Alpine Summer

When we got back to the Schwä, there was an American flag hanging from the flagpole in the Universitätspark for us. About 15 minutes after our return, the program commenced. None of us really knew what to expect. A lot of kids from town came to the program, so Dr. Noll had some stuff to say in both German and English. He told us about how a German commander went to the American colonies and helped George Washington organize the troops for the Revolution. Also, the artist who painted "Washington Crossing the Delaware" was from the Schwä. And then he talked about how American troops fought to free the German people from the Nazi oppression and create democracy for them. I'm not sure, but I think he mentioned David Hassellhoff insisting that they "TEAR DOWN THIS WALL". (( I guess I should point out that that is a joke, just to avoid confusion )).






















After Dr. Noll finished talking, Mark got up on the stage and played the guitar for everyone. He plays the classical guitar -- I don't think I've ever heard someone play classical guitar in person before. He was extremely good and he played 4 pieces for us.

And after that, we moved the party to the patio behind the place where we normally eat our meals. They had arranged a huge feast for us (( the people from town had left by then )) with wurst, schnitzel, kartoffels, etc. It was great, and everyone left stuffed.

As I told a few people, our Independence Day ended here at 9 PM. The Germany-Italy game began then, and everyone was in full-Deutschland mode again. The game was played really well but, as I've already posted, Italy won. The score was tied and made it into double overtime. Most everyone knew that making it to a shoot-out would almost guarantee a German win. However, in the last minute of double overtime, Italy scored. And then scored again. The game was over. Now, Germany will be playing for a third place finish against who wins tomorrow night -- France or Portugal.