The Flying Dutch join members of the Hofheim, Germany team
Members of the Hope College women's basketball team
wrote daily journals during their trip to Germany.
Sunday, August 20, 2000
Journaled by coaches Kristin Carlson & Brian Morehouse
The final day of our journey has arrived with both excitement and sadness. While we are all excited to see our family and friends back in the USA, we are extremely sad to be leaving and having to say good-bye to our Germany family and friends. The support and fan excitement has been great. A special "thanks" goes out to Thomas, Hanna, Mark, Rollo, Lexi, Peer, Peter and of course Stephan! Without you, this trip would not have been nearly so successful. We miss you already and can't wait to see you again soon.
We are on a plane back home today and will be airborn before most of you will even be up this morning. These past two weeks have passed quickly, but the memories and experiences will be with us all for a lifetime. During this trip we have grown not only on the court, but also together as a basketball program. Our players have managed to balance fun, learning, culture, flexibility of schedule and athletic performance. They have done it well to not only honor us as their coaches, but also Hope College and the Holland community.
As you have ready from all of the previous journal entries, we have lots of stories and memories to share. We will arrive at Gerald R. Ford airport tonight at 7:23 p.m. on U.S. Airways flight 4171. We may be tired and near the end of our journey, but we can't wait to be back home and see our hometown Flying Dutch fans!
Coaches Kristin and Mo
Saturday, August 19, 2000
Journaled by Lisa Hoekstra of Grandville, Mich.
After a phenomenal two weeks full of basketball games, sightseeing and shopping, we decided to end our voyage with a relaxing trip down the Rhine River. Today we found out that the third time truly is a charm. Around 11 a.m. we arrived at our first boarding dock to find out we needed to be at a different one 30 kilos away within 30 minutes. Once we reached that destination we bought our tickets and decided to grab a quick lunch while waiting to get on the boat. While getting our food the boat left without us. So for the next two hours we ate more German ice cream and shopped some more.
Finally at 2 p.m. we boarded our boat for our trip on the Rhine. The tour was supposed to last approximately two hours, but we ended up on the boat until 6:30 p.m. During the tour was saw many beautiful and ancient castles as well as the thousands of acres of vineyards German is best known for. The ride eventually started to be a little long, so once again we passed the time playing games of Euchre.
After returning to our youth hostel, we ordered some dinner, finished our packing and got ready for our last night in Germany. Around 9:30 p.m. we met with our new German friends while suited up in full disco tech gear, ranging from leopard skin skirts to casual kakhis and headed to the Euro Palace Disco Tech.
At the end of the night we headed back to our youth hostel to spend our last night here. As far as we're concerned, there was no better way to end our perfect trip to Germany.
Lisa
FRIDAY, August 18, 2000
Journaled by Amy Brower of Hamilton, Mich.
We started off the day on a good note...we slept in! Then we were off to Wiesbaden for yet another day of shopping. I think today most people bought bags so we could get everything home. We ate at a cool American diner and then we were turned loose for a couple of hours of shopping.
Next we went back to our hometown (Hofheim) to finish up our gift buying...friends and family back home are going to get a lot of chocolate.
We had our final game tonight against Stephan's allstar team. The game didn't exactly turn out the way we wanted, but it was a fun game to play!
The best part of the evening was the HUGE shindig the Hofheim club threw for us after the game. They had tons of food -- brats, steaks, breads, salads...everything! They even set up a huge tent outside the gym for the festivities. We played this awesome game in the gym where we would run and slide on huge gymnastic mats...one of the male German squads won that contest...more momentum I guess!! Later we moved outside for a dance party in the tent. The dance led to Karaoke...watch out! We sang everything: ACDC, Salt & Pepa, various German songs, but the good 'ole Village People won it! Our verson of YMCA kicked butt! It got to be really late really fast. So we headed back to the Youth Hostel for some sleep.
The farewell party they threw for us is just another exmaple of how friendly and hospitable everyone has been here in Germany. It was a great way to end Hope College's "German Season" for 2000.
P.S. Happy birthday to Courtney's brother Steven!
P.P.S. Fire up Hope volleyball. I'll be home soon!
Amy
THURSDAY, August 17, 2000
Journaled by Sarah Zoulek of Shelby, Mich.
