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TheKop wrote:Last picture is Ricky Rubio with Paul?

October 15, 2008
Hornets Director of Basketball Communications Dennis Rogers provides us with an up-close look at the team’s weeklong trip to Germany and Spain:

Cheers from the Palau Saint Jordi Arena in Barcelona, Spain, where the Hornets are going through an afternoon practice as I write this. We just arrived in Barcelona late Tuesday night, or better yet, early Wednesday morning. Our plane took off at around midnight and arrived here in Barcelona at 2:30 a.m. local time (seven hours later than NOLA time). Once we got through security, rode on the buses and got to the hotel, it was 4 a.m. Once our bags went through security and up to our rooms, it was 6:45 a.m. Needless to say, we are a little tired today, but we are in a beautiful city, staying on the beach and it is 75 degrees and sunny outside!

ARRIVING IN BERLIN
From the moment we stepped foot in Berlin, we were welcomed with open arms. We arrived Sunday at 9 a.m., after an exhausting 11-hour trip from New Orleans. Most of us didn’t get much sleep while on the plane, so it would have been easy to hit the bed. However, we had to try to get adjusted to the time difference, so most everyone stayed up, ate together and got ready for an intense two-hour practice at Max-Schmeling-Halle in Berlin.

TAKING IN THE CITY
Berlin has so much history and beauty, it is hard to comprehend. We stayed at the Ritz Carlton near Brandenburg Gate, so it was a prime spot in the city. Just steps outside of our hotel were pieces of the Berlin Wall. To imagine that it was just 20 years ago that Germany was split into two by the Berlin Wall is amazing. The city has changed so much in 20 years, with new buildings everywhere, but at the same time, much of the original architecture and beauty remains. On Monday after practice, we had the opportunity to take a two-hour city tour through Berlin. We had two buses and they were packed with players and Hornets staff. Everyone was interested to learn as much as they could on our experience in this city. After the two-hour tour, many people went an hour outside of the city to see a concentration camp that was used during Hitler’s regime. Words can’t describe how horrific it looked and what those people went through. David West in particular was soaking as much knowledge as possible.

CP IS WORLDWIDE
I had the opportunity to tag along after our city tour on Monday with CP3 and some Jordan Brand folks and go to an appearance at the Berlin Niketown. The moment we walked in, wow! The store was packed. It looked like Bourbon Street on Fat Tuesday… there were wall-to-wall fans. CP did a couple media interviews, then did a Q&A with the crowd and finally signed many autographs for his fans in Europe. Overall, the event was a huge success and showed the popularity of CP, the Hornets and the NBA in Europe. A couple of our other players had just as successful appearances around the city. Mo Pete had an appearance at a local KFC, while Tyson had a one-hour appearance at a local Foot Locker.