Day 2: The Garden Concept

After my first day in Germany, I felt like I had been there for a week with all of the things I had done, people I had met, and places I had seen. Luckily, my house mother, Gaby, had just the thing I needed: A hearty breakfast. She made me scrambled eggs, bacon, coffee, orange juice, and the German Bread Rolls (Borscht: I think) topped with butter and, of all things, Nutella. It was all excellent and just the thing to help get me started for another of many busy days in Aschaffenburg, Germany.

Rudy picked me up in his car and took me to the building for his business which happens to be a company called “Amerikan Eiskrem” (translation: American Ice Cream). From what I can gather, he has the eiskrem made in Belgium, then distributes it to stores and sells it at the numerous Fests (festivals) throughout Germany. Rudy also seems to take the majority of his holidays (vacations) to the U.S., and has traveled over 25 times everywhere from NYC to Las Vegas to California, though California seems to be the inspiration for his business, as the majority of the signs for “Amerikan Eiskrem” also read: “Real California Ice Cream.”

Another member of the Hornets fraternity and old(er) guard, Bernard, picked me up from Rudy’s office and said he was taking me to a garden to watch the Germany vs. Serbia World Cup Soccer Match. First off, I am ecstatic that I am lucky enough to be in a country in Europe, who has a passion for soccer, during the World Cup! Everywhere you drive, people are flying German flags out of their windows, their cars, wearing the German National Team Jerseys, and generally going nuts whenever there is a German game approaching. Second, when Bernard said he was taking me to a “garden”, I assumed “biergarten”, which to my understanding means a place where everyone is sitting on benches swigging those HUGE mugs of beer. But he meant garden, in the literal sense of the word.

After some research and asking around for clarification I have found out that because the cost of living is so high and space is so limited in Germany, more than one family often lives in one house and may have their own floor, but not often their own house. Because of this, and because Germans love their gardens, and growing their own fruits and vegetables, they are able to lease a plot of land to garden themselves. This plot of land generally seems to be about 15-30 yards long and about 5-10 yards wide, and can also be outfitted with a bbq, tables, benches, and a flat screen TV for World Cup viewing. Now it was not the raucous atmosphere I expected when I heard we were going to what I thought was a biergarten, but it was very pleasant, homey, and relaxing. Bernard, his wife, and about 4 other couples get together regularly on the weekends, and also get together for every game during the World Cup (as long as Germany is still in it, of course). They had numerous kinds of wurst grilling, as well as potato salad, pasta salad, borscht (German bread rolls), and of course, GREAT GERMAN BEER. Now they obviously are used to drinking this stuff regularly, but coming off a steady diet of Keystone Light and Natty for the past four years, I can’t help but enjoy their spectacular Weizens from Bavaria. Unfortunately, Germany came up short in the match, but all hope was not lost, as they still have a chance to advance to the next round with a good showing in the next match. But win or lose, it was surely good food, good drink, good company, and a great time!














Rudy then swung by after he was done work, and gave me his automatic car until Sunday. I headed back to Aschaffenburg on the Autobahn driving at the standard U.S. speed limit of 65mph (wink, wink). I headed to bed relatively early so I could get some rest for my first football game the next day (Saturday). Oh yes, I forgot to mention that I would be the starting QB and playing the whole game 48 hours after landing in Germany, after just 1 practice with the team, after not having played QB in a real football game in over a year and a half, and after receiving the playbook on the way to the game 2 hrs. before kickoff, and oh yea, Who the hell are we playing?!?!…..this should be interesting….