Domaine Hotel Leidinger Saarbrücken

Tracy and I are going to buy some gorgeous pieces of furniture during the next three years. Of that we are almost certain. It pains us now to see so many beautifully crafted antiques (book shelves, schrunks (armories), desks, tables, etc.) and know that they're out of our reach for now. The pieces you see pictured here were all somewhere between $1,300-$3,000, but honestly worth every penny.

This morning Tracy and I met DeAnna and Andrew at a bazaar near Ramstein AFB ...

... able to speak the language: Spanish. Here I am in an unfamiliar culture and often surrounded by an unfamiliar tongue. Fortunately, before negotiating the rainy roads and the waters of burocracy, I had the pleasure of attending 'Rincón de español', or 'Spanish corner', with some Spanish-speaking military spouses here on post. I may write more about Spanish corner at a later date.

To be continued...

... knew that DeAnna and Andrew were right behind us in their car, so we had start thinking about how to maneuver to fit us both in, but for us to get out without getting stuck. I was beginning to feel like a human Tetris block. Tracy adroitly managed a number of forward and backward adjustments with the 'Black Mamba' (her Nissan Pathfinder) to permit DeAnna to inch her car to our left. As DeAnna crawled forward, Tracy incrementally found tiny spaces in which to turn her car around ...

... a homecoming.

Here is the photo of me already looking better than 5 days before. The French nurses were excellent in ensuring that any scars resulting from the injuries to my face were minimal.

I was airlifted to Ramstein airbase and then transported by ambulance to Landstuhl.

If I were to describe my treatment there, it would be first ...

This is where the Air Force base is and its only about 7 min away. It's basically a little America here...they have everything from gyms and a pool to a shopping mall. It's really convenient and really nice to have a place to work out and somewhere where I understand what everyone is saying and what's going on...but I'm in Germany! So I am going to try not to come here too often.

So I technically live in Henschtal, but it's easier to say Glan-Münchweiler because its the town next town over and a bit bigger. Henschtal is beautiful! We seriously live in the country and it's such a neat change. The people are really warm and friendly and sadly they all speak English...the Elsner's know everyone and I am quickly meeting all of the neighbors!

(82 miles) We started the day in Luxembourg along the Moselle river and got to a point where Germany was on our left across the river and France was right in front of us. We crossed the river into France and began some pretty good climbs. We then cut into Germany in order to ride back to Forbach which is in France. Our first teaser of ...

... families are no exception. Now I've talked with my friend before posting any of this, so it's not me being a jerk. It's just the truth of the situation. You all know how much I enjoy watching people and tonight was no exception. We had the single soldiers who were trying to get people to notice them by acting like they didn't want to get involved in the show, but as soon as the ...

i cant belive the flight was so long and i couldnt sleep on the plane. but in the end all was worth it. 14 hours after the start of my journey i was happy i took the chance to do it. every thing exept the castles look a lot smaller, took me a while to get used to the driving ( the roads are ...

... meant to me until tears involuntarily welled up during the national anthem and a lifetime of heartbreak melted waway, surrounded by 20000 australians who had lived the same moments as me. The next 90 minutes are both a blur and exceptionally vivid; they went so quickly yet for eternity; they took through despair, utter outrage, pure and unadulterated ecstasty, exhaustion, reflection and sadness. There are few other moments in life where you live on pure irrational ...