A little over a year and a half ago, Casey and I got the news that we were moving to Germany. I remember the moment perfectly. We were so happy and excited because this was a DREAM duty station for us! Especially after being in the midwest for two out of the three duty stations we have lived. Needless to say, we were ready for a big change.
Then after the excitement wore off, I was so nervous and anxious. This was unlike any PCS (Permanent Change of Station) we had done before. What all do we bring? What do we put away in storage? What will it be like? Where will we live? What about our dog? Sooo many questions. Luckily, we had a couple of friends who had just moved to Germany as well, so they gave us some good pointers.
It started to hit me too that I will be in a whole new country, far away from my family, friends and American comforts. I had a great job that I was leaving behind, unsure if I would be able to start again in Germany. However, that’s typically the case and comes along with being a military spouse. But all-in-all, I reminded myself that this was going to be the best decision of our lives. I was ready to travel and see the world in a whole new light!
Then, roughly three months after we got the news and Casey received his orders, we were off to Germany! After an 8 hour flight, we landed in Ramstein where we spent our first night. It was ROUGH. Jet lag is real y’all and hits you hard. Try to sleep on the plane ride over as much as you can! It’ll make the transition a little easier.
The next morning we took a bus down to Grafenwoehr, the Army post where my husband works. And let me tell you, my first impressions of Germany weren’t so great! I know, I know, but let me explain. I was grumpy, tired, and ready to get to our final destination. The last thing I wanted to do was ride on a bus for 5 or 6 hours. Not only that, but our first bathroom break was off the side of the autobahn where I witnessed an entire men’s football team peeing in plain site without a care in the world! My first thought was “where in the world did Casey just bring me?” It’s funny now looking back on it. We also stopped at the wonderful McDonald’s for lunch. Not exactly where I wanted to eat. Where was all the schnitzel and wursts I had been hearing about? (Don’t worry, I got my fill of that later.)
We finally made it to Grafenwoehr and got checked in. And that is where we then spent the next 45 days. Yep, you read that right. We were in the on-post hotel for 45 days while we were in search of our new home. Finding a home here is very different than any other duty station. It takes time! Now some people get lucky and find one pretty quickly, but we were pretty adamant on living off-post on the economy. If we were moving to Germany, we wanted to really live right in the middle of things to truly get to know their customs and way of life.
Flash forward to now and I can say that we figured it all out and are having the time of our lives! We found our new home and live in an adorable little town called Amberg. (I’ll be sure to do a blog post about our new home in the future.) I learn something new and find another reason to love Germany each and every day. It sure was stressful getting here (and not quite what I expected), but once you find a house and start to get settled, this foreign place will start to feel like home in no time!
