Weekend Wrap-Up (Paris) - (Germany) Day 215 & 216

Me and my honey in front of the Eiffel Tower

The view from the Eiffel Tower showing "The Palais De Chaillot" 

Saturday: We left early in the morning at 0100 on the USO bus. There is a park and ride lot right outside one of the gates at PHV where we met up, and unlike our last bus tour, this one came right on time. We were able to load up and we were all able to sit next to each other. The ride was long and uncomfortable, but I was able to sleep for a lot of it. We made one pit-stop to use the bathroom and get breakfast. The only problem was that the rest area they were planning on stopping at was closed, so they chose the next available one and it was only a convenience store. So breakfast consisted of some store bought goods and not a normal meal…we dealt with it.

We arrived in Paris at around 0700 and had a local tour guide join us on the bus. We then drove around Paris in the bus with the tour guide giving us information along the way about everything we could see. We made a few stops for everyone to get out and take photos, then we finished up in the "Place de la Concorde" which is a major public square in Paris. From this point we were within easy walking distance to some of the city's most popular attractions.

Of course the first thing my kids wanted to see was the Eiffel Tower, so we started walking towards it checking out the architecture and the scenery along the way. Once we arrived, we got in line and ate the lunch we packed from my backpack. The line wasn't too bad for the stairs…we waited for about a half hour then purchased our tickets to start climbing the over 700 stairs up to the 2nd level. The views were awesome and worth the climb. From the 2nd level you can also purchase a ticket to take an elevator to the very top, but my wife and my oldest daughter were a bit scared…and the line was pretty long. So we enjoyed our time in the tower and then made our decent. The climb down was much easier :)

We then walked around in the general direction of where we were dropped off taking our time checking out the streets and everything else. Once we made it back to the Place de la Concorde, we took a bit of a break. Everyone was a little tired from all the walking. My wife, son, and I had a bicycle cab take us to the "Arc de Triomphe", which is where I wish we would have headed first. There are several major streets heading out like spokes from a wheel. We came up the "Champs-Elysees" street and it had a number of shops and restaurants as well as a couple street performers.

By the time we got back, it was almost time to board the bus and head back. I found out that you really need more than just one day to discover Paris and all it's major sites. We loved our time here and the kids had a blast, but my wife and I will make sure to come back and visit the museums with "The Louvre" on top of that list. We also got to see the outside of the "Cathedral of Notre Dame", but I'd like to go inside and check it out as well. I think my wife and I could spend a weekend there and be satisfied.

The bus ride back was uneventful. I slept for a lot of it until we stopped for dinner. The restaurant at the rest area was a little unique in the fact that it straddled the highway, so as you ate your meal you could watch the cars go by in both directions. We were told to "make sure to exit on the right side". We ended getting back to Heidelberg at around 0100.

The USO put on this "Paris Express" tour. These express tours are a great inexpensive way to get out and see another place. The drive may suck and you may end up sleep deprived, but it's worth checking into if you are stationed in Europe.

Sunday: Sunday turned out to be a day of rest…literally. Everyone was so wiped out from the day trip to Paris we all slept in…well some of us more than others. I couldn't get my kids moving until well past noon. We headed to the shopping center and grabbed lunch along with a pair of shoes on clearance for my son. We headed back and watched some TV for the rest of the night.

On a side note…I've found that having my kids here has really limited my writing time. I try and jump on the computer at the end of the night before bed and type out something real quick. In my head I'd like to write up each day with some quality writing, but I usually end up just typing out everything as fast as I can and then uploading it. I've also taken a ton of photos that I will eventually get up on my flickr account. Until then please bear with me until I have a little more time on my hands…which probably will not be until my kids go back home in a couple weeks.

Germany Starts Here - (Germany) Day 1

I guess they got tired of people asking where 

the bathroom is at the Frankfurt airport

The last 30 days has rushed by as I knew it would. A month off seems like a lot of time, but I had to make sure all my household goods were picked up and shipped, and also had my car shipped off to Germany. During the time my wife and I both got sick for a good two weeks which really put a damper on my whole leave…so much for the flu shots they forced me to get.

