Two Choices: Point the Finger and Do Nothing, Or Be the Change and Do Anything

Last week was a tough welcome back to Germany on the court.  We dropped our first game to USC-Heidelberg by not 1 or 2 points, but an unfortunate 20 point loss.  On top of this we lost our other American player, a shooting guard averaging around 10ppg.

On the surface, you would think oh yikes this team is going to have a turbulent second half of the season... and aren't people supposed to come back from Christmas break refreshed?  Well, in all honesty sometimes it takes a giant poop-bomb blowing up for people to finally rally together, and that's exactly what happened.

With our next game against 3rd ranked Wurzburg (who we only previously beat by 1 point) looming ahead of us at the start of the training week after our gigantic loss to Heidelberg we knew some things needed to change in a hurry and that it was time to stop blaming anyone or anything but ourselves.

Sometimes the hardest thing to do in any aspect of life is to step up and accept that the only thing you can control is yourself, and that even when you think that life's problems are never your fault and that you are a victim of circumstance, your problems are really only a product of something within yourself.  Now I understand there are many ways to try and poke holes into this theory, like hey, what about general misfortune like cancer to an otherwise extremely healthy person or a fatal accident that could of been as incidental as a meteor striking your car on the I-5?  This is true.  Sometimes it really isn't your fault, and there's nothing you could of done... but, purely in my opinion and from experience, we are responsible for the vast majority of our problems.

Something I see fading more from younger generations (my own included) as I get more involved with people and youth in general, is that personal responsibility and accountability are no longer a priority.  It's too easy to put the blame outside of yourself.  I'm lucky to have people in my life who tell me to step up already and do something instead of whining about my problems or pointing the finger.

Jeanne demonstrating how it's not easy
to be a post. 

Anyway, the game against Wurzburg rolled around at 4:30pm on Sunday (German time).  Viernheim24, an organization within Viernheim that promotes our club, used this game for free promotion and handed out free entry tickets to the game all week.  This resulted in a few more fans than usual (yay!).  Apprehension simmered in the air as we warmed up... how were we going to do with the obstacles we had to overcome this week and were our new mindsets of self-accountability going to pay off?

We shake hands with the refs and the other team and the ball is thrown into the air... let's go!

The first quarter ends... we're down by 11.  Here we go again... nothing has paid off, and it's hard for me to play as ever with the other team packing the paint and checking me (like we're playing football or something) everywhere I go.  Why is no one else stepping up??  ...Oh yeah, that hold yourself accountable thing, c'mon Alysa.

Jules giving a Wurzburg player a taste of her
own medicine.

With my frustrations boiling beneath my exterior, I release going into the second quarter that of course this is going to be a hard game...I already knew that... now what am I going to do about it and how can I motivate others around me to do something about it too?

With a clearer head and restored determination, we battle through the 2nd quarter and end within single digits of the other team (I forget exactly the score, but we were still down at the half... I think by 8).

Sid going up for a shot... before or after
throwing up?

Adversity is thrown at us yet again in the third quarter when our point guard (aka Sid, the best player) suddenly gets very sick and has to sprint off to the bathroom to throw up.  We scratch and claw without her, working together as a team, and pull ahead by a few points to end the third.

Going into the fourth, Sid toughs it out and makes it back onto the court, giving us all a reason why we should have no excuses.  The fourth quarter is just as unrelenting as the first three, but multiple players step up and make big plays - mainly on defense, where true hustle and heart is shown.  Final score: 68 - 59 ... TSV Viernheim wins!

Putting up some crazy shot.

Sid's under 19 (U19) team - that she coaches - watching to see if coach knows what she's talking about.

Stay tuned... next game is against Rhein-Main this Sunday!

Hey Loyal Readers - I'm baaacckkkk!! First Stop - France.

Hello awesome readers.  If you wondered where I disappeared to for the past month or so - we got to go home back to 'Murica for Christmas break.  It was wonderful to see friends and family, but not so wonderful were the flights to and from.  The first was a 20 hour journey filled with intermittent sleep and crying babies... sounds terrible but was nothing compared to the trip back.  My day started at 3pm Alaska time, leaving Kodiak on an hour delayed flight and arriving in Anchorage around 4:30pm.  After getting off the plane I was unable to locate my bag on the shortest leg of my trip...after a slight panic an annoyed service agent went to the back of the luggage area and dug it out for me (no idea what it was doing back there).


