Our First Adventure...Nuremberg, Germany

Today, we took a chance, went out of our comfort zone, and went on a day trip to Nuremberg. We had fun, but realized (the hard way) that research and planning is imperitive in order to maintain some sense of order and be able to actually enjoy the town to it's maximum potential. This trip was, for the most part, discussed yesterday. Steven has been in the German Head Start class and thankfully learned how to ask, "Sprechen Sie English". That asks if they speak English.

We caught the bus from Rose Barracks to Vilsek train station. The ticket to Nuremberg turned out to be very affordable for us (12 euro) because the kids were free. The train ride to Nuremberg was pleasant for everyone but me. No one else seemed bothered by the fact that we were sitting in rear facing seats which meant we were moving backwards. I, unfortunately, am very sensitive to such motion and felt a bit queasy most of the 45 minute ride.

Once we arrived at the Nuremberg Train station, the real fun began...we had no clue what to do at this point. There were people everywhere. No one was speaking English. There were signs pointing to places that I could only give an educated guess what they were. We followed the traffic of people and directions of the GPS on our cellphone. I needed to potty something bad...so we stopped in the McCafe (aka McDonalds). I admired the beautiful winding staircase in the midst of the fast food resturaunt as I hurriedly made my way to the toilette (restroom) at the top. There was a lady standing outside with a dish in which people would place change before entering the restroom. We had been warned beforehand that you had to pay to use the bathroom, so we were prepared with coins. What we were not prepared for was how much you had to pay. The lady could not speak English and kept telling us an amount in Deutsche (German). I showed her a 1 Euro coin and she said yes for Steven, Macie, and myself to enter the restroom. Later I realized that the charge was 25 cents, and we gave her a 25 cent tip. Learning my numbers and counting euro has now been raised on my list of priorities.

After the potty experience, we continued to follow the GPS, which brought us out to a very busy street. There were taxis, buses, streetcars, bicycles, cars, and lots of people EVERYWHERE. Seriously, I was expecting a typical small German town and found myself lost in a city comparable to that of New York City. Again, we walked in the direction of the crowd, and saw a man nearly get plastered by a streetcar. We were amazed at the sight that awaited once we neared the Hauptmarket. It was like a huge daily flea market, where everything from flowers, to trinkets, to sausages were sold. There were several cathedrals within the vicinity, but time did not allow for us to visit them on this trip.




The one and only thing that we had planned was a visit to the Imperial Castle (Kaiserbug). After a confusing walk through the town and then up a hill that I know burned at least 500 calories to climb, we found ourselves in awe overlooking the entire city. We purchased tickets (only 12 Euro cause kids again were free) that would allow us to climb the Sinwell tower (another 500 calories burned), see the "deep well", and tour the Palas. We did climb the tower, we saw the very deep well, but we got lost and was not able to tour the Palas. At this point, everyone was very hungry (again poor planning on our part)and so it was decided that we would just find something to eat and return some day with more time and a better itenerary.

We walked down the monstrous hill to a resturaunt (Hutt'n) that was suggested by the cashier at the castle. I did my best to read the menu and even tried to use the translator app on my phone, but ended up sticking with what I know and ordered bratwurst. I did not get the right kind though, because they were merely breakfast sausages. Steven, on the otherhand, ordered a nice plate that had several different kinds of Brats, saurkraut, and potato salad. I am finally getting used to drinks not being served over ice, and even went out on a limb and ordered "still wasser" (water that is not bubbly or carbonated).

Germans are very laid back compared to the hurried and rushed lifestyle of Americans. It is not wise to go out to dinner if you do not have at least 1 1/2 hours to spare. By the time we were finished eating, it was time for us to make our way back through the hustle and bustle of people to the train station. Though we did take time to shop for a souvenier and turn the ring on the "beautiful fountain". This is said to bring good luck, which we will definately need in the next 3 years. As we were walking back, shops were already starting to close. It is mandated that stores close early (6 pm through the week, and 4pm on weekends) in order to protect the small "mom and pop" businesses. We were able to take in some street performances by musicians, and other entertainers that didn't even realize they were entertaining us on our way back to the train.



Thankfully, we were able to squeeze on to a train that would ensure our connection bus transportation in Vilsek. At first I was worried that I would have to sit rear facing again, but apparently the lucky turn of the ring was already working in my favor and we scored good, roomy seats that faced forward during our return ride. Once at the Vilseck station, we caught our ride with the shuttle bus and held on for our lives for the next 10 minutes. It was a fast, and nauseating ride. I was so glad to see the Commissary parking lot and didn't even complain about the walk to the hotel room. Once in the hotel room, we were eagerly greeted by our sweet dog Rocky. We decided not to take him this trip until we learned the ins and outs of having him with us on trips (Germans typically take their dogs everywhere...even resturaunts). We do hope to take him on future adventures, although we were very thankful that we did not have Rocky on this go around.

Well, that sums up today's adventure. It was definately a memorable experience for all. I saw such beautiful sights and could not help but murmor a few words of praise to God for His glorious creations and for giving my family the opportunity to enjoy this little piece of heaven on earth.

Finally...we are in Germany

Well, the adventure can now officially begin. After much hard work, lots of anticipation, dreaming, and anxiety, the Nunley family have safely arrived in Germany.

