deutsche blogophon

how this worked for us......

2006-08-29T21:50:00.000+02:00

i will add my final post now, as the summer winds down, as i soon begin a formal german class in a few weeks, and as i host my first hospitality club folks........
i am often amazed thinking back to how we, four goofy not quite grown up footy enthusiasts, managed as well as we did as we traversed a country none of us had been to or really knew the language of (i am discounting our efforts matt, but not because we didn't try, certainly we put in work). as i have hospitality club kids with me currently i realize just how good we were at being house guests, at taking care of ourselves, asking the right questions, cleaning up after ourselves as if we knew how nice it is to not clean up after other people, offering to cook dinners, treat to a night out, requiring nothing more than floor space and a smile. i am sad to say my current guests are reinforcing the hit or miss of hosp.club. (air ball)
so i want to allow myself this opportunity to wonder about when we four can travel again next. certainly something worked about our odd combination, the fact that matt and andy had never met mike before seemed trivial, a mere speck of dust passing in the wind.....and most of all i want to thank everyone, matt, andy, mike, the hosp.club(ers) that we stayed with and the friends we made (little miss fourty percent comes to mind, she's doing well by the way, i think she's in azerbijan).... you all made this trip so worth it.......
until the next time my friends :)

L'ultima?

2006-07-20T21:12:00.000+02:00

Well, folks...we've all been back in the states for more than a week now, and the future of this travelogue is in question. What will become of it? Will it be abandoned? Will it lay dormant until another epic trip featuring one or more of us? The world may never know.

What can be said at this point is this: going to the World Cup this summer was a fantastic experience for all of us and it's something that we'll never forget. We have pictures and stories and this blog to show for it, and countless priceless experiences.

I was thinking about posting a few things I learned on the trip or some sort of Top 5 list, but the time for that has passed. If the other fellows on this thing ever get around to posting a 'final' entry, perhaps they'll do something of that type. However, here are two things that I'd like to share.

1. Never take public water fountains for granted.
2. Never take free public bathrooms for granted.

And in closing, here are some appropriate photos.
Prost!

(Fin)

Superfantastiche Photo Uberpost!!

2006-07-14T21:25:00.001+02:00

So, after combing through the archives and Mike's memory card, I have compiled some never-before-seen photos of our trip! In some cases during our travels we didn't have enough time to upload these, or maybe there wasn't a computer with a USB port, or maybe the port was disabled or some other kind of annoying situation. It is with great pride, then, that I present this Photo Uberpost for your enjoyment...complete with captioney goodness!

Taken in the Munich modern art museum...

Matt has electric teeth!!

Beating up Mike in Cologne.

My favorite cup of detergent! Ask me about it sometime.

The procession to watch the Brazil vs Ghana match in Dortmund.

I have no idea what this guy's thing is.

After beating the Czech Republic and the USA, Ghana fans were excited, and a bit too sure of themselves. Brazil beat them without even trying 3-0.

Kev making the only face he ever makes in photos.

Displaying the sheer brilliance of my photography in Leipzig.

Matt getting strapped into a giant wheel.

Dog is driving! How can that be??

More beautiful Salzburg.

Still more Salzburg.

The massively massive Berliner Dom.

Mike is an actor.

The magic of the self-timer!

The famed Lightning Ball and Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.

Somewhere in Berlin.

The veteran Luis Figo takes a corner kick against Iran.

The four dudes, plus our buddy Dave a row behind, at the Portugal vs Iran match.

Our ball got confiscated, but we got it back after the game. Mike's water bottle was not so lucky.

Suggestive graffiti in Frankfurt.

Jesus loves Germans, too.

Matt and me trying to look cool in front of a fountain in Frankfurt.

Well, that's about it for now. Hopefully, we can get the other dudes to write a short closing post, and then I'll conclude with a couple more choice photos. I think I'm just about totally recovered, and it feels good to be back in some ways. Oh yeah, American beer sucks.

Stuttgart, Ulm and Frankfurt...

2006-07-12T20:56:00.000+02:00

Seems a bit silly to recap things after we've already been back for a couple of days, but there were some exhaustion and lack of internet on airplane issues recently, so I believe this is the only way the last few days of our journey can be recounted.

When we last left our brave heroes, three of them had reunited in Salzburg and continued to Stuttgart for the final game of the 5 they saw during the tournament. On the way, we had several spare hours, so we journeyed to Ulm, between Munich and Stuttgart, and climbed another giant church and had a good meal. Ulm is also prominently mentioned in an old Monty Python sketch, so I was glad to actually visit the town.

In Stuttgart, we stayed with more fantastic people. Big thanks to Anne, Fred, Stefan and Johannes for showing us a great time and being overwhelmingly hospitable!

The night we arrived, the university in Stuttgart, where our hosts attend, had its "Long Night of Science". This is an all-night event featuring cool science demonstrations of all kinds. We saw homemade fireworks, a chemistry demonstration involving gummi bears and a robotics exhibit with a bunch of soccer-playing robots.

The following day was epic. Our long-lost buddy Mike returned to us from Switzerland, and the reunion was tearful and emotional. We managed to acquire some face paint before heading to our final match: the third place game featuring Germany and Portugal. To see the host country play in the World Cup is a treat beyond explanation. But let me note that of the 50,000 fans in the Stuttgart stadium, approximately 49,000 of them were supporting the German team. It was quite a scene. Maybe the best part for me was that Oliver Khan, the Germans' back-up keeper and a standout in the 2002 World Cup when he was the starter, played the whole game and was magnificent! The crowd clearly loves him and it's amazing that the Germans have two of the best keepers in the world on their team. Anyone who can beat out Khan for the starting gig must walk on water. Lehmann, Khan's replacement, did as much until the loss to Italy.

That day was also notable because it was Kevin's birthday! After the game, a stunning 3-0 victory for Germany, we checked out the amazing amounts of celebration in the streets of Stuttgart and went to a couple of clubs. Before we knew it the sun was almost up.

The next day, after getting a bit of sleep, we headed out to and returned to Frankfurt, completing our month-long circuit of Germany. For the final, we returned to a little Apfelwein tavern on the far side of the river that we had been to in our first days. It was nice to avoid the insane crowds, unlike the night before. After getting lost and almost losing my cool, Mike and I met up with the other two guys and we had some good beers and enjoyed the game on a small but suitable screen.

At the time of Zindane's headbutt, I don't think any of us realized it would be such a sensation. It just seemed like another red card to me at the time. However, considering the importance of the game and the fact that it was Zidane's last game playing for France, the fact that the story is now EVERYWHERE in all forms of media is not surprising. Already, an internet game has been released where the player controls Zidane and must headbutt a swarm of advancing Matarazzis. Wow.

After the dramatic win by Italia, we waded through the crowds and meandered back to our hostel to grab a quick 5 hours of sleep before we had to get up and catch our plane. We got one last group photo of our beloved ball before we all signed it and stashed it in a train station locker. We kept the key, too. Some lucky soul will find it and be baffled, or touched...or neither.

The nearly endless journey home is now behind us, but I don't think my neck has recovered yet from those goddamned plane seats.

In a few days more, I'll post again with some more photos that we didn't have before, and I hope Kevin and Matt will give a sort of sign-off message. We'll discuss the future of Deutscheblogophon as well.

Until then, I am continuing to readjust to this American humidity and omnipresence of public water fountains.

insert cliche ending moral thingy here

2006-07-11T21:51:00.000+02:00

well..........

that happened.

having had what might be described as an afternoon to recover i think maybe that's just how it feels and i don't know if i'm really a fan of using the word recover as if i were sick or just came home from the hospital and not one of the most amazing journeys i've ever been on no actually thanks but i'd rather not recover.
andy will post some pictures to be sure, i will keep thinking for now about the trip and maybe later shall i post something

The Circle is Now Complete...

2006-07-11T20:42:00.000+02:00

Right...

Sorry about the dealy in updates, dear readers, but we've been far too busy staying up all night and flying in aeroplanes the last few days to do anything about it.

In short time, a review of the last few days of our journey will be published, including a fantastic time in Stuttgart, our triumphant return to Frankfurt for the final, and some thoughts on what has already become the most famous headbutt of all time.

ITALIA ITALIA!

And later this week, some closing remarks from all of us, including some never-before-seen photos!

Wunderbar!

05.07.06 - 07.07.06 Salzburg

2006-07-07T21:57:00.000+02:00

So the trip into Austria was a huge success by all accounts! Matt and I chilled in the Old City, hiked up to a wicked fortress, ate some goulaschsuppe drank some Stiegel! We also caught the second semi-final between France and Portugal and learned that Portugal will face Germany tomorrow in Stuttgart for our final game!

