Catching Up!

We have been in Germany for 17 days!! Overall, everything is going well. We have experienced things we never thought possible. The reason we moved here, handball, is going very well, especially for Jennifer. She had her first game today, a scrimmage against a Division I Switzerland team, they lost by 4 but it was a close game and Jen's team was missing half of the squad due to "Holiday." Jen played very well, scored 5 goals that I counted, perhaps a few more. I videotaped some of the game and we will try to get that up somewhere soon.

So far we have partaken in many unique and exciting activities. We have taken a drive through the black forest, which included a stop at a place called the "Alte Muhler" which means old mill. It was a restaurant ran by a family out of the back of their house, a house which had an old water mill still churning beside it. The sausage and beer we got from the place were amazing. We joined a few hundred thousand Swiss in celebrating the day (Independence Day) that 3 men declared Switzerland a country in the year 1594 (or sometime around than) with fireworks on the Rhein that compared to but were not as good as the display on the Charles in Boston. Yet again, however, the beer and food (grilled ham and cheese, sausages galore and beer on top) were much better than what is served out of kiosk's in Boston. Last Sunday we were able to view our first Euro Soccer game. FC Basel played FC Lezern to a one one tie. It was Swiss NationalLiga A (Top Division) so it was the best soccer we had ever seen live (sorry MLS) but it was nowhere near the level of the German Bundesliga (our teammates assure us of this). I had the chance to float down the Rhein a few days ago, the water was nice and moves rather quickly.

We enjoy coffee and cake multiple days of the week with our newfound friends. The coffee, fresh, but average, the cakes, out of this world. So good! The swimming pool in town is an adventure in itself, there are actually 2 olympic size pools, a baby pool, a playground in water, an acre or two of grass to tan on, a soccer sand field, two sand volleyball courts and a shop that serves ice cream, sausages, fries, candy and beer. Apparently if you are 6 or under clothes are optional, Jen and I were amazed that some of these children did not have clothes on. There are naked babies and toddlers running all over the place. There are no life guards, no rules, its fantastic and amazingly nobody ever gets hurt or drowns. We have been a few times and enjoy the experience.

The handball is going well. Jen's team trains tuesday through friday and I train with them. We are doing activities we have never done before, they have us doing obstacle courses and such. We run on our days off and walk up and down the mountain (hill) we live on every day. We are both getting into pretty good shape but we miss the weight room. We are stuck doing push-ups and sit-ups and band work in our tiny apt.

That all is for now, we just got the net in the apt and we have other business to attend to.

Love you all,

Jordan and Jennifer