Day 21 – 22: This is the end of our EuroTrip. And what better way to end it, then by visiting family – we headed to Ramstein, Germany to visit my cousins for two days. They’ve got three adorable kids – 1, 3, and 7-years old – and we had a great time playing with them.
Up and Down Stairs
Unfortunately, I got a bad headache while I was there and felt kind of out of it, but while I was feeling okay, the kiddos were great fun. We hiked in the woods, visited the cows down the street, drew with sidewalk chalk, played hide and seek, and climbed all over Thomas. Well, I didn’t climb on him, but they thought he was a human jungle gym.
Drawing with Sidewalk Chalk
My cousin is in the Air Force and gave us a tour of the Ramstein Air Force Base. Wow, that place is huge! It’s like a complete American city in the middle of Germany. It was really weird to see US post office boxes, American police cars, Burger King, etc. They took us to the Macaroni Grill on base for dinner, and Thomas and I marveled over the service – free refills, ice cubes, English menus, free water, doggie bags. These are all things you wouldn’t see in Belgium.
Hiking with Sticks
They also took us to the American grocery store on base. Honestly, I felt a little depressed going there. I saw all kinds of products I missed from the US, (cheese dip, ranch dressing, cake mix) at rock bottom prices, but we didn’t get anything. Part of it was because we couldn’t carry anything on the motorcycle, but part of me wrestled with the fact that I didn’t NEED any of that stuff. I can live perfectly fine in Belgium without it. This doesn’t mean I won’t stock up when I go home, but I did a lot of debating over Want vs. Need.
Talking to the Moos
The final day, we packed up and headed home through Luxembourg. After 3 weeks, Thomas and I were very eager to get home and didn’t stop long, but Luxembourg City looked like a really cute town to visit again sometime.
Riding the Human Motorcycle
So that’s it…we can now say we rode a motorcycle on country roads through 7 countries over 3 weeks. We measured it out and found that if drove the same mileage in the US, we would have gone from Atlanta to Seattle. It was a wonderful, memory-filled trip. I feel like I got to connect with Thomas, learn more about myself, and discover new places.
I’m still working on a few more photos from Austria, Munich, and Southern Germany, but I skipped ahead and edited the rest of the photos from this leg of the trip. They’re posted on Flickr:
- Ramstein with Cousins (38 photos)
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You left out one of the funniest parts of the visit, when Thomas mistook Stinging Nettles for Mint, but didn’t realize it until after he put it up to his nose to smell it.
I’m sure the food you get where you are is way better then the overly processed crap we crave and eat here! I can understand the Needs vs Wants…I wish I just would listen to the needs more. :) Oh no! I hope Thomas was OK after the run in with Stinging Nettles!!!! I hear it can really hurt a lot.