Ultimate Frisbee in Bamberg

Phil and I are now recovering after a fun and exhausting weekend. We played in an eight game ultimate frisbee tournament in Bamberg this weekend and had a great time. There were 15 other teams at the tournament, many of which had played together for years. Our goal was to walk away with atleast one win. Early Saturday morning we traveled up to Bamberg with our teammates and played our first four games. The weather was beautiful and the fields were located near the center of Bamberg. Saturday night the Bamberg team hosted a party for everyone which was a lot of fun. After the party we all piled into a gym about a mile away and got some sleep. On Sunday we played four more games and ended up winning three. After a short awards ceremony we headed back to Erlangen and iced our injuries.

Tournaments are run a little differently than tournaments in the States. After each game both teams gather in a circle and put their arms around each other. The losing team then gives a speech about the game and thanks the winning team for playing. Once the speech is over everyone claps and then the winning team does the same thing. After the speeches the winning team presents a short game for both teams to play together. I like the fact that this drill solidifies the unity of the team as well as allows you to meet other team members off the field. There was a real focus on building relationships which was nice.

Right after the tournament both Phil and I stated that we would not be signing up for another one for awhile. After a day or two of rest we are both considering signing up for another tournament in May.

Sun, Scenery, and Schinken

We had an incredible weekend and thoroughly enjoyed the warmer temperatures. We went on a hike through Fanconian Switzerland with about 60 other ex pats on Saturday. (http://www.fraenkische-schweiz.com/bilderbogen/en.html)
It was a beautiful day that involved an 18K hike through gorgeous open fields and small villages.






After the hike we took a train into Nuremberg where we enjoyed several tapas and talked about how sore we were going to be the next morning. We had a great time meeting new people and exploring the gorgeous landscape.

On Sunday we woke up to another beautiful day, sunny and 68 degrees. Sunday afternoon we decided to bike around Erlangen with friends. We grabbed a frisbee and a football and headed to the nearest park. The parks in Erlangen are awesome. They are huge, covered with bike trails and have everything a kid (and us) could want. The parks are filled with zip lines, soccer fields, tire swings and picnic areas. While riding through one of the parks we passed over a hundred sheep, several sheep dogs and a few goats. There are surprises around every corner. Another fantastic weekend.

Our house is a very, very, very fine house

I apologize that it has taken me longer than expected to put pictures of our home on this blog. I ended up catching something and have been living in my bed for the last couple of days. I am back, feeling great and ready to show you our flat.

Our flat is three stories. The first story has the office, guest bedroom, wardrobe room and guest bathroom. Second story is the living room, storage and the kitchen. The third story is our bedroom and a small bathroom. It is like having a home and gym in one, which is great. We end up climbing a lot of stairs everyday.

The antipasto ladies that were going to move into the shop beneath us decided to back out. So if anyone wants to come over and open a small shop in the heart of the city....we have space available. :)


Here is what we started with:






























Our house now (minus a few hung pictures):

Our office





The guest bedroom.


The very yellow wardrobe room


The guest bathroom


The kitchen






Our little table (waiting to find a good deal on a decent size table)


Our fantastic fridge ( U.S. size and covered with pictures of friends and family)


Our living room


Our very large balcony (you can almost fit three people on it, standing)


The view from our bedroom window

Gorgeous Prague

Before moving to Germany we had heard from many people that Prague was one of their favorites places in Europe. We decided that this was going to be one of the first cities we were going to explore and booked a trip Easter weekend.

We took the train Friday morning with two other friends and arrived in Prague five hours later. We had a great time exploring the city, meeting interesting people and learning about Pragues history. At night we tried several local eateries including one that had a large table right beside a large stone fireplace. This became one of our favorite spots that we later revisted with an appetite and a deck of cards. During the day we hiked all over the city, walked to castles and even got a chance to toss the frisbee beside Charles Bridge (a 14th century bridge connecting the two sides of Prague).

On Easter Sunday we were able to attend Faith Community (The sister church to our church in Charlotte). It was really nice to attend a church that reminded us so much of home...and was in English. What a wonderful way to celebrate Easter!

Here are various shots of our trip. We plan on visiting again next year.

Our shipment arrived!!!

Hello All,

I am happy to report that we received our sea shipment on Thursday and have been unpacking and setting up ever since. It has been a lot of fun making our new place feel like home. There is something very comforting about having all of your belongings with you....especially your bed. That brings me to a question that I would like to put out there. Does anyone know a good substitute for a box spring? Our master bedroom is on the third floor and the movers where unable to get our queen size box spring all the way up to the top floor. They suggested that we just get a piece of plywood to lay over the slats under our mattress. If anyone has any other ideas I would greatly appreciate the help. I want to make sure that we do not ruin our mattress.

Everything else went off without a hitch. Not a single item was damaged and we believe that everything arrived that was packed back in the States. Several of you have asked for us to post pictures of our new place. I promise that as soon as we are unpacked I will start snapping away and post early next week. Thanks for sharing in our excitement!

Today we are waiting for some friends to come over to help us hang a few lights and pictures. I just finished baking a batch of "American" brownies to enjoy together before we get started.

We can't wait to have family and friends visit so that we can share this great flat and city with you all.

Spring is here!

Upon our return to Erlangen we were greeted by the spring festival (Fruhling Festival)one block away from our new home. Another reason to celebrate!

The Easter Market in Nuremberg

The snow has finally melted and signs of springs are popping up everywhere. Since it was finally warm enough to venture out without a hat and gloves we decided to explore the markets in Nuremberg. We had a great time exploring castles, tasting delicous cheeses and nuts and talking with the locals.

I also love the fact that Germans love to celebrate. Whether it is someones birthday or a national holiday...there is always reason to celebrate. This is seen now in the streets and store front windows as we get closer to Easter....there are bunnies and eggs everywhere. I love it!

Here are several pictures from our trip: