Ich bin ein Wiesbadenlanderschlagen

We are in Wiesbaden, Germany, for the European Tennis Championships! It's wild and crazy ... and very, very German. Just when we thought we had the Italian language under control, we suddenly don't understand anything anymore! Trying to communicate with our bus driver is particularly funny.

The tennis is intense! Our singles players both made the quarters, and our doubles teams are still alive in the consolation bracket. Our boys doubles team played the most exciting game of the day. They played admirably but lost to the No. 2 seed (brutal draw!). But they'll sweep the backdoor games and probably play for third place on Saturday. They're really fun to watch — great net play!

Caitlin and I are reliving our glory days from high school athletics. All 6 kids are really fun: they're a nice combination of serious, goofy, super-cool, high-strung, spacy and awkward. Sounds like me in a nutshell.

The flight from Fiumicino to Frankfurt was relatively painless. No one forgot their passports, and no luggage was lost. And I must say I'm now a big Lufthansa fan. Good thing we remembered our puffy jackets, too — it's cold! Reminds us of Oregon.

Friday we follow the same schedule we used Thursday: up at 6, breakfast at 6:45, bus by 7:15, to the courts by 7:30, matches start at 8:30. Three coaches split up to three venues: Caitlin is with the girls doubles, Coach Phil is with the boys doubles, and I'm with both singles players. Logistics and transportation and communication is a mess, but it all works out.

So far we've eaten Thai food and Mexican food for dinner. But we had schnitzel for lunch. Das is güt.

venus fly trap

It seems as though we're finally getting into a routine of normal life in Rome. We're starting to discover our favorite spots and generally know how to navigate everyday life. The weather here, even thought it's late October, is absolutely beautiful despite a rainstorm here and there. Today, and most of this week, it has been near 80 and sunny. Perfect.

This is the newest member of our family.

Weekend warriors

I just got back from Aviano, where we swept all 9 tennis matches! Go Falcons!

We drove up to the Air Force base on Friday (8 hours on bus), played tennis this morning (4 hours on court), then drove back after (8 more hours on bus). For those keeping score, that's a 4-to-1 bus-to-tennis ratio. But it's all in the name of good fun and sportsmanship. And drop-shots.

Oh, and we forgot to mention: Last weekend, this happened:

And, later, this:

Fear not, mothers, we survived the whitewater. Although Caitlin bears a wound on her shin from the impromptu dip she took in the middle of a rapid. She was quickly yanked back into the boat, only to be stung by a bee on her bleeding leg. Can't catch a break, that girl.

Buonanotte.

A quick post, sort of

After a hectic week, we headed south to Lago Albano for a quick weekend trip. We just missed the pope, apparently — he keeps a lakeside papal condo there. We enjoyed the cool, quiet, lovely little town and found good value at our clean, friendly B&B. Wished we coulda stayed a couple days there instead just one night. Went on a Sunday morning hike before the rainstorms came rumbling in. That's when we sought shelter at a cool pub serving birre artigianali. Chatted up the owner (from Philly) about sports and beer, two of our favorite subjects. Later we drank caffe with milk from the pope's own farm: holy cows! All in all, a quick, relaxing trip.

This week, the craziness picked up again: a public transportation workers' strike threw a wrench into my travel plans on Tuesday.

Things are going well with the tennis team. We had a home match last Saturday, and notched 3 victories (including our No. 2 girls singles, who saved match points to win in a 9-7 tiebreaker!) Now I'm trying (and struggling) to explain the intricacies of topspin groundstrokes to our less experienced players. It reminds me of teaching a flick in ultimate: it's hard to describe or demonstrate; the kids just have to experiment with different grips and arm angles till something clicks. Here's hoping. We've got a few more matches before the Euro Championships in Wiesbaden, Germany at the end of the month. And Caitlin has volunteered to travel with the team as a chaperone-slash-girls-coach! (Assuming she can take a few days off from Second Grade). Very exciting! Go Faclons!

Mail update: We have received our first package! It was ... an economics textbook. But, let it be known that the Vades in Rome are currently seeking postcards addressed to:

Vicolo del Bologna, 37
00153 Roma Italy