1st Week in Germany

I thought I should start with a summary of our first week in Germany. So far it really has not been very taxing; we have spent most of our time getting set up at work and getting our living situation figured out. We are living in an apartment on base but it was remodeled recently and is spacious (it also has wood floors). We are close to downtown Wiesbaden and about 3/4 of a mile to the train station. We managed to purchase a vehicle - a 1997 VW Passat (diesel), that I am not super excited about but it will do until our Civic gets here in June.

Driving here is not that challenging, but simultaneously easier and more difficult than it was in Japan. On Okinawa we drove on the left side of the road, but the fastest we could legally drive on the island was about 55mph and this was only on a single road. Plus, Okinawa was small and the traffic laws were relatively simple. Germany, on the other hand, has a much more complex driving system and they are big on enforcement (lots of cameras). Driving is done on the right side of the road, but the speed limits are faster. That brings me to another thing. We have only been on the Autobahn once, but it was not that difficult. There are speed limits on many parts of the autobahn, so it really is not that much of a harrowing experience.

On our first day with the car, we just drove (no particular destination) but ended up traveling along the Rhine river. By chance we ended up crossing the river on a ferry and Samantha was able to properly understand the price of the ferry ride in Germany (she was very excited). We traveled through a few small Germany villages, which we found to be a pleasant experience. We don't have any pictures from this trip but we will next time...

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