The Starting Point

Before I can tell you where I'm going, you should know where I am. I live in the village of Bann, which is about a 20 minute drive from the base I work on. I don't know how many people live here, but it is the right size for me. I can walk from one end of town to the other in about 20 minutes. The village has one Kirche (church), two Bakereien (bakeries), a kleine Markt (a small grocery store), and a getranke Markt (literally, a beverage store; I still need to go there).

I live in a house at the south end of town. The landlords, an older retired couple, are on the first floor and I have the second floor. My apartment is great. There are three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a spacious living room, formal and casual dining rooms, and a huge kitchen. The apartment has wooden floors throughout, except the casual dining room and bathrooms, which are tiled. It's bigger than I need but I wanted to have room for guests, so people better visit me. The tough (and expensive) part will be filling it with furniture.

I have to brag on my landlords, they are awesome. When the telephone guy came to set up my phone and Internet service, they stayed with him for the 3+ hours he was there to help him figure out the wiring. The husband installed an automatic garage door opener for my garage. Shortly afterward, I closed the door and locked my house keys inside. He had to break into the garage for me to get them. There are countless other examples of how they have been so nice to me. Great landlords make living in Germany so much more enjoyable.

A great thing about my location is that it is in the central part of Europe. France is less than a 2 hour drive away. Other countries are a little farther but still a reasonable drive away. Ryan Air (even cheaper than Southwest Airlines) flies out of the nearest airport. It is common for people to travel to another country every 3-day weekend. I don't know if I'll be that active, but I'm looking forward to seeing as much of Europe as I can while I'm here.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Langäckerstraße,Bann,Germany

In the Beginning...

My European adventure is off to an inauspicious beginning. When my friend Ashleigh and I arrived at BWI, there was much confusion about the flight. Eventually we found out the flight is leaving 5 hours later than I expected. Ashleigh was kind enough to stay a while, but she had to leave since she has to work tomorrow. I'm down to about an hour until I can board the plane.

The worst thing about the delay is not the wait. I had an appointment at 1:30 on Monday to get my European driver's license. Now I'll have to wait and I can't rent a car until I get the license. Oh well.

I mainly plan to use this blog to write about my travels while living in Germany rather than daily life. My travels may include biking in Germany or flying to other parts of Europe or beyond. I welcome any suggestions on where to travel and questions on traveling in Europe.

Let the fun begin!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Elm Rd,Baltimore,United States