Well here we are in Germany. It's been almost 2 weeks since we said goodbye to our life in the United States. We have been gone a very short time but so much has happened already. If you read my facebook posts you will already know what I'm talking about. For those of you who don't, I will give you a run down.
July 4th-had the most amazing 4th of July get together with our friends in Puyallup. We can't think of any better way to have spent our last full day in the U.S. There was lots of yummy food, laughter, fireworks, tacky outfits and towards the end lots and lots of tears.
July 5th-Off to the airport! We had so much luggage we had to have our awesome friend, Sean, follow us with his vehicle packed as well. 8 luggage bags (well mostly military bags stuffed to full capacity), 4 carry on bags, stroller, car seat and booster seat. Everything we need to survive for the next 2+ months.
---flight straight to Frankfurt, Germany (10 hours). The girls did great! We had the whole middle row to ourselves and they girls were able to watch movies and play games on our Kindle's plus they had touch screens in the headrests in front of us, loaded with movies, music and TV shows. The girls and I have never flown farther then from WA to OH so this was definitely a big change and we got hot meals! Joslyn and I got the gluten free option and I will just say that I'm glad I packed lots of snacks!
July 6th-we are in Frankfurt...HOLY COW I'M IN GERMANY!!! Unfortunately the excitement of being off the plane and into Germany was short lived as culture shock set in. Everything was in German and the employees and passerby's all spoke German. I know, I know that is so obvious but it really was different once we were there and trying to navigate the airport. In the U.S., we know you have to go through TSA lines, no liquids, remove shoes, etc. Well Germany had their own rules and we did not know them! We went through multiple check points for passports and screenings/pat downs. We had to go through a mini TSA type line but you get a full on pat down...or might I say it was like a free grope session for the employees. Now, we were not prepared for that but we also know they are doing their job and we just let it pass.Made me giggle because in the U.S. if that happened, there would be protests and lawyers getting involved saying how our rights are being taken away because we are being violated. I say...grope away Germany, grope away :)
We had 1 1/2 hours to get to our connecting flight, more then enough time to stretch our legs, go potty, etc. Or so we thought. Made it to our gate and Josh went to the restroom and to grab waters. We had about 15-20 minutes to spare. Well the airline announcer started talking (in German of course) and thankfully followed up her message in English...time to get on the bus that takes us to the airplane and passengers with kids need to go first. What? Bus to airplane? Passengers with kids go first? People are already moving through the line. WHERE'S JOSH????? Finally at the very last minute Josh makes it back just taking his sweet time, assuming we have 15 minutes to spare. I'm freaking out, we still have to drop off our car seat, booster and stroller at the gate..but wheres the gate when we are getting on a bus and not a plane? Oh my stress level went through the roof! Finally made it to the airplane and relaxed for our 30 minute flight to Stuttgart.
Once in the Stuttgart airport we were told our stroller, car seat and booster seat would be waiting for us...nope. Thankfully there was a super nice lady who spoke German that was missing her stroller and car seat as well. She was told they would be waiting for us by the baggage claim. Well we waited. And waited. And waited some more. Josh was then told it will take a little bit of time but it will be there. So we waited. And waited and waited some more. Still no car seats or stroller. Finally a guy told us there was no strollers or car seats for any of us :( Josh had to talk with the lost baggage lady and turned out all our stuff we left at "the gate" never left Frankfurt. We also learned in Germany strollers are called buggies and they don't know what a loaner means. As in Josh asked for loaner car seats for the ride to base and she didn't know what loaner meant. So it was just a lot of extra work on our end and their end to fully understand what we were trying to say. We finally got a booster and car seat and all our luggage. 2 of Josh's coworkers were there with a big old van. We all piled in and went to check in at the hotel. I was so excited to shower, unpack and just relax but apparently you can't check into the hotel until 2PM and it was not 2PM...nope not for a few hours. So we drove around and around ultimately making us all very tired, cranky and hungry. Was able to get some food from the Commissary so I could make a GF dinner and to have breakfast in the morning. Finally got checked into the Panzer Hotel and we all did our best to stay awake. But poor Josh got the call that our stroller, car seat and booster was being delivered to the front gate at Panzer. So Josh being the trooper that he is, he grabbed the loaner car and booster seats and walked to the front gate and waited to swap the loaners for ours. Thankfully the front gate isn't far from the hotel but after flying all day and night, it was the last thing he wanted to do.
July 7th-Took the duty bus (buses run from all 4 bases throughout the day so people can go to work, go shopping, school, etc and it's free) to Patch Barracks and did more grocery shopping. Still very hard to function and stay awake as we were still 9 hours behind the actual time! Later in the night Joslyn got sick and was throwing up (this kid rarely ever gets sick like that). She was up most of the night being sick. Finally I just put Kyla in bed with Josh and I stayed up with Joslyn.
