Two weeks ago, I began writing another blog with the intention of posting it before my parents arrived, so as not to have to write a novel of a post after they left. Well, that was an epic failure. Normally, I tend to run of out of time for writing blogs because basketball, coaching or napping get in my way. This time, however, I have a MAJOR excuse for not keeping up with my blog… CHRISTMAS MARKETS! Just when I thought I could not get any more distracted from the writing process, I wandered into the city three weeks ago and saw the wooden booths and lights being set up. Thus began my research process to find out where I would be traveling in search of winter wonderlands. Hey, I was just acting on a piece of advice from my sister, family, friends, and many others: “Find good gifts to bring back!”
Before telling about the wonder that is Christmas time in Europe, I figured I will give a little rundown of how basketball has been going for the past four weeks. After all, it is how I make enough money to buy those good gifts. Week 11 ended with a win for us over our rival Amicale, who have one of the top scorers in the league, fellow-Philadelphian Meg Gardler. Though they are in the bottom half of the league, I was warned that they always give us a tough game because of the rivalry of being neighbor towns. They never gave up the entire game and we ended up winning by only 7 points.
Next, it was a quick turnaround to our Cup Game on Tuesday, when we played a top team in the league, Etzella. We were not able to get gym time on Sundays or Mondays (Badminton has it then), so we were forced to play without practice time. We came out okay, leading by 10 in the first half, but Etzella came back storming in the second. We tightened up offensively and ended up losing by 16. I played through a migraine that kept me in bed for the next two days.
A book fair was going on in our gym from Wednesday to Saturday, so once again our gym time was limited for our preparation for that Saturday’s game against bottom team, Heffingen. We were able to practice in a random gym in the city that Friday night. A lack of practice time might have been to blame for a shaky start against Heffingen. In the first quiarter, we ran our offenses well, but shots just weren’t falling. Down 6 to start the fourth quarter, we began a 28-3 run to take over the game. It was mostly due to Jill Bausch, a shooting guard who went off for 4 threes. Unfortunately, in the game, I was elbowed right in the mouth and ended up chipping two teeth. Luckily, that Monday, a teammate’s mom was able to take me to the dentist to get them looked at and fixed right away. Trust me when I say this… dentists’ offices are the same everywhere, AWFUL!
Our next opponent was the top-ranked and undefeated Esch. I had a tough shooting night, scoring only 10 points, which made it hard for my team to keep up with the many veterans of Esch. Their American center went off for 30 points and their Canadian wing player and Luxembourgish point guard were also tough for us to contain. Though we lost the game, I think we are making progress toward reaching our potential.
Finally, this past week’s game was against Contern. Contern is in 5th place, one right below us, and it was a “must win” game. We played great defense and kept it a low scoring game, and that helped us pull out the win without shooting a high percentage. I had 19 points and 16 rebounds, making it one of my more efficient games.
As always, basketball has been going well. We finished the first round of the regular season in 4th place, and will stayed there with the win versus Contern. We have a big game against #3 Etzella this coming Saturday!
Now for the off-the-court update. My parents and aunt arrived on the Thursday (Thanksgiving) before the Esch game… that means I waited a whole entire week and a half to check out the Christmas market in the city! They were troopers on their first, jet-lagged day here and managed to stay up late enough to eat dinner with me after practice. Our post-practice Thanksgiving meal… PIZZA HUT! And they will vouch for this, it was waaayyyy better than any Pizza Hut in the states!
That Friday, we got up, grabbed some fresh pastries for breakfast, and headed to Trier, Germany to check out their market. For a small town, it is one of the best around! It had tons of wooden cabins with Christmas gifts, scarfs, sausages, potatoes, desserts (… you name it!). We decided to try the street food and got some delicious bratwurst and potatoes. After that, we grabbed some dessert and toured historic city, wandering into Roman baths and cathedrals from long ago. Trier was not only a great first market, but an amazing place for my mom, dad, and aunt to see!
Saturday was a day dedicated to checking out Luxembourg City, because I had to stay close having a game that night. We arrived in the city and went straight to the Christmas market. The market smelled of hamburgers, sausages, fondue and many other foods, but first, we decided to check out the city before chowing down. We did, however, treat ourselves to a hot chocolate before taking the long walk down into the valley that divides the city. This wasn’t your ordinary hot chocolate, though. It was The Chocolate House’s Chocospoon, a wooden spoon with one of over 30 different flavors of chocolate that you put into a cup of hot milk that they give. I had tried it once before, but now I am totally hooked! After wandering through the historic parts of the city and grabbing some more street food, we visited the annual International Bazaar. The Bazaar is an exposition where numerous different countries showcase their local goods with all proceeds going to charity. Naturally, I was drooling at the American tent at the sight of El Paso hot salsa, Aunt Jemima’s maple syrup, Stove Top stuffing, Jif crunchy peanut butter, and other goods that they don’t have over here. Let’s just say my early Christmas gift from mom and dad were a few supplies from the USA tent!
