German class is going well. Probably the biggest story to come out of there is that a Polish couple offered to give me rides to and from class. See, what I usually do is not pay 2.60 for a one-way train ride, twice a night to get to class. Multiply that by two and you get 5.20. Because I go to class twice a week, multiply that by two and you get 10.40. That's how much I save per week by not paying for the train. I have a low chance of being caught (which would result in a 40 euro fine) because there are only two stops between my stop and Worms. But now I don't even have to worry about a 40 euro fine because all I have to do is get to a town that is about 8 minutes away, toward Worms. There, I meet up with a Polish couple, who also happen to work at a winery. Riding with them also negates the 12 minute walk to and from the train station, which could be rain or shine. So it's a pretty sweet deal. That and they listen to Polish techno music which, along with the bumps in the road, somehow puts me to sleep.
Friday after work, I headed down south to the land of Baden-Wurtenberg, where Tim and Heidi live.
I went to visit them this past weekend because Tim managed to get four tickets for Saturday's Bundesliga match pitting 1899 Hoffenheim against Karlsruhe in what was billed as a "Baden Derby".
Here is the entire stadium, all 23,600 of us, including Tim, singing "The Baden Song":
Hoffenheim earned another three points to remain atop the standings with a resounding 4:1 win. This was my first real professional European soccer match. I had a lot of fun. The only bad thing I can think of from the experience was the headache I got from standing down the way from two 16 year-old chain smoking girls. Otherwise, the atmosphere was spectacular with singing, chanting and yelling. Here are, of course, pictures.
Here is Tim telling MJ about the new Transformer news on the train:
Carl Benz Stadion:
A Karlsruhe player deservedly receives a yellow card:
Toward the end of the match, riot police were brought in as a precautionary measure in front of the Karlsruhe fans:
What's a weekend visiting Tim and Heidi without pictures of Gustav? A failure. Lucky for you, my faithful blog readers, I am not a failure.
Until next time,
Jon
Small update: If you'd like to see Jordan's pictures of his time here in Germany, click on this link.
2 comments:
Nothing better to brighten my ho-hum day like Gustav pics! Thanks my darling nephew for always keeping me in the loop! Your Auntie loves you and is VERY proud of all of you!!!
Gustav loves Uncle Jon's beard!
Post a Comment