Wednesday, December 29, 2010

1LT Cole's Promotion



Matt's promotion ceremony and reception was today! No more butter bar, he's got a silver bar now :)

We met all the folks in his new unit, the 357th Air Missile Defense Detachment. It was my first promotion ceremony, and quite interesting. But I felt a little awkward when I was the only one not at attention.

So here we go, pictures from the event :)




                    the 357th Air Missile Defense Detachment                              


His cake! WAR EAGLE!


Pinning his rank on :)


Reciting the oath


A very warm welcome

Congratulations to Matthew!!!

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Sembach and Such







Yesterday Matt and I set out to Sembach so that G could get some new, more snow friendly, tires. Sembach is the name of the village we are moving to in just a week. It's to the east of Kaiserslautern, on the way to Frankfurt. It's out in the country, with quite a few farms. We found the perfect house for us in the middle of it.

So while G was getting spruced up, we head out to discover our new neighborhood. It's so quaint and quiet, no hustle or bustle. And we found a cafe and restaurant just 10 minute walk from the house!

Here are some pictures that I took. The house was being cleaned up and painted, so even though I took some pictures of the inside, it didn't do it any justice. So you'll just have to wait until we move in :)

Peace,
Brittany

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Skype




Over the last two days Matt and I have "Tangoed" with Sarah and Daron, as well as "Skyped" with my family.

In case you aren't aware, Tango is an application you can get for your iPhone (aka God's Gift) so you can face-to-face chat with ANYONE, ANYWHERE!!! And Skype is the stationary version of that. Skype is used on any computer (or able mobile device) to communicate while seeing the other person.

Though Matt and I discovered Skype a little over a year ago when my girlfriend Tressa moved to Paris, we didn't start using it regularly until our friend Thomas moved to Malaysia. Long story short, his sleep schedule is always irregular to the norm in his time zone, so we'd often catch him at the most opportune times for us. Thus began our obsession.

Since then we've kept in touch with our German friend Max this way as he has lived in Paris and NYC, as well as our friends and family back home in the states while we've been in Germany.

Before I left the states, my grandmother Dot Dot told me of the time she and my grandfather and the family were stationed in Japan. They didn't fly there, first of all. They took a boat. And she had no idea what to expect. But the hardest part, to me, would be that she had only letters to communicate with family and friends. Sure, there were telephones. But it was not affordable, and only used OCONUS (outside the continental united states) in cases of emergency or as a special treat.

Picking up and moving somewhere completely new is hard enough. Make it a different time zone, and things get hairy. But it is quite difficult to think about leaving those you know back at home, and Skype makes all the difference.

Yesterday I was talking to my parents and grandmothers on Skype, and it was so fun to see how excited they were that my face was on the screen! I kept thinking, I bet Dot Dot wishes she had this a few years ago.

And just now I got done talking to my brothers and nieces and nephews. Now I love my parents, and I adore my grandmothers, but there is something about seeing those little munchkins that really makes your heart melt. If even for a second.

The fact that I'm not with them hurts. Especially if you sit around and dwell on it. But how cool is it that I just showed my nephew how much snow was on the ground...in GERMANY! Pretty neat.

So if you are out there and haven't utilized this most amazing piece of technology, look into it. That is all :)

Much love from us to you,
Britt and Matt

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Frohe Weihnachten


Yesterday was Christmas (Weihnachten) for the Germans, and today it is Christmas for us! We have already exchanged presents (Matt showed me up, big surprise) and are watching Christmas movies all day!

So far we've watched "A Christmas Carol", "A Christmas Story", "The Santa Clause", and "Home Alone" a few weeks ago. Matt has never seen "It's a Wonderful Life", so I hope to introduce that to him later today. I adore that movie.

We also watched 3 episodes of The Office, all Christmas party episodes, and laughed ourselves silly! "Is that Princess Unicorn? I thought they were all sold out...My horn can pierce the sky!"

Though Heidelberg Castle was on our list of things to do today, the snow has made that impossible. I shoveled our friend, Ben's, driveway this morning. It is nothing like they show it in the movies! I worked up a full on sweat and had to shed layers down to a my long sleeve shirt. That's the yucky part of snow :(

Well, that's about it. I don't know what we're going to do today. Perhaps just watch Christmas movies until our eyeballs fall out.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
Brittany and Matthew



Friday, December 24, 2010

1LT Matthew Cole



I don't have any pictures to go with this post, and I can't believe I'm just posting this.

Matt was finally promoted to 1LT this week!! An early Christmas gift, and a pretty nice welcome to Germany.

We will be having a promotion party for him soon. I'll post pictures and details after.

Merry Christmas Eve to all of you in the states, and Frohe Weihnachten to those of us in Germany!

Brittany and Matt

More of Trier




Love prayer candles!


Stained glass


A prayer circle of angels


I love the arcs!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Trier


Today we visited Trier, Germany's oldest city. We visited St. Peter's Cathedral (AMAZING!!!) and the town. It is absolutely beautiful, and I cannot wait to go back!

