Part One of Family Invasion

Whats happenin' cyberspace?

I just realized I have not written on here for close to half a month.  I apologize.  The last fifteen days have been a little crazy and things are finally starting to slow down so I have some time to write.  I dont know how long this post is going to get but I am not about to proofread it.  In essence, excuse all errors you find and feel free to hold them against me.

Now, what has happened over the last few weeks.  First, we had a big game against Hagen-Haspe, the number three team in our league.  One of only about four good teams in our league.  We pulled out the win 99-91 in a shootout.  The first half was like a 100 meter dash.  Each team putting up points at a ferocious pace.  I think over 110 points were scored by halftime.  Definitely a fun game for the fans. 

Speaking of fans, I had a few special friends in the crowd for this game.  Not a nice german lady, but a few family members from across the pond.  My mother, Stan, Uncle Fred and Aunt DeDe along with cousin Meghan made the long trip to spend 10 days in Germany.  It was awesome to have them at the game and give them a little taste of what its like to be playing ball over here.  I played pretty well, 30 points 10 boards and 7 assists.  We had a nice crowd too which made for a great atmosphere.

After the game we got to spend the weekend in Werne and see the local sites, most notably the castle close by.  Not a crazy old castle that sits on a mountain peak but a nice modern castle that actually serves as an elite finance school.  It has been reburbished at least once.  Usually you can only walk around it but we got lucky and they were giving tours.  Although I had been to castle several times it was interesting to see the inside.  Not a big fan of the antique decor.  Lots of oversized pictures of goofy looking people in  interesting attire.  Most commonly accompanied by a horse or a sword. 

The most interesting thing for me about the castle was the two moats.  You must really want to keep somone out if you need TWO moats.  If I had two moats I would put alligators in the first moat and hippos in the second one.  Just try and get to my castle.

Side Note:  Hotels in smalls towns in Europe are interesting.  I went in the morning before everyone arrived and I said I would be back tonight and needed the room.  The guy goes in the back and gets a blank piece of paper and I write my name on it.  Thats it, thats my reservation.  When I brought Fred and DeDe to the hotel he was drinking at the bar with his buddies, gave me a key to the room and explained where it was.  Thats it.  No credit card, no down payment, just pay me whenever you guys want to leave. 

2nd Side Note:  So I picked everyone up from the train station.  Everyone thought it would be funny and not tell Trevor that his cousin Meghan was coming with.  I did enjoy the surprise immensely, we only had enough spots in the care for 5.  Now we had 6 people plus everyones luggage for 10 days, hmmmm, Nemitz improvision to the rescue.  Now take a second to think about this.  We have six grown adults for five spots.  I cannot see out the back window because the bags are packed to the ceiling.  Meghan is laying across 3 people in the back seat and I believe was holding a bag.  I am jammed in the front seat trying to drive and Stan is sitting comfortably in the passenger side wondering what the big fuss is about.  Alright, maybe Stan was a little uncomfortable too.  I had two goals, dont go over any large bumps because we might bottom out and don't pull up next to any police officers.  I almost failed the second goal but reacted quick enough.      

I was fortunate enough to get the week off from work so I was able to travel with everybody.  I picked up the Mercedes mini-van early Monday morning, we packed in, and hit the road.  No plan, no hotel reservations, no idea of where we were going, just trusting the navigation to get us to Berlin.  Personally, I like this way of traveling, it leads to more adventures.

I just decided I want to keep these posts shorter so tomorrow I will tell you all about our adventures in Berlin.

More Pictures:

Off to Berlin.....MOM before her happy face  ( I actually think this was after Berlin but lets pretend its on our way to Berlin and Mom has a smile on her face -- good camera work Stan :)  

TJW