Explore the City of Mainz

When Vanessa and I were stationed here in Germany before, we had visited the city of Mainz but I didn't remember too much about it.  I did a little research about the city on the internet and picked a handful of sights to check out.  Pictured to the left is the Holzturm tower (Wooden tower).  I read that this was one of three original towers that survived WWII bombs. It was a five minute walk from the Gutenberg Museum.

The text is set in a fixture and ink is applied. The
paper is flipped on top and the whole thing is slid
under a manual press to imprint the text on the paper.

Johannes Gutenberg is the founder of the printing press.  He was from this city so he has his own museum.  I did the audio tour which was very informative.  I even saw a demonstration of how the original printing press worked.  The cool thing about the museum is that you can see a couple original Gutenberg bibles.  I couldn't read the thing since it is all in Latin.

The museum displays a history of printing devices.

A couple other stops I made were St Stephans Church which has stain glass art by Marc Chagall and an area called the Kirschgarten.

The Kirschgarten had typical German architecture
cafes and shops.  Cool little area. 

It was a nice day trip but I did a lot of walking.  There were a few things I didn't get to see because I still had an over 2 hour drive home.  I would go again but leave a little earlier so I could spend more time in this pleasant city.

These flowers were across from the Gutenberg Museum.

Until next time...Bis Spater! (see you later)

Grocery Shopping

I really don'y like going to the grocery store.
Especially without a list.

A Drummer's Tale, Part 1

Open mic night in Savannah, GA

I started playing drums when I was in the 6^th grade, so I must have been 11 years old.  The only reason I wanted to play drums was because the current drummer for our school band thought he was really good.  At the end of 5^th grade, I asked my parents if I could play the drums.  I don’t remember how that conversation went but they bought me a pair of 2B drumsticks and a practice pad. 

Over the summer I attended several band practices and the music teacher taught me the basics of drumming.  When I say basics, I mean the very basics like how to hold the sticks and how to do a single stroke roll.  I would go home and use the practice pad to work on the things I had learned.  As it turned out, the kid that was playing drums before decided not to be in the band that year so there was only me and two other guys playing drums that year.

At this point, I guess I liked playing drums but it wasn’t until the following year that I really got into drumming.  My family moved to San Jose California and so I thought I would get into the music program at my new school.  The school had an A, B, and C band.  ‘A’ band had the best players and ‘C’ band had the weaker players.  I was in ‘C’ concert band which doesn’t allow much for a drummer to do.  You either play snare drum, bass drum, or another percussion instrument like cymbals and the triangle.  I learned a little more about reading music and playing rudiments. 

The music room also had a sound proof room with a drum set that the drummers in ‘A’ and ‘B’ band used.  During class, the music teacher would allow the drummers to practice on the drum set and I think that is when I really started to like playing drums.  One of my classmates taught me the basics of playing a simple beat.  It wasn’t as easy as it looked but by the end of the year I could play a standard rock beat, play a fill, and go back to the rock beat while staying in time.  For drummers, that’s a big deal since our job is to keep time for the rest of the band.

So that’s how it all started for me.  Of course it also helped that I begged my parents to upgrade the snare drum they were renting to a five-piece drum set.  That allowed me to practice at home and bug the hell out of everyone in the house since I only knew one or two drum patterns. 

Listen to your body

 This week was the first time I visited a chiropractor.  I am 'that guy' that won't go to the doctor until something is really wrong. 
I have had back problems before and would just give my body time to heal. 

 No one knows your body better than you.  So when my lower back started giving me problems, I knew I had better start listening.  At first I tried stretching and allowing time to let my back self correct but it wasn't happening.

The pain was gradually getting worse.  I know my body and I knew I had to seek the help of a professional.  With some help from friends here in Germany, I found a chiropractor (Chiropraktiker in German) close to where I work. 
He told me my pelvis was not properly aligned and he would need to adjust my lower back.  I laid on my side (like the picture) and he twisted my torso with a quick motion and we heard the crack.  Almost instantly I felt relief.  I rolled over and he did the same procedure for the other side.

I am still a little sore but I don't have the discomfort in my lower back from trying to stand from a sitting position or trying to bend over and pick something up.

I put my stubbornness aside and listened to my body and got the help I needed before things got really bad.  Now all I have to do is incorporate exercise into my daily routine and I should be back to my old self.  When it comes to your health, take my advise and listen to your body.  It will tell you when it is out of whack.

What exercises do you do? Walking, hiking, biking, gym?  Leave a comment.

Christmas in Germany

Christmas is a great time of year no matter where you are.  You see all the decorations and get to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.

But Christmas in Germany is especially nice because of the many weihnachtmarks (Christmas markets).


This past Christmas I visited the Christmas markets in Bad Windsheim (that was the town I stayed in while waiting for an apartment), Rothenburg ob der Tauber, and Nürnberg.


The markets have something for everyone.  The wooden decorations available are really nice and creative.  You can also get some good food and sweets.

Market square in Bad Windsheim

The market in Bad Windshiem was nice because it is small and you can enjoy the company of friends without a large crowd.

Glühwein, a popular warm drink

I read that Munich offers a nice market, so maybe next year I will check that one out.

Tchüs!

Seeing the Sights

When Vanessa and Alex finally arrived in Germany, we took the opportunity to do some family outings.

Took Alex skiing

View from our hotel

On our drive back from Garmisch, we stopped at some popular places.

Stop at the Linderhof castle 

Inside Ettal Monastery

 

Took the opportunity to light a candle a say a prayer for my sister-in-law Eilleen.

Even though it was cold, it was a nice relaxing time on Christmas eve.

Getting Settled

Hello everyone,

So I made the move to Germany for my new job.  I made it safely and without any problems.  This base is not like the one when I was stationed here before.  A lot has changed over here because there are not so many US forces here.

The job is going pretty good.  I am getting along well with everyone here.  My job title is a quality assurance specialist.  I do scheduling of the flight simulators for the pilots as well as check on the devices to make sure they are working properly.  We also have to track how many hours the simulators are used every day.  We have simulators for UH-60M Blackhawks, AH-64D Apaches, and CH-47F Chinooks. 





It's nice to be back in Germany.  I found an apartment in a town called Lehrberg.  The apartment is above a Metzgerei (Meat shop).  The apartment is pretty spacious.  It has two floors, 4 bdrms, laundry room, and a big kitchen.  When we first moved in, we only had heat in the bedrooms and bathroom.  We had to use the fireplace to warm the common areas.

The landlord finally got the heat to work so all is good.

I'll keep you up to date on what I am doing.

Tschϋs, Robert