My next flight left at 11:20pm for San Francisco, so I hung out for a few hours in Anchorage with friends and ate some delicious Pita Pit (which they don't have in either Kodiak or Europe).  On the next plane (oh and I should mention here I'd been getting over a cold the past few days), I couldn't fully sleep but felt comatose thanks to the Z-Quil I took in the Anchorage airport.  Then at 3am, some nasty nausea woke me out of my comatose state and sent me to hang out in the oh so comfy airplane lavatory for 20 minutes of sweating out my ears...seriously...it was coming out of my ears.  Is this too much info?  Okay we'll skip ahead and fast forward to San Francisco where I proceeded to have an 8 hour lay over and slept like a homeless person on the floor for 2 of those hours only to awake to a crowd of people around me who were apparently boarding a plane in the - what I thought - was abandoned area of the terminal.

Fast forward again 6 hours and lets begin Satan's flight to Frankfurt from San Fran...a wonderful 11 hour direct trek.  Needless to say, by the time we landed, my fever was through the roof and I felt like my conscious self was floating outside of my body.  The good news is I was recovered by my birthday and was surprised with a trip to Strasbourg, France by my awesome roommate/teammate Sid!

The photo to the left is my reaction to finding out she wasn't driving me off a cliff and instead to a different country!

Town square with a giant Christmas tree.. apparently Strasbourg are like the neighbors who never take the Christmas lights down.

Our first stop was the Strasbourg Cathedral, an enormous 466 feet tall (which these days, I know, doesn't seem like a lot) was the tallest building in the world between 1647 and 1874.  Inside the cathedral is an impressive 18 meter tall astronomical clock (see picture below).  Legend has it that the creator of this clock had his eyes gouged out afterward to prevent him from recreating it. 

Neat window... check out how warped it is.  The glass resembled bottoms of glass bottles - hey, maybe they were!

Our next stop was a tasty sushi lunch and then on to Le Petite France, the most well preserved Medieval town in Europe set on a series of locks and canals.  For anyone traveling this way, I definitely recommend a stop here.  It's worth it! (And French sushi isn't so bad either, wiiiii wiiiiiiiiii)

Ein Eskimo in Bayern, Part II

Neuschwanstein
The Disneyland Castle

A few hours away from Sid's Oma's in southwest Bavaria is one of the most famous castles in the world - Neuschwanstein.  This incredible, unfinished work was built by Ludwig II a little over a century ago, which is very new as far as castles go.  This Ludwig fellow was quite careless with the state of Bavaria's money and spent it chiefly on luxurious things for himself.  Aside from Neuschwanstein he had two other grand palaces constructed for him.  As you might think, this didn't make too many people happy.. especially Ludwig's uncle and a few decades into the construction of his masterpiece (which by the way he dedicated to a famous opera writer - Richard Wagner), Ludwig mysteriously died while on a morning swim in a nearby lake.

The view from Neuschwanstein. The castle seen glowing in the sun is Hohenschwangau Castle, which belonged to Ludwig II's father, King Maximillian.  The Alps are seen in the distance.  

Sid and I first toured Hohenschwangau, also constructed in the 19th century.  Compared to Neuschwanstein, the exterior of Hohenschwangau is much more modest; however, it is till one of the more amazing castles I've seen from the outside.

View of Hohenschwangau from the road.

In 1832, King Maximillian acquired Hohenschwangau and restored it from it's sad, ruiny-self.  It was then used as a summer get-away for the Bavarian royal family... oh you fancy huh.

The interior of this castle was absolutely amazing complete with Renaissance-esk paintings on every wall; golden statues adorning the furniture; fancy beds, chairs, and chandeliers in each room; and secret passageways taboot.  

On the left is a 19th century version of a Lazy Boy and on the right is a small golden figurine hanging out on top of a fireplace in front of another incredible painting.  

Croutons anyone? 120 year old bread.

The ceiling... I'm a bit jealous.

The blue paint back in the day was crazy bright.  Also, the chair on the left has swans carved from the wooden armrests.  Swans were the symbolic animal of this family and literally in EVERY room multiple times.  Sid and I eventually started playing a rendition of "Where's Waldo" to see who could spot the most swans. 

The King's bedroom... obbbvviously since there are naked ladies on the walls.

View of the back courtyard from a hallway on the top floor.

