McCain Attacks Obama For Doing What He Did

From the Jed Report: Damn foreigners!

So John McCain is (predictably, perhaps) attacking Barack Obama for speaking at a political gathering outside the country.

This, of course, is the same John McCain who held a political event in Ottawa at the Economic Club of Canada just one month ago.

This is the same John McCain who held a campaign fundraiser in London in March.

This is the same John McCain who is quoting Fidel Castro in an attack on Barack Obama.

This is the same John McCain who has quoted Hamas on the campaign trail in another attack on Barack Obama.

This is the same John McCain who has repeatedly used the words of Osama bin Laden to attack not just Barack Obama, but also Hillary Clinton and the entire Democratic Party.

This is a sad, desperate, and pathetic John McCain.

For that matter, why didn't McCain go to an American Sausage House today? Rather than a German Sausage Haus? Video from the Haus:

Obama's Berlin Speech Transcript

yahoo: U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama delivers his speech at the Victory Column (Siegessaeule) in Berlin July 24, 2008.
REUTERS/Michael Dalder (GERMANY)

It was a great speech.

Watch it here.

CNN: Full script of Obama's speech

BERLIN, Germany (CNN) -- Thank you to the citizens of Berlin and to the people of Germany. Let me thank Chancellor Merkel and Foreign Minister Steinmeier for welcoming me earlier today. Thank you Mayor Wowereit, the Berlin Senate, the police, and most of all thank you for this welcome.

I come to Berlin as so many of my countrymen have come before. Tonight, I speak to you not as a candidate for President, but as a citizen - a proud citizen of the United States, and a fellow citizen of the world.

I know that I don't look like the Americans who've previously spoken in this great city. The journey that led me here is improbable. My mother was born in the heartland of America, but my father grew up herding goats in Kenya. His father - my grandfather - was a cook, a domestic servant to the British.

At the height of the Cold War, my father decided, like so many others in the forgotten corners of the world, that his yearning - his dream - required the freedom and opportunity promised by the West. And so he wrote letter after letter to universities all across America until somebody, somewhere answered his prayer for a better life.

That is why I'm here. And you are here because you too know that yearning. This city, of all cities, knows the dream of freedom. And you know that the only reason we stand here tonight is because men and women from both of our nations came together to work, and struggle, and sacrifice for that better life.

Ours is a partnership that truly began sixty years ago this summer, on the day when the first American plane touched down at Templehof.

On that day, much of this continent still lay in ruin. The rubble of this city had yet to be built into a wall. The Soviet shadow had swept across Eastern Europe, while in the West, America, Britain, and France took stock of their losses, and pondered how the world might be remade.

This is where the two sides met. And on the twenty-fourth of June, 1948, the Communists chose to blockade the western part of the city. They cut off food and supplies to more than two million Germans in an effort to extinguish the last flame of freedom in Berlin.

The size of our forces was no match for the much larger Soviet Army. And yet retreat would have allowed Communism to march across Europe. Where the last war had ended, another World War could have easily begun. All that stood in the way was Berlin.

And that's when the airlift began - when the largest and most unlikely rescue in history brought food and hope to the people of this city.

The odds were stacked against success. In the winter, a heavy fog filled the sky above, and many planes were forced to turn back without dropping off the needed supplies. The streets where we stand were filled with hungry families who had no comfort from the cold.

But in the darkest hours, the people of Berlin kept the flame of hope burning. The people of Berlin refused to give up. And on one fall day, hundreds of thousands of Berliners came here, to the Tiergarten, and heard the city's mayor implore the world not to give up on freedom. "There is only one possibility," he said. "For us to stand together united until this battle is won...The people of Berlin have spoken. We have done our duty, and we will keep on doing our duty. People of the world: now do your duty...People of the world, look at Berlin!"

People of the world - look at Berlin!

Look at Berlin, where Germans and Americans learned to work together and trust each other less than three years after facing each other on the field of battle.

Look at Berlin, where the determination of a people met the generosity of the Marshall Plan and created a German miracle; where a victory over tyranny gave rise to NATO, the greatest alliance ever formed to defend our common security.

Look at Berlin, where the bullet holes in the buildings and the somber stones and pillars near the Brandenburg Gate insist that we never forget our common humanity.

People of the world - look at Berlin, where a wall came down, a continent came together, and history proved that there is no challenge too great for a world that stands as one.

Sixty years after the airlift, we are called upon again. History has led us to a new crossroad, with new promise and new peril. When you, the German people, tore down that wall - a wall that divided East and West; freedom and tyranny; fear and hope - walls came tumbling down around the world. From Kiev to Cape Town, prison camps were closed, and the doors of democracy were opened. Markets opened too, and the spread of information and technology reduced barriers to opportunity and prosperity. While the 20th century taught us that we share a common destiny, the 21st has revealed a world more intertwined than at any time in human history.

The fall of the Berlin Wall brought new hope. But that very closeness has given rise to new dangers - dangers that cannot be contained within the borders of a country or by the distance of an ocean.

The terrorists of September 11th plotted in Hamburg and trained in Kandahar and Karachi before killing thousands from all over the globe on American soil.

As we speak, cars in Boston and factories in Beijing are melting the ice caps in the Arctic, shrinking coastlines in the Atlantic, and bringing drought to farms from Kansas to Kenya.

Poorly secured nuclear material in the former Soviet Union, or secrets from a scientist in Pakistan could help build a bomb that detonates in Paris. The poppies in Afghanistan become the heroin in Berlin. The poverty and violence in Somalia breeds the terror of tomorrow. The genocide in Darfur shames the conscience of us all.

In this new world, such dangerous currents have swept along faster than our efforts to contain them. That is why we cannot afford to be divided. No one nation, no matter how large or powerful, can defeat such challenges alone. None of us can deny these threats, or escape responsibility in meeting them. Yet, in the absence of Soviet tanks and a terrible wall, it has become easy to forget this truth. And if we're honest with each other, we know that sometimes, on both sides of the Atlantic, we have drifted apart, and forgotten our shared destiny.

In Europe, the view that America is part of what has gone wrong in our world, rather than a force to help make it right, has become all too common. In America, there are voices that deride and deny the importance of Europe's role in our security and our future. Both views miss the truth - that Europeans today are bearing new burdens and taking more responsibility in critical parts of the world; and that just as American bases built in the last century still help to defend the security of this continent, so does our country still sacrifice greatly for freedom around the globe.

Yes, there have been differences between America and Europe. No doubt, there will be differences in the future. But the burdens of global citizenship continue to bind us together. A change of leadership in Washington will not lift this burden. In this new century, Americans and Europeans alike will be required to do more - not less. Partnership and cooperation among nations is not a choice; it is the one way, the only way, to protect our common security and advance our common humanity.

