We are currently staying on base at the Air Force Inns. The military provides us with short-term housing for 2 weeks then we have to find different temporary housing until we find a a place to live. We will be moving off base this weekend to Weidenhof Palace, which is short-term lease apartments. We have been on the house hunt and narrowed our house search down to a wonderful village called Speicher. It is about 10 minutes from the base. Housing is quite different in Germany. The houses here have no closets at all!! I'm not sure why, but this will pose as a big challenge for Brad and I. The base will give you armoire's to use to hang clothes in and we can get as many as we want. Lord knows I will be getting several. Most houses also do not have a garage or it is detached. All housing is measured in square meters and their kitchens are tiny. Cooking will be a new experience as well since they cook in Celsius. We are waiting on contract details on a house which should be worked out by the end of the week. Fingers crossed. :) We won't be able to move in immediately but should move in by the middle of September. We shipped our household goods a month ago; however, they are not scheduled to arrive here in Germany until the first of October. There is an office on base that will lone us furniture, dishes, and bedroom furniture until ours arrives. The military seems to always have the solutions.
I took my German driving test today and PASSED!! I was super excited. The German's take their driving very seriously here and have several different rules of driving. The autobahn, is like the interstate back at home, except there is no actual speed limit. Cars drive anywhere from 130-150 kilometers; this is about 80-100 mph. This can get a little scary on the autobahn. We bought a GPS-Europe prior to leaving that shows us our speed and we are able to keep a close track. The AFB (air force base) is located about 20-30 minutes from 3 big cities, Bitburg, Wittlich, and Trier; so essentially we are somewhat in the country. This is also quite an adjustment for Brad and I. The roads are quite curvy and tend to make me car sick. I have only seen 1 stoplight around the area without driving to the other towns. Intersections here have "round-a-bouts". They are fun to drive in but don't help with motion sickness. Brad and I also have to get an International Driver's License before we can travel out of Germany; however, you have to wait until you get you permanent driver's license which takes anywhere from 2-4 weeks. So it looks like we will be traveling Germany for the next month!! This is a view from one of the roads that we travel along. This is what our view normally is along all the roads in our area.
Speaking of motion sickness, my "morning sickness" or "all-day sickness" has pretty much passed since I started my second trimester, thank goodness. Baby Dvorak is doing well and growing like a weed. We had a small scare shortly after we arrive and got to experience the German hospitals. Everything checked out ok and we had a good experience at the hospital. They have PLO's at all the hospitals, or patient liason officers. They are wonderful and help you navigate through the hospital and provide translation as needed. It was such a huge relief to have someone help. I now know what it feels like to be on the other side, where there is a language barrier.
Will keep everyone updated as more adventures come along.
Congrats on the move. My DIL and son had their first baby on the economy in Germany. I will be interested to hear what you think about it compared to here. DIL says they are definitely more civilized in their care over there. Vickie
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