At nineteen I think I was pretty naive and to be in a foreign country to bout, well, I'm glad I had God watching over me. Some of us definitely need to have instructions firmly attached to us. Not that we wouldn't lose them somehow anyway or just refuse to even pay attention to any enclosed warnings.

I arrived in Frankfurt a few days before Thanksgiving, just in time to peruse the street markets in the evenings. Never saw so many nutcrackers in my young life. The food smelled wonderful and I soon developed a fondness for Bratwurst. Tried all the other 'wurst' but always came back to the Bratwurst. Can't exactly tell you what it is about them except they're always my first choice if given one.

The barracks wasn't bad at all and I stayed until I got a roommate. My roommate was fine. It was our differing shifts, sleep schedules and really loud music that finally made the decision for us. I moved off base in an apartment building on the very top floor. The fifth floor. No elevator. The staircases were like very long city blocks. It was very clean and spacious. It had all the usual amenities; bathroom, kitchen, living room, bedroom, etc. It really was my very first apartment ever. And I noted that my very first apartment had a bathtub in the kitchen.