Der Erste Mai, Tag der Arbeit (May Day)

The much anticipated May Day has arrived and we are excited to partake in all the local festivities. They have closed the street in the center of the village and erected the tent....all we need now is for the maypole to be placed!

Coming from the states, we are not accustomed to such celebrations for the 1st of May. In Germany however, like most things, there is a festival of sorts to help celebrate such an occasion. For those non-German readers, a little background on May Day. This ancient festival is a welcoming to the spring weather and is also meant to drive away evil spirits. Many people here in Germany observe the night between April 30th and May 1st as Walpurgisnacht (Witches Night). Many years ago it was believed that witches held Walpurgisnacht celebrations on the summit of the Blocksberg, a mountain in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, on the night between April 30th and May 1st. People believed it was dangerous to be outside on this night so they lit fires and danced wildly to deter the witches from coming too close to them or their homes. These traditions have led to the custom of lighting fires and erecting maypoles during May Day. We have also been warned towards the innocent pranks typically carried out on Witches Night where the local young people will do things such as move your patio furniture to another home or "decorate your vehicle" in your driveway. Regardless, we are looking forward to spending a fun evening outside at the event with our fellow neighbors of Metterich......and hope to find our patio furniture in the morning.

Saturday, May 1
A great time was had by all last night. The bratwurst was great but the schweinbacken (pork sandwich with fried onions) was amazing! The maypole was erected early this morning and is standing tall.


Walpurgisnacht, or witches night, was not as bad. Some shaving cream and toilet paper thrown about the street was about all mischief that took place. Well, that and somehow they "borrowed" the white-line chalking tool from the local soccer field and placed a colorful white trail down the middle of the road in the heart of the village.

FC Metterich dominates Badem

The weekly soccer game was away this week in Badem, the next village over. It is only a few miles from our village, so we took advantage of the great weather by leaving the cars at home and instead walked to the game. Going in, FC Metterich knew that SG Badem was a great team with a couple of dangerous players. Expecting a tough match, Metterich applied pressure early with several coordinated attacks. The first goal came within the first 15 minutes after a great kick through the legs of the defender that also tricked the goalie as the ball climbed up his arms, over his shoulders, and into the back of the net. Goal! Somewhat of a lucky goal, Metterich realized this would likely light a fire for Badem. Metterich immediately began applying impressive pressure while doing a great job of keeping the ball out of their backfield. It did not take long for this to result in goal number 2 for Metterich. The goals that followed were impressive to watch: a break away from their own backfield that led to a great shot and goal, a corner kick turned into a sweet move and goal, and a break down their sideline with a chip shot over the diving goalie. With a final score of 6 to 1, and the amazing goals, we regretted our decision to leave the camera at home. Never again....especially this Sunday when Metterich takes on the rival village of Dudeldorf when they play SG Pickliessem.

Echternach, Luxemburg

We took a drive this past weekend to the oldest town in Luxemburg: Echternach. It was founded in 698 by the Anglo-Saxon missionary Williburd and is surrounded by great hikes, the Sauer river, and is absolutely beautiful. Walking into the main marketplace, we realized there was a run held earlier that morning. Since our French is still a "work in progress" we assumed this race was only for kids (taking note of the signs for a 1K).

Some of the great sights in Echternacht include the Basilica, the abbey, and the Rococo. The weather for our visit was perfect: sun, no clouds, and about 70 degrees (21 Celsius for the non-US readers). We took advantage of the many benches in the city park near the Rococo and bathed in the sun while watching the Sauer flow by.

City Park (with Andrea enjoying the sun on the bench)

More city park views

The Rocco in the background in the city park

View of Echternach

Basilica

We found a great Italian restaurant for lunch and were lucky enough to find a table in the back "patio". One of the coolest lunch experiences yet.

Energy restored, we changed the footwear and headed out on the Mullerthal Trail (http://www.mullerthal-trail.lu/). Each of the trails offer amazing views if you have the time. We decided to head out on the Walking Trail 1 that begins near the Echternach marketplace. A few K's in, we came upon the Wolfsschlucht (or Wolves Canyon).

On the far side of Wolves Canyon there are two different vantage points that you can climb up to. The stairs reminded me of climbing Haystack rock on Mt. Si because it was that steep. You would never find anything this steep and precarious in the states without a HUGE warning sign.....

The view atop the Wolves Canyon is impressive. Here we are looking towards the next town of Berdorf.

