It is 5:38 Tuesday, Oct 4 local German time as I write this, but 10:38pm Monday, Oct 3, back home in Tennessee. My body’s internal clock thinks it’s still on West Tennessee time. I’ve been awake since 3:10am here… Oy vey!

It’s been an exhausting but exciting past couple of days. We left Gatlinburg Sunday morning and drove 9 hours or so to Baltimore Washington International Airport in Maryland, arriving in time to signup for a Space-A flight for Ramstein set to leave at 2am Monday morning. After hours of waiting – that story can be found at Family Vacay: Part 2 – we were told everyone wanting to go was able to catch the flight to Ramstein AB. The most amazing thing? The cost! A total of $39.40 – $19.20 EACH to fly to Germany on a civilian aircraft run by Atlas Air.

We did have a delay on the plane for 30 minutes or so while we waited for a military soldier who was still at his hotel, I’m assuming checking out. It was incredible that they held the plane for him. The aircraft was a Boeing 767-300 with 36 rows of seven seats. A good size plane. Soldiers, families, retirees, contractors, and pets all caught the flight. We had to wear masks the entire time on the plane and when we touched down at the base terminal. It’s still a requirement for AMC commands, but that and the numerous crying infants and toddlers were still minor inconveniences when considering the major perk I was allowed to experience!

This flight was better than most lately that I’ve been on in country. More legroom, comfortable seating, and a pillow and blanket were waiting for me in my assigned seat, which was wonderful to see because guess who left her jacket in the car at BWI! I sense purchasing a new jacket in the next day or so because Germany is a bit cool at night!

We take off about 3am or so, the pilot telling us we’ll have a 6 1/2 hour flight to Germany. After all the pre-flight instructions are done and the cabin goes black, the hubby and I try to sleep. About 90 minutes later, we’re awakened when they begin serving breakfast. It was incredible! We had a choice of pancakes or omelet. I chose the pancakes and they were delicious and HOT! Two rolled-up pancakes with blueberry filling, two sausage links, a container of applesauce, a container of blueberry yogurt, a blueberry muffin, and a beverage – and they even had tomato juice! It was a great meal and afterward, the cabin dims again and we head back to sleep.

We were awakened again about two hours or so before landing. My watch had switched to match the current time zone and was showing it was about 3:30pm. We’re given a hot washcloth to freshen up and then served a “snack” choice of roast beef or turkey sandwich on a french roll and a soft chocolate cookie and beverage.

The entire flight was wonderful, even with the non-stop crying toddler sitting directly across from us. It was reminiscent of the flights I took as a child flying British Airways back and forth to Bermuda when flying was actually a special event.

And all for $39.40!

Steven was dying for a smoke and none of the young soldiers I asked for a light had a lighter on them. I mentioned the Army not allowing smoking anymore when it dawned on me they came off the same flight and wouldn’t have a lighter on them either! The brain fog was real! We walked across the street to the Air Force hotel to see about a room but they were charging $141 for a night, which seemed ridiculous for a military hotel, so we decided to go out into the local community to stay. We headed back to across the street to catch a cab whenI realized I only had American money and would probably need Euros for cab fare. Steven is still wanting a smoke and those of you who live with smokers know how important it is they get one for OUR sanity. We spot a young lady smoking and ask her for a light… and now he’s happy. I tell him he’d better light the next one before the first goes out. As retirees and not stationed in Germany, we can’t buy anything from the Base exchange because of the Status of Armed Forces Agreement (SOFA) and so I head back into the airport to see if the USO has matches. The volunteer tells me she doesn’t but then remembers they have birthday candles and they may have some with them. She manages to find the box of candles and offers me a box of matches with a few left in it. She apologizes that it’s not a lot but I thank her, telling her it’s enough until he buys a light on the economy.

With that mini-crisis fixed, I walk over to a bunch of cars with American civilians standing outside them thinking they’re taxis. They are not but direct me back across the street to the hotel and tell me the taxis will be outside the food court. Food court? All I saw was a hotel lobby I tell them. Go up to the second floor they tell me. OMG! The second floor is another world! Had they not told me to go upstairs, I never would have know… there’s no sign in the hotel lobby mentioning the treasures of the floor above them. It’s a mall! The base exchange is on the second floor and it’s an Air Force one, so those who served will understand the significance. The Air Force is first in taking care of its people. Car rentals, American and international shops, an American food court, even a Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts, the most amazing Halloween shop with “I NEED THEM” animatronics!…. and I can’t buy a thing except from the food court.