Also in Austria, we hung out at numerous cafes and surveyed many large churches. I also wasted some money going to a shitty Mozart museum and we got rained on. Below are some pictures. Today and tomorrow we are in Stuttgart, then back to Frankfurt! The trip is nearing its end and I think I might be too tired to know how I feel about that.

und osterreich auch!

2006-07-07T21:38:00.000+02:00

austria is awesome!
great idea andy to check out salzburg for a couple days. and the food is killer.

in the shadows of churches

2006-07-06T12:15:00.000+02:00

holy smokes i need a shower......
this is kermit the frog here reporting to you live from vienna austria.....where they have almost successfully roped all the big old things into one main area, finally somebody was thinking.
arriving here yesterday just in time to walk right through a film shoot, consider asking for work and then meet my host florian and a few of his flatmates near the donau kanal not the neue donau (danube for the straight english volks). i thought i was learning german but i must say this is austrian and while it bares a slight bit of resemblence to standard german it is not. but this is a beautiful city and the internet here is wicked cheap so this may be another long rambling post from the kevateria.......
i think one of my initial comments to florian was how many young people i apparently thought i saw here which i think he proceeded to chuckle at saying that was funny since wien is notable or was up until about 10 years ago for how many old people lived there. i guess they all died since then though i have to admit to seeing many more older people today but it was still early and maybe the youngins were sleeping....but matt would enjoy the churches here for sure there being two gothic churches completely under construction so not worth the pictures fellas no worries but only half the size of the koelner dom so all in all except that they were beautiful to look at you´ve seen the koelner dom and that takes the cake and the icing too.....in fact i don´t hesitate to say i´ve found the biggest construction site yet of the entire trip if ever there was one the whole Fing city is under construction or at least most of the churches and city center buildings and monuments seemingly a push to facilitate what was started maybe 15 years ago as florian explained it to me - not the construction sites but what follows about the mayor - about 15 or so years ago wien got a new mayor who was leaning social democrat in a previously staunch conservative christian state and since then things such as nightlife have made their way into the commonplace things like street cafes and biergartens were previously unheard of but i asked if this continued today with the current mayor and he replied yes but he had a funny theory that he attributed to a professor of his from muenchen that maybe it is possible that the current mayor in fact does not exist in reality explaining further that he is rarely if ever seen publicly or on television and is sometimes shown in pictures but always drinking a bier and looking almost as a stereotype of the austrian kitchen meaning Fleisch und Bier amost every day and having the shape of a slightly older man meaning what we might refer to as a beer gut and so i found this komisch and asked if florian believed this also and he says maybe yes this mayor doesn´t exist in reality......imagine Bloomberg.......hmmm....but anyway my own theory has developed into that this physical construction is maybe a near last step in faciliting the demographic change the city here has been undergoing the last whatever some years......
and somebody think about this the best restaurant i have ever personally been privy to called 'all you can eat pay what you want' and cut my tongue off if i am joking excellent indian food self-service eat as much as you want and then estimate what you think you want to owe free water mostly vegetarian vegan amazing interior space off the main street and didn´t seem to be people there to take advantage of it and i don´t mean take advantage of the experience i mean take advantage of the establishment and eat them out of house and home which i pictured happening if we tried something like this in nyc everyone feeling they are most deserving....and the city bikes are clunky and old and don´t go very fast but are most certainly free to use for the first hour and everywhere in wien is accessible within less than one hour easy go to the closest u-bahn station swipe your card pick your bike ride wherever you are going find the closest u-bahn station and return the bike do your thing go back to the station repeat never pay for public transport and get exercise daily take two of these and call me in the morning.
i´ll see you shortly in salzburg fellas mike boogie down geneva birthday in stuttgart.............love you all

03.07.06 - 05.07.06 Munich

2006-07-05T10:27:00.000+02:00

Well, we're about finished here in Munich, and what a fantastic place it is! Surely we have been spoiled by the good beer and the fun times in this green city. Since our last episode, Matt and our buddy Chis and I went on a fun bike tour of the city. Also, a fantastic and exhausting day was spent running around in the sun in the English Garden, Munich's massive park that makes Central Park look like my backyard.

On a football note, much has happened. I neglected to mention it last time, but Brazil is gone, and we couldn't be happier. However, the Brazilians will quite naturally support Portugal from here on in, so I imagine they still have a reason to make a lot of noise and be passionate about something. Also, the picture for the final game we will witness in person, the third place match, has become a bit clearer.
We will see the German team play either France or Portugal! Meanwhile, my second favorite team, Italy, will play for the final! Forzza Italia!