The morning started off with yet another sad good-bye. It seems like I've had a number of these since joining the army, but this one was especially emotional because my wife was leaving with me. We had breakfast together with her family as well as my mom. I did pretty good until I was hugging my kids and saying good-bye. It just sucks having to leave them once again.

My father-in-law drove us to the airport in Seattle where we almost ran into a nightmare while checking in. Since we are moving to Germany for 3 years we packed quite a bit into our luggage as well as our carry-on baggage. My orders stated that we could each check in two bags at 70 pounds, but it turned out that one of my bags were over weight. The carry-on bags also had a weight limit we were unaware of. They weighed everything and it turned out that we had to actually check one of our carry on bags and pay extra for that as well as the overweight bag. The guy working at the counter for Lufthansa asked if I was PCSing to Germany and said he was former military and served in Iraq, then proceeded to tell me that he's going to waive all the charges which would have been $450! A great way to start our new adventure.

The flight was straight through…long and uneventful. We left at 1500 on the 26th and arrived at 1000 on the 27th. We both only grabbed some cat naps during the flight so we knew this was going to be a long day. Getting off the plane we weren't sure what exactly to expect. My orders said if there was not a liaison waiting then head to the USO and check in. When we found out how to get to the USO, we headed there with our cart full of bags and a guy came walking up in civilian clothes asking if we were PCSing. I said yes…and we followed him to a special check in area where he signed my leave form and we then waited for a bus to Heidelberg. Unfortunately we just missed the last bus so we had to wait 3 and a half hours. We hung out in the USO using their free Wi-Fi and my wife was able to slip in a quick cat nap.

At 1300 we then headed to the special check-in area once again and waited in their waiting room until 1330 when they accounted for everyone, then told us to wait some more. Our bus finally came around 1445. There was only my wife and I as well as one other fellow on our bus to Heidelberg. The bus ride was about an hour and we were dropped off at the lodging office in Patrick Henry Village. As they were checking me into temporary housing, they kept asking me if my sponsor was there. He wasn't at first, but then he arrived about 10 minutes later. He had a small van that he loaded all our baggage up and gave us a mini tour of the post with a stop at the commissary before dropping us off at our room. The room is much like a hotel room. It has a small bedroom, a living room, with a small bathroom and kitchen.

We were so tired. We tried to stay up watching a show, but it was a struggle for both of us. By about 1845 we gave up and went to bed. Being up for so long and unable to sleep on the flight finally took it's toll. We went to bed and both were out within seconds…hopefully we'll be able to sleep for a long time.

USO Surprise - (Korea) Day 302

SPC Mick after receiving his birthday cake from the USO

I had a dentist appointment this morning at 0830. It was only a cleaning, but it was nice to not have to wake up and go in for the early 0730 work call that everyone else had to do. The dentist was a little rough, but still bearable. I'm glad I don't have to go again for a while now.

I arrived at work and did my morning routine of checking my email and such, but was interrupted a few times to do minor things for various people. That seemed to set the tone for the entire day. It seemed like anytime I started anything I was called away to do something else. I tried working on a Windows 7 SkillPort, but couldn't even finish one section the entire day.

I had lunch in my room and video chatted with my wife, then headed back to the office a little early to make sure our conference room was setup for a "brief" from our colonel. This meeting had been setup for a while. Most of the folks knew it wasn't actually a brief, but a surprise for SPC Mick. His parents had worked with the USO here in Korea to help celebrate his birthday. The USO worked with our NCOIC to get everything worked out in advance. Once the conference room was ready, our office, our supply office, a couple from protocol, and our admin office all showed up for the "brief". When the colonel came in he said there would be a special guest speaker…and then came in the USO with a huge cake, balloons, and a bag of USO swag for SPC Mick. He was called up front and everyone sang happy birthday to him. It was pretty funny…especially since he had no clue what was going on until they walked in. What's funny is that the red, white and blue cake turned everyone's mouth and teeth either red, white or blue.

