Living in GK

Sittard 's Kinderoptocht - Carnival Children's Parade

2012-02-09T17:26:00.000+01:00

This Sunday, 12 February, at 1333 this year's Children's Carnival Parade will begin in Sittard. If you have kids, GO! It's a lot of fun and the costumes and makeup are absolutely amazing! If you're a fan of Bagels and Beans, YES, they will be open. That's a great place to stand and watch the parade as well. ;) Tifnotes version: If you have elementary school age kids, dress them up in their

LAST-MINUTE EXCEPTIONAL VACATION OFFER

2012-02-02T17:58:00.001+01:00

From a The Inn Places... UPDATE: Two of these weeks have been booked now in Paris! Would you like to go? Spacious suburban base for family holidays in Paris Spend a glorious week (or two) in Paris , in a lovely apartment (sleeps 4) only 3-4 metro stops from the centre of Paris , and only 30km from Eurodisney. Free parking and close to lots of shops and tourist sites.. Experience the

Books that inspire travel...

2012-02-01T20:51:00.000+01:00

Reading about a place means more when you've walked those streets as does walking those streets after learning the history or hearing a tale. It's amazing how many stories can come to life after the opportunity to travel. Here are a couple of my favorite European tales. What are yours? The Time In Between by María Dueñas If you're heading to Morocco or Madrid or are interested in a southern

One Day in Morocco

2012-01-31T20:02:00.001+01:00

Reader Contribution... Lodging: We stayed at Dar Nilam and made our reservations through booking.com. We reserved the smallest room (which is pretty small), but they had a larger room available and upgraded us for free. It was a beautiful room with a lovely view. The bed and breakfast was wonderful. Absolutely gorgeous. It had a little path around the house with a beautiful garden

Antiques in Wassenberg

2012-01-31T19:48:00.000+01:00

A friend's secret supplier... she's in the states. We can tell you now! ;) This is the antique dealer that I was never able to visit though I've seen his things in the house of a friend and turned green with envy. Beautiful things. Amazing prices. Really nice guy. I wanted to get there first. :( Go and tell me how it is. Bruno Staas Lager- Effeld Haus neuerburg 41849 Wassenberg

Local Car Rental

2012-01-31T19:41:00.000+01:00

Where do you go if you need to rent a car locally? When family comes and we need a bigger car or when you're taking a big trip and need some extra space? Do you have experience that you'd like to share? Car Rental(Sixt)Borgerweg 10Schinnen, 6365 CWNetherlandsPhone: 011-31-46443-8215Open Hours: Tues-Sat, 1000-1800 *The Car Rental at Schinnen is usually the cheapest way to go, but they are

Austria/Switzerland

2012-01-31T17:57:00.002+01:00

Courtesy of the American Spouses of Brunssum Travel Information Guide Place: Salzburg and Innsbruck, Austria; Appenzell and Lucerne, Switzerland Time of year you went and weather: April 13-23, 2003 (Easter break) Directions (Driving): Leaving from Stuttgart, we took the A8/E52 toward Ulm/Munich (Munchen), around Munich change to A99/E52 toward Salzburg--this

Moose Milk

2011-12-12T15:39:00.002+01:00

I'd never heard of Moose Milk until I moved to Germany and met a bunch of jovial Canadians. It seems an unlikely place to learn the specialty, but when the weather gets cold and freezing fog binds the trees in sheaths of ice, the warmth of an International party can be intoxicating... as can the infamous beverage. Served at parties and distributed by a tiny wooden "Santa train" once a

Eye Brow Threading

2011-12-08T15:55:00.001+01:00

Reader Recommendation... Anam @ ICI Paris Grote Straat 4 Maastricht 043-3233943 "There is a woman named Anam in Maastricht who does an AMAZING job threading eyebrows. She works at ICI Paris in Maastricht and works by appointment. I also received a message letting me know that the man who works at the Schinnen Beauty Salon also does eyebrow threading but I've never been to him. He

St. Nikolausbahn -- i.e. Gillrath Christmas Train

2011-12-01T09:20:00.000+01:00

UPDATE: Tickets are already sold out or nearly gone for half the rides this year. Check the dates and times online. You can get your tickets at the Gillrath or Schwierwaldenrath stations or at several other locations listed on the Nikolausfahrt information page on the train website. This annual train ride is very special and something to do with the kids at least once. We will go every

Face Painting

2011-11-15T19:10:00.001+01:00

Sadly, our resident face painter, Shannon Wickenhauser is PCSing and won't be available to share her artistry with us any longer. If you or someone you know has a talent for face painting and enjoys working with kids, please pass along the information so that we can all find you when it's time for our next party/event.

AWGK Foggy Fields Bazaar

2011-10-24T10:05:00.000+02:00

SAVE THE DATE: The American Women of Geilenkirchen is excited to announce that its annual Foggy Fields Bazaar will take place Nov. 11-13, 2011. Doors open at 10am. Start saving your money. There will be a lot to look forward to, including new vendors. Information below will be updated to reflect the new information as it becomes available... The American Women of

Sewing Services

2011-10-17T17:54:00.000+02:00

For those of you without the time to sew or the skill, there's a very talented seamstress in town who does sewing services from her home. She has a lot of experience after handling sewing contracts for the base at Offutt for several years and is comfortable with both uniform and civilian clothing alterations. Marie Dzwonczyk can be reached by phone or email: 024554899511 maries.gk.sewing@

Balloons!