Day 11 in Germany was a fun-filled one. We spent most of our day in Heidelberg touring and shopping. Many of our pictures today were taken at Heidelberg Castle. This castle was the biggest we've seen so far. It was like the castle you see in movies. We were very fortunate to have Stephan inform us of its history.
After touring, we spent about two hours shopping on a large strip of souvenir and clothing shops. Most of us spent more money than we realized. For dinner we stopped at a bakery to get a quick bite before we went on our way to our fourth game against Leiman. The game started at 7:45 p.m. and we battled two hours for our third win. Our hour-long ride after the game made most of us tired so as we reached our distination at the Youth Hostel we made a few calls home and turned in for the night.
Sarah
WEDNESDAY, August 16, 2000
Journaled by junior Becky Sutton of Eaton Rapids, Mich.
With Kristin Carlson and Colleen Corey taking first and Lisa Hoekstra and I sliding into a close second, there was only one way to cool off from a hot Euchre game the night before...water slides and high dives!
After waking up to a great breakfast fixed by Stefan's grandma and friends, we headed for the Goslar Aquatic Center. There we enjoyed the waterslide, contests off the high dive and a team lap swim. After the fun in the water, we showered up and made ourselves presentable to meet the mayor of Goslar. We exchanged proclamations between Holland and Goslar and then took a tour of the town. Following the tour, we motored up the mountain where we had a lunch sponsored by the Goslar Lions Club. During lunch, Goslar was voted by our team as the "Food Capital of German!" Besides playing basketball and eating, the next favorite thing our team loves to do is shop, which is exactly what we did. In fact, we all may need to chip in a new marks for an extra suitcase in order to get all the souvenirs back to Michigan!
Our whole team would like to give a big "thanks" to Stephan's oma and opa (grandma and grandpa) for opening up their home and community and making us feel at home. We would also like to say a special hello to the Detmmar family; Hans, Corola and Inga.
Our day concluded with a journey through the former East Germany. Tonight we arrived at the Youth Hostel where we will stay for the remainder of our trip in Wiesbaden.
Hi to mom and dad, Kate, Anna and Ryan! See you Sunday!
Becky
TUESDAY, August 15, 2000
Journaled by sophomore Colleen Corey of Jenison, Mich.
Does anyone know what time it is?
The day started at 7:30 a.m., well I mean 6:30 a.m., thanks to a false alarm clock that went off in coach Morehouse's room. Luckily for us, coach Carlson was alert enough to see that it was really 6:30 a.m. and not 7:30 a.m. like coach Mo had thought in his half-sleeping state. Thanks to coach Carlson for the extra hour of sleep!
After the mixup it was off to Goslar, a small mining community that is over 1,000 years old. We arrived in Goslar and went to the Senior Center where we ate lunch. We then split into groups to do various activities in the community, ranging from raking leaves to doing dishes. My assignment was to walk some of the elderly residents of the Center to downtown Goslar for ice cream. It was a great opportunity to see the city and more importantly to help people who wouldn't normally get out. Conversation was difficult, but through sign language and smiling lots we made it through. Overall the experience was great!
In the evening we were invited to dinner with Stephan Dettmar's family. (Note: Stephan Dettmar is a citizen of Germany and a 2000 graduate of Hope College. He has helped coach Morehouse plan this trip and is accompanying the team.) We enjoyed a genuine German meal with bread, potato salad and brats. Singing stars were born after dinner when karaoke was the entertainment. Our fun was stopped due by rain, so we said our goodbyes and thank yous. We arrived at the Community Center where we would be staying. The night concluded with a Euchre tournament. I don't want to sound biased, but I am betting on the team of Carlson and Corey.
Tomorrow we will be staying in Goslar. The day will include touring and visiting with the mayor. This concludes day nine. There is more basketball to be played and German culture to learn.
Bis Spaten (see ya later)
P.S. I want to say hi to my family and to Katie and Melissa.
P.P.S. Coach Carlson wants to send a "hello" to Eric, a "thanks" to Rick Mouw, her boss at GPM for giving her the time to take this trip, and a very special "get well soon" to her grandpa who is recovering from open heart surgery. We love ya and are thinking about you!
Colleen
MONDAY, August 14, 2000
Journaled by sophomore Beth Woolley from Coral, Mich.
