Name Dropper

Have I ever told you that I am a name dropper? Well, I am. And, I'm writing this blog post specifically for my mother. She is going to be really jealous that I hung out with...

ELKE this weekend. And, FRAU ANNA. In RAMSTEIN.

We decided that there were a few things that we needed that we are not able to get where we live. Just as an example, a humidifier or vaporizer for our congested son. So, we thought that we would take the opportunity to travel to Ramstein for a little BX shopping trip.

Ramstein is the largest American air base in Europe. And, truly, the whole area is Little America. So, we Americans tend to enjoy a little trip to Ramstein to experience the comforts of home (well, as close as they can get to home). As I know I've said before, when I was growing up my family was stationed there for three years, so in a lot of ways a trip there is like a trip down memory lane.

Typically, a visit to Ramstein includes but is not limited to:

1. Staying at Hotel Anna, formerly the Gruner Woog, where my family stayed in 1988 when we moved to Ramstein and were waiting for our house. I love staying there, because the same woman still runs it (Frau Anna), and she is incredibly wonderful; the breakfast is fantastic and reminds me of my childhood; and the room is only 60 euros for the night. Frau Anna is actually Italian, and as we lived in Italy, that is familiar too. In typical Italian style, we called Anna once we got into town, and she told us to just walk into the hotel and take the key for room 104. She wasn't there. She would just see us at breakfast the next morning. Domani.

2. Driving by the house my family lived in for three years, which is conveniently in the neighborhood across from Hotel Anna.

3. Pointing out all the things that are the same about our village and the things that have changed. At this point, Chris knows what I am about to say, since I have already mentioned these things a million times.

4. Driving by my school and every other building on base, so that I can do the same thing as in number 3.

5. Going to the new BX and eating at Macaroni Grill. It used to be Chili's, but now we have a big choice to make.

So, I decided to add a big activity on a whim. I saw the sign for Elke's Antiques, and knew I just had to stop. Elke's was a family favorite when we lived in Ramstein twenty years ago.

My mother was a big antique shopper. I really don't know how else to describe it other than inspirational. She and her friends were notorious for their shopping skills, and they always took the opportunity to share WIT tips with us young girls (Women In Training). Often, these WIT tips involved important lessons on hiding ENTIRE china sets in my closet so that my dad didn't know we had them. If caught, I knew to say that they belonged to Miss Jane and that we were hiding them for her. I'm really partially kidding. I was actually told this, but I know my mother wouldn't lie to my dad about her purchases. She just hoped he didn't find out about them for a long time.

Probably the piece de resistance was the time my mother bought an antique grandfather clock from Elke's and had it delivered to coincide with our moving van so that she could sneak it into our household goods shipment back to the States before my dad could find out. He messed up the plan by showing up at an inopportune moment, and ordered Elke's to take it back.

But, some of my favorite things of my mother's are from Elke's, and I just wanted to see what they had in their store.

So, when we showed up, we were greeted by Elke, her husband, and her son, Matthias, who appears to be running the show now. I immediately dropped my mom's name, her friend Mary's name (Mary was a really, really big shopper too), and told them the grandfather clock story to jog their memories. They instantly started talking to each other in really fast, excited German. YES! They knew who I was talking about!

We were enveloped into the family that day. Matthias took us into their warehouse to give us a crash course on the business and show us all of their amazing antiques. My husband is actually considering allowing me to purchase something, knowing that we will somehow have to find a way to get it to Geilenkirchen. I had such a blast.

The drive back home today was gorgeous. We had a big snowfall on Saturday throughout Germany, and the trees and fields looked spectacular. It was the most picturesque winter landscape I think I've seen in a long time. We drove through the Mosel region, and the hills and vineyards were just breathtaking covered in snow. Did I have my camera to show you a picture? No, of course not.

But, I did get to see Elke. And, Anna. That was for you, Mom.