Week 4: Don't forget to be a tourist

I spent much of my free time last week looking on Amazon for some language learning software and Insanity, a crazy new workout video that I am going to try, so I didn't have to much to say for a Week 3 blog. In between my online shopping sprees, I was also looking up places to visit while I am over here. I don't have a car and I don't know how to drive stick shift anyway, so it's up to public transportation and trains to get around. I've been around Walfer and the City, but I have yet to go exploring elsewhere on my days off.

This past Monday, however, I decided to change that and to become a tourist, as I made my first trip outside of Luxembourg to Trier, Germany.

It was my first time at the Gare (train station), and I soon found out how easy and cheap it would be to travel outside of Luxembourg. I bought a round trip ticket for 8 Euros and hopped on the train. Forty-five minutes later I arrived at Trier. I was told by teammates that this was a great place to shop, but as I walked out of the train station I had no idea if I even went to the correct place because there were not too many shops around. So I walked. I had the day off and decided as long as I could find my way back to the station, I could wander as far as my heart desired. I walked straight out of the station for about 8 minutes and ran directly into the Porta Nigra (Right), the largest Roman gate north of the Alps. What was supposed to be a shopping trip then turned into a sightseeing adventure. Once a nerd, always a nerd, I guess. I picked up a pamphlet and toured the city by myself.

Of course I know the Roman Empire spanned a great deal of Europe, but I did not expect to see so much of it in a little town in Germany. From the gate, to the Roman baths, to the Amphitheater where gladiators fought, every piece of architecture was impressive. And the Roman buildings were just a small piece of what was in Trier.


The cathedrals and churches were amazing to see. The work that went into the stain glass windows, the marble sculptures, the ceilings, the courtyards etc, was breathtaking. What was funny too, was that much of the architecture reminded me of my home for the past four years at Princeton University (see below). The archways and courtyards were eerily similar and were a nice taste of 'home' so far away!







Though I didn't end up shopping too much, I was able to eat some delicious food in Trier. I had a soft pretzel for lunch followed by some sort of apple pastry for dessert. I am definitely loving the food over here!

As for basketball, we had two scrimmages since I blogged last. Our first one was against a team in our league, US Heffingen. It was a good game and we showed some signs of being a pretty good team. I was in foul trouble for most of the game, though I was assured that my 'fouls' were not truly fouls that would be called during the season. Even though I was off the court for long stretches, we still won by 15 which shows me that we have a solid squad. Half of the team is older, 23 and up, and the other half of the team is quite young, 18-19. It is a good mix with the younger ones really pressuring the ball and the older ones having more poise offensivly. I really like how we can bring different types of basketball to the court at once!

Our second scrimmage was against a team from France. They weren't very good and we beat them by 40 some points. Though I would have liked a better scrimmage, it gave us the opportunity to run through our plays against someone other than ourselves. Once again, I love how this team plays TEAM basketball. Everyone makes the extra pass and everyone is excited when WE score. The season starts on October 2 against Esch, a good team with two Americans (one who is now Luxembourgish) and an EU player. It will be a great test for us to see where we are!

Welp, there is my past week and a half in a nutshell... a little bit of traveling in a basketball oriented schedule. I'm definitely looking forward to more of both!