The day started early for some with breakfast time at 6:30 a.m. After all had eaten we loaded into those sweltering hot vans everyone loves so much and headed back to Hofheim. We arrived at the Hofheim schools around 7:50 a.m. and split into groups to talk to the students. We spoke to either an English, history or sport class. We all found talking to the students to be quite interesting. They asked us questions and we were also able to ask them questions and find out more about their culture.
Then we started our hunt for a laundromat. Some players needed to do wash desparately. Laundromats in Germany are very different from the U.S. The washers are tiny and the dryers, well they don't exactly dry things the best! Two hours later our laundry was done and it was back in the vans. We all had to unpack our bags which posed a little difficulty because of all our gifts (t-shirts, mugs, etc.), but we managed.
Tipoff time for the game with Grunberg was 9 p.m. There was quite a difference in the uniforms of the teams. Hope sported its usual blue away uniforms, however, the other team had on one-piece Spandex uniforms. Some might have thought they were wrestlers with singlets on if they hadn't been shooting basketballs. The night ended with a great game; final score - Hope 78, Grumberg 68. Go Dutch!
Upon returning to our "homes," The Sport Hotel, we only had one thing left to do for the day -- throw a huge birthday party for Sarah Zoulek who turned 20 today. We sang to her and then celebrated by eating cereal, chips, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches...what a night!
Tomorrow we have mission work at a church in Goslar along with the usual sightseeing. We have also heard that there are many people that check and enjoy our website. We appreciate all of you and your support!
Beth (#33)
SUNDAY, August 13, 2000
Journaled by junior Jodi Boom of Coopersville, Mich.
Today was a historical and emotional day for us. With wakeup calls ranging from 7:30-8:30 a.m., our day began. Once again we ventured on the subway to downtown Munich. Our first stop was an English-speaking Catholic church, which, I'm told, is similar to Catholic services in the states.
From there we began a tour of Munich - quite the historical city. We visited the English Gardens, the home of various Bavarian kings, and a beautiful church by the name of Cathedral of Our Lady. The church contained the grave of Ludwig I and it also had many little chapels inside - so you can imagine its size!
After that we traveled to one of the most powerful places any of us has ever been - Dachau, a concentration camp. We saw endless barracks of the prisoners, the gas chamber, the crematorium, and the graves of thousands. History came alive for us and I cannot fully explain all the emotions that were running through us. While we were touring the camp, one couldn't help the feeling of dread that came over us as we realized hundreds of thousands of prisoners had walked the same paths. Hopefully our pictures will let all of you feel a minute portion of what we were feeling today.
After such an emotional experience, we began the 4 1/2 hour trek back to Hofheim, during which most of us slept. We arrived at our destination (a bed and breakfast) and hit the sack early in order to gear-up for another day.
Jodi
SATURDAY, August 12, 2000
Journaled by junior Laura Poppema of Holland, Mich.
After another really late night, 7 a.m. came early. Our upcoming adventure was a five-hour trip to Munchen (Munich). Many of our bags packed with CD players, journals and books were not opened, because we slept the entire way.
By the time we unloaded our belongings into the hotel rooms at the Garden Hotel, we were starved. Within seconds of walking on Munchen streets we quickly learned the difference between a bike path and a walking area since bikes are a popular means of transportation here and they have a special path. We eventually found a restaurant when the waitress said we had 1 ½ hours to shop downtown before they closed for the weekend. We had so many souvenirs to buy and so little time!
In order to quickly reach the downtown area we rode the subway. This was a new experience for many of us. During one of the subway rides throughout the day we had a little excitement. Only four people were able to get off at the correct stop before it took off. The four girls helplessly waved to the group taking off to get off at the next stop. Needless to stay, we quickly regrouped.
In the evening, we decided to check out the 1972 Munich Olympic Games village. Since tonight was the opening of the Greman League soccer games, the Olympic Village was packed with enthusiastic soccer players and fans. Due to the big event, the park was filled with carnival rides and food stands. We had a blast on the rides and stuffed our faces with chocolate-covered strawberries, pretzels and brats.
If you haven't caught on yet, our team loves to eat! We decided to expand our German restaurant experiences by going to the famous Hefbrauhaus. It was a very relaxed and fun-filled atmosphere. A group of German musicians played as people clapped their hands, socialized and ate great tasting food.
Tomorrow will be another fun-filled day at Munchen. We will be going to church.
