Quick Visit to Germany

Although this trip occurred a couple months ago, I didn’t want to leave it out of the Journey. Going to Germany was the best unexpected trip ever!

Both Douglas and I needed to have some routine blood work done. In the states we would simply make an appointment with our doctor, which is typically on base or at a nearby Naval Hospital. The process is quick and easy. But Algiers is nothing like the states. Without getting into the specifics of how the Department of State and the Department of Defense operate, we could not be serviced at our local health unit at the embassy. Within days of finding out this news, we received information stating that we were approved to go to the closest military hospital. To our fortune, the closest one was in Germany.  Almost immediately, two tickets were purchased for us to fly to Frankfurt where we would stay for three days with our lodging covered and per-diem provided.  I had never looked forward to going to the doctor so much in my life! I have a huge fear of needles, but getting poked in my arm was now the last thing on my mind. 

We arrived early evening, around 6:00 p.m. Region headquarters arranged for a Marine to pick us up from the airport and be our source of transportation the entire time. After experiencing a few technical difficulties regarding our lodging, everything finally worked out for us. We drove about 45 minutes away from Frankfurt to stay at an Army Base in Wiesbaden, Germany. Their lodging facility was one of the best we had ever seen. We dropped off our luggage in the room and headed right back downstairs to explore the town. 

Hilton Hotel. Never seen one shaped like this before.

 

 

Oh how I miss seeing a stop light and a crosswalk.

 

 

Although I don't eat McDonald's, I sure was happy to see one

Shopping district in Germany

It was pretty nice to be in a country where things felt normal again. Germans walked the streets freely, vehicles drove with respect and consideration for other cars on the road, taxis were available at almost every street corner, and restaurants offered menus that were actually in English. Things were good! We caught a taxi to downtown Wiesbaden where large shopping districts and many restaurants are located. Douglas and I had such a good time walking up and down the mildly crowded streets, going in and out of stores, and stopping at various food vendors for scrumptious treats. Most of the restaurants had outside seating. The only negative to being outside is that there was no option for a non-smoking section. Many people smoke in Germany. Douglas and I stumbled upon a great restaurant that served American style food with German flavor. We sat outside underneath small umbrellas basking in our surroundings. Our meals were delicious! I had a turkey and veggie kabob, baked potato and a side of broccoli. Douglas had grilled salmon with a side of veggies. When that food came out we were in heaven! After dinner we made our way around the city a little more and then went back to the hotel. 

SALMON....Oh how we missed you!

Never knew how much I enjoyed broccoli until I moved to Algiers where it's extremely hard to find

 

 

We saw this sign and considered seeing a movie since there are no theaters in Algiers

Hmm.....this isn't exactly the kind of movie we were thinking about

And....moment over....so much for a theater experience

The next morning we packed all our belongings to check out of the lodging facility. We were scheduled to stay in a different city that night. Our driver picked us at around 11:00 a.m. and drove us to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC). It was an hour away from Wiesbaden. During the ride I was a little shocked to see how fast we were travelling. The flow of traffic must have been going at least 95 mph. I couldn’t believe that speed was legal. 

As we pulled up to the hospital, we were astounded by the vast facility. LRMC is the largest military hospital outside of the United States. Most wounded soldiers that come from Afghanistan are brought to that location. There is a department for every type of doctor imaginable. The facility was massive. We spent more time there than expected, but we were relieved to have taken care of everything in one place. 

Immediately following, we already knew our next stop: shopping. We drove a few miles on the highway to Ramstein Air Base. Douglas and I took full advantage of both the Commissary and the Exchange. It doesn’t seem like much to look forward to, until it’s no longer an option for you to go to. I packed our cold bag, a couple of ice packs, and stocked up on meats, seafood, cheese, hummus, yogurt, and plenty of other goodies. After we completed our purchases at both stores, the driver took us back to Frankfurt where we stayed at the lodging facility located on the grounds of the U.S. Consulate. It was past 8:00 p.m. when we returned and checked into our room. Fortunately, we had plenty of energy remaining to leave our footprints all over downtown Frankfurt. The security guards on duty kindly called a taxi for us. It didn’t take long for the taxi to arrive since they were readily available. 

The largest base exchange in the world. Ramstein, Germany

Subway system

Mr. Softee or something like it...

It was after 9:00 p.m. when we realized our stomachs were growling for dinner. There were plenty of restaurants to choose from. We tried to find something unique to Germany. After reading several menus posted outside the restaurants you would be as surprised as we were to know we settled on dining at a Chinese Restaurant. 

