Just Pluggin' Along

The last week has been a busy one for me. I started back in language school which has forced me to train early in the morning since school is all afternoon. The class is run by an iron-fist'd woman for two days a week and less than strict one the other 3 days. The class is very professional except for the 15yr old, Enrico. He is being a 15yr old but he would be better suited to a class with people his own age and attention span haha. The iron-fisted teacher, Sonya, is what I have been wanting in a teacher for a while now. No bs. It helps that she speaks like a native English speaker. I think she has taken favor with me more than the others b/c I am an American and she loves America, go figure. Her teaching style is rigorous but I gain a lot out of it b/c she is able to explain things in English at times which the entire class understands. Trying to learn Deutsch in Deutsch is sometimes very difficult when you have grammar questions which was the topic for most of this week. You can ask the Sanwalds that I have used several perfect tense sentences in coversation this week without error. So I no longer have to speak only in the present I can talk about what happened last week or even last year. It's a huge moment for yours truly. Vocabulary continues to increase as well. This upcoming week is the last of the two week class. Surprisingly, 4.5hrs of class per day goes by very quickly. That is the most shocking from my viewpoint.

Training has been going well this week. Fortunately, no signs of illness so I hope to keep it that way. The form is definitely in terms of power numbers is some of the best I have had ever so I hope this translates in too some results. Tomorrow we have a criterium in the Rheinland-Pfalz. Next week another Ba-Wu-Liga KT/A/B/C race. The week after is the Württenburg Team Tour, ie 3 crits over 4 days. Then another crit in the Pfalz. Should be action packed. I'm still figuring out logistics to try to get to the July 20 Tour stage in the Alps. This is going to take all my logistical research prowess. B/c the stage goes through three countries, Deutsche Bahn doesn't give prices on tickets.

My culinary tour of Schwäbian culture continued this week when Gretel rolled out the carpet with Saurbraten und Semmelknödel. The knödel was pretty awesome and will be repeated when I return =)

Former x-c teammate, Beamer, was in Stuttgart this past week. Good to catch up and I shared some traditional Ba-Wu eats with him at a Gästhaus in Stuttgart. He went with the Linsen und Würst which is lentils and sausage with a side of spätzle. I stayed true to my style and love and went right for the käsespätzle.

Summer appears to be showing itself again here in Deutschland. After a week of a lot of rain and spring-like temps, the sun is out today and I was able to ride w/ short sleeves.

Chow,
Matthew