We were there in June which was just in time for a festival. To this day, I don't know what they were celebrating, but do they know how to have a party! There were canons, yes, CANONS being shot right outside our hotel. Of course, they were just burning powder charges but the blast was enough to set off every car alarm in the vicinity. How do I know? Well, Caitlin (my roommate) and I were walking back to the hotel and were too distracted to realize where we were walking. We had gone right passed the universal, orange "Don't pass this point, you idiot tourist" sign and ended up directly behind the men discharging the canons. The canons in question were so loud, it took me a second to hear the car alarms going off behind me. I looked up to see that all of the official "string pullers" (because I don't know what else to call them) had their earplugs in, but Caitlin and I were out of luck on that one. Men and women were in traditional dresses and lederhosen and beer flowed freely as long as you were of age. They had bouncers checking ID's in all the beer tents.
The town was one of those small, chapel in the center kind of towns. We ate at the same tavern every day (talk about creatures of habit) and I can't be certain, but I think I ate reindeer on one occasion. If that's what it was, I highly recommend it! One thing I noticed about the German portions is that they can feed two hungry people per serving. Either they were amazed at all of us ordering our own meal or those Germans scan really put it away. I absolutely loved the food there. It was so flavorful that you couldn't overeat. It was like you only keep eating to get more of the flavor, but here that wasn't an issue. The streets were all brick and cobblestone and no cars were really allowed inside. That's one thing I like about Europe, no cars are allowed in the town square...and they have a town square! We spent most of our free time wandering around town trying to find something that looked authentically German with little luck. Everything was pretty much the same as it is in the States as far as trinket stuff. If you're looking for authenticity, go way out of town and find villages if you have time and if you don't, as is my case usually, just shop at the airport. I know, I know, but it's not like any of these places are still in the dark ages, we're all about the same. Heck, I saw a Ford dealership in Slovenia, but that's coming up later. Point is, we're all industrialized and have the same brands. Although, Americans really stick out in these places because we're the only ones who wear T-shirts. Looking down the street, it's really easy to spot my teammates because they'll be the only ones in a hat and T-shirt. Everyone else is just a half step up wearing at least a jacket.Here in Suhl, I had what I would deem the most embarrassing moment of my life a the tender age of.....16? Not quite 17? Young, in any case. You've met my roommate, Caitlin? Yeah, well we wanted to go get some gelato, which if you don't know, is better than ice cream. Our teammates, Sean and Frank knew where a gelato stand was, so I asked Caitlin what room they were staying in so I could ask where this place was. She told me and I dialed the phone and Sean answered, but didn't really say anything intelligible, just muttered, laughed and hung up the phone. Oh, I know he didn't just hang up on me! So I redial and get the same thing! What a jerk! I'm frustrated at this point because I really want gelato and now it's a matter of honor so I walk my little self down to their room and give it the age old, "you better open this door now or you're in trouble" kind of knock. You know, the knock, knock, knock, knock, KNOCK kind of knock? That would be the time that the door opened to reveal, not Sean, but two of the junior Ukrainian skeet shooters. The one who answered the door was obviously the same one who answered the phone because he looked horrified as he waited for his impending doom. I jumped back searching for words when his roommate peeked out from the back of the room saying, "Come in, come in!" and I stammered something like, "Umm...uhh....wrong room!" Meanwhile, Caitlin is standing back at our room in hysterics as she realized she'd given me the incorrect room number. Now, one of my many flaws is my propensity for public embarrassment to boil into rage in the matter of half second. I marched back to my room and pulled Caitlin in with me, asking if she knew the whole time that she was setting me up for failure, like it was the Spanish Inquisition. Needless to say, I wasn't in the mood for gelato after that, but Caitlin felt so bad that she went and got the boys and brought me back some gelato. From that day forward, I would be known as "Min Pin". Some people still call me that but, thankfully, the story as fallen in the ranks of other old stories pulled out only once in a while.
Let's move on to the range. The range was fairly small with a green tree background. To signal the end of the round (because it wasn't obvious enough by shooting the last target) the field would play, "London Bridges". At any one time "London Bridges" could be heard on 3 fields at once. The countryside was what really impressed me. Instead of fences dividing fields, tree lines had been either planted or left. If you've seen Band of Brothers, it looks just like the movie with an open field bordered by two thin tree lines. The country is so old, I couldn't help imagining all that the earth had seen. We had time one day to go up into the mountains to a glass blowing place. This shop had been handed down for generations. The current owner was using the same table that his grandfather had built 100 or more years ago. We watched him make a small elephant with a palm tree, and various orbs. It was so interesting to see it done the old way in a small cabin on an old table.I ended up not shooting too bad for a rookie, but not making the final. I think I ended up with a 65 or something. Suhl has probably been one of my most favorite trips so far. If you get the chance to go there, take it. It's a great place with so much history.
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