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Our Motto: Home is, where our RV is.
Travel Journal April 2010
Area of operation
| Travel Journal April 2010 Begins at Charleston Air Force Base, S.C. where we spent several days waiting for a flight to Germany. It ends in Diedorf, Germany. |
 | |  | |  |
| | | | |
April Fool’s day was full of surprises for us. We had been advised the evening before of a flight at 5:30 AM.
Chuck spent the night in the terminal and Renée flipped the back seats down in the truck and slept there. Neither
of us had a good night. After the 5:30 flight failed to materialize, we drove off base to an I-Hop for breakfast.
After breakfast we drove to a shady city park, pumped up the air mattresses and had a few hours of restful
sleep under the oak trees. When we awoke, we drove back to the terminal with hopes of a flight that would take a
load of passengers. While sitting in the terminal that evening, we received a phone call from Citibank. They wanted
to know if we had made an online purchase of over $1500.00 from a marketing firm in the Philippines. Of course we
hadn’t! They immediately closed the account and wanted to send us a new credit card with a different number.
Here we are, sitting in the terminal waiting for a flight to Germany and our credit card gets cancelled and they are
sending us a new one, but to where? We finally managed to get them to send it to Renée’s sister where we hoped
we would be in a week or so. But that wasn’t the end of it! After we got the card in Germany, it took several days
and a call to the US to activate it, and then another call since the online system would no longer recognize the
password. When we were finally able to view the account, we discovered that they had also added a foreign
currency exchange fee of almost $50. After several phone calls and forms to be filled out and faxed, we were at
last able to have the transaction and the charges removed. We knew that the only time our credit card had been
out of our sight was at the I-Hop when the waitress took the card, then returned a few minutes later. While filling
out the paperwork for the disputed charge, we noticed that the I-Hop charge and the Philippine charge had the
same reference number (quite unusual). So it appears the waitress was able to use the card since she also was
able to provide the security code which is on the back of the card. Have we learned something from this
experience?
Now, back to the airport. After the last flight that evening left without taking any passengers, we went back to
the truck in the parking lot and had a few hours of sleep. The next flight was to be at 5:00 AM and we wanted to
be available for all possible flights. But the flight did not materialize. It was Good Friday and also our 42nd
wedding anniversary. Renée told the fellow at the counter that it was our anniversary and we would like a present
in the form of a flight. He replied that he had just been advised of two flights, one with 42 confirmed seats and
another with 26 confirmed seats. Chuck immediately replied that 42 + 26 = 68, the year we were married, and the
attendant replied that it must be an omen. We hoped that he was right! We then left and went to breakfast at the
air base dining hall.
The first flight was scheduled for Ramstein with 42 seats; the second with 26 seats was scheduled for
Spangdahlem. There were also two more flights to Ramstein with an undetermined number of available seats.
Most of the passengers wanted to fly to Ramstein. We also wanted to go to Ramstein but we were about the 60-
70 down on the waiting list, so we opted to take the Spangdahlem flight when it was called. All together, only 13
other people opted to take the Spangdahlem flight, since most people knew that Spangdahlem is “out in the sticks”
and it is difficult to arrange travel connections. But this would at least put us in Germany.
After receiving our boarding passes for Spangdahlem and checking the baggage, an announcement was made that
the first Ramstein flight (also with boarding passes and checked baggage) would be delayed because of
maintenance work being performed on the plane. A few minutes later, an announcement was made that the
Spangdahlem flight was also being delayed. In the meantime, another plane bound for Ramstein was available and
if the Spangdahlem passengers wanted, they could switch to this Ramstein flight. Of course all of us accepted the
offer as well as others waiting for a flight. The first load of Ramstein-bound passengers were brought back from
the departure lounge, we were checked through and in ten minutes we were bussed to a waiting C-17 (see photos).
Soon we were in the air and on our way to Germany, a very nice anniversary present! After a stopover in Gander,
Labrador where we had breakfast at 2 AM, we landed at Ramstein on April 3rd at 2 PM, with the typical German
weather for this time of the year, cool and wet.
