Things to do in Grafenwoehr

Since moving to Grafenwoehr, Germany in August of last year, I have gotten daily traffic to my blog from people looking for things to do in Graf. Even though I don’t live there any more, I thought it was high time to help those folks out. You want to know what there is to do in Grafenwoehr? Here’s a little listy:

On Post

• Go to the movies. I use this website to see when the show times are. Keep in mind that this isn’t like an American movie theater; there’s only one movie a day and they aren’t even open every day. Be sure to take cash (USD) because that’s all they accept for payment.
• Bowling
• Bingo (skip the buffet they offer and spend more money on your cards)
• Hit up the gym. It’s open 0530 – 2100 during the weekend with reduced hours on the weekend.
• Hang out at the USO. They’ve got free wifi, free snacks, computers that you can use, a video game lounge, and a huge selection of movies that they play constantly.
• The Warrior Zone. I’ve never been but it’s pretty much like the USO but geared toward single soldiers with pool, karaoke, and occasional poker tournaments and other events.
• The Zone Sports Bar.

Within an Hour of Graf

• Weiden (There’s a great farmer’s market hosted here on a regular basis.)
• Nuremberg (don’t miss the market during Christmas time!)
• Bamberg
• Regensburg (There’s a great mall here, too!)
• Eat at Tortuga’s Restaurant. This is the best place to get your Tex-Mex fix nearby. You can make a reservation by posting on their Facebook page, which you will definitely want to do if you want a table on the weekend.
• Eat at Da Peppino’s. We would have eaten here daily if our waistlines and wallets could have handled it. You can dine in or take it to go.
• Biking, hiking, nordic walking, regular walking, running. It’s a very exercise-friendly area for the most part. I was able to find enough trails and sidewalks to get in a 15 mile run about 10 minutes outside of post.

Farther Away

• Munich (2* hours away). Plenty close if you are interested in going to Oktoberfest.
• Rothenburg ob der Tabuer (2 hours away). This is another location with a famous Christmas Market.
• Prague, Czech Republic (2+ hours away)
• Salzburg, Austria (3 hours away)
• Bertchesgaden, Germany/The Eagles Nest (3 hours away). Keep in mind it is only open April – October and pending good weather.

(*All distances are approximately how long it would take you to get there by car.) If you are willing to travel even farther away, the possibilities become endless. Europe is your oyster!

If none of these floats your boat, I’d suggest checking out Germany Ja and Buzz Off Base. Both blogs have given me great ideas of what’s around town. Another good resource is the MWR & ODR. They host regular events and trips (you have to pay, but they take care of all the logistics). Finally, don’t forget about Facebook. There’s a very active Vilseck/Grafenwoehr spouses facebook page with tons of information. Definitely worth a look.

Any well-traveled readers or kindred spirits in Grafenwoehr with other suggestions? I know this is only the tip of the iceberg!

 

The Gold Nugget Rides Again

Hello, Beautiful!

Back in March, right before we left Germany, we said goodbye to our car (The Gold Nugget). It was stressssful, probably one of the most stressful parts of our PCS. We had an appointment to turn our car in on a Thursday, just a few days before we were flying out of the country. If our car hadn’t passed inspection, there would have been no time to fix whatever needed fixing and turn it in before we left. We would have had to have gotten a friend to turn it in for us, which would have required power of attorney. I’m not sure how we would have done that during Easter weekend. Bonus stress: we heard that there were no more appointments available for the entire month of April. Gulp.

By the grace of God and the skin of our teeth, our car passed inspection and they took it away! (You can read more about the car turn-in process here in a post I wrote for Germany Ja.)

What, you might ask, happens after we turn in our car? How does the Nugget get from Grafenwoehr to El Paso?

When you turn in your car, you are given a date that you can expect to receive it back. Cars are moved on a priority basis in terms of their due date. The Nugget and its comrades with similar due dates were loaded onto a truck and driven to an ocean carrier. The cars on the ship are all covered and protected. This stage takes a long time and there is the potential for mold and other bad things to happen, so the shippers take a lot of precautions. (This is also part of the reason they are so picky when you turn your car in.)

