As I have probably failed to mention, Volkel is not large enough to warrant a Commissary or BX (at least the American side is not large enough). We do have a Shopette (convenience store for those who are not military) -- where we can buy fuel coupons and cigarettes (if we smoked) and junk food (let's not talk about my bad habits) and alcohol without a VAT (and Budweiser for those who miss it).
Backing up -- Commissary is the military version of a grocery; BX or PX (base exchange or post exchange) are the almost department stores that the military provides to active duty and retirees.
Schinnen is home to an Army Garrison and our closest PX and Commissary.
In Colorado Springs, I would occasionally visit the Shopette for junk food or alcohol. About once a month I would head to the Commissary in case they had a good deal on produce, cleaning supplies, or ice cream. I would hit the BX at the same time because it was there. I usually didn't buy things. When in Los Alamos, I did not bother driving to ABQ to visit either.
Here, I have already hit the Commisary three or four times...and it is about 45 minutes away from our house...and I am dragging a baby. Deals which were okay in the States are really good here: meat, cleaning supplies, paper goods, pet stuff, and canned goods are why we go.
Today we did a major stock up on those things. We will be going to Ramstein next week, mostly for BX options (see the post on Adapters vs Transformers for part of the reason) and for me to see the place -- Eric has already been there several times.
I would say that American shopping is a pretty silly thing to post about, but we saw at least 4 families and a group of girlfriends down for the day from Volkel, so the visit to Schinnen seems to be about more than just canned foods and meats. It is about community and American things with a capital A. It is about a taste of home. Reminder: this is being said by a woman who could bike to both a Subway and a McDonalds.
No comments:
Post a Comment