Karen and Gary Beardsley's
Great Adventure

Since my husband, Gary, and I knew we had to meet with friends and relatives in Munich at the end of May for a cruise on the 3rd of June, we put in our Space-A sign-ups around the end of April. We waited a few weeks and then did the sign-ups for return. We also knew that we were going to go out of March ARB CA, or as it was referred to - Riverside CA. so we faxed our sign-up to them.

We drove over from Nevada ten days before we had to be in Munich, DE. When we checked in for roll call at March ARB they didn't have a record of our fax but we had a copy, and since it was Reserves weekend they got on the computer and found the fax, but when I asked if we were manifested on through to Germany they had to change it again. We also found out that this terminal is only open when an outgoing flight is scheduled.

Finally, we left for Charleston AFB, SC on a C-17. When we landed and ran to the check-in desk they had everything ready and did a roll call for Ramstein, Germany, so we missed that flight. This is a really nice terminal open 24/7 and as the other flights were canceled it isn't too bad a place to hang in. The Bowling Center is within walking distance so we could get a nice cooked meal (not just sandwiches). The golf course is also open but it is a good walk to it and also to a Burger King nearby. They have two computers free to use and everyone was very good about not staying on too long.

As we talked with others we heard there was a flight to Dover and after a quick check with pepperd.com we saw a flight to Ramstein the next day, so we all changed over to Dover. Then we heard it was canceled, so we started to make arrangements to rent a van to drive to Dover (This is one of the biggest reasons to start early on your trip). We were still in good shape for our trip. But a very nice TSA man named Shaun Ford stayed on the phone and at the last minute got us a flight to Dover.

All the siding inside this plane, a C-5, was taped together with masking tape. I wanted to ask if they had heard of duct tape, but since we were flying, no one said anything. When we arrived at Dover there was nowhere to stay for the night, but the terminal is open all night. We were able to call Ramstein and reserve a place to stay for three nights. There is a shower in the bathrooms and the terminal will give you things to use like towels and soap.

We caught a C-5 and flew to Ramstein the next day. Now we still had five days before meeting in Munich, so we got to see a lot of the base. Thank goodness the German bus drivers on this base could answer all of our questions. This was our first time in Europe and we didn't get a lot of help with questions from people in the terminal, but we kept talking to everyone and there was someone around who could help with questions. We found the library and the computers are free and we could sign up to use them. They have a lot of them, but you can only use them from 1000-1600 hours; it was great.

We pretty much stayed on the base for the few days we were there. We found out we could go on a river tour and we also found a casino. We bought our train tickets to Munich at the RTT, and a very nice German lady there was very helpful explaining the train changes.

We called to have a taxi pick us up on the day we were to leave and we were the only ones at the train station. Makes one a little nervous but the train ride was great. We changed trains at Mannheim and then rode on ICE, the fast train into Munich. We had some soon-to-be friends pick us up at the train station and then we drove to the airport to pick up the other four people joining us on our cruise.

There was a couple related to our new friends in Germany that had made arrangements for us to stay at a B&B out in the country. What a beautiful country. We could see some of the Alps from the B&B when it wasn't raining. We took several trips every day around the area, but I have to say, when you can tell your friends that you had breakfast in Germany, drove through Austria, had a picnic lunch in Italy and then went shopping in Switzerland and back to Germany for dinner at a local brewery, it is too much. We saw Garmisch and knew that we would be going back again. After spending five days there we went to the airport and flew to Amsterdam.

We stayed at a hotel about one and a half hours outside of Amsterdam. It was a very modern and very nice hotel. We took a train ride into Amsterdam and also took a canal ride, a must for anyone that goes there, and everyone should go to Amsterdam as it is a kick. If you have a very open mind, you will enjoy it. We were mooned by some guys going by in a big boat and then watched a guy come out of his houseboat and take his robe off and jumped into water naked to bathe. Not sure how clean he can get, as that water is very dirty but then maybe he didn't care. We saw many other things and we did a lot of laughing. Downtown Amsterdam is one of a kind.

After a couple of days there we boarded for our 12 day cruise on June 3rd. Having one day at sea right away was okay, as we needed to relax and get ready for the rest of the trip. First stop was in Copenhagen, a day at sea and then Stockholm, Helsinki, then St. Petersburg, Russia. This was our destination. The ship stopped for two days and one night, so we packed in a lot of sightseeing. We saw where Rasputin was killed. The palaces are so beautiful. There was gold in every room in every castle.

