I have not posted in a while. Been busy traveling to Germany. This time on a free flight thanks to our Military benefits. For those active duty and retirees on this board, the hub from BWI has quite a few flights to Europe. You have to sign up well in advance as a retiree (up to 60 days), however, seats are usually available when school is in session to many destinations in Europe. We were fortunate to fly directly into Rammstein where her daughter is stationed. And we were able to be on the same flight as she was when she was flying on orders back to BWI. There is no option for first class or Business seats on the Chartered commercial aircraft. However, they are a lot more roomy than current Airlines. Since they are older planes, the seats are a bit wider, and there is more legroom between the rows. This was the first trip where I incurred hotel expenses since our daughter was already out of her home and staying on temporary lodging at the Air Force Base. We managed to get a two bedroom one bath place for just the two of us which was nice to spread out, especially after arriving jetlagged. My husband likes to watch TV so I was able to sleep in my own room and get on Germany time. We even manage a day trip to Oktoberfest in Munich. I signed us up for a tour from the military base. Very convenient and nice not to have to worry about transportation back-and-forth . We went on opening day, and the parade was the highlight for me. We had a chance to visit one of the beer tents and enjoy some great music and food. We taxied into downtown Munich to do some shopping as well and see the glockingspiel. For all of those that are eligible for this travel benefit, I highly recommend it if you have the time and patience. The cost per person was about $60 round-trip for airport fees from both BWI and Rammstein. As of right now, BWI is also flying into Naples, Sigonella, and Rota, Spain. These flights usually leave from Norfolk, but the Norfolk runway is being redone right now until the end of December I did use my Venture x to rent a car and the same card for our lodging on the base. We did manage one night in town at a hotel, but preferred being on base close to our daughter and the grandkids. Our final journey was on a southwest flight from BWI to Houston With our daughter and her family. Again we flew on points and a companion pass, so no flight cost there.