Ramstein has a new (less than two years old) hotel/shopping center complex that is within walking distance of the
terminal. All of the rooms were taken but in the newly renovated guest houses nearby, we had a two room suite
with kitchen, microwave, etc. Both rooms had a TV plus a Wi-Fi connection. Total cost was $39 a night. It was a
short distance from the terminal, but a free shuttle bus service took us to the door. Before leaving the shopping
center complex we arranged for a rental car for Monday morning.
We went to bed and slept off and on until Monday morning. We were both getting a cold and were exhausted from
the past several days of living in an air terminal.
On Monday morning we picked up our rental car (a red Mini Cooper) and heard the news that the other planes still
had not arrived from Charleston. The car rental agency had reservations from several people that were to have
arrived from Charleston but none had picked up their cars. It looks like we were the lucky few that made it. That
evening we went to the Ramsteiner Hof for supper and celebrated our good fortune and the beginning of our tour
throughout Germany.
Elke, the lady who travelled with us through eastern Canada in 2007, lives in Bonn and we first visited her. We
drove from Ramstein toward Idar Oberstein and then to Kastellaun where we took a short break (see photos); and
then along the Hunsrückhöhenstraße through the Eifel and on the Rhine River to Bonn where we arrived at 5:30 PM
at Elke’s apartment in Bonn-Bad Godesberg where we were heartily greeted. Elke’s son Martin and his girlfriend,
Anja came for supper where we had Leberkäs, Bierstangen, Weisswürste, Brezeln and of course, a good German
beer. We stayed in Bad Godesberg until April 12th. Elke spoiled us while we were there. We did our first
shopping in Germany, bought a prepaid cell phone to use in Germany, walked along the Rhine, visited the Petersberg
(see photos) and met Martin and Anja at the Bönnsch brewery where Elke had invited all of us for dinner. We also
visited Anja and Martin in their nice little apartment where we viewed a slideshow of their visit last year to
western Canada. On the day before we left, Elke and Renée made Green Chile Enchiladas for supper. Anja and
Martin joined us.
On Monday, April 12th, we left Elke with the promise that we would drop by again at the end of our trip through
Germany. We arrived in Erolzheim late in the afternoon. Geli, Egon and Tim were already home from work and
school. We took over Julia’s room since she and her boy friend, Michi, have an apartment in Leipheim, where she is
completing her studies in physiotherapy. The reunion was sweet but short since we were immediately spoiled by
the chef, Egon with his creation for the evening: Balsamic sauce on Pork Loin with Zucchini and Polenta.
The next few days we were busy with our shopping list for Germany and we also purchased a gift certificate for
Geli’s 50th birthday at a garden center in Memmingen so she could purchase what she might want for her newly
completed patio. On Thursday Chuck invited everyone for dinner at a Gasthaus in Erolzheim. On Friday the
birthday party began with almost 50 guests (see photos), great food, music, poetry, tributes to the birthday girl,
good mood, champagne, wine, beer, etc. Julia, Tim and Michi tended bar, serving up almost any drink that one might
desire. The last guests left at around 3 AM. We put away the leftovers and went to bed around 4 AM.
Over the weekend we visited a local artisan market in Erolzheim, and on Sunday we went to the rest home in
Babenhausen to visit Renée’s step-mother (Oma) and Oma’s sister (Tante Anna) (see photos). During the following
week we visited friends and acquaintances in Altenstadt, Grönenbach and Aalen (see photos). We also visited
Julia and Michi in their apartment in Leipheim (see photos) and invited them to dinner at a local Chinese restaurant.
On Friday we drove to Biberach with Geli and Egon for a look at the city (see photos). Saturday we took a 16 mile
bicycle tour to Rot an der Rot (see photos) where we viewed the basilica and stopped for refreshments at an
outside pub/beer garden. On the same evening we went to a performance of Erich Kästner’s “Pünktchen und
Anton” for children and adults in the Kapfhalle in Ochsenhausen, along with Geli and Egon and a few of their friends.
(English title: Annaluise and Anton)
On the way back home, we stopped at the Marktschenke in Erolzheim for supper and an evening of conversation.