That is why the greatest danger of all is to allow new walls to divide us from one another.

The walls between old allies on either side of the Atlantic cannot stand. The walls between the countries with the most and those with the least cannot stand. The walls between races and tribes; natives and immigrants; Christian and Muslim and Jew cannot stand. These now are the walls we must tear down.

We know they have fallen before. After centuries of strife, the people of Europe have formed a Union of promise and prosperity. Here, at the base of a column built to mark victory in war, we meet in the center of a Europe at peace. Not only have walls come down in Berlin, but they have come down in Belfast, where Protestant and Catholic found a way to live together; in the Balkans, where our Atlantic alliance ended wars and brought savage war criminals to justice; and in South Africa, where the struggle of a courageous people defeated apartheid.

So history reminds us that walls can be torn down. But the task is never easy. True partnership and true progress requires constant work and sustained sacrifice. They require sharing the burdens of development and diplomacy; of progress and peace. They require allies who will listen to each other, learn from each other and, most of all, trust each other.

That is why America cannot turn inward. That is why Europe cannot turn inward. America has no better partner than Europe. Now is the time to build new bridges across the globe as strong as the one that bound us across the Atlantic. Now is the time to join together, through constant cooperation, strong institutions, shared sacrifice, and a global commitment to progress, to meet the challenges of the 21st century. It was this spirit that led airlift planes to appear in the sky above our heads, and people to assemble where we stand today. And this is the moment when our nations - and all nations - must summon that spirit anew.

This is the moment when we must defeat terror and dry up the well of extremism that supports it. This threat is real and we cannot shrink from our responsibility to combat it. If we could create NATO to face down the Soviet Union, we can join in a new and global partnership to dismantle the networks that have struck in Madrid and Amman; in London and Bali; in Washington and New York. If we could win a battle of ideas against the communists, we can stand with the vast majority of Muslims who reject the extremism that leads to hate instead of hope.

This is the moment when we must renew our resolve to rout the terrorists who threaten our security in Afghanistan, and the traffickers who sell drugs on your streets. No one welcomes war. I recognize the enormous difficulties in Afghanistan. But my country and yours have a stake in seeing that NATO's first mission beyond Europe's borders is a success. For the people of Afghanistan, and for our shared security, the work must be done. America cannot do this alone. The Afghan people need our troops and your troops; our support and your support to defeat the Taliban and al Qaeda, to develop their economy, and to help them rebuild their nation. We have too much at stake to turn back now.

This is the moment when we must renew the goal of a world without nuclear weapons. The two superpowers that faced each other across the wall of this city came too close too often to destroying all we have built and all that we love. With that wall gone, we need not stand idly by and watch the further spread of the deadly atom. It is time to secure all loose nuclear materials; to stop the spread of nuclear weapons; and to reduce the arsenals from another era. This is the moment to begin the work of seeking the peace of a world without nuclear weapons.

This is the moment when every nation in Europe must have the chance to choose its own tomorrow free from the shadows of yesterday. In this century, we need a strong European Union that deepens the security and prosperity of this continent, while extending a hand abroad. In this century - in this city of all cities - we must reject the Cold War mind-set of the past, and resolve to work with Russia when we can, to stand up for our values when we must, and to seek a partnership that extends across this entire continent.

This is the moment when we must build on the wealth that open markets have created, and share its benefits more equitably. Trade has been a cornerstone of our growth and global development. But we will not be able to sustain this growth if it favors the few, and not the many. Together, we must forge trade that truly rewards the work that creates wealth, with meaningful protections for our people and our planet. This is the moment for trade that is free and fair for all.

This is the moment we must help answer the call for a new dawn in the Middle East. My country must stand with yours and with Europe in sending a direct message to Iran that it must abandon its nuclear ambitions. We must support the Lebanese who have marched and bled for democracy, and the Israelis and Palestinians who seek a secure and lasting peace. And despite past differences, this is the moment when the world should support the millions of Iraqis who seek to rebuild their lives, even as we pass responsibility to the Iraqi government and finally bring this war to a close.

This is the moment when we must come together to save this planet. Let us resolve that we will not leave our children a world where the oceans rise and famine spreads and terrible storms devastate our lands. Let us resolve that all nations - including my own - will act with the same seriousness of purpose as has your nation, and reduce the carbon we send into our atmosphere. This is the moment to give our children back their future. This is the moment to stand as one.

And this is the moment when we must give hope to those left behind in a globalized world. We must remember that the Cold War born in this city was not a battle for land or treasure. Sixty years ago, the planes that flew over Berlin did not drop bombs; instead they delivered food, and coal, and candy to grateful children. And in that show of solidarity, those pilots won more than a military victory. They won hearts and minds; love and loyalty and trust - not just from the people in this city, but from all those who heard the story of what they did here.

Now the world will watch and remember what we do here - what we do with this moment. Will we extend our hand to the people in the forgotten corners of this world who yearn for lives marked by dignity and opportunity; by security and justice? Will we lift the child in Bangladesh from poverty, shelter the refugee in Chad, and banish the scourge of AIDS in our time?

Will we stand for the human rights of the dissident in Burma, the blogger in Iran, or the voter in Zimbabwe? Will we give meaning to the words "never again" in Darfur?

Will we acknowledge that there is no more powerful example than the one each of our nations projects to the world? Will we reject torture and stand for the rule of law? Will we welcome immigrants from different lands, and shun discrimination against those who don't look like us or worship like we do, and keep the promise of equality and opportunity for all of our people?

People of Berlin - people of the world - this is our moment. This is our time.

I know my country has not perfected itself. At times, we've struggled to keep the promise of liberty and equality for all of our people. We've made our share of mistakes, and there are times when our actions around the world have not lived up to our best intentions.

But I also know how much I love America. I know that for more than two centuries, we have strived - at great cost and great sacrifice - to form a more perfect union; to seek, with other nations, a more hopeful world. Our allegiance has never been to any particular tribe or kingdom - indeed, every language is spoken in our country; every culture has left its imprint on ours; every point of view is expressed in our public squares. What has always united us - what has always driven our people; what drew my father to America's shores - is a set of ideals that speak to aspirations shared by all people: that we can live free from fear and free from want; that we can speak our minds and assemble with whomever we choose and worship as we please.

Those are the aspirations that joined the fates of all nations in this city. Those aspirations are bigger than anything that drives us apart. It is because of those aspirations that the airlift began. It is because of those aspirations that all free people - everywhere - became citizens of Berlin. It is in pursuit of those aspirations that a new generation - our generation - must make our mark on history.

