Day 3 in Germany

It's cold, but not raining this morning. Yesterday afternoon, Casey started to get over his jet lag, so he was feeling much better in the afternoon. We both had a great run out to and partly around the lake he'll swim in for the race. We both slept a lot more last night and feel pretty normal. (Despite the bell tower that sounds out the hour and each quarter hour! Thank goodness for earplugs.)
Casey's out on a group bike with the Team USA folks. We haven't met any other teams yet, but hopefully we will today at the Opening Ceremony tonight.

It was funny, I mean this is a tourist-friendly town, but at dinner last night, we definitely got some curious stares at the restaurant. I guess it's just like when people are speaking in a foreign language in the US. It's hard not to listen and wonder what they're saying."Bad" means bath, I think! But the photo-op was too perfect to resist.

We had a really good dinner and another English-speaking waitress, yay!. Several places even have English menus, with funny translations, like "sweeties" for dessert, but that's way easier than trying to guess! I had cheese spatzel (german pasta) and Casey had venison. At breakfast, we chatted with a PhD from Berkley and sports writer from Louisiana, and then while Casey was out on the bike, I chatted with another "non-racer" like myself, a young man in the Army that came with his mother, who is racing. (So, Mom-in-law...I'll be your sherpa whenever you race! ;).Behold, the pumpkin seed roll...one of so many delicious German breads.

Today we have a team lunch, a two hour bus tour through the countryside, and then a pasta dinner with all the teams combined, so we're pretty booked up for the day. There will be other races going on tomorrow, not World Championships, but they have lots of triathlons in this town and this event just happens to double as the World Championships for the Long Course this year. Next year, it's in Vegas. I might try to convince Casey to compete for it, just so I can try the buffets! (Gambling, shmabling...but where's the dessert? ;)

Also, I got a tip from our program director on a cheaper way to ship back Casey's bike from Munich. Our other options were UPS $700! or keeping it with us through the rest of the trip and paying $150 to get it on the plane. And let me assure you, that second one was not a feasible option. The suffering involved schlepping a coffin-sized case weighing 65 lbs with tiny wheels through cobble-stone streets, up and down crowded stairs, in crowded metros and trains, along with other baggage is not worth $700. I'd rather teach summer school (cue the ominous music). But we found a place that will pick it up from our hotel in Munich and deliver to our house for $400. Through Skype and free wifi, I had it taken care of in one morning. With some planning, luck and a little travel-savy (like always bring rain gear for sudden down-pours!), this trip is going really smooth so far. Yay!