Laura
FRIDAY, August 11, 2000
Journaled by senior Kristin Koenigsknecht of St. Johns, Mich.
What an exhausting day!!! We woke up this morning in Castle Reineck after a late evening of dinner, cards, and music. We ate breakfast in the castle (bread, meat, cheese) and then headed to Frankfurt for another day of sightseeing (and hopefully shopping!).
We began our day in Frankfurt with a historical tour of the city. We saw several amazing churches, primarily Catholic and Lutheran, and learned a lot about the history of the city. We toured the building that held the first German Assembly in 1848, and learned about how important Frankfurt was during the World Wars. Following the tour, we were able to do the two things most on our minds...eat and shop! We wandered around and enjoyed the unique shops and the fruit from the stands everywhere in the city. Some of us even cheated and went to Pizza Hut for lunch...we had to have our American food!
After leaving the city, the game was on our minds. We went back to our host family's house for some rest time and then went to the gym. We knew the game was going to be tough, but we didn't anticipate such a physical game! The referees didn't call many fouls, so we joined in the physical play. I think if we had the officials from home we all would have fouled out in the first half! Both teams played well, and the game ended in a double-overtime win for Hofheim. Following the game, we went to an Italian restaurant with the other team and our host families. We all ate too much (because it was so good!) and then went to bed.
Tomorrow we leave at 7 a.m. for Munich, so stay tuned! We are having a great time and will have many more things to share.
Kristin
THURSDAY, August 10, 2000
Journaled by sophomore Kathi Grotenhuis of Hamilton, Mich.
Today was a pretty relaxing day for us. We got to sleep in until about 10:30 or 11 and then ate a light lunch in Hofheim before leaving on a two-hour drive to Castle Rieneck. The drive included a ride on the autobohn (80 mph) and also through small German villages that were set between the mountains.
At the castle we were given a tour where we learned a lot about its history along with the city and the influences that it had in the wars. After the tour we went to an "authentic" German restaurant where we learned a little more about their culture.
In Germany when people go out to eat it's very typical to spend three or more hours eating and enjoying their company. For me, personally, it's been hard to adjust to this style because I'm used to eating and going; I don't have that much patience.
Another lesson that we're learning time and time again is not to order water at any restaurant. The mineral water has gas...I mean bubbles...I mean carbonation, which is hard for us to drink because it is not very tasty. So we're learning to stick to the apple juice and pop.
After our German meal we went back to the castle and just relaxed in the chimney room which was like a rec room. We played cards and sang songs with our German hosts before going to bed. Overall, it was a really fun but relaxing day for us. I've been having a great time. It's been an amazing experience for me and I look forward to the days to come. I hope all is going well in Holland.
Kathi
WEDNESDAY, August 9, 2000
Journaled by junior Courtney Brehm of Howell, Mich.
With everyone having had a good night's sleep at their respective host family's houses, we were all feeling a little more revitalized today.
The morning started off with a hike up "the chapel" around 9 a.m. We also climbed up a large spiral staircase containing more than 100 stairs. The view was awesome!!! We could see the entire city of Hofheim and a little bit of Frankfurt.
After our hike we then had an hour to spare and walked around downtown Hofheim. Then it was on to Frankfurt to do a little touring and a little more shopping!:) Most everyone on the team made a purchase of some sort. We also ate lunch in the town square area, near city hall. The shopping area where all of the main stores were could be compared to the Magnificent Mile in Chicago. A street full of stores, one right after another.
We spent about three hours in Frankfurt and left around 4:30 and arrived back at the school in Hofheim where we met with our families. We all went back with our families and ate dinner and arrived back at the school around 7:30 for the game.
The team dressed for the game and took the court for warm-ups. We warmed up for about a half hour and then were introduced. We then exchanged gifts with the other team. We gave them Hope t-shirts specially made for the trip and they gave us flags with their basketball clubs logo on them. We also received little pins with their league logo on them. Then we had about three more minutes of warm up time and we began the game.
We played by the German rules consisting of four 10 minute quarters, a jump ball to begin each quarter, 5 team fouls each quarter, 8 seconds to get across half court, and a 24 second shot clock. Also, for each jump ball instead of changing possession of the ball, the two players who had the tie up were the two who jumped the ball.
Becky Sutton experienced her first jump ball of her basketball career tonight:) Each player played about the same amount of time and were always anxious to get back into the game. The game was lots of fun and quite an experience. We are anxiously awaiting our next opponents.