I have been so busy over the last few weeks (and its not really over yet) that I have not posted anything since July. I hope to do better once we get things settled.

After sadly leaving our friends in Texas, we took 2 weeks to visit family in Tennessee. It was a very enjoyable, but busy time together. My cousing got married and we attended 3 or 4 birthday parties. In addition to family time, we also had to tie up loose ends with the flood repairs on the van, and getting the animals ready to travel to Germany. I realized how much I really love my 4 legged babies and how badly I wanted them with us in Germany.

Our families gave us a nice "send off" party and it was a great opportunity to see everyone. I was glad to see each of them just before leaving, but it was so hard to say goodbye. In fact, Alison states that "goodbye" has now been added to her list of bad words that she is not to say.

Just before leaving for Atlanta, Georgia on Sunday morning, we could not find Prince. We searched all around but could find him anywhere. As much trouble as I had gone through to get him ok'd to travel with us, we could not risk being late and potentially missing our flight. With tears in my eyes and heart, I had to leave him behind. While Prince has always been notorius for disappearing just before we are to leave, he has never went "missing" for this long. I feared the worst and just prayed really hard that wherever he was, he would be safe!!!

We arrived in Atlanta right on time and even had time to meet up with my best buddy, Jennifer for lunch. The ticket agent at the airport was from Austria and was super nice to us. I think that he could sense the anxiety in my eyes, and dad even commented that I was shaking. The agent did not charge me for extra baggage weight (and I had a few pieces that were well over 50 lbs) and even gave our parents gate passes so they could accompany us to the gate. That in itself was a big blessing because they were able to assist Steven and I getting the girls through security.
Telling our parents goodbye only seems to get harder each time that we leave. We love them and hate leaving, but...this is what we do, and it not only puts bread on our table, but affords us lots of opportunities that would only be dreams if it weren't for Steven's job. Our parents have benefited by this as well, and we can't wait until they can broaden their vacation horizens and visit us in Germany.

We boarded the plane, which by the way, was the nicest and largest plane we have ever flown. The airline was extremely pet and family friendly and even allowed us to board first (which was very, very helpful). The girls didn't wallow in sadness for very long because their attention was directed to the personal tv's located in each seat head rest. They watched movies and listened to music the entire trip. The meals were excellent as well. I just wish that I could say the same for the comfort of the seats. I practically had to go look in the mirror to ensure that I still had a rear, becuase I was numb from sitting. The first class seats looked much more comfortable, and I had to remind myself to control my envy for those sitting in them.

We had a very safe and smooth landing in Frankfurt at around 8 am. We were actually about 1 hour ahead of schedule thanks to some tail winds over the ocean. Once we claimed our precious dog and load of luggage, we were escorted to a holding area where we waited for about 2 hours for the bus manifest. Thankfully we made it on a morning bus and did not have to wait any longer than 2 hours. The bus ride was much longer than we had expected. We thought it was only a 2 hour drive, but turned out to be more like 4 1/2 hours. I felt really bad because Rocky had to be loaded underneath the bus after already spending nearly 11 hours under an airplane. He was just as happy as we were when we finally arrived at Vilsek around 4:30 pm.

The drive was long and boring. There is not alot to see along the autobahn with exception of a few small communities dotted along the route. The houses look alot the same, but one interesting thing is that it appears that they use alot of solar power and windmills. The windmills were like the ones that you see on the kids show, Teletubbies. I was expecting to see Tinky-Winky, Dipsy, La-La, and Po start running and rolling down the hill, but they never did. I must also make note of the smell here. I had been warned that it smells like piggy-poo and that turned out to be very true information. We actually saw a tractor that was pumping it out over the crops. This will be something that will definately take some getting used to if that is even possible.

Upon arrival, we were exhausted and just happy to have a shower and bed for the night. It did not matter that it is old and small. After bringing in ALL of our many pieces of luggage and organizing them as best as possible, we walked to the commissary to get some essentials for the next 2 or 3 days. We could not get much because we had to be able to carry everything as we walked back to the hotel. I made pizza and quickly discovered that there are going to be challenges as we make Europe our new extended vacation home. I pride myself at being good with math, but I will need to brush up on the metric system as I nearly burned the pizza.

The weather was cooler, but not as cold as I had expected...so that is a blessing too. I am sure that colder is on its way though. We came prepared with new coats and snow boots and are so excited to hopefully see snow this Christmas.

After eating and hot showers (with warm towels...they have towel warmers in the bathrooms)we were able to connect to the internet and chat with a few people on facebook and skype. We were so releived to hear my mom say that they had found Prince (our cat) and that he was, in fact, safe. I guess that he will stay in Tennessee until someone comes to visit us in Germany that doesn't mind toting him along with them. I just hate that we will have to do the whole process over again, as it is only good for 10 days. Oh well, it will work out soon enough.

Well, this post is very long as I wanted to be sure to cover as much detail about our travels as possible. I won't be able to call as often, and am limited on space with facebook, so this is the best possible plan for the moment. I will get pictures as soon as I can find my camera...it is in a bag "somewhere" amongst the mess of suitcases stacked up the wall. Until my next post...I love you all and miss you!!!