Today, we split up again, and we are going to another country for a couple of days.
Matt and I will go to Salzburg while Kevin will continue on to Vienna to stay with some rad Hospitality Club folks. Matt and I like the idea of a shorter trainride and a bit more time in a somewhat more managable city, and Kev wants to meet some more German speakers and pretty girls and such. Understandable all the way around, I think. Our next report will likely be from Austria!

fahrraederinen

2006-07-03T11:18:00.000+02:00

so suess.
sowieso,
in muenchen jetzt, a most interesting atmosphere. i´m not sure i´ve ever seen so much big old stuff just pop up out of nowhere before. oops there´s another big ass old thinger oh and wait turn your head the other way and there´s a lot more but don´t trip over the cute bike girls and watch out for andy´s head as the tram comes.....
yesterday i took off for a little walk of my own as the other fellas went ahead on this bike tour thingy and had a few thoughts come to mind. first off i was reminded a bit of san francisco, the buildings being built about as tall and spread out in a similar fashion...meaning 20-30 stories lower than manhattan buildings and space to breath air and not exhaust such a novel concept that is...i also began thinking about what it would be like to ride a bike here..as an avid maybe a little less than avid rider in the city i began to think about how flat muenchen is and how possible it would be to ride a single gear, fixed or otherwise...then began to realize that many people back in nyc ride this kind of bike for the image it portrays and surely i am just as much a part of that yet it also means much less maintanence if only i could spell..but riding the aforementioned bike also denotes a style in which many people in nyc ride that being rough, abrasive, nearly combative competing for space with cars who pay little to no attention talk on their mobiles abuse turn signals and stop lights alike...the near exact opposite of here with bike lanes built into and marked as part of the sidewalk or street they go everywhere, very few people ride in the street if a bike lane is present and not many people seem caught up in the style of their bike or their riding everyone has thicker than racing tires mostly cyclecross or all terain tires and the bikes correspond....cryptonite locks don´t exist and since everyone already has and uses a bike probably don´t need to bikes remain locked either to themselves or quickly to some nearby post or one of the absurdly abundant bike parking thingies....so then i began to think about riding my bike here as it is now, single gear free wheel racing tires seat over the handlebars and how would i ride put into this situation (insert beginning of metaphor here) and figured i´d just be out vying with traffic watching out for the tram tracks and trying not to get into an accident because i was looking at the cute girl on the bike and not the road.......and wouldn´t that just be damned american of me to introduce our agressive riding style into an already long established pacifist perfectly viable system. chameleons we should all be when entering a proven system it is certainly not mine (ours) to change most likely for the worse....so i decided i would keep my bike because it offers me the most comfort riding but would most likely end up on the designated paths......
i shall continue
briefly to mention that the public transport systems here also appear to run much smoother comparitively with nyc with multiple systems available, the s-bahn, u-bahn, tram and bus and this being just the local transport so this is not to mention the smoothness of travel we´ve experienced with the regional and ICE trains....more thoughts vielleicht spaeter i think i´ve used up my thought processes

München

2006-07-02T17:48:00.000+02:00

münchen.

i remarked to kev how if feels like we finally made it to our destination. here at the start of our 'extended' (5-dayish) stay in münchen, the previous couple weeks seem like we've been in transit. it's all just anticipation for a slower paced next several days.

as for the previous few cities, hamburg and leipzig lived fully up to the expectations i had for them. the weather was a bit cold and dreary in hamburg, but otherwise it was a real nice town.

we all wished we could have spent another day there to see more of the city, but there were other towns to be visited. like leipzig. we had about 4 days there so slowed things down a bit. enough for liesurely activities like a game of football, cooking a meal ourselves, and canoeing. speaking of which, 'canoeing' seems to be kayaking over here, we found out as we got in the boats. not as fun, but the river was certainly nice. mike and i perfected floating with the current.

then köln. köln is fucking amazing. we had the perfect introduction - stepping out of the train station to the foot of the kölner dom. the dom is the greatest man-made structure i have ever seen. and my theory is that such a magnificent cathedral towering always over a city has to have an awesome impact on it. because köln is just about perfect. remnants of medieval and even roman towers and gates all over the city, striking cathedrals, inventive modern architecture. i certainly had a splendid time anyway.

then down the rhein to bacharach. what an amazing follow-up. medieval castles speckled among quaint cities and vineyard-covered mountain sides. all on a gorgeous river so rich with history. biking alongside it was breathtaking (well, until it started raining).

so it's münchen now. and after a pair of nights this city looks like it has everything.

oh, we did stop in dortmund for several hours before köln. and, if anyone is ever thinking of going to dormund, talk to one of us for suggestions on what to do. like don't go there.