After the game we took lots of pictures, showered and headed off to an Italian restaurant with our host families and the other team. We ate lots of food and had tons of laughs. The Hope players also gave their families a few mementos from Holland.
Courtney
TUESDAY, August 8, 2000
Journaled by sophomore Amy Baltmanis of Paw Paw, Mich.
After arriving at approximately 6:30 a.m. German time in Frankfurt, we proceeded through customs and met Stephan's friends, Peer, Tomas, and Maria at the airport. Coach Mo strategically loaded our luggage into two vans and we took off for Hofheim. (Note: Stephan Dettmar is a citizen of Germany and a 2000 graduate of Hope College. He has helped coach Morehouse plan this trip and is accompanying the team.)
Once we reached the schools, we unloaded our stuff and took off for the downtown Hofheim area. Before I go on, let me just tell you that we are one tired group! Most of us did not sleep at all on the plane and ended up being awake for over 30 hours (plus) without sleep.
Walking/driving around Germany, I noticed several things that are quite different from Holland, Michigan. First of all, almost ALL of the cars are TINY! The streets are also very narrow. It's similar to the size of a one-way street in Holland, except there are two lanes of cars and other cars parked on the side of the road. It's a little tight, but we manage to get through. The homes are also very close together. There is hardly any space between them & hardly any grass.
We had lunch at a popular cafe' downtown. Coach MO discovered that 'pepperoni' is not the sausage that we eat in America. After biting into his sandwich, you could tell by the sweat glistening from his brow and the redness of his face, that his sandwich was a little spicy. It turns out that pepperoni is also another word for jalepeno peppers. Coach learned this lesson the hard way!
After lunch we returned to the Hofheim school and took a nice nap on the cement. After the cramped airplane ride, it was awesome to stretch out. We used our backpacks as pillows and made ourselves comfortable. We napped for nearly three hours and then had a brief practice.
Practice went very well, especially considering the fatigue factor. Finally it was shower time! That felt great too!
We went to dinner at an American type of restaruant in downtown Hofheim. The downtown area reminds me of Holland, and we have appropiately named their main street, 8th street. It has lots of shops and restaurants. Then it was time to meet our host families.
I was kind of nervous, not knowing what to expect. I am staying with Colleen Corey, and Kathi Grotenhuis at Julia's house. It is awesome and their whole family is incredibly hospitable. Their house is four stories and we all have our own beds in Julia's mom's yoga room.
Julia played basketball on one of Stephan's teams. We actually play her tomorrow night in a game against Hofheim. Well it's now about 10 p.m. here in Germany, so I think we're all going to head to bed. We're having a great time & tomorrow we'll be touring in Frankfurt.
Hi to everyone back home, especially mom, dad, & J-dog. And I'd like to give a big "Gou-Da" to Katie and Melissa. We'll see everyone soon.
Amy
MONDAY, August 7, 2000
Journaled by sophomore Amanda Kerkstra of Grandville, Mich.
Good morning! Guten Morgen!!
We touched down before seven this morning (German time; 1 a.m. in Michigan) which means that we are all on about two or less hours of sleep. So bear with me.
We all met at the Grand Rapids airport at 10 a.m. Monday morning. Our flight was delayed an hour, so we hung tight. Everybody had flown before but me; the eight-hour trip to Germany was my first plane ride. I was more excited than nervous; my mom thought I would throw up, but I didn't. I love taking off, but my ears bother me when we land.
We flew from Gerald Ford to Pittsburgh, where we had a three-hour layover. We spent the time eating lunch and shopping in the mall in the airport. The highlight of our traveling day was meeting Bill Walton (NBC sports commentator and former NBA player). We were able to take a picture with him. He was very nice.
I was lied to at the airport; the flight attendant told me that everyone over 6'0" got to sit in first class. Hoeks (Lisa Hoekstra), Popps (Laura Poppema), coach (Kristin) Carlson and I were rather bummed when we learned she was joking.
The culture is quite different here. People have asked if we are from England or Ireland. Don't we look American? Earlier today we were standing in the middle of a German airport. As I watched the people walk by and stare at us, I wondered if they could tell we are Americans just by the way we look.
Hi Jess, Steph, Brett, Danni & Taylor.
God Bless!!