9/2/13: Who really sleeps well the night before they have to get up early to begin a trip? I was out of bed at 4:00 a.m. in order to catch the 5:00 a.m. shuttle bus from my hotel to the Denver International Airport. I flew from Denver to Boston to Frankfurt to Stuttgart, arriving in Stuttgart at 9:00 a.m. local time on September 3rd. Since Stuttgart is 8 hours ahead of Colorado, I had only been on my feet and travelling for 21 hours; it could have been worse… Jason picked me up and took me to our fully-furnished temporary home; we are here for 60 days until we get into our permanent house and take delivery of our household goods. No time for a shower but I did get to brush my teeth! Ahh, I almost feel human again. I need to remember to keep a toothbrush and toothpaste in my purse when I travel.
Supposedly, trying to stay awake until bedtime on that first day helps with adjusting more quickly to the new time zone. So it was a day of errand running including getting an ID card for me so I can actually get on base – gotta love that sleep deprived photo! After a couple of hours, I found myself dozing off each time I sat down.
9/3/13: Day 2. Even though I felt like I slept fine last night, 
I still felt like I was in a fog this morning. Is it the jet lag? Is it the new surroundings of a different country? My dear husband suggested I get out and walk around our village, Stetten, but his parting remark was, “Don’t get lost!” It would be easy to do since everything is unfamiliar! The roads are windy and all the houses look similarly unusual.
Stetten
I have no cell phone (that works in Europe) and I don’t know any important or meaningful phone numbers anyway. I really could get lost! Therefore, when I met Natalie at her bus stop this afternoon, I felt as if I had truly accomplished something in not getting lost!
Experiences of an Expat 