Munich 02.07.06 and photo recap

2006-07-02T17:31:00.000+02:00

Finally!

I have found a good connection so photos can be uploaded. Here is a photo review of the last several days, beginning with the end of our stay in Leipzig.

We had a great dinner on our last night, cooked by Kev and enjoyed by all.

Next, we were in Dortmund for the Brazil vs. Ghana game...notice the 2 drinks per person ratio.

From there is was off to Cologne, where we marveled at the modern and historic architecture and walked a lot.

From Cologne, we took a train to Bacharach, a tiny town right on the Rhine river. We stayed in an amazing hostel in a castle! It was quite a hike up to the place with our packs, but we were awarded with some stunning views. We rented bikes and rode for many miles along the river until it began to rain, but it was a fun time nonethless! Also at this point, Mike had split off and gone to Switzerland, we'll meet back up with him soon. Here are a lot of pictures from Bacharach.

After a great day in Bacharach, we proceeded accross Germany to Munich, where we have spent the last 2.5 days. It's shaping up to be my favorite city yet. Our first night, after the German team won, a seemingly random and crazy street party happened on some of the main streets. Today, we met up with our friend Chris from high school, who is travelling in Europe as well. More Munich to come, but for now, enjoy!

We've got a few more days in Munich before deciding on our next destination, which might be Austria. Until next time!

Cologne/Bacharach/Munich 28.06.06-1.07.06

2006-07-01T11:48:00.000+02:00

Well, we have arrived in Munich.
I had planned to do a bit of a photo collage to go over the last couple of days, but it is forbidden and impossible to upload anything on these locked-down hostel computers, so it must wait until later.

Until then, we'll be exploring Munich and trying to get a bit of exercise to work off the excess calories, if you know what I mean. Also, and as the pictures will hopefully prove, there's nothing quite like walking the streets of the World Cup host country immediately after a dramatic victory by the home team. Madness!

Leipzig/Dortmund?Cologne 26.06.06-28.06.06 Take 2

2006-06-28T19:03:00.000+02:00

Okay then...

The computer I'm using deleted my first version of this post, so here we go again. Also, photos will have to be added later because this connection is extra slow.

Yesterday, we ended our stay in Leipzig rather nicely. Kev made a great dinner for everyone and we all had a great time sitting around and drinking wine and making fun of American sports and so on...Thanks to our friends there for putting us up, and for putting up with us!

Also yesterday, we witnessed our fourth game. In Dortmund, we saw the Brazil vs. Ghana game. I won't go into details except that the score was Brazil 3 - Ghana 0. Instead, I'd like to comment on Brazil fans and how many of them suck.

Being a Brazil fan is very, very easy. The team is talented, high-scoring and fun to watch. They put on quite a show for the spectators. Oh yeah, and they win almost every time they step onto the field. It's almost guaranteed. Because of this, Brazil fans have an easy life, and some of them seem like spoiled brats to me. Being from Cleveland, and a supporter of its sports teams, I know what its like to follow a team through the ups and downs, wins and losses. I'm especially used to weathering important losses...World Series, basketball and football playoffs. The full range of human emotions are there...all the way from joy to pain. For Brazil fans, there is only joy, because they lose so rarely. So perhaps its understandable that I got a bit annoyed yesterday by the screaming, horn-blowing multitudes wearing yellow and green. Anyone who is from Brazil or who has a legitimate connection to Brazil is exempt from this rant, but to anyone who is new to soccer or is looking for a team to support in the World Cup, don't choose Brazil. There are so many emotions to be experienced in soccer besides joy, and you should check them out.

We didn't stay in Dortmund last night, and instead continued on to Cologne, where we remain until tomorrow. Our trip from Dortmund to Cologne was a bit crowded, but we made it, and our hostel is very close to the biggest cathedral in Germany, so the views are stunning. More pictures and Cologne recounts will follow in the future.

i am a canoe

2006-06-25T20:31:00.001+02:00

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?

23.06.06 - 25.06.06 Leipzig

2006-06-25T20:13:00.000+02:00

Yo!

