Kiel, Germany & Sailing with the U.S.S. Mount Whitney

In June 2009 I met the U.S.S. Mount Whitney up in Kiel, Germany to sail with it for a few weeks to do what I do, but on a ship! We were in Kiel for a few days before we set off. We were there during "Kiel Week" which is a big food and drink festival and the Navies of several countries come to meet and greet, etc. I ate several crepes (my favorite) and am constantly in search of the tastiest crepe in Europe (the current top contender is in Paris)...
No, I didn't drink all this beer! One of my friends who was with me at the festival drank much faster than me, so I was always behind! I think at least one of those beers is his!

Since they bake the bread specifically for hot dogs, you'd think they could make it longer to actually FIT the hot dogs, wouldn't you think?!Besides doing lots of crepe eating, we were able to go to the submarine museum as well and go inside an old sub. The curator of the sub posed with me...

I got to ride in the German Bundeswehr van, too! And yes, this was a high point of my life.

Our two German Navy liaisons (Daniel & Stefan) accompanied us and showed us around town...
I had a great time with new friends watching and taking part in some of the activities aboard once we set sail. This one was during a safety/medical drill...



While we were sailing, the Weapons Officer (my friend Mal who is shooting in this picture) held a Practical Weapons Test. I shot a perfect score!
The ship pulled into Rota, Spain for a day - I wish we could have stayed longer! The city was clean, the people were nice, and I was able to practice my Spanish! I met my coworkers in our Rota office and even had a Starbucks from their retail center! Yum!

Just beautiful - peaceful, serene, and full of palm trees! It was like being at a resort. Living here would be a dream!
At the 4th of July weekend celebration on base... I was persuaded to get on a mechanical bull... it's Spain - of course I got on the bull! A couple of short weeks later I would be running with them, so might as well get accustomed!

On our trip we sailed through the Straits of Gibraltar... the weather was just gorgeous and sunny, and we all put on our "whites" for an awards ceremony. This is Beth, she's one of the Supply Officers on the ship...


Q and I tried doing a "Titanic" thing, but it just ended up looking like he was trying to throw me off the ship!
Just absolutely beautiful!

We were still in the water on the 4th of July, so we had a "Steel Beach Picnic"! Burgers, hot dogs, potato salad - the works, but we were on the deck of the ship! We were able to shoot some of the bigger guns as well...Beautiful sunset on the 4th of July!

Cuma & Bacoli!

Rather close to my apartment are the famous Cuma ruins! Cuma was an ancient Greek settlement and the first Greek colony on the mainland of Italy, thought to be founded in the 8th century B.C.. It was the seat of the famous Cumaean Sibyl. The Cumaean Sibyl was a priestess who presided over the Apollonian oracle, and she would prophesy the future by "singing the fates" and writing on oak leaves, which would be arranged in her cave.

The Arco Felice (Happy Arch) that my town is named after. It's still standing and cars have to drive through it, even though the passage is quite narrow. Good thing Italians have tiny cars!


That Cumaean Sibyl had quite a view from her cave!
Taking a break, lounging in an old broken pot!

We have a favorite pizza place in Bacoli. The guys make pizzas in the shape of crocodiles and Emily was excited to yum hers up! They even make ones for dessert that are filled with Nutella (a creamy chocolate hazelnut spread)! The saltiness of the pizza dough and the sweetness of the Nutella - molto buono!
The summertime in Italy is the best - we rent little boats and sail from the Bacoli harbor to Ischia and Procida, two of the nearby islands. We swim a bit, suntan a bit, and generally enjoy the beautiful views!

This is one cool bird! Why sit in the water and keep yourself afloat when you can sit on a boogie board and stay dry?
Ischia is known for its luxury spas and great food... this store sold VERY expensive clothing. I felt it necessary to point out this spandex leopard skin shirt/pant combo... I believe it cost more than 400 dollars! Crazy!


The waitress dishes up some fresh seafood pasta! The gentleman who owned the restaurant asked me if I was from Alaska - because I'm so white!

Anna, Emily and me smile after our meal of pasta, wine and lots of mineral water!Che Bella!

Napoli!

Ahh Napoli... wish I had a window in my office high enough for this view! Then I could see when/if the volcano was erupting so i could start driving away as quickly as possible!! Can you believe how high up the volcano some people live?!


