Wochen Drei und Vier

Whoa! These past two weeks have zipped by without so much as a warning shot. Last week was spent pretty much just around the house, as everyone but Frankie was sick, spending their energies trying to get better, and I was spending mine to concentrate on staying healthy. So... not much to report für Woche drei. However, we did attend a Margarita/Enchilada Night on Saturday, which was much fun. Wonderful home-cooked Mexican food, a couple of perfect Margaritas, and makeovers done by a sweet five-year-old girl, who apparently believes the whole face is a canvas for every color imaginable.

Monday took Aunt Sandy, Elijah and I into downtown Stuttgart for the afternoon. We rode on the S-Bahn rather than the car, which gave me my first glimpse at Germany's public transportation system. The S-Bahn system was extremely similar to Portland's MAX system. The tickets were purchased at an automatic kiosk, and they relied on the Honor System for validity. Innenstadt Stuttgart is comprised of a mixture of historic buildings and a GIANT outdoor mall. As far as I could tell it was just like any mall in the States, but with no roof or common building. And then there are beggars and street performers hanging around some of the store fronts, like you'd find at Portland's Saturday Market. We found a café for lunch, and I consumed the most delicious ham & cheese ciabatta sandwich ever created.

I think this is a good time to insert this notable observation: At every place I've gone out to eat at so far, the food tastes exactly how it ought to taste. As far as I'm concerned food critics would be out of a job, because I've yet to find any dish that is sub-par.

The rest of the day I was admiring the shops and the people. Apparently the Germans love to window-shop, which is great, because so do I! If I can spend the day downtown amongst lots of interesting people, submerged in the world of attractive and expensive items, able to enjoy the beauty and glamor of it all without spending a dime, then you can call me perfectly happy. Of course, it's always fun to get something fun for yourself if the mood strikes you, or you see something you just can't pass up. For instance... an adorable grey + white + yellow hoodie zip-up!! Or perhaps some flower hair clips. Finds like that are irresistible, of course.

Thursday I colored my hair red again, but the results aren't all that shocking or even noticeable, in my opinion. Better luck next time!

Friday morning we (Aunt Sandy, Elijah and I) made our way out to Ramstein (just a couple of hours away, by car). We had several plans ahead of time, but as it turned out not one of them would work out (except for visiting the giant flohmarkt). The trip was originally planned so that we'd be able to attend the annual memorial service for the T-43 that went down in '96, but that ended up being postponed to Monday. We were also going to meet my recruiter for the first time, but she canceled. Finally I planned on meeting up with a friend from high school stationed at Ramstein, but she emailed minutes before we left saying that she was called into work. And this isn't to mention the several friends Aunt Sandy planned to get in touch with to see while we were there...

Soooo... we got to the base and as it turned out, President Obama was speaking in Strasbourg, which meant that his plane was stationed at Ramstein Base! My aunt noticed it wasn't a regular plane, but it wasn't until we went to take a closer look and talk to some other people checking it out that we decided it was in fact Air Force One.

Then Aunt Sandy continued giving me a tour of the base, which is much larger and more accommodating than the Army posts around Stuttgart. And by 'larger' I mean it's absolutely huge. We made our way over to her former work site, where there's a permanant memorial for the '96 T-43.

That night we had a delicious dinner, during which some guy within a group of a few service members stared at me throughout most of my meal. He wasn't unattractive, so I didn't mind quite as much as I otherwise might've, but still... it was a bit disconcerting. Then we went to go see Monsters vs. Aliens. Luckily we found an English-showing of it out on the German economy.

Sunday we made it to ___________? for the monthly flohmarkt, which is apparently a huge event. I regret that I didn't get any pictures of these, but I saw several rings with weird white stones, shaped oddly (or suspiciously) like teeth. And they were usually showcased with the Nazi paraphernalia and Swastika-laden jewelery, badges and medals. We asked a man who had one of these what the ring was made with, and he pointed to his teeth. Crazy. And the fact that I saw more than one ring, at more than one location, leads me to believe these were a common type of trophy. Wow.

Other common items spotted inluded pewter goblets, wine glasses, old skeleton keys, and funky-colored typewriters. I found a few cool treasures to take home, including several rings I apparently couldn't resist, as each turned out to be better than the one before it...