Welcome.

Welcome All,

If you are viewing this blog then someone who doesn't think very highly of you wants you to be exposed to my often pointless ramblings about the things I see and do while on temporary assignment in Stuttgart, Germany. Whoever would have thought I would have a blog? I used to tease friends who have blogs. What's next a Twitter account?

I will try to post a little something daily, but honestly, life here is about the same as everywhere else (only in Germany). You wake up, you go to work, you come home, have dinner, relax, go to bed, and repeat the cycle for 5 days. There is lots to do on the weekends and I am committed to getting out.

My wonderful sister, Mary Beth, was kind enough to email me yesterday (she just got back from Las Vegas where she and her family were visiting her brother-in-law who works at the Wynn Hotel and Casino, which is an incredible place and the best in Vegas), and she suggested I start a blog. My friend, Mike T, in TX, suggested I set up a facebook acct like he had. I told him I was not a 14 year old girl so that was out.

I correspond with my wife, Jodi, daily (Hi Honey. Look I have a blog!), who is very smart (just ask her and she will tell you) and had been telling her how bad I feel about not emailing and keeping up with everyone. Telephone calls are very expensive and it would be impossible to write a personal email to everyone. As smart as she is, neither she nor I ever thought to start a blog. So...my hat is off to my sister.

On the weekends I have a little extra time so I have been writing weekly recaps and sending them to Jodi. Since those are already created, I thought I would cut and paste those just to bring everyone up to speed.

Here you go:

Keep in mind that this was a personal correspondence to my wife so the greeting of "Hey Honey" does not refer to you ((unless you are Jodi (Hi Honey!) who is reading this)) but feel free to insert your name.

Ramblings for day 2 (Sat, 9 May 2009)

Hey Honey,

Not much going on here so I thought I would give you an update.

I decided to try and stay up as late as reasonable yesterday in order to get my internal clock adjusted. Stayed up until midnight or so (Germany is +6 hours from EST).

Woke up at 730 am but didn't really feel like getting up yet but remembered that breakfast was included with my stay and was served from 0630-1030. I figured it was safe to doze off. Much to my surprise, it was 1015 when I woke up. Oh shit! I jumped out of bed and threw on some clothes so I would not miss my free breakfast.

I figured the free breakfast here would be like the free breakfast at every hotel...horrible, but better then nothing. Much to my surprise, it was a breakfast that would have otherwise cost USD $12-15. They had all kinds of fresh breads and rolls, cold meats, cheese, 5 kinds of yogurt, 4 kinds of cereal, juice, coffee, tea, smoked salmon, fresh tomato slices with fresh mozzarella cheese, fresh scrambled and fried eggs, tiny thin pancakes, breakfast sausages, etc. it was surprisingly good and I ate enough for it to cover lunch, too.

After breakfast, went back up stairs and surfed the Internet for a while and then showered. What now? It's only 1245.

I've got a great idea! I will explore downtown Stuttgart. I put on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, grabbed my sunglasses and hat, dropped the camera in my pocket and I was off.

The train/rail stop is right in back of the hotel, so I headed down there. The digital sign told me that the next train was 7 minutes out. No problem...just needed my ticket and I am off. I got to looking at the ticket machine and the very complex map of the train system. Turns out that I needed to enter a destination code. 6 minutes and 45 seconds later and after an extensive map study, I tapped in the number 101 and paid my EUR $2.40. Just in time too as I could hear the train coming.

I wasn't really sure where to get off, but I knew the train would take me where I wanted to go. All trains go downtown, right? After countless stops, I determined that I was almost at the end of the line. Where is downtown Stuttgart? I figured maybe the train was not such a good idea. It did not know where I wanted to go after all. So, I got off, walked across the tracks and waited for the next train which I hoped would take me back to the hotel. So much for my big adventure. At least it didn't end Curious George style.