This was me looking "suspect" about this restaurant

Douglas absolutely loves Chinese food. He ate it just about once a month in the states. During our time in Algiers I would talk about how much I missed Chick-fil-A and he talked about how much he missed Chinese food. Well, there was no opportunity to dine at Chick-fil-A but there was an opportunity to fulfill his desire for Chinese food. Although I didn’t care for it, I proposed this place because I knew how happy it would make him. Oddly enough, I had nothing but sarcastic comments to say about the place before we ate, despite me being the one to suggest it. This was all in jest of course. I thought to myself, who would come all the way to Germany and eat Chinese food. It didn’t help that there were about six people at the restaurant and all other establishments were mildly crowded. Then we entered the place and the kitchen was practically at the foot of the steps. I felt like I was walking into a diner. I just wasn’t sold on the exterior. Eventually I put all that to the side and said to myself, “This is the place I recommended, I agreed to eat here, so get over it!” Besides, it felt good to see Douglas so happy.

When the waiter took my order, I did the very best I could to explain that I only ate gluten-free food. I could see from the blank stare on his face that my words meant absolutely nothing to him. He basically said, “Do you want sauce or no sauce?” I settled by saying, “No sauce and no flour.” I’m sure he still thought I was crazy and confused, but we seemed to be in agreement on what I didn’t want. I honestly did not expect much. Most of the time when I went to Chinese restaurants in the states, I had to order steamed white rice and steamed veggies with no sauce thus equaling no savory flavor. This is why I fell in love with P.F. Chang's in the states. I was finally able to experience Chinese food the way everyone else could.

Douglas and I sat there, joking with one another, staring out the window, and reflecting on what a great day we had. There was one group of people sitting beside us, but soon after we ordered they exited the restaurant. Now, it was just the two of us and the staff. That was a little awkward…just saying. Moments later our food was brought to the table. I ordered friend rice with chicken and veggies and no sauce. It certainly didn’t look like the typical steamed food I usually get back in the states. I picked up the fork and hoped that I would not be terribly disappointed. Douglas knew what I thought by the look in my eyes. It was a look of amazement because that food was delectable! I was reminded of some great words, “Never judge a book by its cover.” We had a fabulous time enjoying our Chinese food in Germany, of all places.

I want to go back to Germany to eat Chinese food!

After our bellies were stuffed, we had the waiter take a few pictures of us and then exited the restaurant. Directly across the cobblestone pavement was a Haagen-Dazs shop. Douglas and I knew that would be our dessert. In Algiers, there is one grocery store that sells Haagen-Dazs ice cream by the pint. However, and let me say this is a big HOWEVER, one pint of ice cream cost $17. Yes, this container below is same cost of your average entrée at a restaurant.

Food is expensive in Algiers. We enjoyed our normal priced scoops of Haagen-Dazs very much. Douglas and I sat outside in a couple of chairs under a large umbrella. It was nice to do a little “people-watching” and relax. It’s just not possible to have moments like that in Algiers, so we soaked in every moment while in Germany. 

Once we were done, Douglas and I took a stroll to the water that was about ten minutes away. The air felt phenomenal. There was a cool breeze that lightly blew past us with each step. We reached the large body of water and stood in front of a long bridge that led to another side of the city. It reminded me of New York City at night. It was beautiful. We remained on the bridge for several minutes and began to reminisce. We discussed a few of our deepest thoughts, and made some revelations that would significantly improve both our lives. It was certainly a night to remember. In that moment, and in everything we had done that evening, you couldn’t tell me I wasn’t living in a movie. It was surreal. Experiencing Frankfurt at night was a treat. And it was even sweeter that I had on my comfortable walking shoes. At nearly 1:30 a.m., we decided to call it a night and caught a taxi back to the Consulate. As tired as we should have been, both of us had energy that could last for days. 

The next morning we were scheduled to fly back to Algiers. I packed up all the food in the refrigerator and prayed that it would stay cool until we got back home. Our driver met us downstairs and proceeded to take us back to the airport. We only spent 2 nights and 3 days in Germany, but in that short amount of time we explored more than a couple cities (Frankfurt, Wiesbaden, Landstuhl, and Ramstein), we had a romantic getaway each night, and we experienced a new culture that was very relatable to our own. That doctor’s visit was a blessing in disguise and well worth the trip. That is what I would call a grand adventure!

Tipaza Trip

I couldn’t help but look forward to the upcoming CLO (Community Liaison Officer) sponsored trip to Tipaza. Tipaza is a city approximately one hour away from Algiers. It’s known for its ancient Roman ruins and sandy beaches. Douglas and I were eager to travel outside of our current Algiers. It was perfect timing as well because Ramadan recently ended.