When we finally got back to working, the afternoon went just like the morning. It seemed like I could not get anything done. I started training PV2 Charlie on how to update the events calendar and it must have taken 2 hours because one of us kept getting calls to do something. Everyone except for me and Special K cleaned up and left at 1600. I stayed back and helped Special K study for his promotion board until about 1700.

When I got to my room I ended up not working out…somehow just lost my motivation. I instead went to the food court and ate Taco Bell volcano tacos. I then watched Greys Anatomy & Survivor…I can't help it…I love that show. I then packed my assault pack for a tour I'll be on with the young hawaiian and SPC Mick for the rest of the week. Hyundai gives a couple of tours to soldiers each year and we were all able to get signed up for this one. I'm looking forward to getting out and having some fun away from work. This also means it will be a few days before I update the blog again. I'll be busy taking pictures and soaking in the culture…plus I'm not bringing my laptop.

USO Lunch - (Korea) Day 198

Free Lunch at the USO! I guess it was sponsored by Volvo because they had their
cars out on display and we each received a little Volvo brochure along with our plate.

Work call this morning was at 0830. We setup for our normal Wednesday meeting in the secret conference room where I run the slide show. The meeting lasted until about 1100 and after that I headed to our admin office to check on our new colonel's account setup. What I walked into though was some deep conversation about how all insurance companies are frauds. The chief had a number of interesting theories about insurance companies. I too think insurance companies suck as well. I think they love to take your money and try to get out of paying you anything, but the chief hates them more than I do…a lot more!!

The admin office found out the USO here was giving a free lunch to service members, so I grabbed Special K and our air force master sergeant on the way out with the chief and Seaman and we walked to the USO. The food was a small plate of barbecued chicken and pulled pork along with potato salad. It was all pretty good and definitely worth the walk.

When I got back to the office I grabbed my paperwork and did the inventory of computers in our protocol office. After that I did some SkillPorts and then waited for a meeting in our conference room to end. It ended a little before 1800 and after we cleaned it up, we left the office at about 1800.

When I got back to my room I found that University of Phoenix is still down. I'm not sure if they're going to extend our class time or what, but I couldn't log in and do any schoolwork which sucks. I ate dinner in my room and watched a TV show, then I decided to finish the Bloodsport movies with "Bloodsport 4". I'm all for cheesy action/fighting movies, but this one had to be even worse than the previous movie. OMG it was like watching bad porno actors, but without any sex scenes. I felt sorry for all the actors and actresses in this movie. Even the fighting scenes weren't that good. I really can't believe they actually made this movie. Short plot summary...a cop goes undercover in jail to find out why convicts are going missing...it’s the “Dark Kumite”. They are taken to fight and he goes and wins. I can't believe I watched the entire movie, but I had to finish, just to say I've watched them all…no matter how painful it was. I guess there was a reason I never knew there were any sequels to the original Bloodsport movie….lol.

the wife

You and your B movies. (LOL) Watch as many as you can --- I can't handle corn-diggity fighting unless it's a karate classic with Bruce Lee. Remind me to ask you about UOP. I wanna know what their game plan is with you missing classes.

Love you!

Thursday, June 16, 2011 - 02:26 PM

Weekend Wrap-Up (DMZ) - (Korea) Days 131 & 132

From left to right: The young hawaiian's buddy, the air force master sergeant,
me, and the young hawaiian.

Saturday: Had to wake up at 0610 this morning in order to get ready and video chat with my wife a bit before heading to the USO. We had to be at the USO by 0730 for the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone…A.K.A. the boarder between North and South Korea) tour we signed up for. By we I mean, me, the young hawaiian & his buddy, the air force master sergeant in my office and PFC Pickle. We all arrived there except for PFC Pickle. He had called me last night and was sounding a little iffy. I tried calling him, but he didn't answer. There is a waste of $35 for him.

