Germany Trip Blog - Days 3 to 5

From Asst. AD/Athletics Communications, May 18, 2018 | Men's Basketball
by Dan Lukes, dan.lukes@snc.edu, (920) 403-4077

As told by Riley Haas and Joe Lemon:

Day 3 (5/16/18) - We took a trip to see Old Town Cologne today and one of our favorite attractions was the Cathedral. We had some free time to walk around the town on our own to get something to eat and look through the shops. After walking around, we had our first game against German Sports University Cologne. The game was played a little differently, and it took us a little bit to become used to it. Some of the main differences in the European style of basketball was the pace of the game and the rule changes. We fell behind early and couldn't get ourselves back into it but did play our best basketball of the game in the second. Another rule change was that we could only have three defensive players on the lane lines while shooting free throws. We also struggled with the three-point line being a little deeper as we only shot 2 of 18 from three. In addition, the refs were more relaxed with the pivot foot and let us play more physical throughout the game. All and all, it was a great experience to get that first game under our belt and we will take it as a learning experience to help us prepare for the next one. The opposing team was extremely friendly and we took a picture with them after the game. Once we got back from the game we got our first taste of the downtown night life and it was a blast.

Day 4 (5/17/18) - On Thursday we went to the Koln Triangle, which is 103 meters tall and overlooks as far as the eye can see. There were 28 floors and on the top floor was a panoramic view of the entire city as well as other neighboring cities. After taking in the breathtaking view we walked across the Rhine River on Hohenzollern Bridge, also known as the Love Locks bridge. It's named this because all across the bridge there are locks put there by couples and marked with their initials and the date they were on the bridge. When we reached the other side of the bridge we had some free time in Old Town Cologne as we waited for our cruise on the Rhine River to commence. The cruise was an amazing experience and although it only lasted for one hour, we got to see the city's riverbanks as we relaxed on the top deck. One thing most players noticed was that the architecture is much more advanced over here in Germany than in the United States. After the cruise we had time to go grab a bite to eat and enjoy some more German food such as currywurst and schnitzel. Once we got some food in us we headed back to the hotel. We topped off the night with another trip to the city with Coach Roehrig and Coach Ciesielczyk and I think it's safe to say that everyone had a great time.

Day 5 (5/18/18) - This morning we woke up and hit the road immediately to travel from Cologne to Heidelberg which was about a three-hour bus drive. Upon arriving in Heidelberg we went downtown for some sightseeing and lunch. After lunch we got the opportunity go visit the Heidelberg Castle which is one of Europe's most famous landmarks. The castle was perched on a lush hillside looking over the entirety of the city and the river Neckar. We were able to tour around the castle and take pictures at our leisure. After looking around the castle we had some more free time for the rest of the afternoon.A few guys on the team went even higher up the mountain and found a trail where we hiked around for about an hour. Other guys went down the mountain to do some shopping and walk around the city to kill time. As our afternoon was winding down we all met up and grabbed some gelato before heading to the new hotel in Mannheim. We got dinner immediately when we got to the hotel before hunkering down for the night. Tomorrow we have our second game against ULM Basketball Club and are looking to have a better showing than the first game.