We're in Leipzig now and still having a blast...we witnessed the Mexico vs. Argentina game last night and it was quite dramatic. Despite the Argentine jerks sitting in front of us, we managed to fully enjoy the game, with perhaps the most passionate fans we have seen thus far. Even though Mexico lost due to a magnificent goal by Maxi Rodruigez of Argentina in overtime, we were compelled to support our Southern neighbors and wear green to the game. Sadly, my camera batteries ran out right before the game began, but some good shots survived.

Also yesterday we watched the German team play. This is something to be seen, because when they win, which has been very common in this tournament, the whole city goes nuts and people drive around with flags flying from their cars and they yell and make noise and...drink. We watched the game in a biergarten with some natives and it was amazing. Thanks to Steffie for helping us get away from the tourists!

We're staying with some more fantastic and generous German people here in Leipzig, which was formally in East Germany. We played some football with a few German guys the other day, and took a bit of a tour today, before a couple of very important second round games: England vs. Ecuador and Netherlands vs. Portugal!

We have one more day in Leipzig before heading off to Dortmund for Ghana vs. Brazil. We might go canoeing tomorrow, or go to the coffee museum, or both...
Thanks for viewing...I hope we have more than a couple of readers, so leave a comment. Jeez!

22.06.06 Hamburg

2006-06-23T12:52:00.000+02:00

Well...a lot happened yesterday.

Most importantly, the US team is out of the tournament, which is very disappointing, but not too surprising. They played pretty well, but were ultimately brought down by a Ghana team that is stronger than anyone thought.

We saw our second game yesterdy, Italy vs. Czech Republic, and it was awesome!! Italy won 2-0 and we all lost our voices from yelling so much.

In other news, Hamburg is our favorite city in Germany so far! It's gorgeous and historic and has beautiful parks. Also, there is a Lego store!! Extra thanks to Markus and Simon for putting us up and showing us around. Last night we went bar-hopping around the infamous Reeperbahn...fortunately, there is no photographic evidence of this excursion. Instead, please enjoy this picture of legos.

Now that the first round of the World Cup is almost complete, here are the next two games we'll be seeing.
24.06.06 Leipzig Argentina vs. Mexico
27.06.06 Dortmund Brazil vs. Ghana

I don't cheer for the New York Yankees, and I don't cheer for Brazil.
And now, off to Leipzig.

Erste Grüßen

2006-06-23T12:35:00.000+02:00

[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!

2006-06-22T00:30:00.001+02:00

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!

20.06.06 und 21.06.06 Berlin und Hamburg

2006-06-21T23:54:00.000+02:00

Righto...here are a bunch of pictures from Berlin as promised. Yesterday, we ended our stay in Berlin nicely at a really cool hostel called the Sunflower. It's in East Berlin, which has much less glitz, but a lot more personality than the rest of the city. We went to a couple of museums, then watched some soccer and drank some beers...what else is new?

Today we arrived in Hamburg. We are staying with some really great guys who are putting us up for free. More on Hamburg later...here are some photos from the last few days.

Tomorrow we go to the Italy vs Czech Republic game in Hamburg. A win for Italy, combined with a win for the U.S. against Ghana, will put the U.S. through to the second round. Needless to say, tomorrow is an important day!!

18.06.06 und 19.06.06. Berlin.

2006-06-20T00:20:00.000+02:00

Sorry! No pictures this time...at least not until we figure out how to upload things using a computer that is all in German! We'll update again soon with photos!

It wasn't clear in the last post, but we ended up in Berlin a day after we origianally planned. We took a cross-country train from Frankfurt to Berlin and arrived lated in the afternoon on Sunday. After checking into our cozy little hostel, we immediately found some good old fashioned German Italian food, and then headed into the center of town for Fan Fest and the matches of that evening. Fan Fest in Berlin was much larger than the one in Frankfurt, and there were several large high definition screens showing the games. There was a lot of moderately priced food and drink and a great atmosphere of football and celebration.

I'll break here to talk about food. We have had a sausage or two, and some pizza, and sandwiches and saurkraut etc...but do far, the best food in Germany is the fallafel! There is a large middle-eastern and Turkish population in Germany, and especially in Berlin. A good fallafel on amazing bread can be had at any hour of the night for the equivalent of $3. Fantastiche!

Today, the 19th, we did a good tour all around Berlin, saw the Reichstag and the Brandenburg Gate (also the location of FanFest). We also played some mad ball in the giant park in the middle of Berlin. It's called the Tiergarten, and is considered the largest urban park in the world! After that, a little dinner at the hostel and some good conversation with an English guy we met there. We will spend tomorrow in Berlin as well, before moving on to Hamburg for our second game, Italy vs. Czech Republic!!

