Vs. Volcano - McGuire-Germany/Italy-N...

Author Message   Tom McKnight Member Username: Zorro Post Number: 18 Registered: 07-2009 Posted From: 76.104.16.34 Posted on Thursday, May 13, 2010 - 01:30 am:    There are terminals at Copo 1 on several floors if not all of them. There are also terminals in the library and in the air terminal at the USO. They have terminals in the rec room at Copo 2 but you have to be on active duty to use them. Wi-fi is available at Copo 1 in the rooms, library and USO in the terminal. You can sit outside the rec room at Copo 2 and pick up a signal. Problem with USO and Library is they are time limited as far as when they are open.   Katie Daily Member Username: Kdes Post Number: 25 Registered: 06-2003 Posted From: 76.195.74.74 Posted on Wednesday, April 28, 2010 - 01:34 pm:    No internet in the old BEQ portion of the Naples Gateway Inn. I think the Lobby has WiFi and maybe the rooms in that building. WiFi is available two buildings away in the air terminal (also a free DSN line). The USO also has five laptops for use on the internet in the air terminal. The library is next to the Gateway Inn lobby and they may have internet also. The library has a great collection of travel books too.   Tom Jackson Senior Member Username: Tombo Post Number: 489 Registered: 05-2004 Posted From: 76.106.250.199 Posted on Tuesday, April 27, 2010 - 09:54 pm:    John D. - Are we having some "down time" in Naples or are you working? It has to be work and you are researching stuff for your site. Right?   John D. Moderator Username: John_d Post Number: 4364 Registered: 06-2003 Posted From: 88.53.117.5 Posted on Tuesday, April 27, 2010 - 06:43 pm:    Katie, I'm at Naples now and from what I understand from others the old BEQ rooms don't have internet (like the main building rooms). Is that what your experience was?   Chris Schaede Intermediate Member Username: Schaede Post Number: 109 Registered: 03-2007 Posted From: 208.14.249.81 Posted on Tuesday, April 27, 2010 - 04:46 pm:    Persistence, ingenuity and making the most of your "extra" time in Europe. I'm sure you'll be talking about this trip in the years to come. Thanks for taking us along on your adventure.   John R Garrison Senior Member Username: Majorg Post Number: 2548 Registered: 02-2006 Posted From: 208.81.157.86 Posted on Tuesday, April 27, 2010 - 01:11 am:    Katie: Whew!! What a trip. Thanks for taking the time to write it up and to share it with us. Happy Travels, John   Katie Daily Member Username: Kdes Post Number: 22 Registered: 06-2003 Posted From: 76.214.46.249 Posted on Tuesday, April 27, 2010 - 12:18 am:    Vs. the Volcano - April, 2010 3 Spats category III A three-hour, 15-minute drive to McGuire AFB went smoothly because I had entered the WaWa convience store at the intersection of Monmouth Rd. & Wrightstown-Georgetown Rd. into my GPS. I had gotten turned around in the web of country roads leading from the Turnpike to McGuire on our previous three trips. The WaWa is just northwest of McGuire Access Hwy. This was the first flight out of Mcguire to Germany is a few days. It was the end of the week after Easter and the end of the DOD schools in Germany spring break and also the end of spring break for Germany's public schools. Some Spats in the McGurie terminal had been waiting for a flight to Germany over two days when their Tuesday flight from Charleston to Germany was diverted shortly after takeoff to McGuire for repairs. Tonight the 54 seats on an empty C-17 were taken by 48 Spats and the Mcguire terminal was cleared. After landing in Spangdahlem AB most Spats wanted to go to Ramstein, the Customs Officer suggested we call the local taxi listed on the AMCgram (Taxi Faber 06565951010. There is a DSN phone in the terminal). 22 spats hired Faber's 24 passenger van (& luggage trailer) for e350 for the 1.5 hour drive to Ramstein AB. The van arrived to take us within 30 minutes after calling. It would be better to organize this van stateside and give them a call before takeoff as the van may not be available if you wait until you arrive in Germany. A shuttle service out of Ramstein (ask AMC counter rep.) has 7-passenger vans and charges e35 each for the shuttle service. No rental cars were availabe in Bittburg as this was the end of Germany's spring break. The Air Base has a shuttle which requires an unreasonable advanced reservation be made a couple of days ahead. We had a reservation for a rental car at AMCR in Ramstein. The other car rentals in the KMCC had no cars available (spring break). We had to wait two hours for our car to be turned in - no problem as we were hungry and went to have dinner and planned to stay the night in Ramstein lodging anyway. Since most cars had been rented, we ended up with a manual transmission rather than the automatic we reserved. Drove to Dresden in the rain the next day, walked around the beautifully reconstructed downtown and then continued on to Berlin. We spent three nights in the eTap Berlin Ost Marzahn. 