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