Sunday, April 25th was Tante Anna’s 86th birthday. Geli, Renée and Chuck visited her that afternoon at the rest
home to celebrate (see photos). We had our bags already packed and in the car since after the visit, we would
continue our journey, going to Diedorf where Jeanette and Klaus live. Oma was not feeling well and did not
participate in the birthday celebration. After cake, presents and good wishes, Geli went to check on Oma, and
discovered that she had developed a high fever. The doctor was called and after an examination, Oma was taken
to the hospital in Krumbach. Geli was on-call and had to go to one of her own patients so she was not able to go to
the hospital with Oma. Jeanette and Klaus were contacted and they drove from Diedorf to the hospital. We
arrived shortly thereafter. After Oma was subjected to multiple tests, she was placed on antibiotics and an
intravenous drip. Chuck and Klaus drove to Diedorf while Jeanette and Renée remained at the hospital to complete
the hospital’s administrative requirements. Meanwhile, Krissi and Nadine were preparing supper in Diedorf. It was
a German seasonal delicacy of fresh white asparagus and ham, mmm good!
On Monday afternoon Nadine introduced us to her boy friend, Jiri, and later Jeanette, Renée and Chuck drove to
the hospital in Krumbach. Oma was a little better. It was not pneumonia as suspected, but a nasty bronchial
infection. The urinalysis also indicated some problems. On Wednesday, Renée and Chuck visited her again since
everyone else was otherwise engaged. Oma did not seem to recognize us, or did not exactly understand who we
were, but she appeared happy to have visitors. We took along several old photos to look at and talk about. She
listened but she no longer has the ability to carry on a conversation. In the late afternoon we left the hospital and
drove back to Augsburg where we did a little shopping. The following day was also spent with shopping and that
evening we met Klaus and Krissi at the John Benton Steak House where Klaus had invited us for supper. Jeanette
was not with us since she had to work. She has 21 hour long shifts with a severely disabled patient at the patient’s
home. After a delicious supper, we visited Krissi’s new apartment that she will move into on May 1st. It is located
in the center of the old part of Augsburg. The apartment is quite large with a balcony. Directly under the balcony
is a beautifully manicured garden that helps to offset the surrounding buildings (a nature lover will understand
what we mean).
The last two days of April were somewhat uneventful. Thursday was warm enough to have supper outside on the
terrace (see photos) and on Friday we helped with the preparations for Krissi’s move to her new apartment. Chuck
and Klaus drove to Landsberg to pick up the rental truck. Renée and Jeanette drove to Krumbach to visit Oma.
And that ended April and our first month in Germany.
To be continued…..
Chuck spent the night in the terminal and Renée flipped the back seats down in the truck and slept there. Neither
of us had a good night. After the 5:30 flight failed to materialize, we drove off base to an I-Hop for breakfast.
After breakfast we drove to a shady city park, pumped up the air mattresses and had a few hours of restful
sleep under the oak trees. When we awoke, we drove back to the terminal with hopes of a flight that would take a
load of passengers. While sitting in the terminal that evening, we received a phone call from Citibank. They wanted
to know if we had made an online purchase of over $1500.00 from a marketing firm in the Philippines. Of course we
hadn’t! They immediately closed the account and wanted to send us a new credit card with a different number.
Here we are, sitting in the terminal waiting for a flight to Germany and our credit card gets cancelled and they are
sending us a new one, but to where? We finally managed to get them to send it to Renée’s sister where we hoped
we would be in a week or so. But that wasn’t the end of it! After we got the card in Germany, it took several days
and a call to the US to activate it, and then another call since the online system would no longer recognize the
password. When we were finally able to view the account, we discovered that they had also added a foreign
currency exchange fee of almost $50. After several phone calls and forms to be filled out and faxed, we were at
last able to have the transaction and the charges removed. We knew that the only time our credit card had been
out of our sight was at the I-Hop when the waitress took the card, then returned a few minutes later. While filling
out the paperwork for the disputed charge, we noticed that the I-Hop charge and the Philippine charge had the
same reference number (quite unusual). So it appears the waitress was able to use the card since she also was
able to provide the security code which is on the back of the card. Have we learned something from this
experience?
Now, back to the airport. After the last flight that evening left without taking any passengers, we went back to
the truck in the parking lot and had a few hours of sleep. The next flight was to be at 5:00 AM and we wanted to
be available for all possible flights. But the flight did not materialize. It was Good Friday and also our 42nd
wedding anniversary. Renée told the fellow at the counter that it was our anniversary and we would like a present
in the form of a flight. He replied that he had just been advised of two flights, one with 42 confirmed seats and
another with 26 confirmed seats. Chuck immediately replied that 42 + 26 = 68, the year we were married, and the
attendant replied that it must be an omen. We hoped that he was right! We then left and went to breakfast at the
air base dining hall.
