Hotel Living

Given that this is “moving season” for the Army (summertime has lower impact on school aged children) – the base is flooded with new and naïeve folks like us, bouncing around trying to figure out which way is up. This also means that the base temporary housing is full, so we were told pretty early in our moving preparations to find a place to stay in town. We were given a list of approved hotel options from the base from which to make our choice. There were many hotels – all unfamiliar to us in their city placement, and most new to us in their brand names. We contemplated a German brand with an Embassy Suites type set up – with a living space separated from the bedroom and microwave/fridge provided – thinking that the extra space may quell any frustrations of having to sleep/wake at the same time or not have any solitude whatsoever. However, ultimately we decided to rack up some hotel points with a US Chain that had American style beds and at least some guaranteed English channels on the tv.

The setup at our hotel, although not luxurious, is pretty great. We are close to the two bases that we frequent most regularly. Breakfast is included in our room rate, as is parking and internet for one laptop. We get 15% off of all of our meals purchased in the hotel (still dang pricey), and there is a “PCS Lounge” downstairs which has free sodas, a microwave, a big screen tv with the movie channels unscrambled, and a foosball table/toys for the kiddos - and a washer and dryer for our use (whoopee!!).

Laundry in Germany is an experience. Once you figure out how to use the machines (with all buttons and dial stops in German), you realize the following things:

1- The washer door locks as soon as you hit start, and won’t stop until the load is done….so DON’T drop a sock as you load the washer!!

2- German dryers are “condensation” dryers; which means there is no vent for the steam produced by the hot air on your wet clothes. So: it takes a long time for things to dry…I mean, like 2 hours….AND – when you pull the clothes out they are hot and damp so it takes a few minutes to determine whether they are actually dry or not. (Once they cool, the last bit of moisture evaporates to get them to the final dry stage). Opening the door and pulling the clothes out requires one to exercise a lot of caution…they are H-O-T. I’m talking “Hot Potato” hot. “Oven mitts would be good here” hot (Note to self: Perhaps a pair of Ove Gloves would be a good purchase for when I am doing laundry at home in the future).

The logic behind the condensation dryer makes sense – given that the buildings here are frequently a hundred years old. No vents were plumbed in 1910 apartments, and today’s citizens require the ability to do laundry in house. However – this process means that a load of laundry can take us 3 hours from washer to hanger – and that’s quite an investment of time. Add to that the added complication of there being one washer and dryer for use of all of the families using the PCS Lounge, and we’re spending 12 hour days attempting to do laundry each time – and not necessarily getting it all done.

Hotel living has its ups and downs. On one hand, it’s nice to have someone else making the bed each morning, and having breakfast immediately ready when we’re hungry in the morning is a definite luxury. The downside is that we’ve been eating out for every meal for pretty much a month now. This is impactfull on our waistlines despite our best efforts (If fabric could scream, you’d hear the cries from where you sit reading this now, I’m sure). But Hubbz’s new command has been amazing about giving him time to get settled here and find a place to live. So, really, we’re spending a ton of time together, and it feels a lot like a European vacation…with hot damp laundry :)