Weekend in Germany

This past weekend David and I headed off to Ulm, Germany.  It is about a 2 hour drive from our apartment. Our main purpose for the trip was to go watch our favorite "Butler Bulldog" play.  Matt Howard now plays for a professional team called ratiopharm. He was kind enough to set us up with free tickets to the game.

We caught "Matt" on our way to the concession stand

pregame warm ups

The "how" to this weekend is a cool story…at least I think it is.  In Indy, our family attends church at E91.  It is a HUGE church that offers 3 Sunday service times.  (This girl came from a Ky church that offered one Sunday service and 50 people was a crowd)  All of our closest friends attend service with us on Sunday mornings and we usually try to snag the same seats every week.   One Sunday morning, about 3 years ago, we had sung the opening song, sat down for announcements and then were to stand for another song.  As I stood, I immediately noticed that my previous view of the screen was now completely eclipsed by an enormous male body.  I let out an involuntary "woah" and the body turned around and said "sorry".

It took me a minute to figure out why I recognized the face and height, but then it came to me….it was Matt Howard, the Junior center for the Butler Bulldogs.  Cool, he was a Christian and he went to our church.  He wasn't just a come once a month guy, he came all the time.  That was a huge encouragement to us.  I mean, come on, his parents didn't know if he was going to church….they lived in Connersville, Indiana. Even when there was a really physical game or an overtime game or an away game where the team had to travel back to Indy late on a bus, Matt would be at church the next morning.  He would usually sit with his sister and her family.  Sometimes, other Howard family members would come too.  We would notice them, because like us, they would generally sit in the same area.

We would occasionally say "good game last night" during the "greet those around you" time at church, but never really introduced ourselves.  Well, fast forward 2 years.  David is living in Strasbourg and attending a game for our local pro team, the Sig.  He looks out onto the court and who is on the opposing team?  Matt.  He calls me later that night and tells me.  The next day at church, I see Matt's sister in the row behind me.  I walked over and casually mentioned that Matt had a great game the night before and that David was living/working in France and had seen Matt play.  She immediately asked me for David's contact info and passed it along to Matt.  VOILA, God just made a VERY big world into a small little place.  David and Matt have been trading emails since.

Before the game we decided we would check out the city of Ulm.  It was raining, so I wasn't too keen on the idea, but hey, why not.

We walked along the Danube (no, it wasn't blue) and the city wall and throughout the "Fischerviertel" (the old fishers and tanner's quarters).

The city wall

The Danou (Danube) and view of our hotel

We saw the "Schiefes Haus" (Crooked house 1443) and then moved on to the Cathedral (Ulmer Münster 1420) and a cute Greek Orthodox chapel. (Valentinskapelle 1457)

Schiefes Haus

Ulmer Müenster

Just in case you read German and want to know about the chapel.

We warmed up with a hot chocolate and a cup of coffee and headed back to the hotel to get ready for the game.

Our logistic problem was that neither Matt, nor his fiancé, Brittney, knew what we looked like.  Fortunately, Matt had set us up with tickets in the "girlfriend/wife/fiancé" section and Brittney introduced herself at halftime.  We enjoyed a ratiopharm win and headed to the VIP lounge after the game.  Matt's teammates are mostly American and we were able to meet/chat with them. It was a really fun evening (except for the time that the General Manager came over and asked if we were Matt's parents, WHEN did I get so OLD??)….but it wasn't quite over.

The Colts were playing!!  Matt and his fiancé, Brittney, came back to our hotel and we watched the Colts victory from my laptop in the lobby. It definitely wasn't a grand way to see the game, but it worked. It was an awesome game and it ended at nearly 2:00AM for us.  We planned to join them for breakfast the next morning at a "Pfannkuchenhaus" (pancake house) called Allgaüer Hof.

David and Brittney waiting for the restaurant to open

The plates were enormous, the size of a large pizza…..David ordered one with german "meatloaf" and eggs.  I ordered the one with hot raspberries, ice cream and fresh whipped cream.
 

What can I say, I'm still a kid….who can resist ice cream for breakfast?

We enjoyed getting to know Matt and Brittney and we can't wait to show them around Strasbourg. Speaking of Strasbourg, I'm sorry to tell my Midwest friends that the sun is shining and it's 55 degrees here today.  I must be off to take a walk (gotta get rid of that enormous pancake)….not something that you can do there in the -13 temps with a foot of snow on the ground.

Wishing you all a warmer week and maybe the opportunity to make a new friend.  God's best to you all.