Roller Derby Anyone?

After feeling terrible last weekend and having that extend all through the week, I was determined to ignore any more feelings of illness and have some fun. Still felt awful at times but made good memories in the process.....

Friday night we walked down into Boeblingen. There was an Italian fest. I thought more Italians lived in this area.... maybe they were at the Canstatter Wasen? There was a band, it wasn't bad. The funniest part was the lead singer speaking in Italian about all the different pronounciations of Boeblingen.
Self serve candy. Friday would have been the day to get some, no dirty fingers yet!
Does anyone know anything about the pots in the sky? I mean why?
Yes, we went to the Roller Derby! You Know Who happens to know several of the players. They asked if he would go to the show on Saturday and he being the nice guy he is said yes. I got to go too.

These women are tough. The first time I fell, much less got slammed or run over, I would be so out of there. They on the other hand kept it up for and hour and a half, and had a great time. I didn't understand roller derby before going and I admit there is still a lot I don't get, but when they make points or nearly kill someone, it is really fun to scream and whistle.

Unfortunately, our team lost. Some of the fans were upset but the team seemed fine, like they'd just attended a party where you knock people over to show them how much you like them being there.......



I ended my weekend with a bike ride. I made the mistake of telling the DB that Mary jokingly said I should go on one. He kept up with

Mary said

until I broke down and went just to have peace again. So next time Mary says something funny I'm not telling him.

I will try not to bore you.......

I tried to get these in order but between blogger and I...... Most of the pictures you see of me were taken by you know who while he was riding...... I think he did a good job. Crazy man. A bit crowded on the train.


From our room in Bregenz.

Loved cleaning up at night.

Beautiful hotel in Meersburg.
Stein am Rhien is a must see.


Catherdral in Konstance.How cute it this??Leaving Konstance, last day.

You can't tell from this, but it is pouring and a bolt of lightening had just flashed across the sky. I don't like.

Things I learned on the way..... sun, wind and rain are not helpful; I can do more than I thought, but not as much as I hope to.

Things I already knew..... I love boats; I hate hills; I love hot running water and a clean bed; I really, really love traveling with my husband.

We ended up not riding much day one. I think riding to the train station and into Bregenz from the boat counts. I called it getting my feet wet, someone else had a different opinion. It was windy and rainy though so he didn't really mind. I am glad to say the weather for the rest of the trip was perfect.

Day two we made up for our lack of biking on our biking trip by making it to Meersburg. (Really liked the hotel there!) It seemed so far but I surprised myself by going even further day three. I must say that day hurt a bit. There were a lot of hills, I had to walk halfway up two of them. Day four we took it really easy with a short run and the train ride home. We calculated that we road somewhere between 120 and 150 miles. When we got home we checked some other people's stats that said it was around 104 miles. That's probably correct if you just ride straight through. We did take some side trips in and out of places. (Some were intentional.)

I'm glad we made day four short because we came back to, as my DB said, "Stuttgart welcoming us home with open arms." For those of you who may not know, this means lightening, thunder and huge drops of rain.... Let me tell you, that was a fun ride up the hill. I kept smiling though because it was a really great trip.

1 Tandem + 1 Flat Tire = A Long Walk Home

So you may have seen us out there this evening. I finally consented to a bike ride, on the tandem no less. The scenery was gorgeous. We waited until evening when the temperatures were lower. It started off a bit sketchy, I am not a good bike rider, but that wasn't the problem. There was a guy, driving a car, he was stupid. I mean WHO passes a car when they are turning right at an intersection, on a narrow two way street? My Dearly Beloved is a great bike rider and I refrained from screaming and flailing so all is well..... until the hill and the gears going wonky. I must say again, because of the DB, I did not hit the ground very hard.... and off we went again. I was doing a lot of thinking as we went along. Things like, OK, this is not so bad, I can DO this, WHY do I wait so long to do this, look at the pretty ferns, uh oh here comes another hill, I hate hills, I am over this, if he says one more time this is the hardest part I may have to kill him, (mind you all of these thoughts were over about an hours time). My last really big thought was, oh my, I REALLY don't want to be riding this bike anymore..... and that last thought is what did us in, seriously, be careful what you wish for. I heard the pop, but he didn't say anything so I thought, whatever...... I then started telling him (loudly) I really need to stop and get something to drink. His reply was, we are ONLY ten minutes from home! I grumbled a bit but kept pedaling because I am a trooper. I was not paying attention, so missed what the DB said at first, I was hoping it was something like, Hey! let's stop for something to drink after all because you have done a really great job and I know you're really thirsty and the water bottle is almost empty. Actually, what he said was, I think we have a flat. At that moment, I knew I had gotten what I wished for and it was not actually what I wanted. Now, what you must understand is, he was trying to encourage me when he said we were only ten minutes from home. We were more like twenty minutes from home. This turned into a forty minute walk with the DB pushing the tandem. I was carrying the helmets and let me tell you they were heavy. The good news is, it was a beautiful evening for a walk and there is no one on earth I would have rather been with...