The first flight was scheduled for Ramstein with 42 seats; the second with 26 seats was scheduled for
Spangdahlem. There were also two more flights to Ramstein with an undetermined number of available seats.
Most of the passengers wanted to fly to Ramstein. We also wanted to go to Ramstein but we were about the 60-
70 down on the waiting list, so we opted to take the Spangdahlem flight when it was called. All together, only 13
other people opted to take the Spangdahlem flight, since most people knew that Spangdahlem is “out in the sticks”
and it is difficult to arrange travel connections. But this would at least put us in Germany.
After receiving our boarding passes for Spangdahlem and checking the baggage, an announcement was made that
the first Ramstein flight (also with boarding passes and checked baggage) would be delayed because of
maintenance work being performed on the plane. A few minutes later, an announcement was made that the
Spangdahlem flight was also being delayed. In the meantime, another plane bound for Ramstein was available and
if the Spangdahlem passengers wanted, they could switch to this Ramstein flight. Of course all of us accepted the
offer as well as others waiting for a flight. The first load of Ramstein-bound passengers were brought back from
the departure lounge, we were checked through and in ten minutes we were bussed to a waiting C-17 (see photos).
Soon we were in the air and on our way to Germany, a very nice anniversary present! After a stopover in Gander,
Labrador where we had breakfast at 2 AM, we landed at Ramstein on April 3rd at 2 PM, with the typical German
weather for this time of the year, cool and wet.
Ramstein has a new (less than two years old) hotel/shopping center complex that is within walking distance of the
terminal. All of the rooms were taken but in the newly renovated guest houses nearby, we had a two room suite
with kitchen, microwave, etc. Both rooms had a TV plus a Wi-Fi connection. Total cost was $39 a night. It was a
short distance from the terminal, but a free shuttle bus service took us to the door. Before leaving the shopping
center complex we arranged for a rental car for Monday morning.
We went to bed and slept off and on until Monday morning. We were both getting a cold and were exhausted from
the past several days of living in an air terminal.
On Monday morning we picked up our rental car (a red Mini Cooper) and heard the news that the other planes still
had not arrived from Charleston. The car rental agency had reservations from several people that were to have
arrived from Charleston but none had picked up their cars. It looks like we were the lucky few that made it. That
evening we went to the Ramsteiner Hof for supper and celebrated our good fortune and the beginning of our tour
throughout Germany.
Elke, the lady who travelled with us through eastern Canada in 2007, lives in Bonn and we first visited her. We
drove from Ramstein toward Idar Oberstein and then to Kastellaun where we took a short break (see photos); and
then along the Hunsrückhöhenstraße through the Eifel and on the Rhine River to Bonn where we arrived at 5:30 PM
at Elke’s apartment in Bonn-Bad Godesberg where we were heartily greeted. Elke’s son Martin and his girlfriend,
Anja came for supper where we had Leberkäs, Bierstangen, Weisswürste, Brezeln and of course, a good German
beer. We stayed in Bad Godesberg until April 12th. Elke spoiled us while we were there. We did our first
shopping in Germany, bought a prepaid cell phone to use in Germany, walked along the Rhine, visited the Petersberg
(see photos) and met Martin and Anja at the Bönnsch brewery where Elke had invited all of us for dinner. We also
visited Anja and Martin in their nice little apartment where we viewed a slideshow of their visit last year to
western Canada. On the day before we left, Elke and Renée made Green Chile Enchiladas for supper. Anja and
Martin joined us.
On Monday, April 12th, we left Elke with the promise that we would drop by again at the end of our trip through
Germany. We arrived in Erolzheim late in the afternoon. Geli, Egon and Tim were already home from work and
school. We took over Julia’s room since she and her boy friend, Michi, have an apartment in Leipheim, where she is
completing her studies in physiotherapy. The reunion was sweet but short since we were immediately spoiled by
the chef, Egon with his creation for the evening: Balsamic sauce on Pork Loin with Zucchini and Polenta.