July 8th-I finally went to bed in the morning and Josh stayed up with Joslyn who was still throwing up.Took it easy for the rest of the day.
July 9-10- Josh had to start inprocessing so the girls and I just hung around the hotel.
July 11th-We got a babysitter and Josh and I attended a tour of the German hospitals which is highly recommended by the military. I'm so glad we did that...you will know why soon. There are 5 local hospitals that work with our base so they do well at speaking English but here each hospital has specific areas they treat so you need to be aware of which hospital you are going to. Like 1 is for Pediatrics only and 3 are for adults only.
July 12th-After a week of being in a non air conditioned room that was so stuffy and horrible, we were moved! We ended up getting the room for disabled people so it's all hard floors, bigger counters and more space in general. Plus the air conditioner works!
July13th-Had the babysitter scheduled to come over again so Josh and I can could go get our licenses. But we woke up to Kyla in hives. She was up all night crying (not unusual for her because she hasn't been doing good with adjusting) and now we know why that night was even harder for her. Josh calls the nurse line and she says to just give her Benadryl every 6 hours until the hives are gone then continue for 12 hours after that. So I stayed home with her but Josh went got his drivers license!
*picture below shows the red on Kyla's face. Those are all hives that bunched together. Her whole body, including scalp, looked like this*
July 14th-Kyla is not getting better and she looks like she has some crazy contagious rash. Hives are all over body, she's itching like crazy. We are slathering hydrocortisone cream on her, rubbing ice on the super itchy spots and she is so miserable.
July 15th-Called the nurse again about the never ending hives and she recommended we go the ER. We don't have a car and the base doesn't have a hospital so off we go onto the economy. We had Josh's coworker drive us to Boebligen hospital (we knew they took kids because of our tour a few days earlier) but we would have to call a taxi to get home. So we head into the doors with a booster and car seat! We check in with the Information desk and tell them we are American and our child needs to be seen. We are directed to the American-Pediatric waiting room (no joke!)...we were the only ones! A nurse/receptionist took our info, took Kyla's temp and Josh even asked her about some German words :) She was great! The doctor came and he was great too. We had to explain what Benadryl was and he finally looked it up on the computer and he said it was very similar to the German Antihistiminics. Another lesson learned...stay away from name brands (Benadryl, Kleenex, Tylenol, etc). He said there was no way knowing how she got the hives because we have just changed so much in our lives lately. He said to wait a few more days, if it wasn't better to come back and see him. So off we go into the taxi that Josh called and back to the hotel. The whole ER visit took 45 minutes...unheard of in the U.S.! After the taxi driver got a 14 Euro tip from us, we learned a valuable lesson in Euro counting as well :)
3 hours later Joslyn is sleeping soundly in bed and Kyla is complaining of her ear hurting. Turns out Joslyn put a popcorn kernel in her own ear, Kyla did the same. Joslyn's came right out. Kyla's did not. After realizing we couldn't get the kernel out ourselves I call to my Audiologist buddy in Puyallup, Marc. Well actually I called his wife, Tana, and through her I got his advice on what to do. Although Kyla wasn't complaining anymore and had fallen asleep we thought she might push the kernel down farther in the night so we decided that Josh and Joslyn would stay at the hotel and I would take Kyla to the hospital...YIKES!! So off we go into the taxi, to the hospital with her car seat and we go to the American-Pediatric waiting room. But we weren't alone, 3 others were there and from their looks at me, I knew they were not American. Guess they go down to 1 waiting room at night and the American waiting room is closer then the German-Pediatric one. So there I sat getting funny looks because of my crazy cow printed car seat sitting right next to me. Was seen shortly after and kernel was taken out! The doctor and nurse thought it was funny but were fascinated at how big the kernel was and how far down the kernel got. All done, called taxi and back to hotel. Whole ordeal 1 hour! Yep 1 hour ER visit!
July 17th-hives are finally gone! We also bought a used car. It's a 2006 Peogeut. It's a 2 door, stick shift, great gas mileage little car. It looks and drives exactly like my old Hyundai Accent I had many years ago, except this bad boy has air conditioning and power windows! We were able to venture off base and went to a German store called Real (I believe it's pronounced Re-all). Basically it's a German Walmart. Had a good selection of GF foods so we stocked up! Then we got lost going home which put us in downtown Stuttgart and challenged Josh's driving ability and German rule following. Although Josh was a bit stressed I think it was great it happened.
July 18th-Babysitter came and I got my license! Decided to drive to Patch Barracks with the family because tomorrow I will be going to the doctor and I wanted to do a trial run. It was great to drive again but very scary because their rules and signs are a bit different.
So that's our last 1 1/2 weeks. For anyone that actually read all that...thank you! I promise future blogs will not be this long.