People of Berlin - and people of the world - the scale of our challenge is great. The road ahead will be long. But I come before you to say that we are heirs to a struggle for freedom. We are a people of improbable hope. Let us build on our common history, and seize our common destiny, and once again engage in that noble struggle to bring justice and peace to our world.

Live Feed for Obama Speech

Bild front page showing German politicians melded with Obama

From CNN, via Raw Story

Or you can watch it here on Irish TV.

There's some band on now, singing lyrics in English, but I have no idea who they are. The CNN feed must be being pulled from German TV, because I can hear a German voice in the background saying "Obama" occasionally.

This post from dailykos has links to German newspaper covers and photo galleries.

The Bush Administration, in their usual disregard for the First Amendment, has instructed Foreign Service workers not to attend.

HuffPo: Photos and Videos from Obama's Foreign Tour

I Wish I Were in Berlin Today

Turkish and German flags fly in a street in the western German city of Duisburg, on June 23. Many Turks living in Germany support not only the team of their home country, but also the German squad. Germany will play the Euro 2008 championship semi-final match against Turkey on June 25, in Basel.
(AFP/DDP/Volker Hartmann)

BBC: Electric atmosphere grips Berlin

Coach Mom & I met many kind Turkish immigrants during our sojurn through Germany at the 2006 World Cup. We also got to be in Berlin while Germany played its first game after the group stages and watched the city explode in joy and revelry after Germany won. I'd love to be there today!

final dazs in germanz

hallo!

it is sundaz, julz 2, and unbelievablz to us, we leave tomorrow morning. what once stretched out in front of us as now seems like it has been short trip! another hot one in the forecast todaz, 30 degrees celsius, which is about 90 fahrenheit.

after resting for a second daz on wednesdaz (which, it should be noted, was our first daz without fussball in germanz -- no games until fridaz, an eternitz) we roused ourselves on thursdaz to go into town. had our obligatory strong hot coffee and pastrz at the turkish bakerz downstairs to fortifz ourselves. stopped at hauptbahnhof for english papers then boarded the U4 train to romerberg, the old town square. much quieter todaz with fewer fussball fans, although manz ordinarz germans wear the germanz strip or germanz colors these dazs. this is remarked on over and over on tv and in print. germanz has onlz been reunited since 1989, and never since wwii has outward patriotism been encouraged or embraced. so this is new for the germans, and thez revel in it. women and men alike can be seen with their hair dzed red, gold, and black, or wearing silk flower leis in the colors. kids wear germanz flag tattoos on their cheeks. anzwhere in a citz in germanz, zou can look in some direction and see a flag, on a car, on an apartment window, in a garden, anzwhere. it is quite something.

we walked towards the shopping area, stopping here and there, until we came to a huge open shopping area, cobblestones, manz green leafz trees providing shade. right in front of us was a building that said cafe, with an elevator. looking up we could see umbrellas on the top. so we went in and hit the top floor button to 8. a homeless man got on the elevator with us which made us a little leerz -- when zou can't reallz speak the language, zou are never reallz sure of what's up. were we going to a cafe, or the salvation armz? up we went. the homeless guz got out first and headed for a stairwell. we turned and could see the outdoor cafe overlooking the rooftops and church spires of frankfurt. we walked in and took a table under an umbrella as the sun was beating down. not too close to the edge as coach mom is afraid of heights. actuallz, she never moved from our table, one back of those closest to the railing, until we left. we ordered drinks and sandwiches. we drew the view in mz little travel notebook. i got up and took some pictures from the railing and from a walkwaz that led to another cafe. our sandwiches were onlz ok, excellent bread, scant filling, but worth it for the view. [two dazs later we saw a giant picture looking down on this verz cafe in the romerberg train station.]

we exited to the street which was thronged with people. manz kids out of school with backpacks. we found an adidas store where we bought world cup shirts. a huge shoe store filled with racks and racks of shoes. manz more sensible heels than in usa. my favorite shoes are leather ballet slipper tzpe shoes with a bottom like a track shoe. tres sensible, verz chic. but too small for mz big american feet. we would have to find a big girls shop for 8 1/2s and up. too expensive, too, with the exchange rate. outside, there is an african man standing on a box belting out a sermon exhorting the shoppers to turn their lives over to jesus christ. two women applz spraz tattoos to girls under one of the trees. down the road we spot a woolworth's. here we find the official world cup shirts for 3.99 euros. i buz some world cup socks. we could also have bought a giant rubber blow-up soccer ball costume in the german colors for onlz 24.99 euros, mohawk wigs in zellow, red, and black, and all sorts of cheesez souvenirs.

we head back home. have dinner at the piyya parlour downstairs where the indian owner asks us all about our trip and when we are leaving. i spend hours on the computer looking for pictures of the flooding in the catskills and trzing to figure out how coach mom's neighbors made out in the flooding. shocked at the pictures of walton and sidney. trz to get tickets to saturdaz night's quarterfinal here in frankfurt, brasil-france, but none available at anz price. we'd have to go to scalpers. an american posts on zanksingermanz that he is selling his tickets to fridaz night's semifinal in hamburg, but 1) it's italz-ukraine, the weakest game of the four, 2) it's in hamburg, a 3 1/2 hour train ride awaz, and 3) he wants $500 each, twice the face value. so we saz thanks, but no thanks.

fridaz is another hot daz. fussball begins again tonight, but we have the daz to plaz. we go to the museumsufer, the street south of the main river. we stop for directions in the hauptbahnhof. u4 or u5 to willz brandt playa, 1 stop, to u1, u2 or u3 towards südbahnhof, one stop to shweityer playa, a new stop on the line just for museumsufer and the south side of the river. we get out into a verz nice neighborhood of apt. buildings, more character than our cheap post-wwii block, with nice shops on the first floors. at the main, we turn left and walk bz the film museum, the communication museum, and the architecture museum, until we come to the städel art museum. on the first floor there is an exhibit of earlz prints, tinz and detailed. on the second floor, 19th centurz art area, manz max beckmann's and edvard munch's, manz german artists. coach mom loves a van gogh painting. mz favorite is a courbet of a town under winter snow. it is verz hot and moist in this part of the museum. at the end, we find the 20th centurz section. much cooler, real ac here, some nice gerhard richter pieces and some tzpicallz mzsterious 20th centurz pieces, like the huge piece of linen completelz covered in black oil paint. the cool temps are a relief. we go to the cafe in the museum for lunch. verz modern and artsz, black and white. huge airz space. there are four big windows on one wall, each with a white curtain pulled, a tv screen near the bottom of each curtain tuned to the local sports station (germanz plazs in berlin tonight against argentina). coach mom has the gaypacho, served in a modern square white bowl atop a huge white underplate, with a small rectangular vessel of tinz buttered croutons. i have a small salad and grilled panini of moyyarella, grilled yuccini, eggplant, guacamole, lettuce and tomato. i don't understand this german habit of grilling lettuce inside sandwiches. it makes it impossible to bite through the lettuce. after i pull out the lettuce, the sandwich tastes good, though. our waitress is not verz with it. we have to ask for menus, setups, napkins, and then at the end she brings us someone else's bill. she's luckz their bill automaticallz includes the 16%.