The journey goes a little something like this, but I really only have a vague idea of the specific locations my car traveled to and through.

The ocean carrier makes a sloooooow voyage from grand ol Europe to coastal Georgia. The shipping and receiving area in Brunswick, Georgia is huge. Thousands of cars are going in and out on a regular basis. Again, cars are moved based on the priority of their due date, so it’s possible for your car to hang out there a while. The Nugget, thankfully, did not. He was loaded up on another truck and driven to the Dallas Vehicle Processing Center. We got really lucky that there was a vehicle pick-up place in Dallas (our home town) as there are only 18 in the country total. (Some people have to travel much farther than we did to get their cars.) Bonus bonus: the car arrived right before Great Strides weekend. Bazinga! I flew out early since the VPC isn’t open on the weekends (seriously?) and I picked up our coche the Friday before Great Strides.

I inspected the Nugget before getting the keys. I thought everything was honkey dorey. Imagine my surprise when a few miles down the road, I realized that the mirror part of the driver’s side mirror was nowhere to be found. (Actually, I thought the mirror was there and just really dirty. Turns out I was looking at the stuff that is under the mirror.) I knew the pick-up process was too easy.

The side mirror does not belong in my hand; it belongs on my car.

Le sigh. That means a few million rounds of paperwork to file a claim and get reimbursed. I’m one part really annoyed that there was damage, one part really annoyed at myself for not realizing it until after I left the lot, and one part really thankful it was something so minor.

Following Great Strides, Stephen and I drove the nugget from Dallas to El Paso. (If you are tracking, that’s our fifth time to make the 9 hour drive.) Not far outside Abilene, our other side mirror popped off. (Don’t worry, we got temporary side mirrors from Auto Zone so we aren’t driving blind or anything dangerous.) Again I felt annoyed, but I kept reminding myself that it’s no big deal in the grand scheme of things.

I’ve since then I have gotten the nugget inspected and we are working on getting it registered. (Luckily registration is a tad easier since we are already Texas residents.) Once we wrap that up and take care of our claim, all this car craziness will be dunzo. Thank goodness too because I get exhausted just thinking about all of it!

Housewife No More

I can no longer carry the title of “Lady of Leisure” because I got a job! That’s right, I’ve given up sleeping in, eating bon-bons, being at my husband’s every beck and call (that’s what housewives do, right?) so I can work at….

A gym! (I actually started work the same day Stephen left for the field. Oh, the timing of the Army.) It’s not something really cool like being a trainer or teaching zumba (though that certainly would be interesting). Instead, I’m just a general employee aka “recreation aid,” and I could not be more excited about it. This is the kind of job I wanted.

I love teaching. It’s my passion and five years in the classroom really isn’t enough, but where I’m at in my life right now, this is right up my alley. I wanted a position that wasn’t emotionally demanding (and oh boy is teaching ever emotionally demanding!), I wanted something that I wouldn’t have to take home at night, I wanted to work on post, I wanted to be around people my own age (no offense to 12 and 13 year-olds, but there is something to be said for adult conversation) and the gym fits all these perfectly!

I’m not sure what this means for my career. Maybe it’ll be harder to get hired as a teacher in the future, or maybe I’ll decide that I never want to teach again. (Although I do feel a touch of sadness every time I say “I used to be a teacher.”) I just know that this is my speed right now.

I worked at a gym once before during my junior year of college, so in a weird way, working at the gym makes me feel young again. Then again, the physical aspects (cleaning, bending, reaching, lifting) remind me that I’m not that young. Ha!

My university gym. I know it looks unimpressive here, but the inside is the shizz. Since I graduated way back when, they have continued to improve it. Two words for you: leisure pool.

So there you have it. I went from being a badass teacher to a badass housewife to a badass gym employee. Or something like that.

Anyone else step away from their “career” to work “just a job?”