300 meters from the train station into Berlin (20 min. train ride), free WiFi, and free parking. e46 per night for two adults and one kid, breakfast is e6 and there is a McDonalds 80 meters away on the way to the train station. We discoverd eTap last fall on our spacA trip to France. Each small room has a double bed with a single bunk bed above. The eTap's in France were newer and the rooms were similar to cleaverly designed dorm rooms. The eTap's in Germany were somewhat older, and while great for our puporses, had the feel of a deluxe prison cell. We only slept there and find them clean, safe, convient and cheap. Berlin is wonderful (at least the east side is). We took the Fat Tire five-hour bicycle tour of Berlin on a beautiful, cool, sunny day. Berlin is flat and this was the most fun I had on a bike since I was 9-years-old. Our guide was great and we stopped for lunch midway at a beer garden in Berlin's large city park. The Pergamon Museum, on museum island, is the coolest museum I've ever been in - they have an acutal gate of Babaylon you can walk through. We were sad to leave Berlin after three days and drove back to Dresden for two nights. Drove over to Gorlitz, Germany for the day and walked across the Neiss River pedisterian bridge to Poland. Dinner at the Sophienkeller (under the Taschenber Palace Hotel) in Dresden was great - moderatly priced, 1700's themed Saxon dinner complete with a torture rack! We ate in the wine cellar of this former palace. I could imagine people huddled in this undergoround refuge as Dresden was fire-bombed near the end of WWII. Drove back to Ramstein seven days after arriving in Germany. Visited the AMC terminal first thing at about 1800 and asked the counter rep about flights and was told that the airport was closed - due to a Valcano! An invisible volcanic ash clould coverd norther Europe and would foul jet engines if it were flown through. I had not been following the news on vacation although I did see a picture of a volcano once. Well, nothing in SpaceA has surprised me before but this did. We got a room at the Inn and decided to check back frequiently as we thought the winds might change and the crew on a McGuire flight might take to the skies quickly durring that window of opportunity. We found out the next morning (Saturday) that there were no planes at Ramstein - they had either been diverted or flown out Thursday afternoon. So, we toured the medical center at Landstuhl and then downtown Kaiserslautern. Checked RTT at the KMCC for a train to NAS Rota (which was still open and had many missions diverted there). We could get as far as Paris but all trains south of there were sold out. Llined up at 1800 for a spaceA room at the Inn. Flights were listed on the Ramstein board, but all would be cancelled due to the ash cloud. Visited the American Cemetery in Luxembourg (Patton's grave) and then the town of Trier, Germany. We decided to take the Tuesday Medivac bus from Landstuhl to Vincenza, Italy and then a train (e350 for three) to Naples (This SpaceA medivac bus also picks up in front of the KMCC 30 minutes after departing the ER (Gate 1) from Landstuhl). NAS Naples was open and I figured they would have a flight to Rota or Sigonella over the next couple of days (especially since air travel in northern Europe was not possible). Naples also had the Patriot Express on Friday to Norfolk as a backup. I checked back with RTT to see if we could get the 26 hour train ride to Rota - no. But they could get us e550 tickets (three passengers) to Naples the next day. I even considered taking the Medivac bus to Vincenza, train to Genoa, ferry to Tangiers, ferry to Tarifa (Spain) & train to El Puerto de Santa Maria (east of NAS Rota). So we could wait at Ramstein for the volcano