Allow me to go off on a short tangent about my Ramadan experience while living in Algiers. It’s one thing to be around a few people you may know who are Muslim and practice Ramadan in your city, but it’s an entirely different experience to be in a Muslim country where it’s the law to honor Ramadan. The majority of Algerians living in Algiers are Muslim; however, they all do not practice Ramadan. But they must respect the rules of Ramadan according to Muslim law. During this time Muslims are not allowed to eat between sunrise and sunset. For Algeria that meant approximately 16 hours without food or drink. Not even water is allowed to be consumed. For some countries it could be 19 or 20 hours without food or drink. Muslims living in Paris are a great example. The sun does not set there until sometime around 11:00 p.m during the summer months. During this time it can be very challenging to live with such restrictions due to the extreme heat and high humidity. There are very few exceptions to the law. For example, if a Muslim is working outside while it’s very hot, they are permitted to place water into their mouths and swish it around then spit it out. I was also surprised to hear that Muslims do not go swimming during Ramadan in fear that water could enter their mouths.

Traditionally, Muslims eat together as a family once the sun sets. This is not just for immediate family. This includes any relatives or distant family members and friends as well. They eat a huge feast every night.  It is comparable to Thanksgiving. They do this every night for 30 days. That is a great deal of food being cooked and wasted at the same time. Many people do not consume all the food that is made and, since they cook a new meal the next night, the old food typically gets thrown away.

I’ve been told by a few elderly Algerians that often there are some men who are very demanding on their wives. They may have high expectations for the meals prepared and become very upset if the food is not up to their standards or liking. In this case, those women in this type of situation are permitted to taste a tiny bit of the food on their tongue while preparing it to ensure it is sufficient for the husband and other family members. I was pretty shocked to hear that.

The purpose of Ramadan is for Muslims to take the time to think about those less fortunate and be grateful for what they have. They reflect on those who cannot afford to buy food or have little to no food to eat. They are supposed to think about these people during the hours of fasting. During Ramadan there are several organizations that collect money or food for those in need. In Algiers the donation drives stop after Ramadan. 

One of the challenging things about living in a Muslim country during Ramadan is that all the dining restaurants are closed until the sun sets. At night the streets become high paced and very lively. Because people have now eaten they have plenty of energy to burn. Restaurant owners do not sell cooked food during the hours of fasting, but grocery stores are open because people have to buy food every day to cook. Inevitably the grocery store and markets are vastly crowded. If a Muslim is seen eating in public they could be arrested for breaking Muslim law. Non-Muslims in this country respect those who do practice Ramadan and try not to eat or drink in their presence. 

Sadly, the price of food increases dramatically. The demand increases so the price rises. It’s very unfair that Algerians must pay such high prices for food when the government knows they have to buy this food every day to keep up with tradition. Americans are encouraged to stock up on food ahead of time, before the prices sky rocket. Meat increases the most. A pound of ground meat can be approximately $20 during Ramadan. Everything is expensive. I made sure to stock up on plenty of meats to avoid the ridiculous prices.  

Many of the Muslim work hours get adjusted during this time. Teachers no longer teach for an hour, rather they will hold class for 45 minutes instead. Businesses have shorter hours and employees tend to be tired by and sometimes cranky. It is very difficult to arrange a trip during Ramadan. When this trip came up shortly after Ramadan ended, we were ecstatic.

I did not do any research on the place we were going. I like to be surprised by what I see rather than already knowing what the place looks like. The CLO’s email said to wear comfortable shoes and bring sun screen. I decided to wear my comfortable Crocs flip flops. When we got there you can imagine my astonishment when I saw we would basically be hiking through the Roman ruins. It was rocky terrain, sandy pits, and plenty of steep hills. I enjoy hiking, but only when I’m wearing a pair of supportive sneakers, not some rinky-dink flip flops. I made the flips flops work, but I think my feet were very unhappy with my decision.

The city of Tipaza was built on a steep hill overlooking the sea. Upon arriving around 10:30 a.m. the driver pulled up to a shopping district. We took two vans since there were about 16 people traveling on this trip. We had a police escort. Each time we entered a new city, we stopped off at the border of the city where another police car or motorcycle met us and escorted the vehicles to the next point.

We arrived and began walking towards the ruins to start our tour. Here are a few pictures of the sites captured during the tour. The view was absolutely beautiful.

Hand crafted design at the root of the tree

The man was sitting down beside the tree when we walked by. Then he put out a bucket, stood up next to the tree and began banging it with his tool. I'm thinking someone else did all the hard work of carving the designs, the person needed a bathroom break and told him to stay there for a minute and now this guy is taking all the credit and collecting donations for his friend's work. That's just my theory. But whoever did this is super talented.

In the background, kids are playing in the water fully clothed. Who says you need a swimsuit to go swimming?

Aloe Vera plant. I was so tempted to break off a leaf and place it in my purse. The juice from this plant can work miracles. I can thank my grandma and mom for that knowledge.

