Because Mom said so...

Doesn’t everyone’s mother say “if you don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say anything at all?” Well, that’s kind of how I felt last week. With the exception of Thanksgiving day, I wasn’t in a very good mood. I didn’t feel like spreading my sour attitude to anyone else..haha. So, therefore, no new postings. Now that I think back on it though, there were a couple of good things that happened last week.
I spent Thanksgiving day at Henry Kissenger’s house. Okay, he wasn’t there. In fact he hasn’t lived there in years, but he did once! A friend of mine, whom I knew form my time in California, invited my to go with him. The home belongs to his friend, an American who knows how to throw a big Thanksgiving bash. It was great. I ate until I felt sick…and isn’t that what it’s all about? Haha Okay maybe not, but I did eat until I felt sick. It was nice to have somewhere to be on the holiday. It really was a good time and there were some others there who I met previously since I’ve been here.
The day before, Wednesday, we had a mandatory “fun” day. (Notice the word fun is in quotes and not the word mandatory). The event left a lot to be desired, but I was able to reconnect with a couple other people whom I knew from DLI. It’s nice to see familiar faces. I felt a little less alone here.
The rest of the weekend was very low key and I mostly hung around here and did a lot of nothing. I think I needed that after the stressful days before. Yesterday, I went to the service at the post chapel again. The chaplain’s sermons are usually pretty basic (not deep), but the Lord really touched my heart through His word during the service. The scripture reading was from Luke 17 (about the ten lepers). I hadn’t read that in a long time and I was very moved by it.

Well, this week is starting off oddly. I went to PT this morning and they announced that we were having a urinalysis test. Whatever. So, no PT. After peeing in the cup, I went to look at a car to buy. Still haven’t bought one yet…hopefully this week sometime. Stay tuned for that one.

Not much else going on… Miss you all.

A Tale of Two Weekends

This is the tale of two weekends. It is a tale of wonder and adventure, of disappointment and pain. It all started on a cloudy Saturday morning in the tucked away German city of Darmstadt. Awaking from his sleep, a young (cough, cough) soldier, named Phillip, began to plan his weekend. With only a few mundane tasks to weigh down his day, he finished them quickly and then set out for adventure. The city of Frankfurt awaited. It cried out to be explored. But how would the young (hehe) soldier get there? He had no car; in fact, at that time, he didn’t even have a valid driver’s license…not for this new land anyway. Ah, the train! What luck! The strassenbahn (streetcar) stop is only mere steps from his barracks (boo, hiss). The strassenbahn is cheap and goes right to the Hauptbahnhof (main train station). So, with digital camera and rain deterrent (umbrella) in hand, he set out for the Hauptbahnhof, arriving there in less than 20 minutes. It was at the Hauptbahnhof that the first obstacle presented itself. Without knowing how to speak German, how would Phillip buy his train ticket to Frankfurt? AHA!! There are automated ticket machines! A bullet dodged…except that the machines won’t accept a 20 euro bill. Rats! Well, he’ll have to try the ticket counter. Gulp!
As he walks up to the counter, the ticket agent, a thirty something woman, smiled and said something in German. Phillip took a deep breath and politely asked, “sprechen Sie Englisch?” (Do you speak English?) She made a face. He wasn’t sure, but it either meant “Yes, but I don’t want to” or “No.” The third possibility is that is meant “oh great, another stupid American!” Either way, it wasn’t good. Phillip thought an explanation was in order. “I don’t speak German.” A completely unnecessary statement. She rolled her eyes…just a little bit, but he saw it. Hhhmmmm… Phillip decided he better dig deep and try to reproduce the limited German he had learned in his one week in the new land. Um…Ich mochte ein fahrkarte zum Frankfurt? It wasn’t really a question, but that’s how it sounded. He wasn’t sure that he had said it right, but it must have at least been close enough. She smiled again and nodded that she understood he wanted a ticket to Frankfurt. Success! She gave him the ticket and gestured in the direction of the train platforms. He was off. The trains are almost always on time, so no problems there. Arriving in Frankfurt, Phillip lingered in the Hauptbahnhof only long enough to notice how much it resembled the one in Paris.

Like any good soldier, young Phillip had done his map recon, not wanting to get lost in the new city. Having planned on visiting an architectural museum on the south side of the Main river (pronounced “mine,”) he set out for the nearest bridge. The route was simple: cross the bridge and take the first left. Done. Arriving at the modest sized museum, he entered and approached the ticket counter. “Oh great!” Trying to avoid a repeat of the train station incident, he searched the board above the ticket agent’s head in a desperate attempt to locate the word for ticket, knowing this would be a different word than for a train ticket. AHA! Got it! “Um…ein Eintritt, bitte.” This small phrase got him the ticket (that and 6 euros). Just when things were getting simpler, the ticket agent started blabbering on and on in German for what seemed like minutes. She was pointing toward the entrance to the exhibit. He understood a few numbers that she said and that was about it. Um…”danke.” He had no idea what she said.
The museum was nice. Three floors full of photos, models and sketches of different architectural feats in Germany and elsewhere. Six euros well spent.
After that, it was off to the plaza with all the churches. It probably has a better name than that, but for Phillip, that one works just fine. Walking along the river, he arrived in about fifteen minutes, all the while warding off the rain with his folded up umbrella in hand. It’s almost like magic. The walk looked something like this…

The “Plaza with All the Churches” is just what you may have pictured an old German city would look like. It was quite breathtaking.








