Time to Step Up Our Christmas Traditions, America

Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas Market)

I think I've discovered the root cause of why American's think German's only eat sauerkraut and

bratwurst while washing it down with beer... Christmas markets!!  Okay, okay... so German's eat that stuff all times of the day as well as all times of the year, but stands selling hot off the grill meats and freshly made crepes, candied nuts, and other delicious Christmas time treats are in full force as soon as December starts peaking up on your calendar.  

Dad, don't be too jealous while reading this... but Christmas time in Germany is hotdog heaven.  And not just your typical run of the mill Frank (which, fun fact, is named after Frankfurt).. but the kings/queens of hot dogs.  Some stands have 1/2 meter long Brats that you can share Lady & the Tramp style with your significant other... or just schweine-out on yourself.  

German's go all out on their decorations... name an American decoration and they've got it.. on crack. Amongst the shacks that will get you wine-wasted or sell you a tasty lunch/dinner are shacks that sell hand crafted ornaments, smoking essence Indians/houses, table cloths, and huge cookies that put our Valentine's day hard candy hearts to shame (the ones that say "I love you" or "My sweetie", etc).    

 Another tasty tradition here are the cutest little Christmas mugs that you can keep (if you don't plan on getting your 2.50 Euro deposit back).  Not so cute are the strong beverages that fill them, but they are oh so delicious.  A common drink here is Gluwein, a warm wine that people sip in the cold to keep them warm while chatting with their Freund und Freundin (friends).

Step up your decorations America! :]

So You Want to Learn German... But Are Super Cheap

There are secrets to being cheap.  For instance, when the shampoo bottle is running low you throw in some water and shake it up to make that thing last a few more days or you reuse a pickle jar as a container for some random item like sugar.  No? Don't have these problems?  Maybe I'm just carrying over my college days into my semi-broke professional basketball playing days; nonetheless, when you're too cheap to buy Rosetta Stone you have to improvise.  Sticky notes and magazines have been effective so far.

Putting sticky notes around the house on their respective object has been handy for learning household items.  Here we have our highly awesome and decorated refrigerator (der Kuhlschrank).

One of my mini projects to pass the time and learn the language faster is to cut out words from magazines my roommate brings me from her work.  Some of the words on the wall aren't common, but handy nonetheless.  For example, "gefahrlich" means dangerous or risky... and since my vocab is basic enough that I can say "I am" (Ich bin)... I can now say "I am dangerous" or Ich bin gefahrlich.  And now you can too!  Other random words on the wall include schnauze (nose, snout), stricken (to knit), sofort (immediately, right away), nerven (to get on one's nerves), and gesindel (riff raff).

Also a somewhat productive use of my time is watching cartoons in German on our piece of shiza TV.  Spongebob Squarepants (here it's Spongebob Schwannkopf) has been a favorite and I almost have the theme song down.  Yes I know what you're thinking... I'm becoming an 8 year old German child.  It also doesn't help that I choose to watch Bill Nye the Science Guy on my computer sometimes as well.  Just have to keep that elementary school knowledge fresh!  :]

Final note:  Some proof that I don't exaggerate when it comes to stupid things on the court that happen over here!  This one makes me laugh.  (That's the coach of the opposing team)

What Are You München?

Munich (München)
This weekend we made a 5 hour trip to Bad Aibling, a farming town just under an hour outside of Munich.  Both areas are located in Germany's southern state, Bavaria.  This is the richer area of Germany, which became apparent as we drove past some very nice houses on the way to downtown Bad Aibling.

Stairs descending from a 1700's church (untouched by the war) to downtown Bad Aibling.

Game Time

Now how about the game against one of the top teams in our league.. on their home court (which, by the way, was wooden... a rare luxury out here!).  The gym had an amazing atmosphere that took me back to my college playing days.  The fans were LOUD with drums, kazoo-thing-a-ma-jigs, clappers, and of course all the drunken shouting.  Check out the video below for the German recap of the game.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLXqRvW1ap0

English Recap: 

Before the game one of my returning teammates mentioned how the ceiling beams are low in some areas and to be careful when shooting because shots have the possibility of hitting the ceiling.  At this I proceeded to laugh and said no way that's going to happen and that it was stupid you could get a turnover for poor building design.  But of course, come the middle of the second corner I catch a pass from my point guard at the dead center top of the key at the three point line, let it launch due to being conveniently wide open... it feels great leaving my hand and in my head I think "Ohhhh yeah, this is money" only for it to violently bounce off the ceiling and onto the court like a pinball.  Turnover Alysa and a walk of shame down to the other end of the court while eating my words, yikes.

