MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

What a great Christmas I've had!! I pray all of you are having a wonderful one too. On Sunday I went to Brussels with A.J. and Macaira (in the picture) and we enjoyed the Christmas market there. We also had dinner at a beautiful, and warm, restaurant. The highlight however was the music and light show in the square. It was gorgeous with opera music and they change the lights to fit the mood and tempo of the music. After dinner we went back to the square to catch the end of the show and the final piece of music was Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody! We couldn't believe it, quite awesome.
On Christmas Eve I saw the Pinto's again at another friends house, Mike and Kathy Radle, for a great Turkey dinner and a little Catch Phrase, my favorite game ever. That night I went to the Midnight Mass at the chapel on base, absolutely beautiful of course. I had to sleep till 1100 though on Christmas day to make up for the late nights previously. Finally, today I had dinner at another friends house, Drew and Karen Wilson, and had some more turkey, YUM!
I am thinking of you all and I pray you're enjoying your time together. Have a wonderful New Year!!!!

Bastogne

On Saturday a group of us travelled by bus to Bastogne for the yearly commemoration of the Battle of Bastogne. If you've seen Band of Brothers, this is the exact area it was filmed and it is a very accurate portrayal of what the men faced. We left at 0430 in the morning, quite early and very cold and dark!
Upon arrival we met with others to register and pick up maps, use the bathroom (or face the cold woods) and stretch out a bit. We had the choice of a 7km, 13km or a 20km walk. We, of course did not want to wimp out and do just 7km, but we also didn't want to spend our entire time on the 20km, so the 13km sounded just right. A.J. and Macaira Pinto, Andy and Jen Greenfield and Drew Wilson and I set off on our journey, only to discover we had misread the map! We went the wrong way and ended up at the memorial, although that was great to see:) We turned around and joined the rest of the masses as we watched the sunrise.
All along the walk there were reenactments and soldiers in authentic era uniforms. As you can see from the foxhole picture, even I got in on the fun! There were tents, foxholes, jeeps, first-aid encampments and even a chow truck set up. We also were treated to two Gluhwein stands and a hot chocolate stand, which we skipped to keep on towards our goal. About halfway through there was a large field where a parajump was done with old style round chutes. I have never parachuted myself, but I've talked to many people who have and I commend the folks who took part in this jump! It was freezing cold, extremely windy and they don't have much control. Not to mention, once they hit the ground they were at the mercy of the wind, which dragged more than one man a good distance across the field.
We finally limped our way into the city and enjoyed coffee, tea and ice cream (okay, only A.J.). Finally, we met at a small cafe and had a sandwich, then collapsed onto the bus for the ride home. I wasn't able to stay up past 9 p.m. and today my calf muscles feel like they are detached from my legs. All in all though, a wonderful experience and I look forward to next year!

A "MAJOR" PROMOTION

The Major's list came out today and I made it!! I just thought I'd let you all know, although the parents got the first call obviously:) My line number was 1083 so I'll probably pin on about this time next year. It was very exciting for the four of us that were present waiting to find out. Our Commander came over and congratulated each of us, then presented us with our first set of rank. We were all surprised to receive that and it made it very special.
Of course, it's also special to share this day with the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix DVD release! Plus, I just received my Hogwart's Trunk set of first edition books.
I didn't do much celebrating yet since I had a really long day of sim and debrief, but I did eat out at one of my favorite restaurants and all of the selectees will be pitching in for a big party probably the first week in January.

What does Waldfeuchter Mean?

In case you were wondering, Waldfeuchter means "a person who lives in Waldfeucht." The word "wald" means forest and the word "feucht" means mist.

Addtion to Wedding Photos

It was brought to my attention that as gorgeous as Holly and Kevin were in their wedding photo, there were some other cuties there as well! Here's my nephew Joshua and niece Hayley as the ring bearer and flower girl. Insert "ahhhhhh" here!

OKTOBERFEST

I have to say it was quite exciting to experience Oktoberfest in Germany. It was, of course, nothing like what we see in the U.S. I did not make it to Munich or any of the other large celebrations, but I did go to the Geilenkirchen, NATO Airbase celebration. There is a special kind of beer brewed just for our celebration!
I went with A.J. and Macaira Pinto, who graciously offered to drive, and we ran into quite a few people we knew. There was dancing on the tables, swaying with the music and cross dressing Germans. That seems to be one tradition I can’t quite understand yet.
I sampled the beer, which was quite tasty, and we enjoyed chicken, sausage, French fries and pretzels. I can’t wait for next year!!!

FESTIVALS, FESTIVALS AND MORE FESTIVALS

There is never a lack of celebration in Germany, there is a festival for any conceivable holiday or event. I’ve been to a wine festival, a pig festival, a beer festival, a shooting festival and a Christmas festival.
A few of those festivals were near Spangdahlem with my friends Mark and Jan McClay and their daughter Kaylee. We even met up with Matt Wittnam, who you may remember from some Korea connections. Matt and I enjoyed a NICE bottle of Ice Wine at Bernkastle and even bought souvenir shot glasses you wear around your neck in a leather pouch.
This is Matt Wittnam, whose name you may recognize from Korea Connections. He is displaying a beautiful bottle of Spatlese, which means late harvest. That lets you know it is a sweet wine.

CONGRATULATIONS KEVIN AND HOLLY!

I had to add in that I got to come home to see my sister Holly get married and it was an absolutely beautiful wedding. She and Kevin got married at the DC Ranch.
All of our siblings and Kevin’s sister and brother were a part of the ceremony. We even got there in time to get our hair done with Holly’s mom, Marge! It was quite an event and I’m so happy for them. I wish you both a joyous and beautiful life!
As everyone knows I will now probably be the LAST of the Tusen/Taulker/Balduf family to get married/have kids!

This is a picture of Sam and Angel when I first moved into my new house. They are napping on the Shinnen furniture. Schinnen is a support base in the Netherlands and they provide furniture and big appliances when we first move in.

Welcome to Germany

As you all know, I am now settled into my new NATO world here in Geilenkirchen. I actually live in a little village called Bocket in Waldfeucht with a few other American families. When I first started asking folks about moving here they told me the houses were pretty small and most American furniture would not fit. I found that to be completely false! Homes in Germany are taxed by the number of rooms so they do not claim “rooms” in the basement or attic. That also means there are no closets and we make do with shrunks instead, kind of like an armoire. The house I ended up with was advertised as three bedrooms, which is plenty big for just me. There was an added bonus when I went to the basement though, seven more rooms! There is a laundry room, of course, and an oil room with the furnace/oil container and another room that is set up for storage. In addition to those three though, there is one that could be used as a small office (now my wrapping/packing station) and three others that are bedroom size or larger that have heaters and everything. One of those rooms is currently the toy/play room for when kids come over and another is the scrapbooking room. The third is ready for when I have multiple quests who choose to stay at the quaint Balduf Bed and Breakfast!