July 4th-had the most amazing 4th of July get together with our friends in Puyallup. We can't think of any better way to have spent our last full day in the U.S. There was lots of yummy food, laughter, fireworks, tacky outfits and towards the end lots and lots of tears.
July 5th-Off to the airport! We had so much luggage we had to have our awesome friend, Sean, follow us with his vehicle packed as well. 8 luggage bags (well mostly military bags stuffed to full capacity), 4 carry on bags, stroller, car seat and booster seat. Everything we need to survive for the next 2+ months.
---flight straight to Frankfurt, Germany (10 hours). The girls did great! We had the whole middle row to ourselves and they girls were able to watch movies and play games on our Kindle's plus they had touch screens in the headrests in front of us, loaded with movies, music and TV shows. The girls and I have never flown farther then from WA to OH so this was definitely a big change and we got hot meals! Joslyn and I got the gluten free option and I will just say that I'm glad I packed lots of snacks!
July 6th-we are in Frankfurt...HOLY COW I'M IN GERMANY!!! Unfortunately the excitement of being off the plane and into Germany was short lived as culture shock set in. Everything was in German and the employees and passerby's all spoke German. I know, I know that is so obvious but it really was different once we were there and trying to navigate the airport. In the U.S., we know you have to go through TSA lines, no liquids, remove shoes, etc. Well Germany had their own rules and we did not know them! We went through multiple check points for passports and screenings/pat downs. We had to go through a mini TSA type line but you get a full on pat down...or might I say it was like a free grope session for the employees. Now, we were not prepared for that but we also know they are doing their job and we just let it pass.Made me giggle because in the U.S. if that happened, there would be protests and lawyers getting involved saying how our rights are being taken away because we are being violated. I say...grope away Germany, grope away :)
We had 1 1/2 hours to get to our connecting flight, more then enough time to stretch our legs, go potty, etc. Or so we thought. Made it to our gate and Josh went to the restroom and to grab waters. We had about 15-20 minutes to spare. Well the airline announcer started talking (in German of course) and thankfully followed up her message in English...time to get on the bus that takes us to the airplane and passengers with kids need to go first. What? Bus to airplane? Passengers with kids go first? People are already moving through the line. WHERE'S JOSH????? Finally at the very last minute Josh makes it back just taking his sweet time, assuming we have 15 minutes to spare. I'm freaking out, we still have to drop off our car seat, booster and stroller at the gate..but wheres the gate when we are getting on a bus and not a plane? Oh my stress level went through the roof! Finally made it to the airplane and relaxed for our 30 minute flight to Stuttgart.
Once in the Stuttgart airport we were told our stroller, car seat and booster seat would be waiting for us...nope. Thankfully there was a super nice lady who spoke German that was missing her stroller and car seat as well. She was told they would be waiting for us by the baggage claim. Well we waited. And waited. And waited some more. Josh was then told it will take a little bit of time but it will be there. So we waited. And waited and waited some more. Still no car seats or stroller. Finally a guy told us there was no strollers or car seats for any of us :( Josh had to talk with the lost baggage lady and turned out all our stuff we left at "the gate" never left Frankfurt. We also learned in Germany strollers are called buggies and they don't know what a loaner means. As in Josh asked for loaner car seats for the ride to base and she didn't know what loaner meant. So it was just a lot of extra work on our end and their end to fully understand what we were trying to say. We finally got a booster and car seat and all our luggage. 2 of Josh's coworkers were there with a big old van. We all piled in and went to check in at the hotel. I was so excited to shower, unpack and just relax but apparently you can't check into the hotel until 2PM and it was not 2PM...nope not for a few hours. So we drove around and around ultimately making us all very tired, cranky and hungry. Was able to get some food from the Commissary so I could make a GF dinner and to have breakfast in the morning. Finally got checked into the Panzer Hotel and we all did our best to stay awake. But poor Josh got the call that our stroller, car seat and booster was being delivered to the front gate at Panzer. So Josh being the trooper that he is, he grabbed the loaner car and booster seats and walked to the front gate and waited to swap the loaners for ours. Thankfully the front gate isn't far from the hotel but after flying all day and night, it was the last thing he wanted to do.
July 7th-Took the duty bus (buses run from all 4 bases throughout the day so people can go to work, go shopping, school, etc and it's free) to Patch Barracks and did more grocery shopping. Still very hard to function and stay awake as we were still 9 hours behind the actual time! Later in the night Joslyn got sick and was throwing up (this kid rarely ever gets sick like that). She was up most of the night being sick. Finally I just put Kyla in bed with Josh and I stayed up with Joslyn.
July 8th-I finally went to bed in the morning and Josh stayed up with Joslyn who was still throwing up.Took it easy for the rest of the day.
