Auf Wiedersehen, Geldersheim!

As I mentioned in THIS POST we have left our quaint little German town of Geldersheim and are in the process of moving on post at USAG Grafenwoehr. We have so enjoyed living in a German town and I wanted to take a few pictures around Geldersheim to remember our time here. 

Our apartment in Geldersheim was perfect in so many different ways. We had the nicest landlord who was always very kind to us. He spoke a little bit of English, but when he felt he couldn't communicate something clearly he would use Google translate, print it out, and tape it on our door. The commute to work was short for RC and we had beautiful views of the fields from our living room windows, which you can see from many of my Instagram posts (1, 2, 3, 4). Germany is absolutely beautiful when the weather is nice! A short walk from our house were bike trails that led to towns over an hour away. Many times after dinner we would walk along the trails. Especially on nights when the sun didn't set until after 9 pm. Tractors were a common sight and occasionally we experienced all that came with living in a farming town aka: the wonderful aroma of manure. 

I am so glad we were able to live in a private German rental our first year in Germany. 

I'm afraid I wouldn't have felt like I was really living in Germany if we hadn't. 

RECAP:: Pisa & Tirrenia, Italy

• FLIGHT -- RYANAIR :: Quick flight direct to Pisa in under 2 hours!
• TRANSPORTATION :: We were in a group of 4 couples, 2 of which had kids so we did a mix & often went with whatever was most convenient at the time. Sometimes we took a taxi, sometimes we took a bus. When we did pay to ride the bus it was very cheap. (Italy seemed pretty lax- we rarely saw anyone pay.) It was less than 3 EURO per couple for a 70 minute ticket.
• HOTEL -- GRAND HOTEL CONTINENTAL :: One of the pricier hotels we've stayed at but perfect for our beach front desires. Breakfast was included and they had a convenient lunch buffet by the pool. AC worked great and the hotel was conveniently located. Gelato stands and restaurants just around the corner. Short taxi ride or 25 minute bus ride to Pisa. Perfect mix for relaxing on the beach and sightseeing in the city. 

Pisa Shenanigans

jumping   //   throwing   //   handstands   //   drinking

(Plus a little photobombing from an almost 2 yr. old)

All necessary for a day of fun in Pisa. 

First Glimpse:: Leaning Tower of Pisa

Bagno Mary:: Seafood Spaghetti Buffet

It took us a couple days, but on our last night we finally did dinner right- Italian style! We waited until 7:30-8:00 to go to dinner. The unusual stares and modified dinner menus the first two nights were our hint that dinner at 6:00 was way too early for the Italians. We went next door to Bagno Mary and made a reservation for their 25 EURO All You Can Eat Seafood Spaghetti buffet. We weren't really sure what was in store, but it was recommended as having some of the best fresh seafood and, lets be serious, as Americans we were all over a 'buffet'. For 25 EURO we were given 1 bottle of wine per couple, an appetizer, three different types of seafood spaghetti, and dessert. A ridiculously good deal. The food was amazing! And there was so. much. food. We were told we could order as many plates as we wanted, but after "sampling" (i.e. an entire serving) each type of spaghetti we were barely able to muster up enough room for one more platter of spaghetti for the table. Bagno Mary was the perfect way to end our adventures in Tuscany.  

Tirrenia, Italy:: Sun & Sand

Another Move, Another Adventure!

USAG Schweinfurt is closing down so we're moving once again! Luckily it's just 2 hrs down the road. We've accepted the offer for our new house, scheduled an inspection, and our movers are coming in 3 weeks!  

For our last 2 years in Germany we will be living on post. Something new for us! I'm really looking forward to it. Everything will be closer and RC will have a quick commute to work. We are on the 1st floor of a 2 story unit and have a great outdoor area. The inside hasn't been renovated and shows its age a bit. It has a really choppy floor plan, but we feel like the advantages definitely outweigh the disadvantages. We are gaining an bedroom & bathroom and I will now have a full sized American oven! The kitchen overall is bigger and like I mentioned earlier we LOVE that we will finally have a yard. We can also kiss transformers goodbye because on post housing has both 110 and 220 outlets! 

I'm sad to say goodbye to Schweinfurt, but I'm looking forward to making Grafenwoehr our home.

Here's to another move and another adventure!