Im a military wife stationed in Germany and I am bored out of my mind here. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

What base are you stationed at?

I was at Ramstein AFB and it's one of the biggest military installations over there. Any base that you are at will have a lot of spouse orientated classes as well as an ITT office.

A class that I highly recommend you taking through the base is Heart Link. It's a class specifically made for military spouses and will explain everything military as well as help you with making friends. It's just an orientation into the military.

The base also will offer language courses if you would like to try to learn German or any other language. They can be beginners or basic courses or full on learn the entire language courses.

The Family Support and Readiness Center [or Family Advocacy] is where you need to go for all of this information. They can set you up with a spouse’s group too. They are great! Now that I am a spouse I really try to be active in everything the military offers. After all, that is what the center is there for: families!

Now here's where the fun comes in! Get out of the base. Look around in the towns. Because it's summer you are bound to find a Schwimmen-Bad which is swimming pool. Unlike in the US they normally consist of many pools, saunas, and grassy areas. LOTS of fun.

If drinking is your scene go to a local bar. I could recommend some but I don't know where you are at. Normally, you'll find some of the nicest people in them. Just make sure you don't go into a Nazi one. Yes, they are still around. :(

Living in Germany is great for travel. You are near everything you need to be near and everything is affordable. I'd start out going on an ITT tour through the base. It normally consists of a bus taking you some place, Berlin, Paris, Barcelona, Venice, Rome, etc. Now, depending on what you want to do you can go for a day or an entire week or just a long weekend. It's up to you. The great thing about these tours is they pretty much do the deciding for you and give you options as to what exactly you want to do. Pretty much you get the advice from people who have been there, done that so you get to see the best of the best.

Feeling a little adventurous? Check out http://www.ryanair.co.uk/ It's the cheapest tickets I've ever seen. You can fly anywhere you want and decide what you want to do.

Take advantage of the public transportation in Germany. Trains will get you anywhere you want to go. I would go to Switzerland or Amsterdam on them. Heck, you can even make it all the way to Paris I believe!

In Germany the kids learn to speak English from the time they are in elementary school. Most every German you will run into will know how to talk to you. I have had mostly good run ins with Germans through my travels.

Most of all have fun and embrace this experience that most Americans would kill for. I grew up overseas. I never knew the true beauty of Europe until I moved to the US. If you really try you’ll find so much that you will never want to leave!

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions! Best of Luck!

Answer 2

Travel. I was stationed there about 2 weeks ago before my husband and I PCS'd to another post stateside. Do as much travelling as you can if money permits. The military even encourages it since its a great opportunity for you to be living out there. Also, sometimes FRGs will have planned trips that you can go on. MWR even has stuff that you can do on the weekends like trips to, DisneyLand Paris or trips to different cities for 2 days and then you get shuttled back to post. There is tons of stuff that you can do, you just gotta look around. My husband and I couldnt participate in the stuff that was offered, but I am glad that we did get to travel while we were there. So good luck and try and enjoy your time overseas.

Answer 3

In my experience, the only folks in the military who were "bored" in Germany were the ones who never bothered to GO anywhere. Y'know, the ones that stayed on post all the time, spent every weekend at the PX, and were scared to even try going to the nearest German village or city?

If you don't already have a military driver's license for Germany, GET one--they're not that hard to get, and the test is really not that hard, no matter how many people complain that it is. German road signs are standard international road signs; the hardest part about the test is all the oddball right-of-way scenarios... but studying will help you pass. Once you get that license, wear the thing out--go places, see things. Where are you stationed? I can recommend dozens and dozens of places to see. As an American you have the enviable advantage of being able to buy your gas cheap, on post, for a fraction of the cost of what Germans pay for theirs. Not only that, but you can buy gas coupons and use them at any Esso station in Germany, and any Aral/BP station on the autobahn. There are literally no shortage of interesting and unique things to see and do in Germany alone--and that's not taking into account your close proximity to so many other neighboring countries. Including Germany, I visited no less than seventeen European countries during my time there; most of which I drove to... and if I'd been able to I would've visited MORE. Take advantage of where you're living! Find a new place to see every weekend, even if it's only 10km away! If you spend 3 years in Germany and go home saying how boring it was and how you never saw anything... I'm afraid you've only got yourself to blame. I was appalled at how many Americans I knew who never bothered to see anything, not even the city they LIVED IN. Get a good road map, look at the cities and towns (and nearby countries) relatively close to you, and look them up on the internet, on places like Wikipedia. Learning a little about what's around you will help spur you into picking a place to go. Even if you can't, won't, or don't drive, there are USO trips that regularly go to places like France, Italy, and the Czech Republic. You can also hop a train in the nearest city and go anywhere, literally--public transportation in Europe is vastly superior to anything the U.S. has.

If you need suggestions, I'd be only too happy to give them to you. Just don't be one of those folks who never goes and does anything, spends years living in Germany, and goes home having only seen the post you lived on... and wondering why Germany was so "boring".

Answer 4

When the war ended, I was put in military government and made liaison officer to Czechoslovakia. I would go for weeks without seeing another American. The one thing that I wasn't is bored.
Get out and make friends with the German people. Learn to speak their language. Ask a German lady to show you around that part of Germany. It's a beautiful country, with history that goes back to the beginning of time. I wish that I could trade places with you.

Answer 5

I loved being in germany .... I take it you are a newbie there?

Okay the regiment do coffee mornings for the wives... boring but useful for meeting other wives..

You could try looking for a job ... there are loads around camp

If you dont drive learn to drive....

See what the education centre can advise for further education.

Visit the hive they have loads of info of things to do in the surrounding areas and they are wives too .. so they can tell you what events are happening this month in the camp.

Venture out away from camp germany is a beautiful place and they all speak english .. get out of the army environment and see for yourself.

Try a civvy gym too

Answer 6

Learn German and mix with the natives! There are many sights to see, and now, in summer, many festivals to go to, I myself love the "medieval markets" where people dress up to get in cheap.
Nearly every town has an institution called "Volkshochschule", or VHS, and most of them offer courses in German as a foreign language. If that's too adventurous for you, maybe there even is one on your base.

I know Germany fairly well, especially the Southwest, and I might have been able to point out some things in the vicinity if you had mentioned where you are.

Answer 7

Go site seeing. Are you friends with any other wives there? Maybe arrange for a little weekend getaway and go to a neighboring country (or SOMEWHERE in Germany) while the husbands are of off doing military things.

Answer 8

I can hardly relate to your situation. I believe my cousin was there with her husband at one time as well. If your husband is serving in Iraq, try getting off the base and seeing what Germany has to offer. A little trip is a lot to ease ones mind.

Answer 9

My friend was in Germany and her husband was gone all of the time. She traveled to several different countries while there. She took full advantage of being in Europe.

Answer 10

Buy a really fast foreign car, and drive like hell on the Autobahn. My brother was stationed their and he took his Dodge Intrepid with him. The car was toast in about 2 months.