After the churches, Phillip decided to find Frankfurt’s franchise of his favorite clothing store, Zara. It wasn’t far. Along the way, Phillip found something akin to a farmer’s market in one of the plazas. There were fruit stands and food vendors all around. He couldn’t pass up the Bratwurst vendor. YUM! Fresh off the grill, it was piping hot and deeeee-licious. Two more euros well spent.
Zara was right around the corner. Nice, but nothing really begged to go home with him, so he left. After visiting a few more stores and stopping for something to drink, it was time go home (using that term loosely, folks). Back to the Hauptbahnhof it was. And wonder of wonders, there was a Starbucks in the food court!! He stopped by to grab a hot chocolate for the train ride (sorry Fairfields, but it’s just part of the story). Buying the ticket was a snap. He was off!
Phillip arrived back late enough to call it a full day, but early enough to get a good night’s sleep for Sunday. A young soldier has to get plenty of sleep. (Is the “young” part even plausible anymore?)
Sunday was low key: church at the post chapel, and lunch with some people he met there.
It was a good weekend. Phillip was excited to add a new chapter to his book of adventures the following weekend. Little did he know what awaited him.


This weekend can be summed up by closely examining the items on Phillip’s bed. No lengthy story or explanation needed. Perhaps you can even guess. Take a try. Can you sum up Phillip’s weekend in ten words or less?

Answers

If you haven't played the game yet from my last posting and you'd like to take a stab at it, then don't read this one yet. Below are the answers to the picture game. Good job everyone! Some of you did better than others though. Some of you didn't even try, so that's not too hard to beat! Haha. Okay, cover your eyes if you haven't played yet...

***ANSWERS***

Fancy towel rack - My headboard

Uniform - under the lamp shade on the right side of the picture...just above the beret. It's sort of a greyish blob. Don't forget that the Army is wearing a new uniform now. That's why this one was so tough. Good try though!

The other featured item was the bag of Malted Milk Balls...I don't think anyone got this one. They are next to the computer in the picture.


Bonus Question #1
Okay, here's the deal. There was only ONE thing in the picture that made me want to retake it...at the time. Now, after reading some of your answers there are more things that bother me....thanks a lump!! Haha. The answer, however, was the folded-under corner of the sheet and blanket on the bed (Two points Angela, you were the first to get this one. Kudos to Tim and Janet too).

Bonus Question #2
I think Ralph came the closest on this one (just one point though, due to lack of specificity) The answer is clear trash bags..talk about class!

Again, good job everyone!

Here in the room...

Well, it's not exactly "home sweet home," but it's a place to sleep and blog.

Here's what they gave me...although the pictures make it look a lot cleaner than it actually was. Believe me, it was disgusting!



Here's what I've done with place....not too much, but it's inhabitable now. The picture will not indicate the elbow grease required to live here. Wanna play a game? Scroll down.



Can you find...

- the fancy towel rack?
- my uniform (not just the beret)? This is a tough one
- the other featured item in this blog?

Bonus question #1
Can you tell me the one thing in this photo that made me almost decide to retake it?
...it's something that bugged me, in fact, I just fixed it.

Bonus quesiton #2
Can you tell me what the fancy curtains are? Haha


Look what I found in the Shoppette today!! Ft. Meade's shoppette didn't even have these!
Go Cambrai-Fritsch Kaserne! (that's the name of this place. "Kaserne" is German for "barracks") Pretty sweet, huh, Dad?



Miss you all

Darmstadt

DARMSTADT
(pronounced “darmshtat”)

Today I went out on the town with the people from my German orientation class. We mostly went to learn the public transit system of the city and how to take trains from Darmstadt to other cities and back without ending up in the wrong place…been there, done that! I once ended up in Toulouse, France when I was trying to go to Barcelona, Spain a few years ago. Eh…what’s a few hours more on the train, right? It’s all part of the adventure.

I had my first German meal today…it was great! Although, anything’s better than the Taco Bell and Burger King I’ve been eating here on base. Haha…I guess I don’t set the bar very high. Anyway, I had roast beef with potatoes and vegetables.

We also stopped by the old city castle which is situated on the city square, called the Luisenplatz.

You can also see one of the downtown streets where some of the shopping area is located.

I’m hoping to go to Frankfurt this weekend, so there will be more pictures on the way if that works out!

Love you all

Hammer Party

My cell phone is now with God...actually, it was Nextel/Sprint. It's probably in cell-phone hell. I had hoped to get this posted earlier, but I was having some trouble with the video and audio not matching up. I still haven't resolved the problem, but I didn't want to wait any longer to post this.
Many of you have heard me talk about the "hammer party" I was planning for my cell phone, lo, these many months. Well, on the eve of my departure to Europe, I fulfilled my heart's long wish of smashing my cell phone into tiny pieces. I know each of you with a cell phone has had that same feeling from time to time. Mine was pretty constant actually. I was, however, able to control myself till the end.
So, in the presence of my family, I took my father's framing hammer and did my worst to the evil which had formerly been my cell phone. When the video ended, I continued the party, aided by my brother Tim. The large piece you see in the video which tried to make a cleavor escape from the horror being wrought upon it, was only temporarily relieved of its doom. Evil will not triumph and the sneaky little cell phone got it in the end...and everywhere else too. Enjoy!

VIDEO LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIdiB3XsPSg

P.S. The final words on the video which get cut off were "that felt good" ...and it did!