Aside from this ridiculous incident, there were several others involving those oh so lovely men in stripes (well out here they wear orange shirts).  Incident One: as I'm getting ready to take the ball from the ref to inbound it full court during the third or fourth possession of the game, the ref fumbles it to me and I try to tip it to my teammate because it's already awkwardly out in front of me... unluckily, the opposing player gets her hands on it instead and scores a lay-up.  Turnover Alysa.  Incident Two: during an essential possession in the middle of the fourth quarter, the shot clock goes off as we're on defense.  Practically my entire team, including myself, stops at the sound expecting to get the ball and go the other way... while we're waiting for this to happen, a player on the opposing team catches the ball wide open (since we're all just standing there), and nails a three.  Does it count?  Duh, they're on their home court.  Ironically, the Bad Aibling site has a video up analyzing a three pointer I made... they argue my foot was on the line and it shouldn't count.  

Overall though, I'd have to say our team showed tremendous heart and fight in a game where the odds were incredibly stacked against us.  Those are my favorite types of games to play!! Not only that but I had the hardest match-up of my playing career as I guarded the league MVP from the previous year.  The ref and I gave her that freebie tip in I mentioned earlier, but other than that it was a rough night for her :]  *toot own flute*.  

Last sidenote, I played a former teammate from UAA, Viki Wohlers.  When it comes to the basketball world I'm finding that it's reallllllyyy small!

Exploring Time 

Downtown Bad Aibling

Different perspective of downtown Bad Aibling.

We finally got into town as the sun was setting around 4:30.  We walked around a bit and headed to our game which was set to start at 7:15.  After we played we drove back to Munich where we stayed in a nice hostel for the night.  The next day a few of us stayed back and explored Munich a bit, eating some authentic German food at a place that served roasted boar head and simmered pork tongue... I passed on those options...

In front of the famous Glockenspiel (clock tower) in Munichs city square.  Note the small figures at the top that pop out and dance every hour to traditional music.  

After we munched in Munchen we drove 40 minutes north to Dachau, a concentration camp from the 1930's.  To put this simply, it was a very humbling and moving experience.  The most difficult part for me was walking through the "showering area", aka the gas chamber.

The entrance gates... Arbeit Macht Frei = Work Makes (you) Free.  The concentration camps were supposedly just labor and "reeducation" camps for Jews.  

The living quarters... If only the walls could talk. 

"May the example of those who were exterminated here between 1933-1945 because they resisted Nazism help to unite the living for the defence of peace and freedom and in respect for their fellow men."  Not the most grammatically correct translation, but very powerful nonetheless. 

Memorial candles behind an onsite church.

The walk between the barracks areas.  At the end of the path you'll see two long, low rising buildings on each side.  These are the two of 60 some barracks remaining.  These were originally intended to hold 6,000 Jews but ended up holding roughly 32,000.  Unreal.

On the right is the prison area for defiant non-Jews.  Anyone who opposed Hitler or the Nazi movement would end up in here, no matter your position, education, authority, etc.  The walls at the end of the path is where they would take people to shoot them.

Inside the prison.  

Looking out at the demolitioned barracks grounds.  

The remnants of the barbed wire/electric fence surrounding the camp grounds.

People listening to an audio guide while sitting in the living quarter area.   

Sign outside of the crematorium.  It translates: Think about how we died here. 

The crematorium... The smoke stack on the top right would be constantly burning.  Thousands of bodies were incinerated here.

The entrance to gas chamber, which were disguised as showers to get the Jews to willingly enter.  Can't help but get goosebumps everytime I see this.  

 This was a rather depressing blog entry, but hey... it's always good to remember how trivial our daily problems really are.  Till next time!