Arrival and First Impressions

We landed in Stuttgart 14 hours and several years ago. It's been a non-stop whirl. It feels like days.

We all dropped dead of exhaustion a few hours ago. As I write this, it's 10pm local time and everybody but me is fast asleep... my body having decided that -- despite 6 hours sleep in the last 40 -- it can't be fooled into believing that it's really night outside.

Early impressions. Everything is the same, just better built. I realized that I'd have a hard time prying Piper out of this country when we picked up our rental car and found that we were given a diesel Audi A4 with manual transmission. Nicest rental car I've every driven. Heck, one of the nicest cars I've ever driven. Piper wouldn't let me touch the steering wheel til the end of the day when she was falling asleep standing up.

European roads are another matter. Fortunately we have a GPS since we have absolutely no idea where we are.

We celebrated our first casualty to European 50 Hz, 220V electrical today. Our computer stereo speakers were laid to rest wtih solemn honors.

Construction is very, ahem, German. Everything seems built from solid cement to last 200 years. Possibly I exaggerate but not by so much as you think. No drywall. Doors fit hermetically. Closing a door has the satisfying response that I'm used to when I shut my refrigerator. A little surreal. The guys painting white lines down the middle of the road were wearing tidy smocks that looked like they belonged in an Intel chip-fab room.

The military base is like little America. It's going to be tempting to do alot of banking and shopping there. Unfortunately, that'll hinder our learning German. On the other hand, it avoids the cost of the 20% VAT tax which makes Gas and other stuff soooo much more affordable.

Speaking of cars and VAT taxes: a sidenote. If my nephew wants me to track down a gray market, VAT tax free Smart Car before he turns 16, he'd better start sucking up to his cousins. I'm thinking that a care package would be in order. Back to our regularly scheduled programming...

One negative. I have, however, seen the seamy underbelly of the German psyche and that is traffic. This is a land full of pleasant, courteous folks who very much want you to step on it and move your car along a little more briskly, thank you very much. We were the recipient of much tepid horn honking today; our first broadside occurred before we had even cleared the AVIS garage. I see much train travel in my future.

Blessings to all our friends reading this. Once my IQ returns to normal levels, I'll start working on updating this site and beginning to post photos.