Besides the cathedral (again, I cannot even begin to say how beautiful it is) we made a pit stop at H&M, big surprise! HA! Matthew expanded his European wardrobe and I picked up a jacket. Matt is looking quite local lately, and I adore it!

I don't know if Trier was more fun, or receiving my Christmas gift from Matt. He bought me a Nikon camera, the one I've been drooling over for months. He really surprised me with this one. I thought for sure we couldn't be getting it for some time.

Pics to come with that one! We hope to make it to Heidelberg tomorrow!


Tschus!
Britt



Wednesday, December 22, 2010

First mobile blog

Thanks to Sarah, I found out about blog press, an app for mobile blogging! Yay!

BBC out


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Tressa Visits!










This weekend Tressa trained it from Paris to see us!! I'm not going to lie, even with all the new things, I've been a little homesick. Matt and I were so happy to see our good friend!

She arrived Saturday and we took the train from Kindsbach to Kaiserslautern where we attended the Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas Market) downtown. There we indulged in delicious glühwein, our first German beers and a delicious dinner at Spinnradl.

Our plans were to head to Heidelberg to see the castle and old town, but as you can tell by the picture, we were snowed in.

All in all it was an amazing weekend!!

Brittany and Matt

Friday, December 17, 2010

We can drive!




So Tuesday Matt and I took our driving test. The night before we reviewed the book and what not, and Matt was just sure we were fine. So I said, what they hay, I guess we are.

And he was half right. That is, he passed the test on Tuesday. I laughed it off, and signed up to take the test Friday AM (this morning). I haven't studied this hard since Senior finals.

I bought note cards, read the entire manual - twice, wrote and rewrote notes. I studied at least five hours a day Tuesday through Thursday.

And then this morning. I woke up, after barely sleeping (oh memories of college), and hit the books one last time. After receiving 6 inches of snow, we weren't sure if the Autobahn was even open, or if the roads were clear. But we headed out to Daenner to try our darndest.

Waiting to take the test was torture. I writhed in anxiety, and almost got sick. I. Loathe. Tests.

Within a half hour I was done with the test. Our teacher messed with me and shook his head in disappointment, then said, "Mrs. Cole, you made a 99!" He said that's the highest he's graded :)

Lesson learned. Just because Matt studies the night before and passes, doesn't mean I can do the same thing. Plus, now I can rub it in his face that I scored higher ;)

Cheers!
Britt

Sunday, December 12, 2010

HOUSE!!!




Matthew and I went house hunting today. We've heard this is a long process and to prepare to view at least seven or so houses. But we went to this one, and it all worked out!

It is two stories, 5 bedrooms, one and a half bath, with a very large backyard and patio. The house was built in 1971 (new for this part of the world!), however it has been remodeled and we absolutely love it!

The kitchen is a little small, but average, maybe even large, to be German. The feel is mostly modern, which we love, with a little bit of old school as there is a cute little fireplace and bushes lining the backyard.

It is located in a more suburban area called Sembach, and the village is most lovely! We get our paperwork ready on Tuesday, and it will be ours! Then we just have to wait to move in until 1, January.

And, Sembach is seconds away from the Autobahn and offers a 15 minutes drive to work for Matthew. It's such an adorable village, out in the country a bit. Perfect for Patton.

Anywho, thought I would share this little tidbit of info with you all. We are now looking at cars for me. I wanted a green Mercedes Elegance (never heard of it? yeah, it's got European written all over it), but Matt has talked me into an older red BMW over the "jellybean". We shall see.

Yesterday I spent the majority of the day applying for jobs in the area. Please keep your fingers crossed, there are a few of these I'm really interested in!

Oh, and the picture about is from downtown K-Town. Add a little photoshop and you have a masterpiece, haha!

Til next time,
Britt

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Our first few days in our new town!








It has been fun, so far. We've gotten our new phones (iPhones, FINALLY!), started in processing, set up an appointment to take our driver's test, etc.

We headed down to Kaiserslautern last night, walked downtown and ate dinner at Spinnrädl, an authentic German restaurant. Matt ordered a turkey salad with spinnrädl dressing (it is like a mixture of ceasar and ranch), and I got a "farmer's salad" with oil and vinegar dressing. It was so delicious! I found it odd, though, that they put fried potatoes on top of the salad. The tomato soup that came before the salad was A-MAZ-ING!!!

Afterwords we strolled the Christmas Market and Matt got a nutella filled crepe!! I only had a bite (okay, three) and it was scrumptious! Absolutely the best combination of food I could imagine, besides peanut butter and chocolate :)

We also had glühwein, which is like a mixture of hot wine and cider. So yummy!

Oh, I almost forgot. It's been snowing here like crazy. Though some of it has melted, it's pretty slushy. Ew.

Matt and I trekked through it all to get to the commissary yesterday. We had a nice little stroll through Vogelweh. I quite enjoyed it...that is, until we had to carry the groceries back.

Well, that is about it for us. I guess we better get back to house hunting and studying for the driver's exam...help me.