We took a canal ride and since everywhere we went was on an island there were a lot of canal rides. We went to a folklore dance that evening. The soldiers were the singers and we couldn't understand what they were saying, but the dancers were spectacular. I must say that this cruise isn't like the ones we have taken in other countries, as they do not have tourists shopping at every turn.

The next day we went to Peter the Great's castle. We spent over three hours there and saw about one-eighth of the place. It is so beautiful, but so big. Every room in the castle had real gold trim. Russian President Vladimir Putin was in town with his forum so we didn't get to see all the places we paid for on the tour. We had two great days of weather there and our guide said that we were lucky as they only have 30 days of nice weather in one year and that it could start to snow the next day. We had taken winter clothes along so slacks, jeans, sweaters and light jackets were all we needed. The midnight sun took some getting used to.

At 2245 hours, you could walk around the ship and the sun would still be shining. Our next stops were to Tallin in Estonia and Klaipeda in Lithuania which had been newly added to the cruise ship stops. Each country uses their own money, so each night before docking we exchanged our money. What we didn't spend the cruise ship would change back. No coins though, just bills. The Baltic Sea was okay but the wind and rain was very cold.

After the cruise, we took a train from Amsterdam to Kaiserslauten, DE and went by taxi to the Ramstein AB terminal. There was a flight to Dover the next day. We called and got a room on-base for the night. We checked in for roll call went through security, had passports stamped and then had to go back down and start over as the plane was going to go to Charleston instead, but the time did not change. No one lost their spot on the plane. Since it was the middle of June, there were 54 people and 17 were kids. They really do head for home as soon as school is out. We bought our box meals and boarded a C-17 for the long trip.

The crew put the box meals in a large sack placed in the middle of plane. After we were in the air it was announced we could get our meals. Now we know that not everyone bought one and they ran out. We are older and can afford to lose some weight so it was not a problem that we didn't eat for 12 hours but there were a few families with small children that didn't get anything. This was terrible and I would have thought the guys would have checked tickets to see who paid and who had not, but they just shrugged their shoulders. Water and chips were available, but for small kids it wasn't enough. The kids that didn't get to eat real food did very well though. We have decided from now on we would not buy a box lunch but take our own food. You are allowed to carry on food, but not drinks unless you buy it after the security check point.

We arrived at Charleston AFB, NC and saw no flights to March ARB (Riverside), CA. A Sr. Airman, Marie Denson, was very helpful. We finally found one going to McGuire and after we "Pepperded" again online we found a flight to March from there. At McGuire, we tried to get a room at housing and were told there were none but we called back later and got one with a shared bathroom. We couldn't walk to it however, and there are no shuttles, but we were finally able to "beg" a young man at the desk to pick us up.

There was a dining hall next to our housing and we were told we could go there to eat. We were the only ones in the place and the food was just sitting there. We filled our plates, went to pay and were told retirees are not allowed to eat there but the young lady let us anyway. We asked if we could pick up some things for breakfast so we wouldn't have to go through this again. She let us, so we had things to eat before going to the terminal and waiting to see if the plane was really going to leave.

The next day the guy at the desk came to get us after working 11 hours. He didn't want to, but since a lady in our party had a broken foot, he took the time to drive us to the terminal. He was a very nice and very tired young man. When we got back to March the terminal was closed. The bus driver said they would drop us off at cars, gates or whatever. We told him long term parking and he informed us we were not in long term and that the reserves usually did it wrong, but our car was there and we got in and drove to Nevada.

We feel we were lucky on all the connections and making all our dates. Now reflecting back on the only "problems" we did have, we would like to suggest some changes at the terminals. We all know that when a lot of guys retire they are not quite ready to stop working all together. So we would like to suggest that the terminals consider hiring retirees. When we asked airmen at the desks where something was located they had no idea. We got the feeling they didn't want to "work" with retirees. Now I know it isn't their job to babysit but if a retiree was there we know they would have the time to answer questions. The USO, if there is one in the terminals, are busy with the active guys like they should be. Overall, since my husband retired from the Marines, we are use to the hurry up and wait routine and had a great time. We will do it again but not too soon. At least not long trips, just some "local" ones for awhile.

Karen and Gary Beardsley
Mesquite, NV


Editors Note: Generally speaking, hiring of additional passenger terminal employees is unlikely due to budgetary constraints. As a result, many military air terminals have retiree volunteers to assist travelers.