but still beautiful!

Each castle we go to is different. Some offer tours, others are only ruins, and some still are very ornate and gaudy. Each is unique. I never get tired of exploring and imagining what life used to be like living in a castle.

30 Thankful Days in Photos: Day 26

Today was awesome! When we moved here, we left a lot of really good, close friends behind. We've been really fortunate to have good friends wherever we've lived.
Back in March we went on a ski trip for a week to Maine. We went with some of our friends, including Brian and Amanda. We also stayed with them for a month after we sold our house and before we left for Germany. I miss our friends from VA.
Many of them have been deployed these last 6 months. I've emailed them asking if they would happen to be coming through Ramstein on their way back to VA. We found out yesterday that Brian was coming through today. (The dates and times of planes leaving the desert are secret, so he had to send Jer the information through a secure computer on base).
Brian (left) and his friend had a 2 1/2 hour layover, so we took them to the KMCC to eat. We also went to the cute pub because they wanted to try some German beer.
It was just so fun to see him and talk again after all these months!
My other friend from WA (stationed with the Army) is in eastern Germany. He and his family came this afternoon to spend the weekend with us. They are also good friends who I really love. (Remember my post a couple of weeks ago about a different type of family in Germany? They are part of that).
It's been a really great day. Today I'm thankful of where I live in Germany. We live at the hub for much of the desert travel. Ramstein is a major base here. Many people from all over Germany will travel to Ramstein on the weekends to shop. I hope, because we live here, we will be able to see many of our old friends coming through from deployments. This is a great place to be.