A Week with Mom & Dad

Back in August when I was preparing for my adventure, I never considered the possibility of my parents visiting Bad Homburg. I knew that the four months would fly by, and I'd be coming home for Christmas for some well-deserved family time. 

Fast forward to the present. I just spent an outstanding six days with my parents, and now I can't imagine my Germany experience without their visit. It's one thing to write blog posts and make FaceTime calls, both of which I've enjoyed immensely. However, there's been nothing I've valued more than having them here with me and being able to share the life I've lived since mid-August. 

Together, enjoying the sunset in Heidelberg

We packed six days with laughs, sights, long conversations, and plenty of good meals. The Judson kids took to my parents right away, and every morning it seemed Izzy or Alex had a new idea for a game with them. Both of them asked me this morning where my parents had gone, and it was a little sad for all of us when I said they had to fly home. 

Finally got a photo with Darryl

More and more, I've come to realize hom instrumental Nina and Simon have been to my experience. I hope that in our lengthy after-dinner conversations, my parents saw how kind they've been to me. Nina and Simon have given me freedom to explore and responsibility as part of the family. At the end of the day, having a home to sleep in is the greatest part of my Germany trip. 

I was able to show off more than just my home life; soccer, a tour of Accadis, and some walks around Bad Homburg were all slated in. We spent nearly an hour with Darryl touring my school and talking about sports, Germany, travel, and the work I've done. It's been my pleasure to help out with Darryl's sports classes and to be a part of the school community. 

They also saw me play soccer twice--once with the mens team and then during my junior team's Saturday match against Konigstein. Both turned out to be perfect examples of my playing experience here. During the past few weeks the mens trainer has unveiled some unique drills, and we did another on on Wednesday with my parents watching. We also scrimmaged full field for over half of practice, which is also typical of those sessions. Tired from a long week of travel, I played with mostly adrenalin in my junior team game. Everyone on my squad came out to play, as we looked to take points off Konigstein--one ahead of us in the table. We scored early, and though our opponents put pressure on, our breaks kept coming and theirs never quite worked. The score ended up being 7-0, and probably the closest 7-0 game I've ever been a part of. My team wanted it to be my evening, and they even gave me the captains band for the final twenty minutes (see photo above). I finally got some photos of me playing soccer. Despite the orange jerseys (normally we're red, white, or black--crazy Germans), I'll hold onto those photos forever. 

My mom told me that now when she reads my blog, she'll be able to picture everything I'm doing. My parents saw Bad Homburg, and though they'll never know it like me, they have a sense of my German home. Now my parents have such a stronger understanding of what I've been up to, and that's why I can't imagine my Germany experience without their visit. The planning allowed me to discover new places as I prepared for the visit. I've become so comfortable with travel in Germany that I often ignore some really cool things. As a solo wanderer I tend to walk fast and always have a destination in mind. Traveling and seeing the sights from their perspective opened up so many new things for me. It makes me realize that I will never be "done" with Germany; no matter what, there will always be more to enjoy. I also see how traveling with family and friends can be so amazing. Even though I've been living with my parents for seventeen-plus years, our week in Germany together brought us even closer. 

A pretty damn impressive tree in Bad Homburg. We hit (mostly) gorgeous weather  during
the week. Not bad for a month where every other week has been dreadfully grey and rainy. 

In my next post I'm going to list some of the high points of the week including our travels in and around Bad Homburg and the Frankfurt area, as well as our day trips to Heidelberg and Cologne. For now, I'm so thankful we got to share this experience. It's something we'll remember forever. I'm looking forward to coming home, but I'd be insane to look past my final three weeks here. 

Oktoberfest (No, Not the One in Munich)

Kirdorf Village, marked by its two steeples at sunset

Oh, Kirdorf...

Kirdorf is the small, northwestern neighborhood of Bad Homburg. Nothing about the village jumps out at you, save perhaps the twin steeples. I was told in my first week that if I wanted to get home, look for the two steeples. Though Kirdorf isn't gorgeous or flashy, it definitely has its own identity--something that I've grown to appreciate. When I make my bike ride home from school during the week, I always feel a small sense of satisfaction when I climb the small rise and pass through the traffic light that brings me home to Kirdorf. 

I experience this sense of identity every time I play soccer at the DJK. Though my club is called DJK Bad Homburg, it's true home is Kirdorf. This past Saturday, I got a chance to feel the true unity of Kirdorf in the DJK's Oktoberfest celebration. 