July 9-10- Josh had to start inprocessing so the girls and I just hung around the hotel.
July 11th-We got a babysitter and Josh and I attended a tour of the German hospitals which is highly recommended by the military. I'm so glad we did that...you will know why soon. There are 5 local hospitals that work with our base so they do well at speaking English but here each hospital has specific areas they treat so you need to be aware of which hospital you are going to. Like 1 is for Pediatrics only and 3 are for adults only.
July 12th-After a week of being in a non air conditioned room that was so stuffy and horrible, we were moved! We ended up getting the room for disabled people so it's all hard floors, bigger counters and more space in general. Plus the air conditioner works!
July13th-Had the babysitter scheduled to come over again so Josh and I can could go get our licenses. But we woke up to Kyla in hives. She was up all night crying (not unusual for her because she hasn't been doing good with adjusting) and now we know why that night was even harder for her. Josh calls the nurse line and she says to just give her Benadryl every 6 hours until the hives are gone then continue for 12 hours after that. So I stayed home with her but Josh went got his drivers license!
*picture below shows the red on Kyla's face. Those are all hives that bunched together. Her whole body, including scalp, looked like this*
July 14th-Kyla is not getting better and she looks like she has some crazy contagious rash. Hives are all over body, she's itching like crazy. We are slathering hydrocortisone cream on her, rubbing ice on the super itchy spots and she is so miserable.
July 15th-Called the nurse again about the never ending hives and she recommended we go the ER. We don't have a car and the base doesn't have a hospital so off we go onto the economy. We had Josh's coworker drive us to Boebligen hospital (we knew they took kids because of our tour a few days earlier) but we would have to call a taxi to get home. So we head into the doors with a booster and car seat! We check in with the Information desk and tell them we are American and our child needs to be seen. We are directed to the American-Pediatric waiting room (no joke!)...we were the only ones! A nurse/receptionist took our info, took Kyla's temp and Josh even asked her about some German words :) She was great! The doctor came and he was great too. We had to explain what Benadryl was and he finally looked it up on the computer and he said it was very similar to the German Antihistiminics. Another lesson learned...stay away from name brands (Benadryl, Kleenex, Tylenol, etc). He said there was no way knowing how she got the hives because we have just changed so much in our lives lately. He said to wait a few more days, if it wasn't better to come back and see him. So off we go into the taxi that Josh called and back to the hotel. The whole ER visit took 45 minutes...unheard of in the U.S.! After the taxi driver got a 14 Euro tip from us, we learned a valuable lesson in Euro counting as well :)
3 hours later Joslyn is sleeping soundly in bed and Kyla is complaining of her ear hurting. Turns out Joslyn put a popcorn kernel in her own ear, Kyla did the same. Joslyn's came right out. Kyla's did not. After realizing we couldn't get the kernel out ourselves I call to my Audiologist buddy in Puyallup, Marc. Well actually I called his wife, Tana, and through her I got his advice on what to do. Although Kyla wasn't complaining anymore and had fallen asleep we thought she might push the kernel down farther in the night so we decided that Josh and Joslyn would stay at the hotel and I would take Kyla to the hospital...YIKES!! So off we go into the taxi, to the hospital with her car seat and we go to the American-Pediatric waiting room. But we weren't alone, 3 others were there and from their looks at me, I knew they were not American. Guess they go down to 1 waiting room at night and the American waiting room is closer then the German-Pediatric one. So there I sat getting funny looks because of my crazy cow printed car seat sitting right next to me. Was seen shortly after and kernel was taken out! The doctor and nurse thought it was funny but were fascinated at how big the kernel was and how far down the kernel got. All done, called taxi and back to hotel. Whole ordeal 1 hour! Yep 1 hour ER visit!
July 17th-hives are finally gone! We also bought a used car. It's a 2006 Peogeut. It's a 2 door, stick shift, great gas mileage little car. It looks and drives exactly like my old Hyundai Accent I had many years ago, except this bad boy has air conditioning and power windows! We were able to venture off base and went to a German store called Real (I believe it's pronounced Re-all). Basically it's a German Walmart. Had a good selection of GF foods so we stocked up! Then we got lost going home which put us in downtown Stuttgart and challenged Josh's driving ability and German rule following. Although Josh was a bit stressed I think it was great it happened.
July 18th-Babysitter came and I got my license! Decided to drive to Patch Barracks with the family because tomorrow I will be going to the doctor and I wanted to do a trial run. It was great to drive again but very scary because their rules and signs are a bit different.
So that's our last 1 1/2 weeks. For anyone that actually read all that...thank you! I promise future blogs will not be this long.
You'll be having fun in no time! Love the Blog!
ReplyDeleteWhew! So glad you blogged all of that, so u can look back and laugh soon! :) we miss you! Be safe!
ReplyDelete