I found an ATM and withdraw local currency. Surprisingly, the dollar is worth slightly more than the Euro at the moment which is a good thing. We don’t want American food so we go outside to look for a taxi. I spot a mini donut food truck run by a Turkish man with machinery made in Minneapolis. I order a half dozen for 2,40euros, they are made as I waited and they are PERFECT!

We run into a couple from our flight and start talking to them. The gentleman is retired Navy and they tell us they are waiting on “Mo” to pick them up to take them to the Hotel Europa. I ask if there’s room would they mind sharing their cab and we’ll ask for a room there as well. They don’t mind and we head off with them when Mo finally shows up. I think he may be Turkish too, he’s not in any hurry and he’s a fan of American rock as he is listening to Lynard Skynard when we get in the car. An American lady calls him and he has the call on speaker. She tells him she has to be at the airport at 4:30am for a flight and can she make a reservation for him to pick her up. Nope, he says. He doesn’t start until 5:30am and tells her to make a reservation for then. Click. During the ride, I ask our fellow travelers if they were visiting anything special or just winging it. The husband says his wife’s family is originally from here and she wants to find their towns because she “does all that Ancestry stuff!”

“OMGosh! So do I” I squeal, to which the husband, laughs, “NO! Please just stop! Don’t encourage her!” Steven laughs too and tells him he feels his pain.

Mo quickly takes us to the Hotel Europa which is in Landstuhl, just a few minutes from Ramstein. It’s a nice little hotel, more modern on the outside than German but the young man was very friendly and did have a room for us for two nights. Ninety-five Euros a night and breakfast is included for an additional five Euros. The other couple is older than we are and the wife walks with a cane and with some difficulty. They are given a room on the second floor as the clerk apologizes saying the elevator doesn’t work, and we are given one on the bottom. I ask if they’d like to switch rooms so it’s easier for her to get to and the clerk said both the rooms were the same and it was okay with him, so we switch.

The room is small according to American standards but has everything we need. There is a learning curve trying to figure out how everything works. The light switches we learned, don’t work unless the room key is placed in a slot by the door that activates the electricity for the room. There are two switches in the bathroom I’ve yet to figure out what they go to. The toilet has a handle that says “start” and “stop.” Steven comes out and says I can’t figure out how to flush the toilet. After examination, we learned you press start, and when it appears to have emptied the commode, you press stop. Very interesting for sure. There’s a comfortable king-sized bed but the blankets are a bit strange. Instead of one comforter for the entire bed, there are two single-sized comforters or duvets. There are plugs everywhere, but thank goodness I remembered to pack my European plug converter! We’ve only found German TV shows, so it’s staying off.

It’s dinner time and we run into our fellow travelers again. They are ordering in but it’s all American-style food so we decided to find something local. Turns out it’s not so local. It’s Greek. Metaxa Greek Restaurant. Four courses of an absolutely delicious meal. I ordered a steak and mushrooms that was simply amazing! I can’t tell you the names of everything I ate, but if you’re visiting the Landstuhl area, you have to try them out!

Back at the hotel, I do a bit of work for the radio station, take a shower, and fall into bed at about 10pm local time. Steven has been sleeping for an hour already, exhausted from my wild schemes already and our vacay is just starting! LOL

Five hours later, I’m wide awake and needing a breathing treatment. I imagine the activities, changing climates, and locations of this past weekend are playing havoc with my lungs. I feel fine just coughing a lot and that gets me stares.

It’s now 7:30am and I may try to sleep a bit since my husband is still snoring. After breakfast, the exploring starts. I hear there’s a German castle somewhere close and a train station. Sounds like a plan… our goal is to work our way down Italy to the towns where Steven’s grandparents were from Artena in the Rome area and Calabria where his grandmother born. I hope to take pictures of the orphanage that his grandmother was left at as a foundling.

Stay tune!