It's been a while!

Have no fear, we have not gotten lost in Germany and our internet is working! It's just been a while since my last post and a lot has happened since then. I'm not sure where to begin so I will start with July 1st

 On July 1st we were able to move into our house in Katzenbach.  It was such a relief to finally be out of the TLF we were staying and in to our house, even though we didn't have any furniture.  The morning started off bright and early at 7:00 am when I had to be at the house for TMO to drop of our temporary furniture since we are still waiting our our household goods and furniture to arrive.  The military loans us things like a couch, kitchen table and chairs, bed, and dresser.  Let's just say they are not the most comfortable or stylish pieces of furniture, but we are very thankful we do not have to sleep on an air mattress for weeks.  Shortly after the TMO guys left, Kable Deutschland came to set up our phone and internet service.  Hooray!  This was amazing because our friends had to wait months before they could get internet here!  After our internet was set up, Craig and I began the task of setting up our utilities with the local German companies.  That was interesting.  Setting up things like water, electricity, and gas is tricky enough in the states but try doing it with a language barrier. We managed to set everything up and are praying all the contracts we signed are legit.

Our first weekend in the house, we began cleaning up the back yard!  Craig and I began pulling up this crazy vine/bush thing that had taken over the backyard. Now that we've cleared that out we are hoping to plant some nice bushes and flowers.  Also, during this weekend, on Friday night, we went to the Alstadt Festival in downtown Kaiserslautern.  We met up with people from Craig's squadron in downtown.  There were several stages set up throughout the downtown area playing everything from hip-hop to oldies.  They love American music over here.  And of course what would a German festival be without beer, and lots of it.  We had a great time with everyone in the squadron!

At the entrance to the Crime and Punishment Museum

Also, during this time, Craig and I celebrated our two year wedding anniversary!  Wow, I cannot believe we've been married for two years.  So much has happened in only two years.  To celebrate our anniversary, we went to Rothenburg for the day.  Before we left the States, I had read about this town and was dying to see it.  It is located on the Romantic Road which is located between Munich and Frankfurt and takes you through picturesque German villages.  Rothenburg is the most famous city along this road and supposedly the most touristy.  We loved it.  It is a beautiful town and it was not packed with tourist like most people said it would.  Craig and I managed to successfully navigate to Rothenburg (2 1/2 hrs away) with out any major detours or driving in front of historical pedestrian only churches like we did in Trier (I don't think I blogged about our trip there yet).  With the help of my Germany travel guide book, Craig and I explored this town.  We climbed all 214 steps to the to the top of the town hall tower.  Visited the the Medieval Crime and Punishment Museum which is not the most romantic museum to go to while celebrating your anniversary, but Craig wanted to check it out.  It was a little gross for me- I won't go into the details.  We also went to St. Jakob's Church.  In St. Jakob's is the Alter of the Holy Blood.  This alter is completely carved out of wood. The details in this massive carving are very intricate and the woodcarver who created this alter is considered the "Michelangelo of German woodcarvers."  Also, Rothenburg is surrounded by a wall that you can walk on.  It goes completely around the city.  Craig and I were going to walk around it, but Craig was "too tired." Plus, it was getting late and the dogs were in their crates.  Before we left, we ate at a cafe on the market square. Check out Rothenburg Photos for more pictures!

We took this picture an hour before the game.  

This past week Craig and I went to the Women's World Cup Semi Final game with our friend Patty, where we saw the US beat France!  This was our first time to actually get to see a World Cup soccer game since our cable isn't set up! I was so disappointed that I missed the USA vs. Brazil game because I heard it was awesome! I had to watch the highlights on YouTube.  The game was in the city of Moenchangladbach-don't ask me to pronounce it!  It's three hours away and close to Dusseldorf, Germany.  It was pretty rainy all day and by the time the game started there was still some light rain.  Before the game started, we were able to met up with a friend from PTC and her family who were also at the game to cheer on her little sister who is on the US Women's National team.  It was so nice to see them and catch up!  We had great seats at the game for many reasons 1) because we were close to the field 2) we were sheltered from the wind and rain.  It was such an intense game and we were so excited that the US won! This team is such an incredible group of athletes.  It made me miss soccer so much and brought back so many fun memories I have from soccer.  I am so thankful we were able to go.  After the team won, we thought about buying tickets for the finals, but 150 euros per ticket is a little pricey for us.  We watched the game with our friends the Hills, and were heartbroken when the US lost.


One detail from June I forgot mention is that we bought a car! Yup! The 4Runner is pretty big for these small German roads.  I feel like I'm driving a tank.  Craig and I were searching for a smaller, more gas friendly car for me since he could drive the 4Runner back and forth to base.  I love the Mini Coopers, but they are still pretty new and expensive.  However, we found this blue mini for an amazing price, but when we called the owner he said he had already agreed to sell it to someone else.  We were so disappointed.  However, a few days later we received a call from the seller saying  the deal fell threw and we could test drive it.  The only thing is that several other people were going to also see it that day so we had to be there right away.   We met the owner on base and test drove the mini.  It was awesome and we bought it that same day!  It was an amazing deal! The only thing is...it's a manual and I only know how to drive an automatic. So I've been learning and Craig has been driving it.  I successfully drove it today to meet up with a friend for lunch and only stalled out once.  I was sweating by they time I made it to the restaurant, but I was alive!  We've taken the mini on several road trips already ready and it has done great!

Things are starting to feel more normal here.  Craig is finishing up inprocessing into the squadron and should be able to start flying soon! We are anxiously waiting on our furniture to get here.  Once it arrives, we will set up our guest bedroom and you guys can start visiting!  Also, I'll try not to go so long in between posts!

tschüss,
Craig & Jenna

ps. This post is for you Jim Vicars!