On a World Cup note, the tournament grows more exciting every day. Tomorrow, at some pub or another, we'll watch the German team play. It should be quite a time, considering that we're in Germany right now. The first round is quickly winding down, and soon, we'll know which teams we'll be seeing for our games #3 and #4.

That's it for now. Pitures to follow!!

Frankfurt und Weisbaden. 17.6.06

2006-06-18T03:11:00.000+02:00

Yesterday concluded in Frankfurt with some good apfelwein and Hand Kaese mit Muzik , which is a spicy cheese covered in onions and vinegar, served with bread and butter. You can guess what the 'Muzik' is...

After that, another spin through Frankfurt and we played some more footy and watched the other two matches for the day...we turned in a bit early in anticipation of the next day's match between Portugal and Iran, for which we had tickets!!

Today we witnessed our first World Cup match, and what a match it was! Portugal defeated Iran 2-0, but the game could have gone either way at any point. The fanatacism surrounding both sides was something to be seen and the game itself was spectacular...the World Cup isn't called the world's greatest sporting event for nothing!

We met our buddy Dave for the match...he went to high school with several of us. And afterwards, we all caught the train to Wiesbaden, a quaint and beautiful town on the Rhein. We had a fantastic meal at Dave's place and checked up on the US Team's eventual tie with a powerful Italy side. Complicated mathematics and goal differentials aside, the US could conceiveably make it through to the next round! All is not lost!

After the game, we all had a great evening in Wiesbaden, consisting of several bars, both Americanized and not...the picture tells the story.

Frankfurt. 16.6.06

2006-06-16T17:24:00.000+02:00

Greetings from Germany!!

After a long but not too unpleasant flight, we finally arrived in Germany yesterday afternon. After a bit of trouble figuring out our transportation, we got to our hotel and had a fantastic first night. The hotel is situated a bit outside the city in a slightly spooky office park. It's a quick trainride into the city, and that's where we've spent all of the day so far. Fittingly, our first meal in Germany consisted of pizza.
We did a good leisurely foot tour of Frankfurt, bought a soccer ball and played a little-perhaps illegally-in a public square. We then made our way down to the river Main where giant screens showed the Argentia-Serbia game (an embarrisingly impressive victory for Argentina.

So far, I'm very impressed with this country, the transportation, and that everyone has been most helpful. Kevin and Matt certainly have a better command of the language than either Mike or I, but we are still fortunate that a lot of English is spoken here.
More and better posts are to come later. We finally found an internet cafe here in Frankfurt, and so the posts will hopefully be more frequent from here on out.
Tomorrow, we not only see our first game (Portugal-Iran), but we also hop a cross-country train bound for Berlin. More to come later! Prost!

Brooklyn. 14/6/06

2006-06-14T19:24:00.000+02:00

After a nice little train ride (Amtrak is better than you might think, but it is far too expensive), I have arrived in New York and met up with two of the other hooligans. In a mere 8 hours, we depart for Germany! Until then, there is much lounging, last- minute preparing, and shooting the shit to be done. And in a couple of hours, Germany plays Poland in what will surely be a very heated match, considering the history and vicinity of those two countries.

brooklyn, ny. in der Hauptstadt des Weltes

2006-06-14T00:37:00.000+02:00

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......

Baltimore. 13/6/06

2006-06-13T20:52:00.000+02:00

The Tournament So Far...

Great! Here we are...the World Cup still in its first few days and already, it sucks to be an American. More on this in a moment. We're all still in the States until tomorrow, but I've had a chance to watch at least a little bit of many of the games. Those games that I can't see because of work have either been periodically checked via the interweb or by taking strategic lunch breaks. I would never claim to be a full-fledged expert, but I have made a few observations thus far:

Teams that are very impressive (that I've watched play): Germany, Czech Republic, Italy
Teams that were not impressive in their first match: England, Sweden, Japan
Teams that might just suck unless they can prove otherwise when they play Italy on Saturday: USA

The FIFA Coca Cola rankings (in which the US is placed 5th in the world) mean absolutely nothing. Nothing.
Next time someone mentions it, slap him/her.

In addition to these simple thoughts, I should add that watching this tournament is always a lot of fun for me. I pay close attention to every game that I can, and I might be able to tell you the score of every game so far. I also enjoy reading commentary in various publications about games and players in the tournament, even though I think a lot of the writers are full of garbage.

