Hi guys:

Well, Germany is warmer than Maryland these days. But not as interesting. It's like being in America most of the time. Except when we're on the Autobahn - then it's like we're in some NASCAR race.

Yesterday, we went to Frankfurt for a big meeting with the bank. Ingmar drove. I had the GPS on (it shows miles per hour intsead of kilometers per hour). Ingmar was driving a leisurely 128 MPH. He said he would have gone faster, but he had his winter tires on the car, and he didn't want to exceed the tolerances. Pity. We could've gone 150 or more if it was summer.

Watching TV shows is like being in America, too. It's the same actors, same scenery, same show titles. Bay Watch, Cheers, et al. Of course their voices all sound funny, and they're speaking German. I didn't know all our actors were so talented - did you know Pamela Anderson Lee and David Hasslehoff both speak German fluently? Of course, their lips don't quite sync up when they speak, but I'm sure with practice, they'll figure that out, too.

The sports are a bit different, though. Last night we had a real treat: jump rope championships. We saw all kinds of tricks that would make us Americans turn green with envy - two ropes at a time, two people at a time, clapping hands while jumping. Wow! And for the finale, someone juggled some volley balls for a long time, then the jump rope team came out, and he JUMPED ROPE WHILE JUGGLING!!!! Makes you wonder why we spend so much time watching football, basketball, hockey, etc. Maybe in a few years, ESPN2 will pick up this awsome programming. Or the Olympics will make it a medal sport. Stay tuned...

Dennis and Dan