Kicker Tourny!!!

In Germany, Kicker (Americans know the game as Fooseball) is a very popular game. Sam once said, the Germans learn to play it as a fetus. Any and all Germans we have come across in this game are ridiculously skilled.

Our church's college age ministry meets every Monday night for something called English Cafe. It is a place for anyone and everyone to come hang out, play games, eat snacks (YL club anyone?) and most importantly SPEAK ENGLISH!!! A true God send for Sam and me. We actually HAVE to speak English with people because they are there to practice. We never miss it.

This past Monday, English Cafe hosted it's 4th annual Kicker tournament and we participated!

We knew we didn't have much of a chance but we decided to go all out anyway! If we can't win, we might as well have fun with it right?

In case you were wondering, we were the only people dressed in such attire. We were not confused, we just thought we would lighten the mood a little bit. It is a pretty serious thing for some participants.

Oh yeah...I was wearing Sam's shoes because I leave mine at the gym : )

Game 1: We played the best team there, great. We lost 10-5 which was a very pleasant surprise considering this is the team that ended up taking home the gold!

We started out pretty pumped and we were trying our best. After having lost 2 games and winning 1 we then realized we had 12 games to go...

...we unashamedly forfeited the rest of our games and called it a night. The enthusiasm can only last so long. Plus we are trying our best to keep a normal sleeping schedule so Sam can make the most of his days to study AMAP (as much as possible) for the GRE.

We found out the next morning we got 7th place of 8 teams. We'll take it!

Sinatra and clowns

Let me start by introducing you to our newest and highly adored purchase: Sam's hat!

We have been eyeing this hat for months and we finally decided it was a good time to buy. This is technically my Christmas present to him because we saved up money in December to travel with Scott. We actually ended up coming home with his birthday present as well. We saw a classy version of this hat, though in a spring/summer style, and we didn't want to risk it being gone by the time April came around.

Sam likes to clarify that the style he is going for with the hat is either a taciturn, weathered grandfather or a classic Frank Sinatra. But neither of these looks should be confused with the unfortunate modern hybrid which says, "He I'm young, uneducated, play the keyboard and will wear anything to get a girl, even my grandfather's hat." I'm a big fan of the hat on him, whatever look he is trying to avoid.

Moving on...

Karneval (the German holiday season introduced in an earlier post) is now in full swing! Parades march through the city EVERY Saturday, replete with full blown decorations on the streets and in the stores. Conversations have also moved past incessant Frohes Neues Jahr's (Happy New Year), only to be consumed by talk of which costumes one is going to wear in celebration of Karneval.

We went for a walk last Saturday and I took a few random pictures of the Karneval happenings in Mainz.

As you can see, Karneval colors are Red, White, Yellow and Blue. The mascot, if you will, is a clown (a bit on the scary side).

That's all I got for now but I am sure it will only get more intense leading up to that week of celebration during the 2nd week in February. I have been invited to go out with the other teachers from the kindergarten on "Frauennacht", a night when only the women go out and the men stay home (or so they tell me). If I go I have to find a costume...I have not made a commitment yet...

Aufwiedersehen Gluhwein and Coca cola

I forgot to incorporate these pictures into the blogs over Christmas time so here they are, random yet worthy.

Collection #1
This is a picture of the Gluhwein mugs we collected at all the different Weihnachtsmarkts we visited.

Sam went a little mug crazy and we got four mugs just in Augsburg. They are adorable and very unique to Germany. Plus, we won't have to buy any mugs whenever we get our first semi-permanent home!

I will miss the Wiehnachtsmarkts, I really grew to love that German tradition. So, chances are we will not get that experience again. I'm glad we have the mugs to remind us of walking through the rows of cute little sheds full of German crafts and goodies, packed into some town's Marktplatz , surrounded by thousands of Germans enjoying the season's main event.



Collection #2
This is only a fraction of the bottles that were left over from when Scottie visited. Scott and Sam consumed more coke those two weeks than I have consumed in my life. We saved the bottles because in Germany the vast majority of plastic and glass bottles can be returned for a small pfand (refund). With all the bottles they accumulated it was worth the trip to the farther away grocery store!




I think the large volumes of pop that Sam's body took in at the close of 2009 played a large role in his 2010 resolution. Y'all will not believe it...drumroll...

