We are in Germany! Finally!

Well, I'll soon have a few catch-up posts to do regarding our recent trip to Washington over Christmas and New Years...but I thought I should probably keep all updated on our arrival to Germany.

Our flights went by without any delays or mishaps. We actually got upgraded to 1st Class on our first flight (St. Louis to Chicago) and Business Class for our second (Chicago to Frankfurt). Business Class on an international flight was actually incredible. We definitely got the upgrades because of Eric being in uniform...and because of a very confused German customer service man who said "Happy Honeymoon" as he handed us our upgraded tickets. It was nice having a relaxing, and pampering, 8 hour flight into Europe.

Once we deplaned, we met up in baggage claim with dozens upon dozens of other Army members, and their families, all headed to different bases throughout Germany. We were divided into groups and bused to our corresponding posts. Somehow, out of all of those people, Eric was the ONLY person being sent to the NCO Academy at Grafenwoehr. This soon proved to be a very good thing.

I emailed my mom a very long, detailed explanation of what happened from there (today). So let me just do some copy/pasting to fill everyone in as well.

Sgt Diaz (a medic who will be working side by side with Eric) picked us both up at about 8am this morning. He took us to every single place we need to go to get into the system. Let me explain a couple things first about where we are, then what happened today.

The post Eric will be stationed is called Grafenwoehr (Graf-inn-veer). About 20 minutes away is Vilseck (both a town and a post). They are two separate posts, but to get all plugged in to Grafenwoehr, there are a few things you need to do first in Vilseck. Right now we are actually staying in a hotel-type situation in Vilseck because it's literally across a parking lot from the buildings Eric needs to be processing the next week or so. It's also across the street from the PX, Commissary, fast foods spots, and theatre, even walking distance to the gym...so great location.

Since Eric and I will actually be working in (and living in) Grafenwoehr, that's where Sgt Diaz took us today to meet everyone, see Eric's work space, and get the ins and outs of what our life is going to be like there.

So far, everybody we have run into here (even as far back as the airport and before we saw Grafenwoehr today) has told us that Eric got practically the luckiest deal in the Army. Seriously, some people were shocked. Then after talking to Sgt Diaz, and other people at Graf (Grafenwoehr), we now see why. Eric will be working in a good-sized office, with his own computer and desk. This office is shared with Sgt Diaz, but he is actually leaving in a few months, so Eric will take his place as the NCOIC (non-commissioned officer in charge). Eric's schedule will be PT in the morning (but self-led, meaning Eric can go to the gym and train himself) then just 9-5 Monday thru Friday.

We also got to meet both Sgt Majors, who were quite intimidating at first. We sat down with one of them for quite awhile and he explained in greater detail what Eric will be doing. Both of the Sgt Majors talked about how long they've been waiting to get Eric there and how great of job this is for him. They talked a lot about how Graf is an incredible place to work, and is one of the Army's biggest bragging points.

Grafenwoehr, and more specifically the NCO Academy--which Eric is the medic for, primarily and constantly trains officers. They pretty much told us that THIS is the place to be in the Army. They seemed really impressed by Eric already. They talked about how the soldiers here are viewed as important diplomats for the area, and how its unique to the Army in how everyone is very respected, focuses highly on looking/staying physically fit, and how me (as a spouse) becomes just as much a voice and influence on base as Eric can. They said that Eric easily will be promoted soon to Sgt (E5)---remember how Eric just passes his Board for this to be a possibility?! They also said they would be surprised if he didn't leave Germany before getting his Staff Sgt (E6) or Sgt 1st Class (E7).

They told him that after Diaz leaves, and Eric is the NCOIC, he'll be the most in-charge medic for the Academy, and perhaps even fairly soon could become an actual instructor FOR the Academy...meaning, teach medical skills to the soldiers attending the Academy. They also REALLY press finishing your education. Eric can take classes ASAP, and they even said he'll have ample time to do his homework/studying during work...that's even looked highly upon. They literally said that he'll have so much extra time at work that it’s ok if he goes to the gym, has me visit, does school stuff, etc etc. Everyone working at the NCO Academy (even those outranking Eric) were all super friendly, really funny, and seemed really impressed and respectful of Eric already. And soon enough Eric will be on the same level (rank-wise). They are also giving Eric a few-day long German class, and gave us information on getting our European drivers' licenses. They ALSO said that I can take a lot of classes for free too! One of the Sgt Majors (who actually used to be at Ft Campbell--so really liked that about Eric) said that the FRG (family readiness group) is very involved and will contact me soon. He said that the NCO Academy is unique in the fact that spouses get a lot of opportunities and privileges.

He really couldn't stress enough how lucky we both were that we BOTH were at the NCO Academy, AND in Grafenwoehr, AND in Germany. They told us about Marriage Retreats (like the one we went to in Nashville) but how they are in places like Edelweiss. They also said they even do special things for wives of Academy employees (like shopping trips to Prague). Even those Sgt Majors, who I said were a little intimidating to meet, ended up being super gracious and friendly. And literally told Eric that no issue was too big or too small for him to just come into their offices and talk with them. Oh! And they joked that if he ever got "deployed" while here in Germany it would literally be something rare like "doing good works in Africa for a week". Sounds pretty great to him.

After all that stuff, Sgt Diaz gave us a tour of Grafenwoehr--since that's the actual post we'll be living in. It's sooo much smaller than Ft Campbell. You could literally walk anywhere, from anywhere. The posts here are so cute! All of the buildings are painted yellow, and most have that distinct Bavarian-look. He drove us by the Generals home and it was this huge Bavarian mansion--right out of Leavenworth, haha. Diaz also gave us a heads-up on what housing we should request, how to get cell phones (and is even loaning us his old one for a few days), how to use outlet converters, train schedules and tips, passport info for tourism...all sorts of stuff! It was really exciting. Even the gym on Graf is huge, new, and really modern.

We can't go to the housing office until we are totally in-processed to Graf, which should be sometime the beginning of next week. Right now we are staying at the Kristall Inn, but the Army is more than covering those costs. We aren't too worried about wait times, especially because our household goods, and car, won't be here for quite awhile still. The room comes with an amour, and a couple dressers--so our clothes are out of the way. It also comes with a little fridge/microwave, coffee maker too. The room is serviced like an average hotel, but there is enough shelving in the bathrooms and stuff so we aren't tooo cramped. But it is very small! Good thing we still are in love.


All in all, we are feeling super super excited about everything. It seriously is this whole new side to the Army that we never got to experience at Ft Campbell. Especially for Eric, it sounds like his job is going to be easy, reliable, dependable, and much respected. His quality of life at work just went through the roof.


Neat things about Germany so far (our whole 24 hours of experience.)
1. Towel heaters in the bathroom! They are these big racks hanging on the walls that keep your towel extra toasty and dry!
2. Volvos, BMWs, Mercedes, Audis, VWs, Porsches are everywhere. And really make up 99% of every car we've seen here.
3. We both couldn't figure out how to flush the toilet. The trick: press the GIANT button RIGHT in front of your face.
4. Watching MTV in German. And pretty much everything about TV here. American/English stations are paid for by the Army, so every single commercial is Army-related. Other channels are either subtitled, or voice-over. And the commercials are completely ridiculous.

New exciting tales to come!! Auf Wiedersehen!