We had originally plan to spend a few days in Switzerland, but changed our mind Sunday morning and decided to do three day-trips for the next few days. Bruges, Belgium was our first stop. The four-hour car ride was a rainy one, until we arrived in Bruges. The sun was shining, and we wandered our way through the town, over bridges, and around cathedrals until we finally found the main market situated in the town square. Right next to it was an impressive bell tower. My dad and I, both having seen the movie “In Bruges,” wanted to go to the top of the tower, so all four of us got in line. Only 70 people were allowed in the tower at one time, and on the climb up, we found out why. The spiral staircase, which fit only one person at a time towards the bottom, became increasingly narrow as we made our way up the 366 stairs. From the top, we had a 360-degree view of the city and a perfect view of the market and ice rink below. We worked up a big appetite, grabbed some food at the market, and made our way to the canal for a boat tour of the city. Our multi-lingual tour guide was entertaining as he showed us around the different parts of Bruges. It was amazing to see the city from such a different vantage point. In deciding to take day trips, we also decided to sample the food from each region we would visit. And what better to get in Belgium than waffles and chocolate! We definitely left Bruges on full stomachs! 
Two long trips in a row made us pretty tired, so we decided make a shorter trip on Tuesday. We hopped in the car again and drove the 45 minutes to Metz, France. In Heidelburg, we were laughing at the cars that would randomly make their way down the tiny, cobblestone, pedestrian streets. In Metz, because of some construction in the city and detours, we became that car. My mom, Aunt Sue, and I laughed hard as my dad was under considerable stress navigating the tiny streets and trying to avoid the oblivious pedestrians, behind the wheel of a large stick-shift, diesel Volvo (shades of Clark Griswold!). We made it safely to the parking lot that was situated right next to the cathedral that has one of the highest naves in Europe. The church was impressive, and it was nice to see the nativity scenes and decorations for Christmas. After touring some of the buildings and other churches, we, once again, checked out the Christmas market. Though I’ve heard of “chestnuts roasting on an open fire,” I had never tried them before, and they are a staple at any market. I tried them, but decided they are not my favorite (I almost felt like a squirrel when eating them!). After walking some, we decided to have lunch at a local café to try the regional food. Our waiter spoke no English, so we ordered without knowing too much about what we were getting. My dad and I kept it simple, ordering quiche Lorraine, while my mom and Aunt Sue tried what we thought were sandwiches, but ended up being savory crepes. All of the food, again, was delicious, and my dad was happy that we tried that café because he got to practice his two years of high school French. After lunch, we walked long enough to digest our food because we wanted to try some French desserts. Though it was a tiny moment of our trip, our interaction with the vendor at a crepe stand might have been one of the funniest moments. The entire trip we were trying to get my mom to say hi, thank you, and goodbye in the local languages. Five days in, she made an effort. After saying “Bonjour” to the vendor, mom was asked if she wanted nutella on her crepe. Feeling really in foreign language mode, my mom answered… “Si.” She and the vendor both started laughing and he corrected her with saying that yes is “oui” (wee). We paid for our desserts and said “au revoir” only to have the vendor say “au revoir” to my dad, Aunt Sue and me, and singled my mom out by saying “for you, Adios!!”
That night, after my practice, we took some of the girls out to dinner. The deal was, we treat if they pick a spot with good Luxembourgish food. They definitely didn’t disappoint. We had a fun dinner of trying new dishes and having my parents get to know a few of my teammates. Besides my mom’s language mishap, this was my favorite part of their trip. Half of the fun of being over here is meeting and becoming friends with new people, and I was so happy that my parents and aunt got a chance to meet my friends!Finally, my family’s trip ended with a day in Luxembourg. First, we went to Vianden, a town famous for its castle. We once again went castle sightseeing and took a tour through the renovated castle. Everywhere I go in Europe, I find connections to Princeton, and Vianden was no exception. During the tour, my dad pointed out the lineage on the wall in of the former owners of the castle. The House of Nassau and the House of Orange were posted right their in front of me! After that, we had a Luxembourgish meal and then explored the small town. We found a literary museum devoted entirely to Victor Hugo, the author of Les Miserables and former townsman of Vianden.
After Vianden, we drove straight into Luxembourg City to buy up gifts we had picked out earlier in the trip. Though the theme/advice of this blog was “find good gifts to bring back,” I’m not going to divulge the gifts we bought… only two weeks to go until Christmas, and only the Grinch would spoil the surprises!
Tis the season for more basketball and traveling. Catch ya in the States in under two weeks! Joyeux Noel!
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