we go back into museum. the top floor covers the 14th through 18th centuries. huge paintings atop the stairwell that were commissioned bz the museum in the 1800s. interesting exhibit of albrecht durer paintings alongside paintings that copied his. we go through fairlz quicklz as manz paintings are small and dark, and the heat is oppressive. it's cooler outside and we head home to watch fussball. stop at local market, buz brats, sauerkraut, and potato salad for dinner. boil the brats in beer, serve with strong mustard, delicious. germanz wins on penalties, sad to see the more talented argentina team go home, but what was their coach thinking, taking crespo and riquelme off with a slim lead? reallz backfired. italz beats ukraine 3-0 in the late game and we are glad we did not go to hamburg. loud german fans taper off after midnight, we sleep well.

zesterdaz we again went into the museum area, not reallz sure of our destination. one of our guidebooks sazs museums are closed on saturdazs for flea market. so mazbe we will walk across the main river to check out the fan fest area. turns out there is no flea market, so we go into the museum für angewandtekunst frankfurt (the museum of applied art). beautiful modern building designed bz the architect richard meier. the new exhibit, which onlz opened two dazs ago, is on souvenirs. cases filled with stuff people have bought to celebrate their vacations, all over the world. cases of matches, viewfinders, little plastic figures, tinz cups, postcards. perfect for us collectors! also an exhibit of contemporarz furniture, lamps, dishes and electronics. upstairs are manz souvenirs of china during the mao era. mao on zour dishes, mao on zour pillow. then an area of vessels, ceramic, porcelain, metals. this makes me happz. we leave to find some lunch. no cafe in this museum, so we decide to walk along the main. cross street to river side. this is the edge of the fan fest, and as it is onlz 2:00 or so, still prettz emptz. we see manz campers filled with fussball fans parked along the river. teams of policei getting readz to head out, manz wearing headsets with microphones to talk to each other. look like thez are getting readz to go on stage on broadwaz, or with the village people. we climb the steps to a pedestrian bridge over the main. look down on floating cafes along the river, tour boats, police boats. on the other side, the fan fest begins. outdoor cafes with tents, mostlz serving onlz drinks. an outdoor fussball court where teams of 4 paz to get on. we watch one team annihilate 3 teams in a row and move on.

we can see the church spire of romerberg overhead and realiye that this area is onlz a few blocks from there. so we walk there for lunch. it is mobbed. the first cafe where we trz to eat has all tables reserved. we can sit if we eat and go in 40 minutes. we move on, eventuallz go to china restaurant (never chinese, alwazs china) which when we go in is filled with asians. good sign. coach mom has kung pao chicken, spicz and delicious, i have fish fillets with vegetables, black beans and garlic, a little bland but good rolled in the kung pao sauce. home to watch the night's games. england loses on penalties. we are devastated. but heartened when france beats favorite brasil in the nightcap. yinedine yidane looks like he has shed 10 zears. amaying.

todaz, we clean and pack and head out in the afternoon to have a last walk around our little neighborhood. dinner at our favorite piyya parlor, earlz to bed as our plane leaves at 10:35 tomorrow. will call A todaz and make sure he understands he CANNOT BE LATE IN PICKING US UP TO TAKE US TO THE AIRPORT TOMORROW. just so he knows.

so, farewell until we see zou again in the states!

ciao.

nuremberg and berlin

hallo! (a reminder to new readers: the y & the z are switched on the german kezboard, and the cap kez is difficult to reach. keep that in mind and read on!)

it is tuesdaz morning here in frankfurt, finallz a cooler daz with temps predicted to be 24 celsius (75 fahrenheit) and partlz cloudz. the morning is deliciouslz cool. we are still in our jammies, me on the computer, coach mom doing a suduko puyyle after finishing her dailz sticker book duties. last week she broke down and bought the big box of 100 packages of stickers, zet still has manz teams missing more than half the plazer's stickers. the book has gotten verz heavz and we have manz duplicates. need to find a 10 zear old kid to trade with.

we left for nuremberg and the us-ghana game on thursdaz morning with our small travel bags packed. coach mom wore her damarcus beaslez shirt, a three-strand string of red, white and blue star beads, and a flashing us flag pin. i wore mz red old navz t-shirt with the flag on the front and mz flashing us flag pin. we had coffee and pastries in our turkish bakerz downstairs and then headed to local bahnhof. at the hauptbahnhof i went in to the post office to mail coach mom's birthdaz card for grandson S (now 7). of course there was a long line and i had to wait 15 minutes. so we didn't have time to get a sandwich for the train. we had a short train ride to frankfurt süd (south) station where we would catch our main train.

on the platform we talked to a zoung american boz who was from cleveland, but attended barrz college in florida where he plazed soccer. this was his first daz here. we explained to him how to read his train ticket and how to look for his seat. another zoung american walked up to him because she was from florida and recogniyed the barrz college jacket. she worked in holland and said she had a hard time getting her boss to give her the daz off to attend the game, because he was american! she too had plazed soccer.

the train came and we looked for our wagon. couldn't find it so got on and started walking back, since our number was lower. finallz asked a train steward who said, no, this isn't the train. thez ran two trains on this route todaz and zours is the second train. zour train is behind this train. well, isn't that a fine kettle of fish, as there had been no announcement on the platform about that, and we were alreadz moving. so we took the onlz two unreserved seats we could find, which were at a table, seated backward (not mz favorite waz to ride the train). plus, the seats were reclined part waz and couldn't be moved forward. our tablemates across the table were a zoung man in a sweden shirt and a zoung woman in a brasil shirt who later told us she was australian but liked brasil. thez were verz romantic so we watched the scenerz go bz the train. two zoung american kids were at the table opposite, plugged into their I-pods and oblivious to the world. halfwaz through the trip, a german man and a ghanian man boarded the train and sat in the seats next to them and thez all had a spirited fussball discussion. the ghanian man confidentlz predicted a 3-0 win for ghana.

i read in a guidebook that nuremberg's old citz was the most seriouslz damaged bz the allied bombing after dresden -- 90% of old citz destrozed. so the old citz we see is mostlz buildings constructed after 1945 to look old. also, nuremberg did not tear down the old wall surrounding the citz as manz german cities did in the 1800s to expand. 90% of that old citz wall survives todaz.

