What I Will Miss Most About Europe...

I miss my family so much that I literally avoid thinking about how much I miss them. Oh, I don't cut them out at all! I think about my wife and daughter all the time, it's just that when I start getting maudlin about it I have a little trick. I think about something I miss that's inconsequential and won't fling me into depression but that I nonetheless crave, albeit nowhere near as much as I crave the company of my wife and daughter.


Sometimes it's a favorite food, or maybe a piece of furniture I like to sit or lay on, but most of the time when I need to distract my self I think of a beverage of which I've become quite fond-


BEER!

That's right. Beer, nectar of the freaking gods! Especially here in Europe. Oh it comes in all varieties from light golden ale to syrup-thick black stout and I love it all!



Now, being the responsible young man I am, I must say that I do not take alcoholosim lightly at all. I had a soldier die of alcohol poisoning and I don't approve of binge drinking (that impressive collection around my kitchen sink was the combined effort of me and my buddies; Stacy, Kellen and Jake).

Since Michele and I arrived in Europe we've found several things to enjoy but in all honesty the one thing we will legitimately miss when we get back to the states is some of the culinary achievements of this continent, including the libations!


Top left you see me holding an Oktoberfest brew from Munich (Munchen). Unfortunately illness and work just made going to Oktoberfest in person impossible but fortunately some of the special Oktoberfest brew was available right there in Baumholder. It was an awesome amber-grainy beer- very smooth, medium strength.


Bottom right are me and my homeboy Kellen Blythe at a unit function availing ourselves of a fine Erdinger Dunkel beer, mmmmm, so smooth it's almost syrupy but with a definite hint of barley. LOVE it.


To me, beer isn't about getting hammered, although there's nothing wrong with a little buzz now and then. Beer is about camaraderie and friendship. It's about the celebration of life, and remembrance. Whenever I lift a glass with my bretheren, the first drink is always to absent comrades, the rest are to good times and great taste. Once you've become accustomed to the stuff they've got here in Europe, specifically Belgium and Germany, Killian's is the LEAST you will settle for.


So here's to beer! The next time you raise your glass or bottle, savor it for those who are cutoff in a dry and thirsty country.