2011-08-13T14:17:00.000+02:00

Reader Recommendation... "he's a really great guy." Norbert ZandkuijlBalloon ShopMarkt 1006191 JK BeekPhone: 0031-46-437-70-99 Mobile: 0031-65-138-70-55E-Mail: info@balloon-shop.nlWebsites: www.balloon-shop.nlwww.ballontelegram.nl

Another great resource.

2011-08-07T11:57:00.001+02:00

When I began this blog, there was very little information available about the area and what's going on. Now, there's so much more and with Schinnen being online, it's easy to find out about what's going on not only on the base, but in the area as well. They're Public Affairs office is now on Facebook and Twitter, so it's easy to find out what's going on. :)

Sport & Leisurepark Landgraaf

2011-07-22T11:12:00.000+02:00

Reader Recommendation... AR Sport & Leisurepark Landgraaf Hofstraat 5 Landgraaf 6370 AC Landgraaf T 045-7440710 F 045-7440713 E info@slpark.nl An innovative sports park with a lot of different sports to explore like discgolf, BMX, beachsports, ultimate Frisbee, Mountain biking, soccer, and badminton, the Sport & Leisurepark in Landgraaf

Gites et chambres d'hotes - Normandy

2011-07-22T11:05:00.001+02:00

Reader Recommendation JM Gites et chambres d'hotes +33 233 71 0097 8 La haute Addeville St Côme du Mont 56500 France email blazingsky@neuf.frWe stayed at a great place in Normandy ran by Richard and Caroline. Richard is English and Caroline is French. It is about 12 Kilometers from Utah Beach. We found it to be a great location for getting to everything in the Lower Normandy area

Homes we like.

2011-07-16T15:04:00.000+02:00

There are an inordinant amount of empty houses and we want to help out the landlords that we love. Here's your chance. If you're moving out, leave a comment here. Tell us about your house and who to contact. Your special German home might get filled and folks coming in will hear from you just why they need to live in your old house. You know I'll be plugging "my" house here as well. ;)

Blueberry Picking!

2011-07-14T15:42:00.000+02:00

YUM!!!! If you like blueberries, even just a little, I've found an absolutely delicious place to go! This little farm was started about 40 years ago and is still going strong. Run by the family who started it, the people who work and help there are really friendly and helpful. Buy berries already picked... or, better yet, pick your own!!! Blauwe Bessen/Heidelbeeren/

Finding the stateside home.

2011-07-14T15:38:00.000+02:00

Leave a comment to add your favorite school and home resources! School information http://www.schooldigger.com: Scroll over the map to see different schools with their addresses, links, and ratings. Search for schools and click on schools to see information, test scores, ratings, reviews, and demographics. http://www.greatschools.org/: Reader recommended. "I was very interested in the 1/10

Eis Cafe = Ice Cream Store!!!

2011-07-02T00:10:00.000+02:00

Do they have ice cream in Germany? Yes! And it isn't just for little kids. Here old people enjoy a scoop just as much as anyone and you will find entire families of all ages standing around a group of bicycles enjoying a cold sweet treat before continuing their bicycle trip. Most of the ice cream you find in shops here is made at the shop itself. A lot of it is Italian gelato - including the

Best of Summer! (Locally)

2011-06-30T16:18:00.000+02:00

Summer is here, the kids are out of school, and if you're not flying "home," you will need to fill your days or the kids will get stir crazy and so will you. So here's my little list of favorites. Feel free to add to it in the comments area. :) Favorite "Swimming Holes:" OUTDOOR: Gangelt's Freibad at Haus Hammacher. The swimming pools are amazing and have slides as well, so all ages will

Charities: Accepting Donations

2011-06-29T23:13:00.000+02:00

Whether we're moving in, moving out, or just spring cleaning, we hope to send our gently used things to someone that needs them. Here is a start of what I hope will be a list of options. If you know of a place that needs our old things: clothes, household items, etc... please leave a comment. Regina Carmeli(There is a large poster of the Foundress hanging on the corner) Kollenberg 2 /

Landlords

2011-06-01T14:39:00.000+02:00

Sadly, a lot of your German experience boils down to your house and who owns it. I've met a lot of people who've been miserable because of a problematic house and an unresponsive and even dishonest landlord. Though our legal and housing offices do their best, they can't always solve every issue that comes up. Do know your tenant rights and do ask around about landlords. Ask at the housing

FYI: False Police Vehicle in BE and NL

2011-05-02T23:00:00.000+02:00

From the 52 FW Antiterrorism Announcements "The UKJSU in Brunssum has reported the presence of a vehicle posing as an unmarked police car on the MSRs in Belgium and The Netherlands. The car is utilizing a scrolling LE notice on the rear windscreen to pull vehicles over; the sign displays the message 'POLICE FOLLOW ME' and the rogue car then puts on blue lights before pulling over. The occupants