Oktoberfest

This past weekend the team had off on Sunday so Katy and I decided that this might be the only chance we get to see Oktoberfest. Being the travelers that we are we decided we had to go see it. So we set the alarm for 4:00 am and woke up early to get on the road. Our trip took us 3.5 hours by car to a city called Ingolstadt, then from there we got on a train into Munich (about 45-50 minutes from Ingolstadt to Munich,and then about a 15 min walk from the train station to the Oktoberfest grounds). Everything that we read on the internet said that you shoudlnt drive to Oktoberfest because it would be almost impossible to find a place to park, so we took the train.
We got to the grounds at about 10:00 and we couldnt believe how big it was. On one side of the grounds there are lots of rides that you would see at a fair, and even some roller coasters. Then on the other side of the grounds is where all the beer tents are. There were quite a few. I think we read somewhere that there are 34 of them. Needless to say we went to everyone we could, even if it was only for a quick peek. When we got to the grounds there was also a huge concert going on with 400 Bavarian musicians (Oktoberfest is in Munich which is in the state of Bavaria in Germany). There were even guys that were playing the huge horns like you see in the Ricola commericals. We watched this for a little bit but decided to check out what the tents were like instead. The first tent we went to was one of the Paulaner tents. Here Katy got her first beer - at Oktoberfest they dont go small on the beers, each beer is 1 liter (cost is 8.60 euros). Even though it was early it was still a livley atmosphere in the tent. People were singing and doing some chants. After this tent we went to some others and throughout the day stopped so Katy could have a beer at 3 different tents.
We met people from all over. Some air force guys from Tennessee, some younger people from Italy, some older men from Italy who loved to dance (one even serenaded Katy with a song he sang inbetween the band playing in one of the tents). We met quite a few people from Germany (obviously) and a group of people from Serbia. It was fun to meet these people, especially as we could not speak their language and many could not speak ours. We did try to communicate however and were able to get across some things. Even though we could not speak fluently together it was still fun to try, and to be honest I think might have made it even more enjoyable. Whenever you dont know what to say just smile and nod. :)
The Serbians who invited us to sit at their table even bought Katy a rose, and the guy from Italy who danced with her a time or two also bought her a rose...lucky girl.
Outside of the beer tents there were many souvenier stands and food stands. We thought there would be many different types of interesting foods to try, like at the state fairs back home, but there were many stands that had the same thing....brats, hotdogs, sausages, that sort of stuff. There was one thing we tried that we havent heard of anywhere else...a half meter long bratwurst. The bun that they gave us was big, but it couldnt even fit the whole brat in it. It was good though and didnt take us long to get through it.
At 6:15 we started heading back towards the train for our ride back to Ingolstadt, and then our drive back to Giessen. When we got on the train we met this older couple and we told them we came to Munich just to see Oktoberfest for the day. The offered us to go out for a drink with them in Ingolstadt and then stay at their place that night, as it was getting dark, then take off in the morning. It was a nice offer and if I wouldnt have had practice the next morning we might have taken them up on it, but we had to get back. So when we arrived in Ingolstadt we parted ways and hopped in the car for the long drive back. We got home after 11:00 and pretty much crashed as soon as we hit the pillow.
I have to say it was an awesome day and we got the chance to see one of, if not the, biggest party in the world.

Please Help!!!

We are tyring to decorate our apartment and Katy would like your help. This is a tough life decision so please answer pronto. We couldnt imagine making this choice without your help.

Which picture do you like better?

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Picture Eins -------- or -------- Picture Zwei

Katy is here!!!

Guten tag,
After 4 weeks of being apart, Katy finally flew out here last Monday. It is great to have her here!!! She had a great time at home spending time with family and friends and said Sherri's wedding was a lot of fun. It is great that she was able to spend time at home but we are both glad that she is here now.
This week we got our apartment settled, got stuff set up where we want it to go and I think we pretty much have everything where we want it. This week I took Katy around and showed her some of Giessen. On Friday morning we didnt have practice but I went in and shot around so I took her in to see the gym where we have morning practice. We went to a couple different groceries stores this week so we could try and see which one we would like best, and even found one pretty close to our place (within walking distance) which I didnt know was there. On Friday I also took her to where we eat lunch at-at Gasthaus Braueri-and had lunch. It was good food and I was glad Katy was able to see what it was like where we eat as a team everyday. This week we also had to go to city hall to get registered with the city of Giessen and checked out the tourism center to see if we could find some things around her to do. We got some information but the tourism place didnt have as much as we thought it might. We should be able to find some things to do though from what we got. We also got some information on Hessen, the state we live in, so it will be fun to look at that as well.
Katy is having a tough time adjusting to the time difference. Some of the guys on my team also found it hard. Katy said she thought it wouldnt be too hard, especially coming from Australia where you are on a plane for a long time, but so far I think this has been harder. She cant get to sleep right away at night or wakes up in the middle of the night very hungry, or is dead tired in the middle of the day. I am sure with time though it will get better.
For basketball, this past weekend we had two games...we didnt play so well. The Saturday game was so-so, we played okay defence but had a tough time scoring. Then on Sunday we played a team that we probably should have beat. We just came out flat and could not get it going. It was not a good weekend. Hopefully the things we did and worked on at practice this week will help us refocus and do better from here on out. We have a game today in a couple hours and hopefully we play a little better.
Then it is a day off tomorrow that Katy and I will hopefully be able to take advantage of it by getting out and seeing some of the country-side.
Well thats all for now...hope all is well.
Tschüs - bye

Opener back home

Just want to say good luck to everyone taking to the woods for opening bow hunting this weekend!
And Go Pack.

