This morning started off very interesting. I mentioned yesterday that my room is incredibly small. Well, I don't remember if I mentioned that included the bathroom as well. I have a 4 x4 bathroom complete with a toilet, sink, heating towel rack, and a shower. Here's the kicker... the shower is not separated and it sprays over the toilet and everything else in the bathroom. Made for a new experience while getting ready this morning. There also is this heated towel rack. You put your wet towel on it in the morning and it dries it throughout the day. It also heats the bathroom over night so you aren't freezing while getting ready the next day. Brilliant.
I followed my shower with breakfast. Breakfast was a bit interesting as well. They had the yellowest (almost orange) eggs I have ever seen. They were very good eggs, but it took a few seconds to get past the color and actually enjoy them. The hotel also laid out lots of meats... cold bacon, salami, other stuff I don't really know. I went for the safe orange with my eggs. Turned out it was a blood orange. Kind of a surprise, but not too bad. I also went to get a glass of orange juice...it came out blood red as well. I opted for the cappucino instead which was delicious! The best part of breakfast, by far, was the bread. They didn't just have sliced bread like we do in the states. They had croissants, and many sweet breads. Add their chocolate Nutella to it and I couldn't stop eating!
The coaches met for a "team meeting" and prayer time. Then we met with all of the campers together. They interview or have someone share their life story every morning. Today, Tom Roy interviewed me. It was interesting. The Germans we work with can speak English, but many of them have a very limited vocabulary and most of that is softball/baseball words. So, Tom would ask a question and one of our German coaches would translate. I would answer, he would translate again. Just one more thing that added to the very interesting morning.
Now it's time to head to the fields. Mostly everybody drives, but since the fields are so close today 4 of us decide to ride bikes. By far, the best part of my day. (Even better than the gelato!) It was a gorgeous morning and we rode right near the water. It took less than 10 minutes and it was so worth it. At practice, baseball and softball warmed up and stretched together, then we split for separate practices.
Here's what our looked like today: Warm arms, Four Corners throwing drill, Throwing competition, Double Fungo, Infield/Outfield (split), 6 station hitting stations, modified scrimmage.
We practiced until almost 1:00, rode our bikes/drove our cars back to the hotel and at a delicious 4 course lunch. Usually the lunch is a panini, but today we had salad, pasta, pork chops and french fries, and ice cream for dessert. My softball team (of 23 guys and girls) had a game today at 5:00 so I was able to get a nap in before the evening session. I really think it helped with my jet lag. So far I haven't seen/felt a lot of it's effects.
We drove to a different field, still in Rimini, for our game. I was able to see a little more of the sights. A lot of agriculture here... grape vineyards, apricot and apple trees, everything... can be seen from the road. The buildings are really neat, not only because of the architecture, but the age. Many of the buildings I have seen have been hotels, but they aren't your typical Marriotts and Hiltons, they are the Hotel Byron and Hotel Belvedere. They are all privately owned and operated. They are so unique and each one has so much character, even to the physical look.
I am staying at Hotel Byron. It is run by Luigi Pasquini and his girlfriend Nuncia. It is amazing the hard work they put into this place, including the 4 course dinners every evening and panini sandwhiches we have for lunch everyday.
We lost our game to another German softball team. Many of the Germans speak English, although their vocabulary is limited, it is amazing how much they can communicate and really how much they understand! During the game, some of the girls taught me how to count to 10 in German. That's about all I know, but I am sure it will come in handy later. I actually met a girl on the other team who is from Austin, Texas but she has been staying in Munich for the last 3 seasons to play softball.
Tonight, after dinner we had a HUGE game of Texas Hold'em with everyone. Six tables of nine people at each table. The Germans love to drink and to play cards. We all chipped in a Euro and played poker. Most of them spoke German the whole time, but I have met a few friends that will translate for me and only speak English when I am around. I lost my money pretty early, but I have fun talking and socializing with everyone.
It's another late night, and I need to go to bed... Until tomorrow, Ciao!
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