Neckarvergnügen, part 3.

Sunday was the third day of the Neckarvergnügen, and the biggest day for us. Not only was Jeannette in the Sunday dragon boat races, but we were hosting our first party in Germany. The rationale was that our balcony sat at the mid-point of the races, and it would be a perfect place to enjoy a beer and cheer her team on. Funny thing is that on Friday, when we got home from work, there was a fence between our balcony and the river. The view was pretty limited. To make matters worse, on Saturday during the professional races, they would not even let people without special wrist bands down by the river to watch the race. I was all set for disappointment, but as luck would have it, on Sunday the security wasn't so tight (presumably since the races that day were non-professional), and even so, Jeannette managed to scrape up a wrist band for me. So, I was a terrible host and ran off every couple hours to photograph the races. This first picture is near the finish line of the 3rd race - Jeannette's team is in blue. They came in a very close 2nd on that race, putting them in 5th place overall, out of 9 teams.


If you ever wondered why they call them dragon boats, here is your clue. This photo is after the first race. Jeannette is signalling what everyone thought - that her team came in first. Unfortunately, the offical race masters declared that they came in 2nd.


I think this is where they learned that it was only 2nd place on the 1st race. I say this from the several looks of disappointment in this picture. Except my always ethusiastic co-worker Heinrich, who is looking right at me in this picture.


Finally, another one with Jeannette looking very cheerful.

To wrap it up, the party was quite a success, I think. Jeannette's excellent cooking was appreciated by all, and it was a perfect day for sitting on the balcony, drinking radlers and chatting with friends in between the dragon boat races.