That being said, let me address the trainwreck that was the US Team's loss to Czech Republic yesterday. Clearly the Americans faced an elite and highly-skilled Czech team that is well-regarded in Europe. Clearly the Czechs have several world class players, especially Midfielder Pavel Nedved and 24 year old goalkeeper Petr Cech. Clearly all cylinders were clicking for them yesterday during the game. However, I don't think anyone expected a 3-0 result in which the American team looked like a bunch of scared kids who couldn't pass. Considering the recent play of the US Team during qualifying, many fans and journalists were predicting a tie or even better for this match. WRONG WRONG WRONG!!

The Czech team scored three magnificent goals, and they were all different.
The first one came off a header from this guy:

This is Jann Koller...it's difficult to tell the scale in this photo, but he's just about tall enough to play center for the New York Knicks.
The other two goals came off the foot of Thomas Rosicky. The first, from at least 35 yards out, was a beautiful nightmare of a shot the seemed to knuckle away from the diving American keeper Casey Keller. The third goal featured a Rosicky breakaway after a cute assist from Nedved.
The Americans, on the other hand, produced little to smile about. There were several nice shots, but nothing that could be called a 'consistent attack'.

Alas, if the Americans hope to stay in this World Cup, they absolutely cannot lose to Italy later this week. A tie will keep them in for a moment, but just barely. Indeed, to advance to the next round, that US Team that was somehow so highly ranked must actually show up, and the players that are so media-friendly yet yield so few results must now step up and score some freaking goals.

Lastly, I hated the running commentary on this game. John O' Brien, when he wasn't rattling off some useless bit of World Cup trivia, was effectively declaring the game over before halftime. Even though we all suspected in to be true, we don't want to hear it from the guy calling the game. Thankfully, Marcello Balboa, a former defender for the US Team, was there to inject a bit of reason into the game when O'Brien made silly sweeping generalizations or otherwise sounded like a jackass. In conclusion, I really don't think the American style of broadcasting sports applies well AT ALL to soccer. I don't need to hear every five minutes how no team has ever advanced after losing their opening match (except Turkey in 2002). And I don't need to hear how Casey Keller is 'one of the best goalkeepers in the world' when his opponent made the American strikers look like children, while Keller was beaten three times.

Here's a hilarious bit from the Simpsons many years ago...it satirically sums up the overall American attitude towards soccer, I think.

Baltimore. 12/6/06

2006-06-13T04:03:00.000+02:00

Welcome to Deutsche Blogophon!

First things first: I don't like the word 'blog', so from this point forward, this internet journal will be referred to as a 'travelogue' or an 'internet location from which important information concerning certain events can be obtained'. Maybe we'll stick with that first one.

Anyway, the purpose of this travelogue is to document the epic journey to the World Cup in Germany undertaken by myself and at least two other individuals.

Even though the tournament has already begun, our journey has not. On Wednesday, June 14th(edit), we depart from New York City and arrive in Frankfurt, Germany. From there, and for 3.5 glorious weeks, we shall not rest until every corner of Germany has been explored/exploited, and every ounce of that fine unfiltered beer has been consumed. Additionally, we intend to watch a shitload of soccer, as tickets to five games have been obtained.

Tune your brains to the following games for a chance to catch a fleeting glimpse of us...
Or, tune in because you like soccer. Whatever:

17-Jun-06
Frankfurt
Portugal vs. Iran

22-Jun-06
Hamburg
Italy vs. Czech Republic

24-Jun-06
Leipzig
Round of 16 (teams to be determined)

27-Jun-06
Dortmund
Round of 16 (teams to be determined)

8-Jul-06
Stuttgart
Third Place Match (teams to be determined)

This trip has been many years in the making. Even before the now infamouns quarter-final run for the US Team in the 2002 World Cup, there was talk of an epic journey to the next tournament. Lots of speculation and planning and spent money later, I'm happy to say that the trip is a reality, and our plane is scheduled to leave tomorrow night.
Over the years we have lost some of our original travelling partners due to financial or Los Angeles-based reasons, and the planning process has definately put its share of strain on many personal relationships, both now and in the past. However, I'm sure these friends and loved ones can at least try to understand a very important truth as we press on and head for Deutschland: love and friendships just aren't quite as important as soccer.

We hope you'll be able to look forward to regular updated featuring photos, commentary and the clearest descriptions of our experiences that we can muster from memory.

Prost!!