In Germany - Iraq Project II
This is a reposting of my Iraq Project II. I will post a dispatch-entry Monday thru Friday until the original project is recreated. The real-time journey was posted by The Janesville Gazette in February and March, 2008.
In Germany
posted February 21, 2008
The first step, and ironically perhaps most difficult step to this journey to Iraq was taken out the front door in Janesville. The streets were layered with two months of relentless ice and snow.
The Van Galder bus was only a half hour late due to the ice and snow. The flight out of Chicago to Munchen, Germany was right on time.
I tested my international cell here in Munchen. My wife Heide has received the calls so far. The last trip to Iraq we only relied on email.
It has been 31 years since I was in Germany. I spent almost three years here in the U.S. Army. In those days it was hard to fly home for leave. I spent the whole tour overseas. This airport is vast, newish, and quiet.
Everyone who warned me about working right up to the day I left for Iraq, give yourselves a nod of approval. I had a four hour layover for the flight to Ankara, Turkey. You can make up in your own minds how I felt when I woke up just a few seats from the waiting gate and the flight was already gone. No one wanted to wake up the sleeping guy.
The benevolent people at Lufthansa scolded me and promptly booked me for the next flight - no extra charge. Lucky for me the Germans and the Turks have had a long history dating back to the Ottoman Empire and with most recently, Turks working in Germany, and so there are several fights a day to Ankara. One thing I noticed on my last trip to Turkey and Iraq was I was able to use a bit of German language in Turkey to get around. Very little English is used in either Turkey or Iraq.
And lucky for me there was no extra charge as that probably would have negated my effort to save money by working right up to the time I left.
Bob Keith
Munchen, Germany
In Germany
posted February 21, 2008
The first step, and ironically perhaps most difficult step to this journey to Iraq was taken out the front door in Janesville. The streets were layered with two months of relentless ice and snow.
The Van Galder bus was only a half hour late due to the ice and snow. The flight out of Chicago to Munchen, Germany was right on time.
I tested my international cell here in Munchen. My wife Heide has received the calls so far. The last trip to Iraq we only relied on email.
It has been 31 years since I was in Germany. I spent almost three years here in the U.S. Army. In those days it was hard to fly home for leave. I spent the whole tour overseas. This airport is vast, newish, and quiet.
Everyone who warned me about working right up to the day I left for Iraq, give yourselves a nod of approval. I had a four hour layover for the flight to Ankara, Turkey. You can make up in your own minds how I felt when I woke up just a few seats from the waiting gate and the flight was already gone. No one wanted to wake up the sleeping guy.
The benevolent people at Lufthansa scolded me and promptly booked me for the next flight - no extra charge. Lucky for me the Germans and the Turks have had a long history dating back to the Ottoman Empire and with most recently, Turks working in Germany, and so there are several fights a day to Ankara. One thing I noticed on my last trip to Turkey and Iraq was I was able to use a bit of German language in Turkey to get around. Very little English is used in either Turkey or Iraq.
And lucky for me there was no extra charge as that probably would have negated my effort to save money by working right up to the time I left.
Bob Keith
Munchen, Germany
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