The Fußball game was a blast. I kind of remembered some of the rules for playing soccer, but watching it on this kind of level was exciting and made me care less about the rules than winning! Winning is always good and I definitely prefer it to most of the alternatives, but it was my first time and not only did my local team win, they shut out the opponent who WAS ahead in the rankings! Beer, a big beef bratwurst, and singing the FCK fight song made for a wholly enjoyable experience. Sue and I rode the shuttle bus from the burbs to the the stadium which was built for the FIFA World Cup series in Germany in 2006, seats 50K (was sold out) and is a pretty fancy arena, I can tell ya!
The next morning I woke up pre-dawn and caught the train to the French border city of Strasbourg to meet my good friend Kathy. It’s very cool with an amazing old city and possibly the nicest church I have ever seen. It was the Eglise St. Pierre de la Jeune. The frescoes are still very vibrant some 700 years after they were painted. The architecture dates back to the 11th century. It was so beautiful that I was compelled to sing a hymn inside. Nobody shushed me so I guess it wasn’t too awful. The Strasbourg Cathedral was an awesome experience as my entry was greeted by a final rehearsal for that evening’s concert of the Baroque stylings of Vivaldi and Bach, complete with a stunning mixed youth
choir and orchestra (almost made me cry). MY youth choir in high school was nothing like this. How amazing to see the blend of old and new, with $800 a pair Prada shoe boutiques sidling up next to 12th century buildings. Very French and very lovely…not that I necessarily equate the two along those lines but it was…both.
Last weekend I went with my friend Ditmara to Heidelberg. Whenever I see castles I am excited and thrilled, and like a dog that gets excited everytime it’s owner asks in breathy 
tones, “Who’s a good boy? Who’s a good boy?”, I almost run around in circles as fast as I can with my tongue hanging out. All that to say it never truly gets old. I have had dinner twice in the last couple of weeks in castles and have to pinch myself each time. Heidelberg is almost too good for words but I will give it a try. The huge castle has some towers that are intact and others that have split in two over time. The moat is so deep that standing in it’s bottom (it has no water, FYI) and looking up at the towers fills me with awe at the engineering feat. Some walls reach to the sky without any adjacent walls to support them and their giant glassless windows look like a Dali painting. The Altstadt (old city) is beautiful with several churches and this ancient university… Germany’s oldest seat of
learning founded in 1386. Great food, great company and beautiful weather made the We spent hours walking along the Philosophers Walk along the hills opposite the Neckar River from the old city. Just brilliant.
tones, “Who’s a good boy? Who’s a good boy?”, I almost run around in circles as fast as I can with my tongue hanging out. All that to say it never truly gets old. I have had dinner twice in the last couple of weeks in castles and have to pinch myself each time. Heidelberg is almost too good for words but I will give it a try. The huge castle has some towers that are intact and others that have split in two over time. The moat is so deep that standing in it’s bottom (it has no water, FYI) and looking up at the towers fills me with awe at the engineering feat. Some walls reach to the sky without any adjacent walls to support them and their giant glassless windows look like a Dali painting. The Altstadt (old city) is beautiful with several churches and this ancient university… Germany’s oldest seat of
I am so fortunate and so blessed in my life. None of us deserves blessing, so I feel most privileged to get to do what I do. The work is so rewarding and the fringe benefits are over the top. Today, I overheard somebody talking good about me behind my back, loudly and in public. As if that wasn’t enough, a kid told me “I hope you never leave” and then I drove home the long way through the mountains with my windows down and took a spontaneous walk out across a field. Ah…God is good to me, despite myself!
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