Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Day 9 - Munich or "Munchen"

We awoke relatively late this morning, departing the hotel at 9:00 for the center of Munich, where we were to meet our tour guide for the bike tour, Taylor. Taylor took about 15 minutes to explain to us some of the history of the city. Taylor, who is originally from ... Austin, Texas, was extremely entertaining and kept us on our toes with sarcasm and wit throughout the tour.

I think everyone had a good time on the bike tour and I know it was nice to just have a chance to see the city without being on our feet for six hours. Though we did get rained on, briefly, the worst of the rain came while we were in the English Garden covered by trees and watching some locals surf in waves created by a drainage system.

It was readily apparent that the city is extremely accommodating to bikers – they are all over Munich just as mopeds are all over Italy. There is a separate sidewalk for bikers that sits between the pedestrian sidewalk and the roadways. In some parts of the U.S., I think having a group of 30 people riding through city streets on beach cruisers would be a bit less safe. Even with the rain, it was an enjoyable experience for all.

One thing that is unique about Munich is the architecture of the buildings. You could have several buildings all in a row with different styles of architecture. One pre-war, one post war, and one more modern.

We ended the tour around noon and then separated into groups to enjoy the city on our own, before meeting at 2:45 to head back to the hotel. By the time we got back at 3:30, we had about a half hour to gather our belongings for the fourth game of the tour, in Ragensburg, which is about 1:40 to the Northeast of Munich.

Brown improved its record to 3-1 with a dominating 7-1 victory over S.C. Ragensburg, a club founded in 1928. The Bears scored early and often, building a 3-0 halftime lead. After Ragensburg scored early in the second half to come to within 3-1, Brown scored four straight goals to earn the win, outshooting its opponents, 22-3.

Mollie Mattuchio ’08 got Brown on the board, scoring from about 30 yards out after collecting the ball from Kathryn Moos ’07 in the midfield. Shortly after, Paige Reidy ’10 took a corner kick from the left side and Kiki Manners ’10 headed the ball past the Ragensburg keeper for a 2-0 lead. Just moments later, Bridget Ballard ’10, Moos, and Melissa Kim ’10 combined on a beautiful transition run that led to Kim scoring, but the goal was called back after Brown was called offsides. But, the Bears would get the third goal before the end of the half after Kim fired a rocket from the left side that was saved, but Kellie Slater ’10 knocked the rebound in.

Ragensburg had a strong start to the second half, controlling the flow of the game and getting into a solid rhythm, which resulted in them getting on the board less than five minutes into the half. However, Kim increased Brown’s lead to 4-1 when she sent the ball back on net from 25 yards out after Alex Michael’s ’09 attempt was saved by the keeper.

Second later, Kate Ashforth ’08 nearly put Brown up 5-1 heading the ball on another Reidy corner kick, but the ball caromed off the cross bar to hold the score at 4-1. Manners continued her strong play in the midfield, setting up Michael for Brown’s fifth goal and then Lindsay Cunningham ’09 converted two crosses, one from Jill Mansfield ’07 and the other from Moos, into goals for the 7-1 final.

The defensive corps did a tremendous job in limiting shots from Ragensburg as Steffi Yellin ’10 and Brenna Hogue ’10 each recorded just one save. In the back during the first half were Meg Robinson ’10, Julia Shapira ’08, Bridget Ballard ’10, and Julie Wu ’09. In the second half, Mansfield, Reidy, and Caitlin Gorham ’10 also saw time in the back in addition to the four starters.

We left the game and headed to the sports club, where we had a dinner consisting of salad and a pasta & pork dish. It was a long day for all after getting back to the hotel shortly after 12:30. We actually stopped at a rest area about a 1/2 hour from the hotel and the bathrooms had a great feature I think we should bring to the U.S. You had to pay 50 Euro to use the bathroom, as is common in Europe. But, the bathroom (Water Closet) was immaculate. And the toilets even had a cleaner attached to the back, which the seat rotated through to get cleaned while the toilet was flushing.

Tomorrow, we depart Germany for Switzerland. Before leaving for Switzerland, we will travel about 20 minutes away from Munich to make a stop at Dachau Concentration Camp, which was the first concentration camp and the training ground for the other camps. It should prove to be an extremely moving experience.

1 comment:

Emily Geldwert said...

Hey Guys! I'm glad you're all having such a great time... i almost feel as though i'm there with you all because of all these detailed posts... almost. I miss everyone bunches. Sounds like you're all playing great soccer... KEEP IT UP!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday Shell... i know its coming up soon!