See ya later,
Britt and Matt

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Willkommen in Deutschland!



We arrived in Frankfurt on Wednesday, December 8th at 7:10 am local time. Greeted with Lebkuchen treats and friendly smiles and welcomes, we made our way to what I like to call the "military compound of Frankfurt" inside the airport.

Well, ya know. Let me share the email I sent to the fam:

Hallo!

We have made it to Deutschland! Matt and I have been up for 35 + hours at this point, and it's surprising how well we are functioning. That being said, please understand my grammar/punctuation/spelling/sense in general may not register to well rested humans. So forgive me.

Let's see, so we left Dulles at 1721, 7 December (was that yesterday? or two days ago???) and arrived in Frankfurt at 0710, 8 December. Matt has me writing/speaking like this now.

And it's really weird because it feels like we've been up for two whole days. I mean, heck, I guess we have. This is the weirdest experience ever...and I'm not even tired yet!

Anyways, we arrived in Frankfurt, picked up Patton (who was scared to death) and headed to the army facility they have in the airport. And, of course, Patton thought it would be entertaining to relieve himself immediately upon exiting his crate. I mean, I can't blame him. He was holding it for quite some time. But I don't know why he had to make sure he soaked my leg...yes. Disgusting.

We then proceeded to the buses which shipped us to Kaiserlautern and there our sponsor picked us up and showed us around a bit, before taking us to his house to drop off Patton (he's keeping him there so we don't have to kennel him). As soon as I left his car I, not used to this so called "snow" and "slush" proceeded to bust my backside in his driveway. I'm the only one who found it hysterical, which made for an awkward moment.

Then we stopped at a local Germany eatery, "Subway", and now we're chilling in our room trying not to fall asleep too early. And that's about it.

We'll I guess that's it for me. There's a little piece of Lebkuchen calling my name :)

Britt and Matt

That pretty much explains it. Busting my ass in front of Matt's boss has not been the highlight of our arrival, I must say. It would probably be that it snowed six inches last night :) Quite an improvement to the "let's shut down school, there are flurries" days in Alabama.

I shall talk to you all, soon, my pretties!!!
Britt and Matt

Saturday, December 4, 2010

This is It!



It's the final countdown. 72 hours and counting. Matthew and I just don't know what to do with ourselves! All of our things are gone, including the television. Which I guess we should count as a blessing, but seeing as the TIGERS are playing in the SEC CHAMPIONSHIP today, well, we're not so thrilled. This has allowed us to spend more time talking, going to the movies, and catching up on missed episodes of The Office on Hulu :) And today we'll have to find a bar to watch the game.

Yesterday I was so ready to go (it's depressing just hanging around) that I begged Matt to call United and see if we could get in on an earlier flight. Reluctant, he complied. They said we could possibly make it on last evening's flight, but that was too soon!

And being the spaz that I am, I've called the airline probably 2,000 times to confirm Patton's safety and such.

Our friends Emily and TJ are also moving to Germany (Vilseck) and phoned yesterday to let us know that pets are not allowed on flights where the temperature in the area of departure and arrival is 20 degrees F or less! Which could be an issue, as it has been super cold here in Virginia, but even colder in Frankfurt. I'm talking single digit temps with subzero windchill. God help me.

We have a contingency plan (thank you Matthew) and hope that we won't have to use it. I'm only freaking out a little (understatement of the century).

Poor Patton has no clue as to what's going on. He's become weary of movers, because he thinks he's going with them. So whenever Matt and I get up and walk into another room he follows us at our feet. And he's always been a snugglebug, but lately you can't get him off! He just plops right down on your lap and stays until you forcibly remove him. Ha!

And the cold weather. Christ. I don't know what to expect. I know he sure doesn't! But we have his argyle wool sweater ready for the flight, along with blankets in his crate. If he'd let me, I'd wrap him up in nice warm scarf as well. But that would end up in his belly, and then result in an embarrassing waste pick up.

So this is most likely my last post in the states for some time. Unless we have a malfunction of sorts or I become extremely bored.

That being said, Auf Wiedersehen!
Das Coles

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Thanksgiving









This has been a most wonderful past few days with family and friends.

Mom and Mike (Matt's mom and stepfather) came in town and we cooked up a storm!! Turkey, dressing, squash casserole, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, cranberry relish, sweet potato-ginger bread, derby pie, and pumpkin chocolate chip squares. WHEW.

We are still eating on the goodies.

Our friend Max brought his roommates Jeremie and Flo to dinner. It was really fun to catch up with Maximilian and meet new friends!

Friday we watched Auburn beat Alabama (THANK GOD), and Saturday we hit the road and toured the National Mall with the guys. So much fun! A particularly touching experience watching our European friends discovering our capital for the first time.

Now we're watching The Great Outdoors with our friend, Sam. He is headed to Bremerhaven, Germany in just three days!!

Which reminds me, we'll be headed that way in ONE week!!!

Later Taters,
Britt and Matt