Hiking back to Echternach we noticed the woods were quite sparse when compared to the Pacific Northwest. No ferns, no bushes, etc.

There is much more to see in Echternach (the Roman Villa for example) and many more trails to explore so we know our return will be soon. Perhaps next time we will remember to bring our French translation book.....nah, where is the fun in knowing what the signs are telling you??!!

Key victory for FC Metterich

The weather turned warm this past weekend offering us a chance to trade in the shoes and jackets for sandals and sunscreen. What a great weekend! A highlight was watching FC Metterich winning a key victory over SG Seinsfeld by a score of 2 to 1. With the win, FC Metterich has guaranteed their spot in the same league for next season. The game was a close match with the score starting out 1 to 1 shortly after kickoff until the persistence of attacks by Metterich yielded the go-ahead goal. The beauty of watching these games is that we are always close to the action....which makes for great pictures.

One of many breakaways by Metterich

A shot on goal that narrowly missed going in.

Metterich kept the pressure on the SG defenders

Metterich setting up an attack

A corner kick that was nearly converted into a goal.

Metterich making a run after winning possession

A goal kick that narrowly missed wide...it was a thing of beauty to watch

The game winning goal...the ball is already in the net in this picture...which is a testament to the speed of the game over here.

After the match, I participated in a fun game of sorts and had the opportunity to show them how we play goalie back in the states. Not a good idea....as you can see below the ball is already in the back of the net as I am just beginning to react to the kick. The sad part is....the guys were kicking with their bare feet. Much to learn, I have.

Schwimmen (Swimming)

I discovered that swimming in Germany is a little different from the states. The pool near our village opens early a few days a week with the only catch that there are no front desk staff available to answer any questions, so you are on your own. No big deal, right? The night before my inaugural swim, I started thinking.....I didn't see any signs resembling a men's and women's locker room. Huh. I must have missed that on my recent visit. I arrive early the next morning excited and somewhat nervous as all of the signs are in German. At this point my number one goal is to avoid entering the "ladies only" section by accident. I wait for another guy to arrive and then follow him downstairs to what I assume is the locker area. He enters a large glass door and enters what looks to be a normal dressing booth (the kind you see in department stores). Following his lead, I enter a booth and begin changing when I realize that I didn't see any "Herr" or "Frau" (Men or Women) signs when we came in. It is about this time that I remember that nudity in German is not a big deal as it is in the states. It's early and I'm not thinking clearly, so I disregard the thought and continue on. A unique feature of the dressing booths are the dual doors. You enter in one side and exit on the other side, which I discover leads to a room full of lockers. All changed up and ready for my swim, I begin my search for the route to the pool. I take 2-steps and wham, out comes a lady that had been changing next to me. OK, so the locker room is in fact co-ed. No worries. Pressing on, I wander around the locker room and finally discover a door leading out to the pool area. This facility is amazing: they have an inside lap pool, outside Olympic-sized pool, hot tubs, regeneration pools, kiddie pools, etc. I continue up the stairs to the lap pool and see that the rumors I have heard about lap swimming in Germany are true. First, there are no formal swim lanes, but rather people are simply swimming from one end of the pool to the other, taking care to avoid running into each other. Second, everyone is doing a version of the breastroke and keeping their heads above water. This, obviously, allows them to avoid running into each other and hence, no need to designate formal swimming lanes. Given I have spent the last 3 years improving my front crawl stroke that is centered around keeping my head down as much as possible, this should make for an interesting time. I spot a path of least resistance and begin to swim. I find that carefully navigating my way around large frog kicking-men in tight bikini speedo briefs makes the hour go quickly. After the workout I go back downstairs to address my final obstacle: locating the men's showers. With nobody to follow, I take an educated guess that the door with a shower head picture is where I should enter. Immediately through the doorway were two doors, one with a "man" figure. That was easy. Showered off, I ventured back into the c0-ed locker room, changed, and headed out to the car. I'm looking forward to my next workout in the pool where I may try some of the local traditions: the breaststroke.....because there is no way you will find me in a pair of tight bikini speedo briefs. I think we all agree that is one tradition I should never try.

FC Metterich

We attended our first local soccer match this past weekend. Correction, it was our first local football match this past weekend. When in Rome afterall......

It was a great time watching the action so close. FC Metterich pulled out a 1 - 0 victory over SG Oberweis II and look to build a winning streak this coming weekend when they take on Schleid SV. A real highlight for the evening was meeting our neighbors from Metterich. We live in a great village where everyone continues to make us feel very welcomed.