Saw Tikrit today, including a few palaces from a distance. Apart from Baghdad it's the biggest city I've been in over here. Its rush hour was comparable to something back in the states, with lots of traffic, and there were lots and lots of people walking around outside. Tuz is decent-sized, but with smaller buildings and narrower roads and less traffic.

I didn't get to actually go near any of the buildings, and overall they weren't as impressive as I'd imagined in my mind. Certainly nothing compared to, say, Schloss Neuschwanstein in Germany. But at least now I can say I saw them.

What did impress me was FOB Speicher's facilities. They have the nicest chow hall, MWR, and PX this side of FOB Victory. The MWR actually has decent foosball tables, something I haven't seen since I left my house last summer, and something I'm still pretty good at, apparently. If I were stationed here, I guarantee I would be at least 15 pounds heavier right now...