We all signed in and boarded the bus. It was a full bus and we headed out for the drive towards the DMZ which took around an hour. Our tour guide on the bus talked to us most of the way giving us a number of interesting facts. When we arrived near the DMZ at an army base, we switched buses and an army soldier boarded with us and took over as our tour guide. We headed up to the JSA (Joint Security Area) which is where any diplomatic talks take place. In most areas of the DMZ there is 2 kilometers on each side of the line that is uninhabited, but the JSA is an area where both sides come together. We were shown the conference room where diplomatic engagements take place. This room is actually right on the boarder of the two nations, so I was able to "step into" North Korea by going to the far end of the room. I can now add that to the list of countries I've been to…LOL. I was hoping to see a number of communists today, but unfortunately they only had one out and ironically he was taking our picture. We were told there were a number of North Koreans in the various buildings keeping a watchful eye on all of us at all times.

We then headed off to see some other various sites such as the "bridge of no return" and heard about all the various incidents that have occurred here since the war ended. It was all very informative and pretty interesting. After stopping at a few different places we headed to a place called "The 3rd Tunnel". This was the 3rd infiltration tunnel the South has found that the North has created for a surprise attack. Up until now they have actually found 4 and suspect there may be up to 16 more. We were able to walk down and actually check out the tunnel itself. It was quite a walk down and up. It's pretty crazy to think that this was even built.

Our last stop was an international railroad station called Dorasan Station. This station was built when relations were warming up between the two Koreas and the plan was to have a train travel all the way through North Korea and allow people to eventual travel to China and Europe. Relations soured after a North Korean soldier shot and killed a South Korean woman and the station was never used except for a few test runs. It's now basically only a tourist stop. I found it very strange to walk through the station. It was all quite and empty, but all the electronics were on. It was like some movie where all the people just vanish, or perhaps a zombie movie where all the normal people have disappeared. Either way it was an odd feeling walking around the place. There was a gift shop there, but that was about it.

We then headed to lunch and returned. I think most of the folks including me slept most of the way back. The trip wore everyone out. We arrived back a little after 1600. I headed back to my room and did some schoolwork. I then met up with the young hawaiian and we went to the movies since they are still free this month. We watched "The Eagle". It was a decent movie about a roman trying to regain his family's name after his father lost a legion of men in England. I'm glad it was free though, it's a movie that I would suggest putting in your Netflix queue, but not spending the money on renting. It was no Gladiator.

I then went back to my room and drank my bottle of communist beer that I was able to purchase during our trip. Surprisingly it wasn't too bad. After that I ended up doing some more homework before going to sleep.

At the JSA. North Korea in the background and the diplomatic meeting rooms in blue

The lone communist I was able to see this weekend

Inside the diplomatic conference room. Our US Army tour guide along with a
ROK soldier there for our protection. He's standing at "ROK Ready" 
perfectly still & showing no emotion.

Some North Korean items that were obtained during one of the many
incidents that have occurred at or near the JSA.

Sunday: I slept in…always nice. I then did laundry and had a chance to video chat with all my kids and my wife for hours. Gotta love it when that happens. I really hate being away from them for so long. I start to feel very guilty at times for not being there and being with them. I hate hate hate being apart.

The rest of the day was pretty mellow. I just did schoolwork, went to the gym and worked out, then came back and did more schoolwork. I then watched some TV and called it a night.