The next few days we were busy with our shopping list for Germany and we also purchased a gift certificate for
Geli’s 50th birthday at a garden center in Memmingen so she could purchase what she might want for her newly
completed patio. On Thursday Chuck invited everyone for dinner at a Gasthaus in Erolzheim. On Friday the
birthday party began with almost 50 guests (see photos), great food, music, poetry, tributes to the birthday girl,
good mood, champagne, wine, beer, etc. Julia, Tim and Michi tended bar, serving up almost any drink that one might
desire. The last guests left at around 3 AM. We put away the leftovers and went to bed around 4 AM.
Over the weekend we visited a local artisan market in Erolzheim, and on Sunday we went to the rest home in
Babenhausen to visit Renée’s step-mother (Oma) and Oma’s sister (Tante Anna) (see photos). During the following
week we visited friends and acquaintances in Altenstadt, Grönenbach and Aalen (see photos). We also visited
Julia and Michi in their apartment in Leipheim (see photos) and invited them to dinner at a local Chinese restaurant.
On Friday we drove to Biberach with Geli and Egon for a look at the city (see photos). Saturday we took a 16 mile
bicycle tour to Rot an der Rot (see photos) where we viewed the basilica and stopped for refreshments at an
outside pub/beer garden. On the same evening we went to a performance of Erich Kästner’s “Pünktchen und
Anton” for children and adults in the Kapfhalle in Ochsenhausen, along with Geli and Egon and a few of their friends.
(English title: Annaluise and Anton)
On the way back home, we stopped at the Marktschenke in Erolzheim for supper and an evening of conversation.
Sunday, April 25th was Tante Anna’s 86th birthday. Geli, Renée and Chuck visited her that afternoon at the rest
home to celebrate (see photos). We had our bags already packed and in the car since after the visit, we would
continue our journey, going to Diedorf where Jeanette and Klaus live. Oma was not feeling well and did not
participate in the birthday celebration. After cake, presents and good wishes, Geli went to check on Oma, and
discovered that she had developed a high fever. The doctor was called and after an examination, Oma was taken
to the hospital in Krumbach. Geli was on-call and had to go to one of her own patients so she was not able to go to
the hospital with Oma. Jeanette and Klaus were contacted and they drove from Diedorf to the hospital. We
arrived shortly thereafter. After Oma was subjected to multiple tests, she was placed on antibiotics and an
intravenous drip. Chuck and Klaus drove to Diedorf while Jeanette and Renée remained at the hospital to complete
the hospital’s administrative requirements. Meanwhile, Krissi and Nadine were preparing supper in Diedorf. It was
a German seasonal delicacy of fresh white asparagus and ham, mmm good!
On Monday afternoon Nadine introduced us to her boy friend, Jiri, and later Jeanette, Renée and Chuck drove to
the hospital in Krumbach. Oma was a little better. It was not pneumonia as suspected, but a nasty bronchial
infection. The urinalysis also indicated some problems. On Wednesday, Renée and Chuck visited her again since
everyone else was otherwise engaged. Oma did not seem to recognize us, or did not exactly understand who we
were, but she appeared happy to have visitors. We took along several old photos to look at and talk about. She
listened but she no longer has the ability to carry on a conversation. In the late afternoon we left the hospital and
drove back to Augsburg where we did a little shopping. The following day was also spent with shopping and that
evening we met Klaus and Krissi at the John Benton Steak House where Klaus had invited us for supper. Jeanette
was not with us since she had to work. She has 21 hour long shifts with a severely disabled patient at the patient’s
home. After a delicious supper, we visited Krissi’s new apartment that she will move into on May 1st. It is located
in the center of the old part of Augsburg. The apartment is quite large with a balcony. Directly under the balcony
is a beautifully manicured garden that helps to offset the surrounding buildings (a nature lover will understand
what we mean).
The last two days of April were somewhat uneventful. Thursday was warm enough to have supper outside on the
terrace (see photos) and on Friday we helped with the preparations for Krissi’s move to her new apartment. Chuck
and Klaus drove to Landsberg to pick up the rental truck. Renée and Jeanette drove to Krumbach to visit Oma.
And that ended April and our first month in Germany.
To be continued…..