3rd Week in Giessen-part2

This week for basketball was another busy week. On Wednesday night we had our first home game. Even though it was a practice match there was still quite a few fans at the game. We ended up winning in overtime. The game probably should not have been as close as it was but at least our fans got to see a win. The Friday night we scrimmaged the other team from Giessen. Here in Giessen there is a team in the first division, my team, and then a team in the third division as well. The head coach of the team in the third division is the assistant coach on my team. So we set up a game between the two of us and played last night. Today we had a 40 minute run and then I stuck around afterwards and lifted weights. Tomorrow we have a day off from basketball, but have an appearance in the middle of town. On Sunday in Giessen everything is closed. Tomorrow however they are having all the sporting teams meet in the center of town, say hi to the fans an sign some autographs. A lot of the shops I guess will be open as well, so I think it is a pretty big thing. Should be fun.

There is only little over a week until Katy comes out and I am looking forward to her coming. We get married so we could spend time together, not apart, so I am looking forward to her arrival an I know she is to.

Well we are a week closer to the season starting and I am looking forward to it.

Check back next week to see how this week will go and how we will do in our upcoming practice match.

3rd Week in Giessen-part1

Well the third week here in Giessen has been another busy one. Early this week I moved out of the Hotel, Hotel Ludwigplatz, that I was staying at and into my apartment. I am very happy to be in our new apartment, but I do miss the free breakfast in the morning.

Our apartment isn’t the biggest thing in the world but it will definiltey work. We have two rooms. One is our bedroom and the other is our living room. Then off to one side we have a small kitchen and to the other side a small bathroom. When I first got to the apartment building I was told that there was laundry in the basement, it costs 1 euro to work it. So I went to the basement as I had dirty clothes from living in the hotel (where they would do my laundry once every 4 or 5 days). Well I went to he basement and couldn’t find it. Frustrating, especially as I needed my clothes washed. So, I got out the soap and washed some of them in the sink. After a day or two of doing this it gets pretty old pretty fast. Needless to say I found the wash machine so things are better now.

From our apartment it is only 10 or 15 minutes to where we train (both gyms), so not bad at all. And about 10 minutes away from the place where we get lunch every day.

Another thing that stinks about moving out of the hotel is that I don’t have access to internet now. One of the my teamates gave a USB Vodafone stick that connects to the internet through a cell phone signal, but it is not fast at all. So basically, if I want interent I have to take my computer over to basketball training at night where there is free interent. We have the interent service ordered but I guess it takes 4-6 weeks to have it installed here. Crazy if you ask me, but oh well what do you do.

First two weeks in Giessen

Well the first two weeks here in Giessen have been pretty busy. We have been going twice a day pretty myuch every day to get ready for the start of the season which tips off in about 3 weeks time. In amongst all of our trainings we have also been pretty busy during the days as well. One day we had pictures as a team, about every other day or so we go lift as a team at WOF (world of fitness), we went and picked up our cars one day (the car I got is a puegot-when I picked it up from the dealership it had either 1.2 or 2 km on it, so about a mile. It is the newest car that I have ever driven. It is a little 2 door, manual, car. I have to say that it has been great on gas so far. There is a gauge that tells you how many kilometers you have until empty and it is nice to see that it doesnt go down that fast), opened bank accounts and have been shopping a few times.
It is a little hard to tell people if I need something in the grocery store as I dont know much German but people are pretty helpful and even if they dont speak english I can usually get my point across...at least I have been able to a couple of times. When go through the checkout lines I just smile and try to watch how much the cost of my food is on the screen/scanner because I dont understand when the lady tells me the number in German. Good thing everywhere I have went to get food so far has had something that I can see the total cost. Otherwise I might just hand the person the biggest bill I have and wait for change. Food is pretty similar here, they do have a lot of wursts and sausages and that sort of thing though, as you might expect. And we have been to McDonalds and no they do not serve sauerkraut there if you were wondering.
We stopped at McDonalds after our first practice game last Saturday and the menu seems similar to what it would be in the states. I got a salad, yogurt parafait and 2 milks. It was pretty good.
Today we had a 40-45 minute run this morning and then I lifted afterwards so I am just hanging out for the next couple of hours. Then at 4:00 our assistant coach, who also head coaches another team, has a game with that team so I am going to go watch. Well....I should say I am going to drive around and try to find the gym. If I find it I will go watch but if not...well, at least I will have seen a little more of Giessen.
During the week we get a free buffet at one of our sponsors restaurants. (picture to left) It is pretty good food and of course the all you can eat is right up my alley. We just have to buy a drink and we can eat all we want. Pretty good deal if you ask me. Currently I am still in the hotel as my apartment is getting new carpeting and the team is furnishing it. I was told I shuold be moving in on Monday. So between staying at the hotel and eating breakfast for free in the morning (as the provide it) and going to eat lunch druing the week for pretty cheap (cost of a drink 3 euros) I am doing pretty in not having to spend a fortune at the grocery store. Well see what happens when I move into the apartment and dont have breakfast anymore.
Katy is still 2 weeks away from making the trip over the water, but I am very much looking forward to it. I dont know how the military people and their families do it. I am have been away for 2 weeks only and am already really looking forward to 2 more weeks when she can come.
Well thats all for now. Check back again next week to see how we did in our first practice match at our home gym (game is on Wednesday).
Tschuss (pronounced chus which means bye)




(View from my hotel room)