June 1, 2007
The Yale women's basketball team is currently on a 10-day tour of Germany. The Bulldogs left Munich this morning on the way to Bad Reichenhall, stopping in Wasserburg to play their first game. Erica Davis provides today's journal entry about the day.
Today we had our first game in Wasserburg, but first we had to take care of some unfinished business in Munich. Some of the team went out to get last-minute souvenirs or to see some nearby sites (Alex and Carter went church-hopping), while the rest of us finished packing, got food, and paid one last visit to the internet and call shop down the block. At 11 am, we were off for the game, and I dozed a little after 20 minutes or so of travel. When I awoke, we had come to an abrupt stop...in front of the Courtyard by Marriott. In Munich! As it turns out, our passports and tickets had been left in the safe, and so our travels were delayed exactly one hour. But who needs to warm-up?
Apparently we didn't, because we ended the game 74-39. As you can imagine, everyone got to put in quality minutes: the trees stood tall, blocking shots and getting rebounds, the bushes made great cuts and got wide-open layups, and the shrubs zipped up and down the court, making steals and great passes. The girls on the other team were pretty good, but we jut got on a roll that was hard to stop, finishing the second half playing even better than the first. Interestingly, we were provided sparkling mineral water, but everyone stuck to the tap water once they found sprints and tummy bubbles don't mix. When we shook hands before the game, we traded gifts: Yale basketball key chains for pretty porcelain saucers displaying the city and landmark. At halftime, we all got together for a big group picture, and after the game was over, we were invited to the carnival next door for food and more fun.
When we had pulled up to the site, the majority of us were saying we'd rather be going to the fair than milling around after the game, and that's exactly what we did. The other coach and a couple of the other players joined us at the dining area where we all chatted, took photos, and had some snacks. Nenye discovered that German spare ribs and French fries are much like our own, except that you eat the fries with little mini forks. The German players were really nice, and pretty much fluent in both language and culture; all the music they'd played during warm-ups and the dead balls had been American pop and R&B, and when we asked about it they got really excited to tell us how they enjoyed it as much as we did.
Afterwards, we bebopped around the fair, went on a couple of carnival rides, took even more photos, then we got on the bus and headed out for Salzburg. The mountains and small towns were absolutely picturesque--the "pre-Alps", as Robert called them, were so huge, I can't wait to see what the real Alps are like. It rained as we pulled into the hotel, but the staff brought us umbrellas as we unloaded, and then treated us to a great meal. We're all looking forward to seeing what the town is like and playing our next game tomorrow.
-E
