ClipperMax, ClipperZoe, the ClipperWidow and I are nearing the end of our time in Heidelberg. We've been here with my brother and his family - he is a visiting professor at Pepperdine's Heidelberg extension program this year. Max and Zoe haven't seen their cousins in about 8 months, and so they are delirious just to be playing with them. The fact that they also have a house full of college students basically at their beck and call is an extra added bonus. They're pretty much in heaven.
In fact, when we dragged them away on Wednesday to go to the ancient walled city of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, they were very sad. It's great that they're having such a good time, but they've barely been to Europe so far. Oh well.
The ClipperWidow and I took advantage of the fact that the kids don't really want to leave their cousins and snuck away for a quick trip just the two of us. We went to the Rhine and Mosel River valleys - ate some nice food, stayed in a castle Friday night, drove around, toured a castle - generally did the tourist thing. Good times. My German is very rusty, but getting better. It'll probably be almost acceptable by the time I leave.
Tomorrow we leave for France (once again, over the objections of the kids). I will no longer be living with my college professor brother, so I won't have a chance to sit and browse the interwebs quite so leisurely. Hence the little travelogue today.
Tomorrow night we'll be in the Alsace, near Strasbourg. Monday night it's off to visit friends in Grenoble. And then on to Paris for the rest of our trip.
It's very strange to be here, and yet be so aware of the NBA. Obviously, I've got the interwebs, and with the Clippers in this ridiculous light week (one game since I left? Seriously?) not only have I barely missed anything so far, I'm actually feeling like nothing is happening, as I'm sure most of you are also. That will change starting tonight, when the Clippers play five games in seven days. Wow. One game in six days followed by five in the next seven. Thanks NBA schedule-makers. Nothing like having three of your final eight as the second game of back-to-backs.
Anyway, I'm rambling.
Needless to say this week is huge. The Clippers can end the Hornets' hopes once and for all, while of course the Nuggets and Lakers can return the favor for the Clippers, or at least deal them a severe blow. The way the Warriors are playing, it's becoming more and more obvious that whoever gets the last spot is going to have to earn it. Of all four teams from 6 to 9, it looks to me like the Warriors are the least likely to drop out. They're just playing so well.
Go Clippers!
Auf Wiedersehen and Au Revoir!