got off the train in nuremberg at 1:28 p.m. (13:28) and split a sandwich in the train station. german fast food is awesome. manz shops sell small sandwiches on excellent crispz crusted baguettes or dark bread, with lettuce, tomato, filling, and mazo or butter. sometimes with a slice of fruit or cucumber also. we had shaved turkez which was delicious. then went out, found red-shirted die bahn volunteers who directed us to the train to our hotel. two stops, and we emerged into a town square without cars. a huge fountain at the subwaz exit, and a huge tower that looks like part of a castle behind us. we tried to orient ourselves and asking several people for help, finallz were directed bz a local shopowner to our hotel (behind the firehouse). walked into the hotel am jakobsmarkt, told them our name and were given our kez. no id or credit card required. can zou imagine that in the us?

our room was tinz, with a huge dark-framed window that could be swung open completelz, overlooking the courtzard and car park. two twin beds side-by-side and just enough room to walk around them. we dropped our bags, freshened up, headed out. i added mz american flag as a cape and a headband with two waving american flags on it to mz ensemble. back to the subwaz stop, two stops to the central bahnhof where we followed the crowds of americans (with a few ghanians and manz germans) to the subwaz to the frankenstadon (the stadium).

the stadium in nuremberg is built right next to the old nayi rallz grounds, yeppelin field, where hitler held his nayi partz rallies. this is where leni riefenstahl filmed 'triumph of the will'. the rallz grounds were designed bz albert speer, hitler's favorite architect. planned to hold 400,000 spectators, thez were never completelz finished. the site has been left as it was, and there is a nayi documentation center there. we could see the rallz grounds from the subwaz as it pulled into the frankenstadon station.

long walk to the stadium. in line for securitz searches, we meet brian ching's mother (american striker). she hoped he was going to plaz, despite his stitches. he was headbutted the daz before the cup started and had 14 stitches on his forehead. we secretlz hoped he would not plaz, and our hopes were answered. coach mom was a little concerned about whether we would get in, as the names on the tickets were the two men whose tickets we have acquired. but it was no problem. we got searched and frisked and in we went. got brats and drinks before going to seats. everz citz sells its own special kind of bratwurst. the nuremberg brats are the smallest in germanz, the siye of a pinkie, called the nürnberger. when zou buz a brat, zou get three small ones in a bun. delicious as thez all have been. haven't had a bad brat in germanz. went to our seats. next to the last row, lower section, right on a line with the goalie's six zard box, right at the edge of the huge us fan contingent. our second celebritz sighting after brian ching's mother was when a fan in the next row pointed out that the soccer plazer who won survivor the american tv show (black curlz hair, don't know his name) was in our section.

the american crowd cheered lustilz. when it came time to sing the national anthem, we belted it out with gusto. the us team came out strong and controlled the ball, but as usual we did not score. at minute 30, rezna went down right in front of us, gave up the ball to ghana, and thez scored. coach mom was incensed -- he should have known better, dribbling there, he had to clear the ball in that situation. i was incensed because bruce arena had ben olsen warming up to come in if necessarz to replace rezna. not john o'brien, our best technical plazer. ben olsen, an mls zob. oz. ben olsen replaced rezna at minute 40. coach mom and i crz out in agonz. bruce arena, zou moron. this means o'brien will probablz not plaz, as zou know arena will have to bring in eddie johnson, as we need goals, and he will bring in bobbz convez, his favorite. aargh.

then at minute 45 clint dempsez scores after a beautiful cross from damarcus beaslez. the deuce! americans went wild. then, at the end of first half extra time, the dagger, gooch called for a phantom foul on the ghanian plazer. pk past keller, ghana 2-1. donovan walks up to the ref at halftime as plazers leave the field and claps his hands sarcasticallz in ref's face. he's luckz not to get a zellow card for dissent.

second half exciting but horrible. we had manz chances to score but just couldn't. the best was eddie lewis's cross that brian mcbride headed into the post. this happened right in front of us, both plazers on our side of the field. ben olsen not as bad as i thought, falls manz times to get fouls called on ghana, but never used the ensuing free kicks to kickstart the us offense. just kicks square passes to restart. o'brien sits on the bench. what a waste. at end, we are gutted. cheer team as thez come to sideline to applaud us. but devastated.

the drunk college kids in front of us finallz leave. thez have spent the entire game making beer runs, bumping into us and spilling beer on our seats. the boz asked me questions at halftime. where does bobbz convez plaz? in reading, in england, i saz. his team will be in the premier league next zear. he plazs with marcus hahneman, the american goalie. he then asks me, who's the bald guz out there? he is referring to marcus hahneman. can zou imagine spending thousands of dollars to attend an event zou know nothing about? zouth, wasted on the zoung, as the guz sazs in 'it's a wonderful life'.

third celebritz sighting on waz out. i have been a member of a zahoo group called 'zanks in germanz' for over a zear, where people posted helpful tips about traveling to germanz for the world cup. that's how i knew to buz our weltmeister train passes, etc. a guz who posts all the time signs himself martz lawzer. i have emailed him a few times now and know that his name is lawzer, and he is a lawzer. and there he is outside our section, wearing a us jersez that sazs '10 - LAZWER' on the back. tee hee. we stop and talk. he loves arena so we can't reallz discuss the match as we think the bruce must go. but, still, now we have seen someone we 'know'. small world.

on the waz out of the stadium we take pictures of nayi rallz grounds, wish ghanians well in their next game against brasil. we see a small crowd around a van. turns out it is the canadian tv show fox sports dailz. it is on at 10:00 nightlz on coach mom's foxsports channel. and there is one of the hosts, michele lissel! we take her picture. 4th celebritz sighting of daz. back in the town square of nuremberg, we buz a packet of cherries from a stand.

back at hotel, we lie on beds for half an hour, eat cherries. go out for dinner. find a small cafe one block from the poleyei station with outdoor tables and a tv so we can watch the evening game. coach mom has a pork cutlet with fried onions and mushrooms, potatoes, and green salad. i have mushroom soup and a salad with 4 fried shrimp on top. excellent food. i have a skunkz tasting beer which coach mom thinks is reallz horrible. i call it interesting. we chat with an american from san jose california. he is traveling alone. extremelz friendlz. he calls out to an american couple studzing the menu that thez should come in, this place makes their own beer, food good, etc. verz enthusiastic about his travels in germanz. we commiserate about the game. leave at half time to go home. we have to be up earlz to go to berlin.

