Day 1 on the job in Germany

It still seems very strange to think that I'm going to be living in Germany for the next few years and that I'm not just on a vacation in Germany....it also seems weird that I won't be going into the job that I had been at for the past five (closer to six) years....I feel a bit lonely, but less lonely than I did yesterday, so hopefully that will pass.

So far in Germany I have not seen the Sun...it has been cold, cloudy, and snowy for the 1.5 days I've been here.  Surprisingly I don't mid it though...it's kind of calming and relaxing.

My hotel room is nice.  I'll be uploading pictures on Flickr shortly:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/shauncavanaugh/

This is where I'm staying:

http://www.pullmanhotels.com/gb/hotel-5425-pullman-stuttgart-fontana/index.shtml

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g187291-d202429-Reviews-Pullman_Fontana_Stuttgart-Stuttgart_Baden_Wurttemberg.html

Today was just some basic in-processing stuff, nothing much.  Tomorrow and the rest of the week is the same thing...there is talk of them closing the base tomorrow due to weather conditions, so we'll see...I imagine they won't since there doesn't seem to be much bad weather so far tonight.

Sometime within the next few days I plan on getting on the train outside my hotel to go to downtown Stuttgart and check out the Christmas markets and see what type of property is for rent over there.  Not yet sure if we want to live in a downtown environment, or a more rural area.  Either way, I want to be close to the train/bus...that will be much nicer than driving to work.

For dinner tonight I went with my sponsor to an Italian place which was pretty nice...had authentic Italian pizza....my sponsor is very good with stuff like this, he's definitely not one to just point me in the direction and tell me I'm on my own...so far he's looked out for me pretty well.

Well, that's about all for tonight...I'm going to try and update this on a regular basis to help record my expereince here, and help let loved ones at home know how it's going.

Later,

Shaun