EFSL Swimming Championships

6-9 Feb - We drove to Berlin on 6 Feb. Great trip and no traffic problems !!! 7 hours

7 Feb - Jamie competed in the 100M IM and improved her time by 1.4 sec. Later in the day, she swam the 200M IM and was slower by 5 sec.

8 Feb - Jamie swam the 50m breast and finished 10th out of 20. She swam the 50m free and was slightly slower and swam the 50m Butterfly. She was going to swim one of the legs of the 200M Freestyle relay with the 15-19 yr old girls but two of the girls were more interested in talking with friends and did not show up for the race so they had to scratch. teenage girls!! We had a great time and Jamie learned alot from the experience.

9 Feb - we took our time and visted the Berlin Dom below. It is the main church in Berlin. Beautiful inside and a nige museum. However, the real treasure is below in the catacombs. The church has numerous German Royalty buried there - several Kaisers to include William II and his wife, numerous princes and their wives and kids. Really interesting beautiful church. It was bombed in WWII but restored. http://www.berlinerdom.de/index.php?lang=en

Then we went to the Egyptian Museum. It was really well done with statues, moasics, mummies, toys, hyroglyphics, etc. They also have the famous bust of Queen Nefertiti http://www.egyptian-museum-berlin.com/a01.php?fs=4.

Jamie and the Most beautiful Woman in Berlin.

After we departed Berlin, we wanted to visit the Potsdam Sanssouci where the Potsdamm conference was held in 1945. However, it is closed on Mondays. We will go there next time. It is the home of King Fredrick the Great also.

We did stop by Wittenberg - yep that Wittenberg where THE Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the door and started the Protestant Reformation. Really nice town, beautiful church on the inside. The original door was destroyed during the 7 yr war in 1760. The new doors were placed in 1858.

We were going to stop by Buchenwald Concentration Camp but we would have been there after they closed. We will stop by later.

Job Shadow Day

5 Feb - Jamie went to work with me for a half day. It is part of the school program so they can see how what they are learning in school applies in the work place. The kids have a questionairre to complete about the job. Most go with family but for those whose working Mom or Dad is deployed, the community sets up other places for them like some units will have displays or activities so it is really a community day.

Jamie helped me put together a class I had to do that afternoon. She was a GREAT help in copying and assemblying the handouts for the class. then she got to brief my boss in our weekly operations meeting. Jamie did very well. She briefed the maintenance status of the 500 items I maintain for US Army Europe. She practiced several times and was prepared for the brief. I am very proud of her. Then we had lunch together at the dining facility. I asked her if she wanted to go to Seckenheim with me to hear my class for 3 hours or go back to school. She said "I'll go back to school - I get enough class from you at home!" funny girl.....no food for her :)))

Jamie ready to brief at the Operations Update to COL Haley - my boss.