to stop or the winds to change (the volcano went off for two years the last time it eurupted) or spend over $700 on a train to be near a possible free flight back to the States. We bought the train tickets as that got us to Naples a day earlier than the medivac bus and it was more convient. The Road Runner taxi picked up at 0420 the next morning for a e27 ride to the K'town train station. Our train was five minutes late and we had a three minute connection in Weinheim. Just prior to Weinheim I pointed this out to our conductor, he pulled out his wireless, handheld computer and checked the schedules. In German, he told me that we should have gotten off at the last station as we could have gotten on our train to Zurich there but that our train had already left Weinheim. We eneed up going all the way into Frankfurt and the helpful DeBahn people there got us going again and arriving in naples two hours late. Lesson learned: Tell you conductor as soon as you realize you will miss a connection. The trains were packed and all countries had added additional trains (which caused all the delays) to handle the stranded air travelers. We could not be assigned seats due to the late changes made in Frankfurt. So, every station stop was like playing musical chairs where people would board with reserved seats only to find someone like me, with no seat assignment, in their place. Lots of people were headed to Rome where the airport was open. Arrived, in Naples on time at 2200. Couldn't find the ALI buss (as you exit the station head toward the McDonalds on your right, at that street corner turn right and walk half a block where you will find the ALI bus stop sign). The ALI bus (looks just like a city bus) but has only three stops - train station, Capodichino Airport and just above the port area in downtown Naples - e3 per person. A cab was e22 to the Military American at the Capodichino Airport. Got a room at the Gateway Inn at NAS. The Gateway Inn told me on the phone they allow 12-year-olds in the room but our reservation was only for two adults. We took the room without any more questions. The room was $60 and was in an old BEQ. It consisted of a bedroom, living room (with sofa-sleeper), bath and kitchen (sink, refrigator, microwave). It was one building away from the Air Terminal. Nothing out of NAS Naples the next day but a C-40 did come in from Sig. One Spat (cat VI) then took the Patriot Express that afternoon to Souda Bay and planned to catch that same flight back to Norfolk two days later. He felt he would stand a better chance of getting a ticket in Souda than at the more crowded Naples air terminal (this would later prove to be a wise decision). A c-26 (General officer) did go to Ramstein that afternoon, but the Ramstein counter told me on the phone the airport was still closed and had no flights. The c-26 took only one spat I think. That afternoon we cought the ALI bus to the port area (7 minute walk from the NAS gate: right at the round-a-bout, then straight to the airport. As you face the terminal, buses are located to the left of the terminal). Naples is a crowded and culturally intense city. We were robbed in Naples in 2004 - down by the port area - in daylight. We were aprehensive about returning but the nice woman at the USO assured us she felt safe downtown. We used this as an opportunity to overcome our fear of this gritty southern Italian city. We also left our valuables in our room safe and I took an empty second-wallet with a few euros dangling out that I could hand over if robbed. In 2004, a security officer on the base told me that the local thieves never use deadly force as then they will go to jail for a long time, a friendly robber (no gun invloved) just gets a slap on the wrist when caught. Our adventure into Naples went off without incident except while we were standing next to some children playing soccer in a small plaza (Naples has no parks) the soccer ball went flying past our heads - those kids are good with a soccer ball. I love downtown Naples: Piazza del plebiscito & the oldest opera house in Europe, the shops & people and the pizza (it was invented here). However, Naples is very taxing, especially at the end of a trip for travelers with no ticket home yet. We ate dinner that night at Lucerna, a Restaurant near the NAS (8 minute walk: gate to round-a-bout, straight to T, left 60 