i am a canoe

such a shame for mexico yesterday, but i couldn´t say that argentina didn´t play well.....after a few games of footy in the park yesterday we were able to watch the germany game in a cozy biergarten with one of our amazing hosts, steffie and a few of her friends. the kicker table in the back was on about an 80 degree slant but a few canadians joined in the game and with enough rotating around of players i think everyone had a jolly old time....
leipzig being a part of the former east germany has shaped the environment in an astounding way, at some points resembling a run down east-southeast cleveland with very litte money outside of what we have seen of the city center. gutted buildings stand vacant with windows broken and surrounding property completely grown over with weeds and untamed foliage...not a whole lot of people around but it could be that it´s the weekend. maybe something different tomorrow.
again we have had the luck of amazing hosts, they allow us whatever space we might happen to take up and have this rad bathroom with 2 showers and 4 sinks all in a row like a hostel. it´s a beautiful flat and relaxed inhabitants. they set up the footy game the other day with their downstairs neighbors, even though no one from our flat was playing that day....who will be first in the river tomorrow when we go canoing?

Erste Grüßen

[from the train to Hamburg; on 21/6]

well, we've come a long way since our less-than-ideal beginning of our trip, bumming around FRA. i think we aced frankfurt, catching the best sites of the city and walking through the major neighborhoods. i think we picked up the feel of the city pretty well. if nothing else, i feel like we beat our guidebooks combined on what to experience there. sachsenhausen especially was a pleasant neighborhood. but apfelwein: a disappointment.

berlin is a rockin town. even if only for the layout of the city. it feels so wide open and is so magnificent. especially at night. the gemäldegalerie was absolutely amazing. handfuls of works from dozens of renaissance masters. Dürer, Holbein, a bunch of other guys whose names i tried to remember but clearly couldn't... the italian and late renaissance works are just boring compared to the 15th/16th century german/dutch works. and to our good fortune, they had a special exhibit with a whole room full of dürer works and some of his peers.

overall, for my first trip to europe, it's not nearly as exotic as i always figured it would be. we do have the quadruple tag team going on to help each other out, so every problem is much easier to solve. however, i think we've manage to compound our individual powers to get lost, so we certainly do that often. we haven't yet experienced much german cuisine, but i'm sure we'll get plenty of opportunity. everyone speaks plenty of english which is a mixed blessing. we can fully communicate with everyone, but we aren't forced to practice our german as much. overall, having a great time. and two of my most aniticipated cities are comingup next - hamburg and leipzig!

hamburg jetzt!

hallo von hamburg!!!
so i suppose it´s been long enough since i decided to say anything and maybe i could now, eh?
having a blast all around. this country is amazing and the people so far wonderful. the girls on the bikes are worth the trip alone....i suppose.
matt snores sometimes, when no one else does and john´s cozy wasn´t exactly all that but the sunflower hostel worked out nicely and our current location with couchsurfing friends simon and markus is an excellent experience. i personally am looking forward to contributions from both for the gemeinschaftsraum buch that will hopefully be coming out in december through the kevateria. eyes open kids.....
i´ve put together a short list of thoughts while sitting at a cafe the other day and have come up with these conclusions...
i have to come back and visit.
german transportation is much more accessible for everyone
and i have just learned while conversing with simon that there is very little importance placed on owning a car, as per our great conversation about the american land of opposites.
and since i have left my list somewhere else i will finish with that. an amazing post i must say.
on the whole, i am intrigued by germany, the beer, the females on bicycles, the football enthusiasm.....und so weiter....
i think i hear matt snoring
tschuss!

brooklyn, ny. in der Hauptstadt des Weltes

herzlichen Grueßen!!!
und willkommen............
andy, great job, we are now counting the hours until our plane says auf wiedersehen to the vereinigte staaten. and deutschland says willkommen :)
i just need to correct you on one thing, our journey exits the united states on wednesday 14 june, just to be me and make you mad
apart from that,
my favorite performances thus far that i have witnessed,
mexico in the game against iran (played 100% football)
australia in the game against japan (by far the most exciting exiting 10 minutes i've ever experienced)
czech republic in the game against usa (let the yanks know what international soccer means)
i'm wicked excited for out trip, finally started packing today and can't seem to keep my mind out of the clouds.
we're gonna have an amazing trip, staying with some beautiful people and celebrating the beginning of one individuals later twenties. we couldn'tve picked a better time to have a blast fellas, i'm looking forward to the whole shebang...here's a few picks to get us going, this is matt, myself and our friend mike in the few months before our trip......here's to good times, good people, and amazing football......