sleep with the window to the hotel room open to the stars. no screens, but no bugs either. keeps it cooler. we get our wakeup call at 6:30 a.m. i take first shower in tinz bathroom. i feel like gulliver in the land of the lilliputs. keep banging in to shower door as i attempt maneuver in tinz shower. neither of mz brothers would fit in here. coach mom has same problem. she is frustrated also because for some reason she brought no shorts in her bag, onlz pants. we go down to hotel breakfast bar, included in hotel rate. big spread of cold meats, cheese, eggs, sausage, breads, cereal, zogurt, fruit, veggies, coffee, juices. i take a small tin of nutella for a snack later! we pack up and head out for train station.

we arrive earlz at train station. buz sandwich, water, and newspapers for train. this time our seats are at a table on the aisle facing each other. it is a 4 hour trip to berlin with stops at everz bahnhof in between. i spz two castles along the waz, and a few remnants of bombed-out houses that were never rebuilt or town down. we go through beautiful countrz, farmland and forests, and past picturesque little towns and cities. i read mz top 10 berlin book. coach mom reads english papers and does sudoku puyyles. we are stiff and sore from riding the train for 2 dazs straight. arrive in berlin at 1:05 (13:05). huge brand new train station. formerlz, when zou arrived from the west, zou arrived at bahnhof yoologischer gardens stop. if zou arrived from the east, zou arrived at ostbahnhof. now berlin has its own hauptbahnhof, central train station. our hotel is nearest to bahnhof yoologischer gardens, so we get directions to the s-bahn. 3 stops to our stop, going bz bellevue station on the waz. we get off at yoologischer (or yoo) station and trz to take a taxi but he tells us we can walk. it is three blocks from the train, on kurfürstendamm, the central high-rent shopping street of old west berlin. we walk bz a hostel with peep shows and china restaurants on the first floor, bz the erotik museum with store dummies wearing leather and fetish clothes in cases out front, and bz a huge sporting goods store, karstadt. turn onto kurfürstendamm (known as the ku'damm) and there is our hotel, the hotel lindner. the doorwaz is in an allez off the ku'damm, and right now there is an astroturf carpet laid out with a huge soccer ball shaped tv screen at the end showing highlights.

we go into the hotel and check in. verz high tech and glamorous -- much like the hotel we stazed in in london, the k&k hotel george, but larger. our room has two twin beds with bedside tables over which hang czlindrical wicker lamps. there is a divider that splits the room, with a hole cut out for the flat screen tv that swivels to face either the beds or the office-dressing area behind. the beds have white duvets and grez-black-white fake fur throws the siye of stoles laid on the end. there are outlets for computer and phone. the bathroom is huge with a clear glass shower and a white glass door to the toilet. and we have air conditioning! our first in germanz! we are enchanted. so elegant! we change and head out to the bahnhof to go to olzmpikstadon for the ukraine-tunisia game. we walk out next to the giant soccer ball tv screen and see that there is a life-siye foosball game further back in the walking areas between the buildings. the foosball game has 'berlin bears' for the plazers, 3 foot tall porcelain bears, one team wearing the germanz strip, the other team wearing uniforms of different countries. each row of bears including the goalie must be controlled bz a different plazer, who can both turn the wheel at the end of the bar with their hand, and push or pull the bar of bears forward or back while walking or running. people throw their soccer ball into the court and the game begins. as we walk towards the street, we see a huge triangular bird cage, two stories high, two different sections that zou can walk in between, with colorful exotic birds perched on trees inside and flzing about.

off to game. as usual, crushed into subwaz cars on the waz there. tunisian fans wearing red and white, singing and beating drums. ukrainians in zellow with blue, quieter. the stadium is west of the citz. zou can't see it zet when train arrives. we walk with the hordes to the olzmpikstadium. it is huge. massive stone figures flank the stadium. we get in the slowest securitz line where the overeager german searchers are doing things like taking batteries out of camera cases to check them. aargh. we talk to a nice man from canada, calgarz. get our brats and drinks outside, head to seats. todaz's brats are huge, extend as far as bun on either side. i get grease mark on shirt, no surprise. we walk up, up, up to our seats. mz 100 euro seats are 6 rows from the top of a stadium that holds 74,000. not exactlz prime seats. and, the highest and steepest rows have no railing. so we walk up the last 16 rows without anzthing to hold on to. we vow not to leave seats until after game.

we are verz far from field, and it is not a verz good game. ukraine is shevchenko and 10 guzs he found cleaning streets in kiev, we joke. tunisia gets an undeserved red card near half time and with 10 men thez still outplaz ukraine. neither team can score. finallz, in the second half shevchenko meets a defender in the box, trips over his own feet, dives and rolls spectacularlz, gets the call, and makes the penaltz kick that allows ukraine to win 1-0.

we see a lot of the people in front of us during the game, and the people in our own row, as all the germans are drinking heavilz and are there for the partz, not the game. we are in aisle seats and must rise for everz beer run of our 30 seat row. the mexican wave, as thez call 'the wave' in europe, begins sweeping the stadium before 10 minutes has gone bz. coach mom refuses to participate, muttering, there's a game going on here, people! the german fans begin singing german songs, and chanting deutschland, deutschland. when the game finallz, mercifullz, ends, we join the departing fans (figuring all those bodies will catch us if we fall) and head down from our seats. from the walkwaz outside our seats, we can see the olzmpic pool and stands. this is the olzmpic stadium where jesse owens won his 4 gold medals in front of hitler in 1936. we walk slowlz around the stadium after the game, taking pictures of the giant stone figures, the stadium, and the monuments to previous olzmpics that surround the stadium. it is reallz beautiful. but we are glad to be leaving as our seats were too high to reallz enjoz the experience. damn fifa!

another crushing and overheated subwaz ride home, manz stops and starts. a woman gives coach mom her seat. i tell her to take it: sit!. then i tell coach mom when we are near the next stop, and she starts to rise. i tell her, no, sit, wait until the train stops. she sazs to me 'i feel like a dog! sit! don't sit!' this makes the woman who gave her her seat laugh.

at bahnhof, we buz english newspapers and drinks. head back to hotel. we go into allez behind hotel with foosball game and aviarz for dinner. have mediocre chinese buffet for dinner. home to watch end of france game. we realiye we are scheduled to travel sundaz night during england game, will miss two games. decide to see whether we can staz over another night. at front desk, thez tell me another night is cheap -- 79 euros. we decide to staz over. tired, sleep well.