meters, restaurant on left). Good Italian food for the locals and the guys at NAS. The Patriot Express was just leaving for Souda (1600 show time?) as we arrived back at NAS at 2130 - glad we didn't wait all afternoon for that flight. No flights out the next day either. Patriot Express, our backup plan, was looking like our only option. We were told that stranded government officals were being placed on the PatEx - reducing avaiable spaceA seats (maybe we should have went to Souda). I now needed a backup in case our backup fails. $1700 each for commercial air tickets from Capo to Philadelphia. Aviano was starting it's PatEx again to BWI with a noon show the day after Naples' PatEx. Europe Car (in the NAS terminal) had a e42 (inc. insurance) one-way (8-hour drive) rental to Aviano (Europe Car on Aviano AB). Sig also (8 hour drive) had flights to Rota the day after the Naples PatEx. I did not want an eight hour drive but these were options if we did not make the Naples PatEx and nothing else was going out of NAS. We rented a Euro Car for the day and drove the two hours to Paestum. Driving in southern Italy is intense - no GPS and a few directional signs were missing. Paestum is a marvelous collection of Greek & Roman ruins including three large 2600-year-old temples. For some reason admisson to the ruins and the museum were free that day and the ticket agent got mad at me when I didn't understand and tried to giver her money a few times. Lots of Mozzarella di Bufala Campana (the highest quality mozzarella cheese in the world) for sale along the road - even in the gas stations! The next day we appeared at the Naples terminal for the 1030 show for the PatEx from Naples to Norfolk. I had a car reserved from the Norfolk Int'l airport (Hertz in NAS Norfolk terminal would be closed when we arrived) to be dropped at Ft. Dix/McGuire (code 331 used on the Hertz website allows use of the Dix/McGuire on base Hertz office). An empty c-26 was also headed back to Ramstein that moring. Ramstein had a 757 to BWI, a c-17 to Andrews and the PatEx to BWI the next day but nothing to McGuire. I decided to stay put and try for the PatEx from Naples to Norfolk. As far as I could tell, only two Cat VI made the Norfolk PatEx all the way to Norfolk. Four others made it to Lajes, Azores and would have to stay there one day and wait for the c9 from Sig and continuing on to BWI. We arrived on time at 2200 in Norfolk but it took two hours to get through customs & immigration! The Hertz at Norfolk Int'l would close at 0030 and getting a cab was a difficult as everyone else wanted one too. We decided to relax and try again tomorrow so we spent the next six hours in the NAS Norfolk terminal (open all night). A cab cost $27 to the Norfolk airport the next morning. The Hertz at the NAS terminal would open at 0900 but I wanted the earlier 0700 start. The previous night I had to modify my car rental, which I did on the Hertz computer voice recogination phone line ($150 one-way). I was then transfered to a real person who told me she could do nothing on the reservation and transfered me to another real person who told me the one-way rental would now be $274. I explained the change approved on the Hertz computer system and I was then transfered to a supervisor who told me that the one-way rental would be $65 for a full size car. I got the confirmation number as quickly as I could and had a confirming email sent also. Note that if you drop a Hertz rental after hours, the rental time period continues until that Hertz office gets around to checking in the car after they re-open the next day. The rental does not end when you write the day and time on the contract you place in the dropbox or when they re-open at 0800 the next morning. We shared our Nissan Altima (31.5 mpg) with a SpaceA couple from the PatEx who also had their car parked at McGuire. This couple had taken 40 SpaceA trips and the six hour dirve to McGuire seemed to pass in only a few minutes as the conversation in the car was so enjoyable. Gas and tolls amounted to another $75. We picked up our personal cars at McGuire and I handed the car over to the Hertz counter rep (open Sat & Sun 0800-1600) - I did not want to mess with the drop box and take a chance on being charged for a second day's car rental. We then made the three hour drive home in just over four hours - heavy traffic on this Saturday.