Germany: The Beginning

So Josh and I left from Baltimore on Wednesday (1am, actually) to fly straight into Ramstein. We were tired and cranky, and the pets were NOT happy. We had to leave the dog and cat at check-in and we could hear Sasha barking throught the entire terminal - which made me quite unhappy.
But anyway, the plane ride was fine. We were in the very back of the plane, but it was really roomy, and we had our own row of two seats. It is so much easier and more calming to fly with a bunch of military personnel, and not the average monkey that flies commercial. The attendants provided two full meals and a snack, and they played movies throughout the flight. Although, Josh and I really didn't really do anything but doze.
We arrived about 2pm in Germany. It was cool and cloudy. After we went thru customs, we got to pick up the animals. They were a little shell-shocked, but really did much better than I thought they would, especially since I was expecting the worst. One of Josh's new coworkers actually picked us up in a van. Before we went out to our TLF (temporary living facilities) we had to go check in at KMCC (Kaiserslautern Military Community Center). It is basically a huge mall, but they also have some other offices in there. As soon as we walked in, we saw some old friends that we knew in Virginia (Sheila and Eric Johnston). She was on her mid-deployment R&R and he had come to visit her. Small world, eh?
At this point, all I wanted to do was get the animals out of their kennels and sit down, but Josh and his coworker wanted to do a quick walk-thru of the KMCC. Sooooo, I grumbled a little and then followed. It is actually a really nice facility, and I'm sure I'll have fun shopping there in the future. They have the BX (which is like Wal-Mart) and a furniture store, but also little local shops. They have a German baker, a German bar, a pottery shop, etc. etc.
Finally, we left and made it to our TLF. We are in one of two pet-friendly apartment buildings on base. It's actually a really awesome little apartment, with everything we could possibly need inside. Full kitchen, dining room, living room, two bedrooms, laundry room, and bathroom. We are on the top floor (it's a 3 story building) and have a really nice balcony overlooking a large dog-park. Not a bad set-up at all, and we can stay here for a month.
Josh met up with his old boss who's been here for a month, and they went to the commissary (the grocery store). I stayed to unpack and hang out with the pets. Although, I have to admit, I'm super-jealous he got to leave. I don't really feel like I'm in Germany yet. Josh got to go off base before they went to the commissary. He did say I will definitely feel like I'm in Germany once I'm on the outside.

I can't wait!!!