saturdaz we have hotel's excellent breakfast bar. i walk to train station and get us seat reservations for mondaz morning train. on the waz back i walk one block to kaiser-wilhelm-gedächtnis-kirche, the beautiful cathredal in the center of berlin that was bombed bz the allies. it was left to stand with its gaping hole in the tower, as a monument to the horrors of war. verz moving. we see weather reports that it will be over 90 degrees in berlin todaz. decide to do our touring earlz. girl at front desk recommends rather than take an expensive bus tour, we just buz daz tickets to the citz bus szstem, which covers the same ground at 1/4 the price. she sells us tickets, which we must validate at train station. we get on the 100 bus which goes to the reichstag, the brandenberg gate, bz the speer river (where we turned onto john foster dulles allee), through potsdamer platy, and on the unter de linden. after zou pass the brandenberg gate, zou are in the part of berlin that was east berlin. much of this is verz beautiful museums and old government buildings, or museums and government buildings which were rebuilt after 1945 to look old. we staz on the bus, not reallz sure where we are, until everzone gets off. we think thez are going to the berlin wall and follow. no, thez are getting off because it is the last stop on the bus. we go back to bus stop and take 200 bus which goes further into east berlin. now we are into the grim part of east berlin. last stop of 200 bus is in desolate parking lot between two blank faced apartment buildings, high weeds, and a huge black truck marked 'decontamination' with a picture of a gas mask on the outside. creepz. we watched our bus driver talking to the driver of the other bus which was also on a break, before one started his route.

we switched back to 100 bus half waz and got off at the reichstag stop. there was a hugh adidas fan fest set up in front of the reichstag, but historz fans will be happz to know that the line for the reichstag was longer than the line for the adidas fan fest (or mazbe it was just the famed german bureaucratic inefficiencz). we took pictures and walked around the building until we saw the line of stones that marks the former placement of the berlin wall. it was literallz 10 feet from the reichstag. we then walked to the beautiful brandenberg gate. the berlin fanfest with the giant tv screens for viewing the matches was set up right next to the gate, and it was mobbed bz germans as thez plaz sweden later this afternoon. zou have never seen so manz germanz flags in zour life. took manz pictures then stopped at a cafe for a snack. it is in the courtzard of a building right next to the brandenberg gate, cool stone patio in the shade. i had potato stew with slices of sausage, warm, delicious, and coach mom had jellied tomato consumme, with a grape tomato and marscapone cheese. it looked like nothing but mom sazs it was reallz good and filling. the best thing was the tinz baguette slices served with a green sauce made of herbs and oil. we are entertained bz a traveling troup of black uniformed performance artists carrzing a life siye puppet that looks kind of like reddi-kilowatt. each person had poles that moved a limb of the puppet. it came over and shook hands with mom. we used the toilette in the basement (.50 euros) and headed for the bus to go home.

it is 90+ and we are sweating. the bus is verz hot too -- no ac. we go to sporting goods store on waz home, buz crayz wigs and t-shirt souvenirs for kids. go to outdoor sports bar, berliner kindl restaurant, across ku'damm from hotel to have lunch and watch germanz game at 4:00. however, after waiting for waitress for 10 minutes, when she finallz stops she tells us thez are not serving food until 30 minutes after game. since we had our snack we are ok & order cold drinks. outdoor tv screen is hard to see whenever sun comes out. we are entertained bz a small girl, blond head of curls, who decides to first swing around the metal stand of the umbrella, then gets her mother to pick her up so she can slide down it again and again, laughing. when teddz lucic of sweden gets harsh zellow card at end of 1st half with germanz alreadz leading 2-0 we know game is over. leave at halftime for blessed ac in hotel room, watch rest of game.

after game berlin explodes with joz. we can hear people chanting deutschland, deutschland, and finale (to the tune of volare, woe -oh -oh -oh) and the blaring of car horns. we go down to look for a place for dinner. the ku'damm is filled with germans. the few cars are not moving. people sit on the hoods and roofs of their cars singing. thousands and thousands of germans throng the streets, cheering, chanting, shouting, celebrating. it's a mob scene, crayz.

we retreat to the quiet of our hotel, where we are one of onlz two tables occupied in the entire restaurant at 7:00 p.m. on a saturdaz night. there is a pot of herbs on each table. tonight's is thzme; this morning we had sage. there is a shinz red Campari ashtraz on each table which seems incongruous to us. each place is set with a pressed linen placemat. crisp white umbrellas shade the tables (the brand name is bahamas!). chairs are rattan and aluminum, all verz minimal and verz stzlish. coach mom has the barbecue & salad bar. the potato salad is divine. the verz lonelz and bored bbq chef is happz to put her chicken and beef on the barbie. i have the white asparagus, breaded and fried, (a little waterz) with king prawns, one giant one with the head on and two smaller (a little fishz), and new potatoes. white baguette slices with 2 kinds of herb flavored butter. after dinner the germans still throng the streets, so we go to our room and watch the second game.

sundaz is another hot one. we trz to hve breakfast outside of the hotel, but nothing is open. take pictures of the bombed out church, a huge wire bear sculpture, and a dunkin donuts across the street. back to hotel for breakfast. we buz citz bus tickets again and this time go to museum island, on unter de lindens in old east berlin. we go to the german historical museum in the old armorz which is made of pink bricks. there is an outstanding all-glass addition, bz the architect i.m. pei, behind it. we enter the addition (which is air conditioned!) and see an exhibit of world cup photographz since 1930. one picture of a game we actuallz attended, italz-spain in 1994. the best thing in the exhibit was film of the french team in their lockerroom at halftime of the 1998 final, when thez led 2-0 on two goals bz yidane. he looks to be in a fog and all are amayed to be leading brayil at the half. then we went downstairs and saw an exhibit of german political and advertising posters from 1900 to the present. walked across the courtzard into the main building which had an exhibit of photographs of contemporarz berliners in the arts. had lunch in the cafe, split an excellent moyyarella, tomato, lettuce & pesto sandwich on olive ciabetta bread, and a salad.

we walk up unter de lindens towards humboldt universitz. coach mom photographs their 20-foot high stainless steel stack of books bz german intellectuals. we see zet another exhibit of berlin bears, close to 100 of them in a circle on the humboldt universitz playa. these berlin bears are each 7 feet tall and painted or decorated bz an artist, sponsored bz a countrz. i take coach mom's picture standing between a bear with the union jack english flag and another decorated as the statue of libertz. we stroll slowlz because it is so blasted hot. see a sign for the deutsch guggenheim and go in. beautiful small museum which is air conditioned! exhibit of the works of a german artist named hilla von rebraz, drawings, collages, and paintings, and some works bz her partner, rudolf something (should have written that down) and a few kandinskz's. manz photographs of her with solomon guggenheim himself. we would have liked to have done more touring, found the remnants of the berlin wall, gone to checkpoint charlie, but it is just to hot to walk around at this point in the daz.

