First European Soccer Match

I played soccer when I was younger from 8th grade until the summer after my senior year. Sadly, other Americans don't seem to love the game as much as I do. That's why I was thrilled when the same prosecutor who hosted us in Ulm invited us to a soccer game.

This is real football.

Car lovers would love Stuttgart.

We saw Stuttgart play Koln in the Mercedes Benz Arena. We sat in a very tame section and I starred longingly at the rowdy fan section wanting to move over by them. Within 15 minutes of the game starting, the ref made a poor call and a fan lit a firework (a big one) and attempted to throw it onto the field. Unfortunately, it didn't make the field and instead hit the back of some guy standing on the sideline. Thank goodness he was wearing a parka or he could have been seriously burned.

He just wanted the vendors to come (which they never did).

The best boss ever.

You cannot properly cheer without a scarf.

I will need this if I want to be in the fan section.

Bautzen, Germany

We visited Bautzen on a trip to learn about the Sorbian people of German.  The Sorbs are a sub-community of Slavic people in the German state of Saxon.  We had an interesting tour of the old city (also located on the Spree River, like Berlin) and then visited the Sorbian newspaper in Bautzen.  A fairly small team publishes the paper daily in the Sorbian language.

The cultural significance of the paper was pretty clear.  In addition to covering local and national news, the small group is even involved in getting children's books published in the Sorbian language so that it is easier to pass the language on to kids who become bilingual in Sorbian and German.  Very cool.

City Seal.

City clock tower.

Our tour guide talking about these decorative eggs.  He just walked into a store, took them out to show us, and then brought them back into the store.  It was quite amusing.

Heavier than a purse, but cuter.

This cat belongs in another post about us missing our dog.

Beautiful old city-center.

We couldn't tell if this Fascism tag was pro or against Fascism.

Multi-lingual no poop sign.

Medieval city defenses including another tower and city wall.

Posing at the start of the Spree River.

Midday tea party.  I like her enough to let her eat cake off of my plate with her fingers.

The pretty building we visited for lunch.  Everything was homemade and super tastey.

Ulm, Germany

We had a generous invitation to visit another prosecutor's office.  This time business brought us to Ulm.  This city is right on the border between Wurtenburg and Bayern and has its other half, Neu Ulm (New Ulm), located across the Danube River. 

"The best thing about New Ulm is the view of Ulm."

Muenster.  The husband climbed 768 steps to the top.  I did not.

The prosecutor who hosted us went out of his way to show us a good time in his city.  This includes setting up school visits for me during the day (his wife is a teacher), taking us out to lunch every day, having us over to his place for dinner and drinks, taking us on a walking tour, arranging a private brewery tour for us, and inviting us along to an art show.  He and his wife were amazing hosts!

Modeling a neat  invention created created by one clever Ulmer.  It is a light-weight, portable bench that can be carried through museums so that you always have a seat.

Hog House.

Walking tour of the Fishermans Quarter.

Ulmer Spitz.  The Berliner Bear of Ulm.  We only understood half of the story here.  Our vocab is quite limited when it comes to understanding legends about sparrows.

Super dark picture of us with the famous Shiefes Haus (Crooked House).

Flussiges Gold (Liquid Gold) Brewery.  They need a yellow brick road. 

Smelling the hops and malts on our tour.

My dream came true!  I have now had Keller Bier direct from the vat.

Our guide giving us a taste of ice cold liquid gold straight from the source.

Don't worry.  My hair was not bottled with any of the beer.

Machine dedicated to dumping things out of the recycled bottles before cleaning.

Machine dedicated to peeling the labels off of recycled bottles.

Sadly, I do not have any pictures of me at the school with the kiddos.  This is really too bad.  I especially like this one boy who I quickly learned was the naughtiest one in the class.  What can I say?  I am a sucker for the bad kids.  I sat by him both days and he was on his best behavior trying to impress the American visitor. 

The teacher uses a +/- system to grade the students on behavior.  This favorite little boy of mine usually gets a minus.  On both days that I was present, he got a plus!  He was so excited for himself and I celebrated with him.  His teacher joked that she needed a picture of me to show him whenever he starts acting up in class.

Minnesota Weather Welcomes Me Home

It seems that the best Minnesota winter weather has to offer was waiting for me to arrive home.  My grandma even called me today and left a message that the "weather was waiting for you."  I apologize for bringing this upon you, residents of MN.

I especially apologize to the Vikings fans for this.

My Dog Hates Me

I found myself back in the US unexpectedly.  Here is the video of my reunion with my beloved dog.  She hates me.  And ran from me.  But, wagged her tail the entire time.  Hopefully she will eventually forgive me for abandoning her.

Frankfurt, Germany

This post is more about book club than it is about Frankfurt.  With that said, we loved Frankfurt (maybe even more than Stuttgart) and can't wait to go back and explore more in January. 


Me and a view of St. Barts Cathedral.



Helping decorate the Frankfurter Christmas Tree.

Ask me how I feel about burning books the next time we are together.

Goethe Statue.

Me with our amazing hosts, the Sandifords.

Two weak American dollars in front of the big strong Euro.

Bakery namesake.

Half naked models at European Hollister store.  Only the finest nudes for the finest American clothes.

Robot made from small appliances riding a horse.

Possibly one of the last warm, coat-optional, sunny days of the year.

Book club members in front of the Frankfurt Opera House.

Like I said, we were in Frankfurt for a book club meeting.  On the first week I arrived in Germany, I mentioned to some of the other fellows how much I like reading and how happy I was to have time to do more of it this year.  They all started expressing interest and the book club was born.  So far we have read the following.


August



September

October/November



December

Every month we have a themed dinner/drinks, a book discussion, and games.  Admitedly, I am using book club as a fun excuse to plan the kind of games I would for my classroom.  However, the 20/30somethings in the group have been indulging me and very sweetly playing along with any games we design.  It is great fun and I can't wait for our December meeting in Nuremburg.

Prague, Czech Republic

If I lived in Prague, I would be so fit and thin because it is the most beautiful city for wandering around and walking.  Even in the rain, I loved walking in this city.  Many parts of Prague look untouched. For playing such a central role in events near the end of WWII, it seems to have largely escaped the kind of bombings that led to total destruction in other European cities.

View of the inner, old city from the outside.  To the left you see Charles Bridge.

Me with Charles Bridge in the background.

Sight-seeing in a suit.  One of the drawbacks of traveling for work.

Petting a cute dog statue on Charles Bridge.

Arial view of the city from Prague Castle.  We took quite the hike up with two children, both under 5.

It was quite the feat as it was also raining.

The Jewish Quarter in Prague has a haunting WWII history. It was left relatively untouched by the occupying Nazis and many synagogues were left standing because Hitler intended for it to serve as a monument to the extinguished Jewish race.  Disturbing.

The Old-New Synagogue

My best friend hugging the corner of the oldest, active synagogue in Europe.

Pretty, gabled houses in the Jewish Quarter

Maisel Synagogue, Hitler's intended "Museum to the Extinct Race"

This is what I get for asking my five-year old best friend to pose in front of a serious building.

"Okay now, that was funny, but give me a nice face."

With my serious tone now, "This is the last one I'll take so no more goofy faces."

I need to read about this sculpture outside of the Spanish Synagogue  becuase I only see one thing when I look at it, and it isn't appropriate.

Thank you to fellowship friends for many of the photos you see here.  We temporarily misplaced our camera so some of the photos are directly from their facebook accounts.