First, a bit about Oktoberfest 

The name "Oktoberfest" (and I shouldn't have to translate it for you) applies to any autumn celebration in Germany. There is the world famous celebration, The Oktoberfest, held in Munich, but it's not like the rest of the country doesn't join in the festivities. Stuttgart holds a version of Oktoberfest called Cannstatter Volksfest, which attracts a cool 3.5 million visitors to place second biggest behind Munich. But it's not only the big cities that host Oktoberfest parties: the tiniest villages, including Kirdorf, can hold their own celebrations. And I don't think it's much of a stretch to say that no matter the size, these parties are fun. 

I may make my way to some of the larger festivals over the next couple weeks, but the Oktoberfest I attended at the DJK is and always will be my first. 

Oktoberfest at the DJK

Following my match on Saturday afternoon and postgame shower and pizza, I walked down to the DJK clubhouse (cabin, as they call it here). The club usually serves drinks and small meals on the weekends, but for this occasion a big (and heated) party tent had been set up--doubling the capacity for tables and benches. Oktoberfest streamers and banners hung from the walls, as well as the DJK's full repertoire of awards, plaques, and posters. You have to feel some respect for an athletic association that's been around for 125 years. The back room had been transformed into a buffet serving only the most traditional German foods, and the bar area was full stocked with large glassware and specialty Oktoberfest beer on tap.  The beer is some of the lighter stuff you find in Germany, but unlike cheap light beer in the US, it's delicious. I couldn't have celebrated my first Oktoberfest without having a liter (grosse) beer. I have to say, it does make you feel pretty powerful.

Many of my soccer friends from both my junior team and the men's team were in attendance, so we stuck together for most of the night. It was easy to slide between groups of people; simply hold up your beer and say "Prost!" and everyone smiles, touches glasses, and takes a sip. 

This wasn't a party for only the soccer players--far from it. Many of the local Kirdorfers made appearances--decked in typical Oktoberfest outfits. And the traditions didn't stop there. The music that carried on through the night was the same songs that one would hear in Munich--and they probably haven't changed in decades! Everyone knew at least the chorus to the songs; (I felt like I did, too, since it seemed the same five songs repeated over and over for four hours). Men, women, and children sung and chanted, and I particularly enjoyed a song that prompted one table group to stand on their chairs, lift the table in their left hands, and gulp beer with their rights in between the slurred verses. 

I have nothing spectacular to report about the venue or any impressive displays the club put on. This celebration was the essence of what Oktoberfest in German culture is all about. It was so simple but so much fun. I can understand why Oktoberfest has evolved into such a tradition, because above all, it is a gloriously entertaining time.

Soccer Manifesto, Part 3

Two very different teams, both a lot of fun...

I wrote Part 1 and Part 2 of the ongoing series "Soccer Manifesto" having just arrived in Germany. Then, I barely knew my training schedule, the names of my teammates, and exactly what to expect from the German brand of soccer. I still sometimes get that feeling of not knowing what to expect come training, but after over a month with two different squads through DJK Bad Homburg, I feel completely comfortable with my playing situation. Let me explain...

In any given week I have the opportunity to play soccer six times. Sundays are always an off day, and I split the others between my U18 team and the First Team. I can train all I like with the men, but since I'm not eighteen yet, I can't play games with them unless they want to pay a large amount for an exemption. I can hold my own with the men, but it would take a very special seventeen-year-old for the First Team to give him a jersey. 

Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are with the men. I've found the coaching to be excellent--there's a lot of stress put on possession and style of play. We get anywhere from fifteen to thirty players at practice, depending on whether the coach wants to scrimmage full field or not. And we do scrimmage a lot. I've found myself playing center back for the second team, matched up against the quickest and most skilled strikers in the club. They've started to let me go forward on corners, too, after I hit the crossbar with a header. When we're not scrimmaging, most of the drills involve agility, technique, and shooting. It's almost a given that there will be some type of finishing drill every training session. A fitness coach comes on Wednesdays, too, so for the first half of those practices, we spend little time with the ball and a lot of time out of breath. 