He looks pretty important sitting on that stone in this position.

He had the greatest time climbing from rock to rock and running all over the place. What a true country boy! I, the city girl, gladly stood at the bottom capturing pictures of him while slapping the back of my leg from the random branches that kept touching me.

Does this look flip flop appropriate? Let me answer this one....heck NO!

Looks like he was aiding a damsel in distress. Or I was simply asking him to please help me down from there because I was ready to eat lunch.

We finally made it back to the shopping vendors at the end.

After a nice workout walking through the ruins we were taken to a nearby restaurant for lunch.  The restaurant appeared to look decent from the outside. Looks can be deceiving though. The waiter began by bringing out a platter with a variety of fish for us to choose from. Only taking one look at the platter I quickly determined that I would not be having fish or any other type of seafood for lunch. No thank you!

This just doesn't look appetizing to me.

  

Instead, I chose to go with something safe - grilled turkey breast. Although the people were nice, I was pretty turned off by the lack of cleanliness. The person sitting next to me was browsing through the menu when a bug crawled out from one of the pages. She tried to be as discreet as possible when attempting to kill the bug. However, the bug disappeared and neither she nor I could find it. When the food finally came out an hour later, the turkey breast looked as though it had been cooking on the grill for that entire hour. It was thin, dry, rubbery, and tougher to cut through than a steak. Most people did not think highly of their meal, but ate it anyway.  After sitting in the restaurant for a total of 2 hours, we were more than ready to go at the end of our meal. Unfortunately, just before everyone finished lunch that pesky bug reappeared in the bread basket. Ugh! Check please! I can’t even describe that as an okay dining experience. I would never go back there again.

Before heading back into the van, we walked down the hill to the dock where street vendors were selling fish for a super low price. Many were tempted to purchase fish and shrimp to bring back home. The price was almost half the cost as in Algiers. Although the seafood was significantly cheaper, I had no desire to purchase any since none of it was on ice. Seafood laid out in the sun all day just doesn’t appeal to me.

Restaurant next door. You could spell the aroma of food cooking on the grill.

 

 

After spending just a few minutes down by the dock, we got back into the vans and drove to a nearby beach. The beautiful beaches are what Tipaza is most known for. The water is clear and from what I understand, clean too. It looked like everyone there enjoyed themselves, especially the children. They seemed to have a blast jumping in and out of the water. It was so hot out there; I was tempted to jump in with my clothes on. Now that would have been a sight to see!

Our tour guide mentioned a Christian tomb that he wanted us to visit. We didn’t get the dimensions on it but from the picture you can see it was enormous. I couldn’t help but enjoy the beautiful view and brisk, cool air blowing calmly. As we circled around the tomb we spotted a camel and its owner seated by a wall. I immediately said, “Oh, I want to ride the camel.” This was more of a joke, but everyone else seemed to think I was serious. I couldn’t believe I said that out loud. As I got closer to the camel I began to wish I didn’t say anything at all. This camel didn’t exactly look like those I’ve seen in pictures. It just seemed a bit tired. I guess I would be tired too if all I did was sit out in the hot sun all day waiting for someone to ride me. 

  
I decided to just go for it. How often would I get the opportunity to ride a camel? They aren’t exactly hanging out on sidewalks in the States. It was now or never, so I chose now. I was very hesitant to get close to its skin. It felt weird against my legs. Maybe if I was an avid horse rider the feeling of animal hair wouldn’t have felt completely strange to me. I’ve always seen pictures of people riding the middle of a camel. Apparently a camel usually has two humps. This one only had one. That should have been a clear sign to me that this particular animal had some issues. I was told to sit on the back hump. I tried to climb on from the side by stretching my leg over the back of the camel, but that didn’t seem to work so well. Then I tried getting on from the left side as though that would be better, when it was the same distance as from the right. I had absolutely no logical thinking at that point. I ended up just spreading my legs wide and slowly inching my way onto the back of the camel.  I would have been fine to just say I sat on a camel and call it a day, but then it started to stand up. With my mouth opened wide enough to put a fist inside, I began to scream loudly. I obviously looked like a nut screaming on a camel that moved slower than a turtle. The owner tried to give me the leash to lead the camel, but I thought he should have that job. After all, it was his camel. We rode around the area for just a few minutes. I must say that riding a camel is incredibly awkward on the lady parts. Ouch! Once I realized that I was clearly fine, I got comfortable and began posing for pictures. One cannot ride a camel without taking lots of photos. I can thank my lovely husband for that. When I was done, the man signaled the camel to stop and sit down so that I could get off. I gladly hopped off the camel and was excited that I didn’t miss such a rare opportunity. Great experience!

Another successful adventure traveling in Algeria.