On a drive to Ikea, I passed this makeshift trash dump by the side of the road... Anyone need a mattress?
As many of you know, I LOVE KARAOKE!! I love singing in general.... the car, the shower... 4:30 pm dance parties in my office.... Ernie and Carli had some of us over to their home for some Tex-Mex and karaoke excitement! I took the opportunity to sing a couple of serenades... Britney Spears songs can be serenades, right?

Carli serenaded, too!
There was some dancing that accompanied the singing... ;) Interpretive dance...
There aren't any Mexican restaurants in Naples, so we're all a bit homesick for carne asada, black beans, burritos and margaritas! (The Taco Bell at the Support Site does not count as Mexican food!) ;) Jane LOVES black beans...


One evening there was a free concert in downtown Naples in the beautiful Piazza Plebescito. A group of us went out for some dinner before heading to the concert. I love that the seafood restaurant menus were shaped like mussels!! Jason examined the menu...


I love English translations on signs, menus, etc...."Macaronies of the Sea" and "frozento the origin." But the my favorite part " We inform the customers to check the bill in order to avoid a disappointing inconveniences and, please, required before separated bills." Google translator at its best! How would checking the bill at the end (when it's time to pay) avoid "disappointing inconveniences?!"
Piazza Plebescito all lit up!

Jason, Luke and I enjoy the music - one of the girls in our group had gotten us some blinky light-up sunglasses! Hilarious!In foreign countries they frequently put English words on t-shirts that don't exactly make any sense... Scuba attack? Really? What could that possibly mean? But hey, it looks darn cool, right? STINGRAY ATTACK would make more sense - didn't a stingray kill Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Man?
At the end of the night, after the concertgoers had scattered.. Our summer intern is in the middle! Hopefully we showed him our jobs can be fun in our off time! :)
We stopped by the NATO base in Naples, thought I'd take a tourist picture! ;)

The view from my friend Jane's apartment! Gorgeous!

Fun Trip to Deutschland!

In May I traveled to Bernkastel-Kues, Germany for a conference in which I was giving a presentation. It was an adorable little town, just outside the Frankfurt area. The weather was beautiful, I was able to fit in some trips to the gym, I had a wonderful time speaking German, and had some tasty German AND Greek food!

I couldn't resist posing with this lego mountain man in the airport!


Bernkastel-Kues was a beautiful little town! Although I'm not sure that when I'm looking to eat dinner, I want to see two naked people in a bathtub on the sign!! ;)
While I was there, I visited my friend John, who works at a base in Wiesbaden, also near Frankfurt. We had worked together during my summer of working in Stuttgart a few years ago. He has a great apartment with a spectacular view - I was very jealous! You could hold a gala ball in his foyer! No, he doesn't live in the house below! haha!




While waiting to cross the street, I noticed this interaction... A sly older Casanova (well, at least he thought so) flirting unmercifully with a lady on crutches. I couldn't hear their conversation, but I'd put my money on that gentleman being Italian rather than German! I love that he's making an Adidas track suit look like a normal thing to wear out and about town! She was loving the attention, too...I hope he took her out on a nice date!



Of course, I visited my mecca, Starbucks, while I was in Wiesbaden... my caramel macchiato was fabulous! You should have seen the look of sheer ecstasy on my face when we walked up to it! While Italian coffee is good, they don't have the fanciful drinks that Starbucks does - it's either a small glass of jet fuel, jet fuel and milk foam, or jet fuel, milk foam, and milk. Maybe some cocoa powder or cinnamon on top. I'm a creature of variety - I need a little bit more spice and sweetness than that!

On our wanderings through town, we stopped at one of the best gelaterias in Europe. Large scoops of yummy gelato in a crispy waffle cone! Amazing! Made with the same amazing milk (I can only assume) that they used at Starbucks! As we walked, I saw this couple below... she looks like she weighs no more than my pinky finger but she's accompanied by a guy who is eating the same super yummy and not-so-lowfat gelato I had eaten. She has some indescribable willpower to stay that skinny and stand that close to a guy snarfing down huge scoops of ice cream!

We then traveled down the road a bit to the wine country of Rheingau to visit a wine museum and sample some of the local white wine. Tasty! The weather was perfect for a nice relaxing session of people watching in a small square. We saw guys in capri pants, some goth kids, and some t-shirts with wolves on them ... I've never understood the black-shirt-with-wolves-on-them look...!