Sam is giving up POP AND CHOCOLATE for one whole year!!!! Those are two of his main food groups. I'm pretty amazed and he is very serious about it. There is one small exception. We have a trip to Belgium coming up, as in the motherland of delectable schokolade. So, yes, he is allowing himself to indulge for a few days.

As for myself, I don't really do New Year's Resolutions.

So this was my excuse to make another post. We really havn't done anything blogworthy lately. However, as of today at 15:30pm I am on Urlaub. That means I have 10 days off of work!!! Woo hoo!! Those kiddos are cute but exhausting. So perhaps there will be time next week for us to have some fun and then blog about it. You'll just have to keep checkin'...

Frohes Neues Jahr!

Frohes Neues Jahr means Happy New Years. In Germany, the traditional saying is taken a little more seriously than in the U.S. For example, someone said "Frohes Neues Jahr", to me TODAY. It is the 12th of January, I got it, thanks. I am going to have a very very frohes jahr! We asked some German friends about this and they said that people will generally say it whenever they see you for the first time since the turn of the new year. Since I see so many people at work (teachers, parents, other staff) it explains why I have been hearing it so often.

Anyways, we did have an awesome New Year's Eve. We went over to a friend's house. Our friend, Pete, is actually from Texas and he is a missionary. He planted a church here 10 years ago and has raised his family here. His wife is wonderful and they have 4 great kids. We also spent our Thanksgiving with the Leininger family. They are an incredible blessing to us; Americans who know all there is to know about living in Germany, what more could we want? Not to mention they are excellent people who we enjoy spending time with.

We started the night off with a fantastic dinner. I can't remember the name of the style of eating we experienced but I am a fan. You can see a large skillet in the middle of the table. Each of us had a mini frying pan underneath on which we loaded our choice of meat, cheese and vegetables. Set the pan on the surface for 5 minutes, devour and repeat. If we would have registered, I would have registered for this!

Then we watched a movie. The kids (and dog) LOVED Scott. At one point when his daughter was climbing into Scott's lap, Pete said, "Megan, what are you doing? You don't even know him".

The 3 boys loved having Scott and Sam there to wrestle with.

Then came the Feurwerks!!! Apparently Germany has no regulations on fireworks. As soon as the clock struck midnight, EVERYONE in the neighborhood was out in their front yard setting off their own, very impressive, fireworks. The city doesn't host any big show so everyone in the city makes their own show. The down town area around where we live was covered in the leftovers from fireworks for a day or two. Not to mention the beer bottles.

This is the lovely band that marched all around the city on New Year's Day- and around and around and around. Conveniently, we live directly above the street that seems to be the main path for any city parades or demonstrations of any kind.

Scott left early on New Year's Day. Sam and I spent the rest of the weekend doing anything that did not involve traveling, picture taking, train riding, map reading or sight seeing. I was happy to do a whole lot of nothing before I started work again.

I have jumped back into the daily routine of working at the kindergarten and then meeting Sam at the gym. We definitely put on some kilos while Scott was here but now we are running our butts off. By the time we finish dinner I'm ready to read a little and then crash!

Sam has made dinner for me (and done the dishes) the last two nights! Lucky me!

We don't have any trips planned until we go to Belgium at the end of February. We could use the down time as well as a rest on our wallets.

We may however use the most wonderful, thoughtful and amazing Christmas present ever (from my parents). They gave us a voucher to spend a weekend in an adorable hotel in Frankfurt. We are trying to figure out the most opportune time to use it. When it's cold and snowy perhaps? I think so.

By the way, this winter Mainz has the most snow they have had in 20 years as well as the coldest temperatures they have had in 20 years. Perfect. Still, it's no Minnesota winter so I can handle it.

Hope you all had great holiday seasons! We enjoyed the experience of Christmas in Germany but we definitely prefer to be around family and friends.