Gotta say, there's something quite nice about seeing a painting of a knight helping a lady off her horse :) 

When we bought our tickets, we bought tours for both Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein... one at 10:15 and the next at 12:25... plenty of time to get both in and do a little extra wandering around!  We knew that NS was atop a pretty hefty hill and signs said that it would take 30 minutes from the town to trek up, but hey we're professional athletes right?  Well after checking out HS, we hung around the lake a bit and then saw a sign nearby that said the hike was actually 50 minutes.  Two big sweaty hot messes later we made it to Neuschwanstein with 5 minutes to spare before our tour.  BUT..we get to the gate, scan our ticket, and then see that it says 12:55.  Classic.  All the shoving of slow tourists and frizzed hair for nothing!  As they say in Germany, shiza!

  

Town at the bottom of the hill of Neuschwanstein.

On the bright side, that extra half hour gave us time to wander around and take in the view.  Snow had freshly fallen that night and the sun was out shining... couldn't have asked for a better day.

View from the path walking up to the castle... or sprinting/shuffling if you think you're almost going to be late!

View from the lower courtyard.

Lights going down the main hallway at the start of the tour.

A closer look at the pillars... Amazing detail all along the hallway (and the rest of the castle!). 

Both of these pictures were taken from the Throne Room, one of five finished rooms in the castle.  Ludwig II died before the rest could be completed. 

On our way up to the Marine Bridge that overlooks Neuschwanstein. 

View from the Marine Bridge.

Ein Eskimo In Bayern, Part I

Nuremberg, Germany
Home of the Original Christmas Market

This weekend my roommate, Sid, and I ventured down south to the state of Bavaria (Bayern in German), the richest and most country-filled state in Germany.  Our first stop after getting off of a three hour bus ride was in Nuremberg where the mother-load of all Christmas markets was..and still is..going on.  As you read this, there are probably copious amounts of drunk Germans crowding the streets, laughing, spilling Gluhwein everywhere, eating three Bratwurst in a bread roll (the infamous Nuremberger) and of course doing the European walk (aka bumping into other people without even a second glance).

Aside from battling the crowds of people, there were some amazing sites and smells to be had.  The top picture on the left is a huge church in the middle of town that dated back to the 1200's and had an outrageously large organ being expertly played by a studious looking German fellow.  Lebkuchen, a type of German cookie that resembles a chocolate/vanilla/etc covered molasses cookie and is only made around Christmas time, also originates in Nuremberg and was being sold on almost every corner.

After surving the cold and Christmas market frenzy, Sid's uncle picked us up and drove us into the country side to the small town of Hexenagger (translated as "witches fields").

Hexenagger, Germany 
The Witches Fields

Sid's Oma (grandma) lives in Hexenagger and was kind enough to take on an extra mouth to feed along with her granddaughter.  Oma is the sweetest thing and only spoke German so I attempted a little bit of what I knew back at her and learned a few key phrases to say.  The first, "Ich bin sat" means "I am full" and came in quite handy because Oma was basically the human equivalent to the magically self-refilling plates in Harry Potter.  I also learned "Das essen ist sehr lecker" meaning "The food is very good", which also came in quite handy because Oma cooked some amazing homemade German food this weekend.  There's nothing like a home cooked meal from an old school wood stove blazing in the kitchen to make you miss home in AK.  Also, the title of this blog is dedicated to Oma because she proudly announced that she had an Eskimo in her house anytime anyone came over and by the end was referring to me as "Alaska" or "the Eskimo" since my name is a bit harder to say in German.  

View of the Hexenagger castle from Oma's front door.

From what Sid has told me, many years ago the town of Hexenagger was said to have been home to several witches.  This is why her Opa (grandpa) said that her and her mom are decedents of witches.  From my experience, I would have to agree... Sid is pretty witchy :) after all our kitchen broom keeps going missing at odd hours of the night. 

An old bread oven from a house that is said to have been the home of a witch.

Seize the day!  I love this small house we passed on the way up to the Hexenagger castle. 

Burg Prunn

It had a drawbridge! ... and a dragon... 

The amazing view from Burg Prunn - snow capped trees along the river and mountain side. 

The view from the back... it looks like it's sitting on the edge of the earth.  From the front (aka driving by quite a ways below on a road) the castle can is seen precariously built right out of the mountain.  Google it if you'd like to see the view!

The courtyard... with a well!

The side view of Burg Prunn... you can see a bit better from this view how the actual castle itself is built right out of the mountain.  

The drawbridge previously mentioned! 

Okay so there was no dragon... but stay tuned for Part II... the trip to the Disney castle!!