On my other team--the one I'm allowed to play games with--there have been a lot of ups and downs. The initial coach had to part ways with the team two weeks in, and now our new trainer is just settling in and getting a feel for the players. Our new coach Mark is an incredibly nice person. He's a teacher, and he definitely takes that mindset onto the pitch. Practices are usually very good and never too difficult. Still, it feels very much like a high school team, while playing with the men is college level. The team is small, so sometimes there are only ten or twelve guys who show up to training. If everyone came we would have around eighteen, but so far there hasn't been a practice or match when someone wasn't missing. This I don't mind too much; in an ideal world everyone would be committed to the team, but then I might not have quite as much flexibility to travel. Most of my teammates work or are enrolled in apprenticeships, which can get in the way of training. I definitely see a different side of German society than the wealthy kids whom I teach. 

There are a couple guys that speak good English and who have reached out to me. Though I haven't gone to hang out with any of them too much, I would definitely call them my friends. Leo and Luca are probably my closest friends on the team--both really nice guys who love the game of soccer. 

Games have been up and down as well. We're probably in the middle of the pack in our league, but we've faced two of the strongest teams already. They put up big numbers on us, but we turned it around last week and won 6-1. We went to what seemed the middle of nowhere for the game, though they did have a nice turf field carved our of the forest. Now I know how the Albany kids feel when they come to Williamstown for game against our Ajax team. Since I play center back, I don't get a chance to score too many goals, but in that game I did manage a nice lefty strike for my first goal of the season. 

It's not really a group that's fond of taking photos, so I don't have any pictures of the team yet. I've had fun so far, it's a great group of guys, and I think we're heading in the right direction with the new coach.  Nothing is better than playing soccer every day, and no matter how my day goes, I always have a training session or game to look forward to in the evening.

Hopefully it won't be too long until I add a new piece to my soccer manifesto.

Soccer Manifesto, Part 2

With a Week of Training Under My Belt...

Right now, I couldn't be happier about my soccer situation. I arrived in Germany with a soccer club prepared to take me in, but I knew little else about what to expect. The club was DJK Bad Homburg, and I was slated to play for the Jugund-A squad--the U18 team. Other than that, I did not know my practice or game schedule, any teammates, or what level of play to expect.

Now I am going to pause for a minute and talk about the soccer culture in Germany. The energy and passion that the sport receives is comparable only to American football, but even that is not a fair comparison. Here, everyone knows the sport. Even the youngest members in the youth club programs seem to have an understanding for the positioning, movement, and artistry that goes into the game. And the sheer number of players at every level is astounding. In Bad Homburg, a small city of 52,000 residents, there are five club programs that boast eight levels of youth teams and two adult team for boys and girls, men and women. That's nearly a hundred teams. I'm not saying that Germany is the soccer capital of the world; I'm simply explaining the environment that I've thrown myself into.

DJK Bad Homburg turf field

The season here has just begun, so although I missed a few training sessions, it was the perfect time to arrive. My first practice was last Tuesday. I met my coach Karim, got introduced to my teammates, and started kicking around--definitely sizing up the abilities of my German counterparts. I noticed some things right away and others only after a week of training. First, the skill sets of the German footballers are slightly different than those of Americans. My teammates were not all that much bigger, faster, and stronger than last year's Greylock team, and they often had a poor first touch or a weak left foot. However, their creativity with the ball and their ability to use every part of their body impressed me.

Slowly, I started picking up on the style of play. I learned the hard way that possession is first and foremost; putting yourself or your teammate in a risky situation is to be avoided at all costs. There is a greater emphasis on the flow of the game than on hard-nosed defending. I have grown up playing fast--always thinking ahead, always ready to make a quick move and then send a ball forward that starts the attack. While I was able to use some of my vision to create plays, I soon realized that I could not force passes forward. The pace of the game here tends to fluctuate much more than in America. Short swells of speed often give way to stagnant passing in the back and midfield before another attack can begin. I will be forced to cut down on turnovers and learn to recognize that the correct pass is often a simple one.

I began to really understand the different style during a Men's Team scrimmage last Friday night. I train twice a week with the DJK men in addition to my junior team. The First Team plays a serious league schedule and features a starting lineup that I would compare to a DIII college team. I got to play center back for the Second team--a mix of fairly skilled guys who don't quite have the fitness level to play competitive 90 minute games. Still, young and old, these guys understand the game. I loved facing off against the fastest and most skilled First Team forwards, and it just so happened that my team pulled off a 1-0 victory. If I can be a part of scrimmages like that for my four months here, I'll certainly improve in a lot of ways.

Matches begin this week. I'll write about soccer again after I get a judgement on what league play will be like.