Bis Dann ('Till then),

Die Lacys

Frankfurt

Scotty's smiling because I wanted to surreptitiously snap a shot of him in the Goethe Museum when no cameras were aloud. It took some convincing, but I wore him down. That's a big head...the bust I mean.
This picture and those that follow show the inside trappings of the home of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, pronounced Guhrta. As Wikipedia will confirm, Goethe (1749-1832) was one of the more prominent actors in the literary movement known as Weimar Classicism. Like most polymaths of the 17th and 18th century, Goethe had a hand in everything. His investigations into plant morphology influenced the thought of Charles Darwin, his few ruminations in philosophy were enough to catch they eye of Hegel, his diplomatic contributions redound today with his name on at least one street or city square in virtually every major town in Germany, and his numerous poems and novels, among them the famous Faust, have captured the imagination of literary enthusiasts since his day. Yes, he was talented...and rich, which gave him ample time to ply his various trades.
The capacious kitchen where Goethe's servants prepared meals for his family of 4, if I remember correctly.
This is a water pump. It took its place in the kitchen next to the large open oven which is featured above. A water pump of this sort was very innovative for its day. It conveniently brought water from the courtyard behind his home, situated in the heart of Frankfurt, into his four story mansion.
Nothing worth extensive commentary, but its a cool armoire. It had a twin which flanked the other side of the door shown on the left.
A very formal dining room to host the many dignitaries, playwrights, and nobles which darkened the Goethe doorway.
The clock still keeps time, though it requires some winding every now and then.
Goethe's library. Voluminous for its day, with folia and books in Greek, Latin, French, German, and English.
I don't recall the point of this room except to serve as a gallery of paintings collected by the family. Goethe enjoyed drawing and painting from a young age. Some of these paintings may have been his own...but I didn't pay that much attention to a nearby German tour guide doing her best to amplify her voice through all four stories of the home. Seriously, just let us enjoy the house without busting an eardrum.
Okay, this is really neat. Apparently this was the desk where Goethe fashioned his two part masterpiece, Faust. Again, no flash photography was allowed in this museum so I feel especially sneaky for stealing this rare gem.
Goethe sharpened his creative wits on the whetstone of this puppet house. Given to him as a boy, it figured prominently as a tool to generate ideas for future novels and poems.
These paintings depicted the story of the biblical Joseph in succession. They lined the walls of Goethe's sister's room on the third floor.
Gotham City Tower...not really, but you can imagine. C'mon. No, seriously...Batman in Frankfurt. It happened.
Big ole wet, sloppy town square in the middle of Frankfurt.
In the foreground you see Frankfurt's 17th and 18th century jailhouse, still preserved and planted squarely in the middle of the city's skyscrapers (the only ones found in Germany for that matter).
A nice ambulatory exploration of the night life in Frankfurt. Scotty was picking up ladies left and right. It was getting old. "I'm an American...feel my arms" Over and over he said. Es war sehr peinlich fuer mich. (It was embarrassing for me).
The only actual constructed blackhole on earth. And a shopping center on the second floor. How quaint.
The Frankfut Kaiserdom Cathedral. The first incarnation of this church was built in 680. A hundred years later it served as the site of Charlemagne's Synod. Oh, he was no one of any real significance...EXCEPT THE HOLY ROMAN EMPEROR! Beginning in the 12th century this church was the venue for the election and coronation of Holy Roman Emperor until 1562. Just outside this church to the west about 20 feet are Roman ruins dating to the first century. Did I mention I lost Scotty in this church for about 30 minutes?
A fitting place for reflection on losing your friend in downtown Frankfurt and having to explain that to his parents.
Bereft of Scott's presence for a good half hour, I did some touring around the place and even took in a little literature on its Gothic architecture. Fascinating. Man, where is Scott?
After retrieving Scotty from the Benedictine order of monks in the cathredal's nave, we sauntered down to the Main River, pronounced "Mine". This was the eponymous origin to the city's name, Frankfurt. Apparently Charlemagne was leading his men, the Franks, across the Palatinate away from some unruly enemies when they came upon the Main River. Legend has it that Charlemagne prayed (this is in 794, mind you) for some way for the river to be transversed. Upon conclusion of that holy request he spotted a doe foraging on the river, just ankle deep. He deduced that there must be a ford (furt) that would allow his men to cross and escape immenent doom. Thus, the river was crossed, Charlie and his boys threw a big party, gave thanks to the big guy upstairs, and christened the small outpost Frankfurt am Main, or where the Franks forded the Main river. There is still a mural on the side of a building commemorating the crossing. Scotty and I took this all in by order of downpour and then made a run for it to the subway. Not a bad half-day trip.