Weekend Wrap-up - (Korea) Days 4 & 5

Gyeongbokgung Palace during our USO field trip

My First Weekend in Korea

It's Saturday and I slept in. When I decided to wake up, I made my way to Starbucks with my laptop and made use of the free WiFi on base. While enjoying my coffee I was able to get ahold of my wife and make a Skype call. This was the first time I was able to actually talk to my wife which was very cool. There were a few hiccups, but all in all it worked out very well. I was able to talk to her for a while and then I took off to the movie theatre. I ran into a guy here that was in my platoon from basic and we headed out to check out the theatre. The movie theatre here is free for active duty…how cool is that! We watched "The Town" with Ben Affleck. Right as we walked in some music started playing and everyone stood up. We were wondering what the heck was going on, then quickly realized they were playing the South Korean national anthem, then they played the U.S. national anthem. Back to the movie…it was a fun show to watch…lots of bank robbing action. We enjoyed it and then with our stomachs growling, we looked on the map of the base for the nearest DFAC. The only one we could find was about as far away from the movie theatre as you can get. We decided to swing by the Pizza Hut on the way back to the barracks instead. The rest of the day consisted of watching a show on my laptop and then a movie on my laptop (Prince of Persia). A pretty laid back easy going day. I was thinking about taking a shower, but I don't think the army paid the heating bill. During this last week we had nice hot showers, but now there is no hot water at all. It really sucks. We also have no heat in our room, so at about 1 or 2 in the morning it gets pretty cold. There is a sign on the heater in our room that says "when lever is down heat is on, when lever is up heat is off". It doesn't matter if it's up or down, nothing comes out.

Sunday morning I woke a little earlier than planned. I had my alarm set for 7:00 AM sharp, but to my surprise at 6:40 I hear an alarm going off…but it's not mine…and it's not stopping. One of our roommates set his alarm, but left for a morning run and his alarm was just going off in his locker. No worries though because I was ready to get up anyway. After I got ready I took off to the Starbucks across the street for a coffee and a bagel. Then I made a quick Skype call to my wife. It's always nice when I can hear my wife. I then took off to the meeting place where we were all supposed to be at 8:40. At 9:00 a guy came out and asked if we were all here for the tour. Ummmm yes. So we followed him out of the gate and boarded a bus.

I was now officially on the USO city of Seoul field trip. Our tour guide was a Korean lady who had a difficult name, so she said to call her Sunny…"you know like a sunny day". The first place we took off to was a stream in the middle of Seoul. I guess the stream had been covered over in the past and in recent history the pavement was removed and the stream has been restored with a walkway on each side. I believe the stream was called Cheonggye or something like that. It's in the middle of a city street and is quite nice.

We then walked to Gyeongbokgung Palace. This place was pretty neat. We arrived just before the changing of the guards, so we were able see the entire ceremony. Our tour guide then walked us through all the parts of the palace such as the throne, the entertainment hall, the sleeping quarters of the king and queen and more. It was pretty interesting seeing everything, walking through a place that so many years ago was the home of a king. We then visited a folk museum before heading out.

After we all boarded the bus and took off the tour guide realized that we were missing one person. The bus actually did a u-turn in the street. There wasn't quite enough room to do the u-turn so the bus had to back up and go forward a few times before it was able to make it. All the time cars are passing by…not something I think you would see in the U.S. I'm not sure why we just didn't go around the block. We arrived back at the palace and the tour guide and a sergeant got off and started looking for the missing guy. After about ten minutes they came back with him. Then we all got to hear about the importance of being back at the meeting place at the correct time. (um…we all were, it was just the guy who they went and found that should have been getting this lecture).

We then went to another museum and then headed out to a Korean ginseng company to finish the tour. The ginseng company let us try some ginseng tea, ginseng candy, and about every other ginseng product you can imagine. I tried everything they had out to sample. They even had ginseng wine I would have liked to try, but unfortunately there were no samples of that. Some folks even bought ginseng cigarettes.

After that we were brought back to the base and dropped off. My biggest surprise...there are a lot of Starbucks coffee shops in Seoul. Not only that, but there are a lot of coffee shops in general. Not as many as I’m used to in Seattle, but still very respectable!

I took off back to the barracks to grab my laptop and head off to the food court. I got a haircut with a head massage (I think I can get used to that). Then it was time for lunch/dinner in the food court with free WiFi and a little Skyping with my wife.

The King's Throne at Gyeongbokgung Palace