Charlie loves car rides
We stopped overnight somewhere in Ohio, and then finished the journey to Baltimore on Sunday. We got to our hotel and pretty much hung out/repacked until we had to head to the airport on Monday night! While in Baltimore I can say that I tried the world's best crab cake... Heath loved it, however, I am apparently not a fan of crab!
The animals were so good!
On Monday, getting to the Airport was interesting, the hotel assured us that Charlie's giant crate would fit in the shuttle, however, when it came time to go, it all wouldn't fit... some guy working there yelled at us to hurry up because they had other people to pick up... needless to say we weren't too happy about that, but after a few minutes, Heath suggested putting the crate in their other shuttle, which was also going to the same place... this worked, problem solved, so no big deal!
When we got to the airport we checked in and then got a giant cart to wheel the animals around on. We got there a little after 5:30 and we couldn't check the animals in until 8. Heath went and walked Charlie and hung out in the pet area with them until it was time to go. We boarded the plane around 8:30 and shortly after we got on we received notes that our wonderful pets were on board!
Teagan slept most of the flight, but Heath and I weren't really able to. We maybe got an hour or two, which was not so fun the next day...
Sleeping... until someone slammed the overhead bin..
Teagan got wings and of course is hanging out with Sophie!
The flight was just under 7 hours and we arrived at Ramstein around 10:30am local time. Once we got there it was time to go get Charlie and Coconut checked out by the local vet. That was fairly simple, even though she confiscated their food...:(. Charlie even got photographed for an article!
See the article here---->Charlie is FAMOUS
We also had to hunt down a cart large enough to take the dog crate. Apparently they are usually right there, but for some reason they weren't when we went!
Only a few of our items... we just had one more cart with our luggage. :)
Once we got through Customs we met our friend Laura (who we met at Dyess) who is now stationed at Ramstein. She walked Charlie once we got out of the terminal!
Looking at the new surroundings!
We found the shuttle guy who was bringing us to Spangdahlem from Ramstein, which was about an hour drive, except that it was snowing so it was about 1 hr 20 minutes. We ended up having to pile into the shuttle with a family of 6 along with another lady, plus all of our stuff and their stuff! It was a bit packed- I wish I could have taken a picture, but I was sitting in the very back seat with luggage hovering over me! Despite being packed into the van like sardines, we made it safely to our TLF around 2:30pm. Needless to say, we were EXHAUSTED, but we had to try and keep ourselves awake!!
When we walked into our TLF it reminded me of what we lived in when I was in Heidelberg!!! It brought back memories! Sorry for the stuff lying around randomly... this is just our temporary home so we didn't get too comfy!
Obviously it is snowy here, our first full day here was a snow day! However, we were lucky enough to be close to the housing office so we could go get our paperwork done and start house hunting!
When we went to the housing office their printer was broken, so instead of giving us a bunch of listings all printed out, they gave us this spreadsheet...
Needless to say, I was really frustrated and had a very rough time making sense of it all. So, I turned to a Spangdahlem facebook page and by some slim chance, someone had just posted their house that had a yard, closets, etc! I figured that someone would snatch it up, but I messaged anyway. She responded and said she would come get me in the morning after they took their kids to school to take me to look at it, which was awesome since we don't have our car yet and Heath had to work! When I got there, I loved it immediately! It has a garage, a carport, a fire pit, a porch, the yard is fenced in and has a TON of room for Charlie to run, and the house is on a large lot of land which is in front of a hill with a bunch of trees! The house also has 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2- 1/2 bathrooms, a TON of basement storage, a big kitchen, and walk-in closets!!! It is AWESOME! The yard also has grapes, strawberries, a cherry tree, and an apple tree!
We went back last night and signed the promissory note, and Heath got to see it. I think he liked it :) We really did luck out!
Here is a picture that the current tenants took, I'll take more once we move in!
And yes... it is very yellow! :) I like it!
The people that currently live there are amazing! They answered all of my questions, and are even moving out early so we can move in on the 1st of February!!! I don't think we could have found anything more perfect, and it was the 1st and only house we looked at! The only things we have to pay for are oil (which we refill yearly and isn't too bad if you set $ aside), and electricity! We don't have to buy trash stickers here, which is nice!
The people that live there now are also just signing their items that they borrowed over to us so we don't have to go through all of that hassle!!! SO NICE!!! It is on a main road in between two towns and there are Americans that live across the road, so we aren't secluded! I'm excited to move in!
Since we are done house hunting, I've been hanging out with the animals and Teagan while Heath is at work. We've been going to the dog park!
Charlie loves it!
Overall, the first few days here have been good! We haven't been out to do a whole lot, but we should have our car next week once we can get the driver's license thing done and register our car! We have to take a whole separate driving test here, which covers the German signs and laws. We can't even pick up our car until we have it. Heath was able to take his test online but I have to actually go to a place and take a test! Hopefully I can do it Wednesday, if not Thursday. I took this test in 2005 when I came here for Camp Adventure- too bad it expires after 5 years! Here is link to the practice test and study guide in case you were wondering what it was like!
We're still adjusting to the time change- especially Teagan (last night she DID NOT want to sleep), but hopefully we will all adjust soon!
In case you were all wondering, this is where we are located in Germany! Not too far from Belgium and Luxembourg!
That is all for now, I'll post again as more adventures arise! Once we get our house I'll post some before and after pictures! Thanks for following us on our German Adventure!
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