Quick update

Like before I have not been keeping up with the blog. Since getting my work visa, moving into my apartment and training for work there is not as much to talk about, but here is a couple stories from the last couple weeks.

Three weeks ago, Brad asked if I was interested in taking a long bike ride to Enschede. Enschede is a town just over the German boarder in The Netherlands. On the map it is about 60 kilometers, but on a bike it ended up being closer to 90 (55 miles). Since my bike (The Amsterdam) was made in Holland, we said "we're taking the Amsterdam back home."


We started at 5:00pm and arrived around 11:00pm with no real agenda, no intention of getting a hotel, just arriving and hanging out. We shot some pool, met some cool people and checked out the town. Around 6:00am we found a park and slept under a tree before heading back home.



Last weekend we took another bike ride, this time to a friends house in Hager which is a pretty short ride from my place in Gievenbeck. We played fussball at his house until 3:00am and on the way back home decided to have a roadside jam session.


This past Sunday, I was drinking some coffee outside on my patio when a neighbor walked up. He said something in German that I didn't understand and I told him I speak very little German. He says "oh, no problem I am an Ice Hockey coach and have to speak English for training." I told him I was a hockey player and coach and he invited me to join him yesterday to coach some young kids and play in a late night drop-in game. A completely random conversation was all it took to get me back on skates, the first time in seven months. I was a little rusty and using unfamiliar equipment, but it was great. The kids had a blast and it was really fun to play with Germans, Dutch, British and Bulgarians. It looks like I will be able to coach a little and definitely play at least once a week.