I did run into quite a few people just getting on off the train though. The few things I noticed is that Germans DO NOT wear shorts. It is 75 degrees and sunny with a gentle breeze and everyone is wearing jeans or pants. Some even sported leather jackets. Also, no one wears ball caps. I did see a 9 yo kid wearing one but he might have been an American. So, only Americans or Germans aged 9 or younger wear ball caps here. I hope they realize that I am photosensitive and I did not have any sun screen on. On a brighter note, apparently German youth have a little more sense then American youth as the one tattoo I had exposed was one more then everyone I encountered had. But why don't they wear shorts?

It is so beautiful today, I figured I would set off on foot. The getting lost process is much slower and you can turn around whenever you want. So, I walked to the only place I really knew....over to the base where I work (15 min walk). At a minimum, I knew I would want to eat dinner and I would need one of those $1.99 gas station sandwiches they sell at the 7 Day Store. The base is like a little part of the US except this little part of the US is surrounded by a fence and people with guns check IDs at controlled entry points to make sure you are clear to come in. Wait...I have an idea....

Once again, I saw people wearing shorts and ball caps. I knew I was in the right place. God bless America. The only thing missing were SUVs and anything made by Ford or GM. Well, with the price of gas and the state of the US automakers, all of the US will probably look like this pretty soon anyways.

It is kinda funny that to buy certain items, you need to present a ration card. Did they know the war was over and we had plenty of everything again? In order to buy coffee, cigarettes, and liquor, you need to present your ration card which limits how much of those things you can buy every month. For gas, you need a separate ration card. Once you use up your rations, no more for you. The fence and armed guards are fine but THIS is not part of my America. I feel like I should be able to buy as much liquor, cigarettes, and coffee as I want. I don't need THE MAN telling me how much booze I can buy every month. Don't even think about buying guns and ammo. So much for my perfect little piece of America. Could someone back in the states go buy some bourbon and bullets just to make me feel a little better? In some states, I think you can get both at the WalMart. God bless the WalMart.

I mentioned to the old woman at the 7 Day Store check-out counter that I tried to get downtown on the train but wasn't sure where to get off. She told me that I don't want to go downtown today anyways so it was just as well. She told me there was a football (soccer) game at the stadium today and that the games tend to attract a part of society that is a little unsavory. I told her I didn't care much for liberals myself and thanked her. The last person I wanted to run into was Sean Penn and for all I knew, he was a fan of the local soccer team. Turns out that she was talking about "hooligans" who cause a ruckus and are a troublesome bunch.

I got back to my room in time to watch Formula 1 qualifying but it was broadcast in German. I really miss the commentary of that drunken sounding English guy that they have on the American broadcast. Oh well, I can still follow along well enough . I see Sponge Bob is popular here but, again, broadcast in German. I didn't know Mr. Crabs and Patrick were bilingual (Patrick is not very smart). A crabby patty is probably EUR $2 instead of the USD $3 we are used to paying. By the way, it is a pain in the ass to carry two different currencies in my wallet. We should go back to using gold coins.

Saw a lot of cool cars today. Lots of Porsche, Mercedes, BMW, Opels, Citroen, Smart Cars and even a BMW M5 Estate (station) Wagon. Yes, a V10 engine that puts out 500hp and it is full of wagony goodness. It is not available in the US (other than me, Americans aren't much for wagons), but if it were, it would sell for around USD$ 90,000. Even the taxis are BMW or MB.

It is funny that seeing a Ford or Chevy is like seeing a Ferrari or Rolls Royce in America. I caught my self exclaiming "Holy shit! Did you see that? A Ford just went by!" There are actually a fair number of Fords here but no GM.

Well, that has been about it so far. Guess I will watch episodes of "The Office" tonight (and every night for the next 7 mos). Even if I know German, it looks like German TV sucks anyways.

Guess I will find a place to smoke a cigar. Hard to get lost when you are just sitting smoking a cigar.

Happy Mother's Day tomorrow.

Your Ever Luvin' Husband (there is a funny story behind this closing, ask Jodi for it)

Michael