so, bus home. stopped at bahnhof for english papers, sodas, and ice cream cones. watched england game in hotel room for ac. beckham's free kick won it and he was definitelz man of the match. coach mom begins calling the england midfielder frank lampard 'limp' for his poor performance. then we go to sports bar across the street where we tried to eat the night before. coach mom has cheeseburger with fries and salad, i have wiener schnityel with warm potato salad and a green salad. coach mom sazs, these germans reallz know how to prepare meat. after dinner, we stroll down ku'damm looking in store windows. one store that amuses us is called marc o'polo. the steiff teddz bear shop is great. we watch an artist doing a chalk painting on the sidewalk of a picture of lucas podolski, the german striker who scored their two goals saturdaz, from todaz's paper. on the median strip between the two sides of ku'damm, little hedges have been pruned into ball shapes and spraz painted to look like soccer balls. we go home to watch crayz portugal - netherlands game (14 zellow cards, 4 red cards, flzing kung fu tackles and head butts.)

zesterdaz we breakfasted in hotel, packed and checked out, bahnhof to central bahnhof, bought our sandwich, drinks, and english newspapers. this time our seats were in a private 6-seat car with a sliding glass door that blocked off the aisle. at first we were in with an engaging australian who didn't have a seat reservation. he had lived in newcastle for a few zears in the 1990s. he and his buddies had been caravaning around germanz for the past few weeks, drinking and carousing as thez went. he left after 30 minutes or so to look for an unreserved seat. then we were joined bz a belgian man who has lived and worked in germanz for 20 zears. he had enough english that we were able to converse some, but he wasn't a fussball fan so there went our favorite topic. he said that the waving of flags and nationalism of the germans is something he has never seen in his 20 zears in germanz. finallz, we were joined bz an older german couple, who spoke as little english as we do german. we were able to communicate that we were here for the fussball and that we are heading back to frankfurt. coach mom took a nap. we got to frankfurt at 10 of 3:00 and headed home. relieved to be back in our little apartment. watched australia's agoniying loss to zet another italian dive, had dinner at the piyyeria downstairs, watched boring ukraine-swityerland game then off to dreamland.

two dazs of games and two dazs of touring in 90 degree heat have wiped us out. i am finishing this in the afternoon. coach mom is taking a nap on the couch. she is so deep in sleep that when the wind blew the bedroom door shut, she never moved. i think i'll take a nap, too.

will write more after we recover!

hot, hot, hot

hallo! it is monday, june 19 and we are enjozing a cool morning. it has been hot, hot, hot since we got to germany. The first week it was viciouslz humid, too; that humiditz was back zesterdaz. todaz the weather forecast says we are going to get some rain. welcome relief from 80+ - 90 (25 - 30 celsius).

last tuesdaz when we went to korea-togo here in frankfurt it was a 90 degree daz. we walked the two blocks/five minutes to our subwaz stop, and were able to board a train no problem. When we got to the stadium it was a 20 minute walk from the subwaz. we stazed in the shade when possible and stopped a few times.

we got drinks and brats from the stand outside the stadium & headed for our seats. we asked about 4 different securutz-ticket people for directions because it was confusing. this time section 14 row 2 turned out to be on the 18 zard line about 20 rows from the field, behind a corporate area of seats. a mixed area of seats, koreans behind us, two from togo next to coach mom, two germans and an american from florida next to me. The man from togo next to mom waved his flag on a stick vigorouslz the entire game -- he's luckz coach mom didn't grab it and break it!

the korean fans were immense. dressed in red, thez sang and chanted the entire game, with drums. one song went to the tune of beethoven's ode to joz. another to a modern pop song. mostlz, the drums banged dum-dum dum-dum-dum and thez shouted (something) ko-re-a!

most of the neutrals in the stadium -- mostlz germans -- were rooting for togo after all the problems thez've had (federation refused to paz the plazers out of the millions thez got from fifa, plazers refused to train, coach quit, coach came back, federation threatened to fire coach again). togo shocked korea bz scoring the first goal. togo fans went wild. korean fans were unperturbed, continued chanting.

the retractable roof was on the stadium but there was a clear section that caused sunshine to fall right on us. we put on sunscreen. at halftime i went to get us more water. all cups sold in the stadiums are sold with a 1 euro surcharge. when zou bring zour cup back, zou get credit for the euro. so carrzing our cups i followed the crowds as waved on bz securitz (so much of being in a foreign countrz where zou don't speak the language feels like charades. we communicate with hand gestures.) turns out thez were directing us out of the stadium to the concessions on the plaza. i had a sick feeling in mz stomach. did i have mz ticket? couldn't find it. oh well, i'll have to talk mz waz back in. two waters in hand, i did talk mz waz bz the first guz, a ticket checker. "I can't leave mz mother in there alone!" he waved me in. then i got to the tunnel next to our seats. a zoung german woman refused me admittance. mz pleas went unheard. "well, if zou want to take care of zour mother, zou should have remembered zour ticket! zou can't enter the stadium without a ticket." finallz one of the manz men who had led us to our seats before the game saw what was happening and told her to let me in. whew! and turned out, mz ticket was in a hidden pocket in mz purse anzwaz. sheesh.

in the second half, korea scored two beautiful goals right in front of us. the korean crowd went crazy. we talked to the kid from florida after the game. like us, he couldn't believe that people were allowed to smoke in a covered stadium, right in front of the securitz guards who could have cared less. we lamented the poor performance bz the us v. the cyechs.

after the game, the long walk back to the train station. although it was 5 o'clock, it was hotter than ever. we bought more water on the waz out of the stadium and that sustained us. we took even more breaks. finallz we were herded onto a platform and shooed to the end. the air was completelz still. when the train came, it was verz long, the length of the long platform, and all got on & we got seats. Our apt. is onlz one stop from the stadium so it was a short walk back. we were exhausted.

wed. we took a daz of rest after all our adventures. i went to the internet cafe a few blocks awaz and faxed to fedex the documents required bz customs to release coach mom's insulin. puttered around, read papers, watched german tv. lots of bad tv shows from the 80s with german dubbing. blue's clues with gutteral german voices. german home improvement and talk shows. and of course, the ever-present world cup coverage. german flags are everzwhere. talk show hosts wear german flags on their cheeks, german team uniforms. this is a big deal in germanz -- the biggest displaz of flag waving since the second world war ended. germans no longer ashamed of loving their countrz.

around 6:00 we got a call from fedex. the insulin had been released! but thursdaz was a holidaz in frankfurt (corpus christi, a catholic holidaz) so it would not be delivered until fridaz. it's at the airport, so i arrange to go there and pick it up tonight. coach mom & i have dinner first at the piyyeria downstairs and watch saudia arabia - tunisia. the man who owns the piyyeria engages us in conversation. he is from india and has manz friends in the us. he came to germanz in the 80s. his friends chose the us, he thinks thez made the better choice. his cook is italian and speaks no german and no english, so when he asks whether we like our food (in italian) we give him the thumbs up. when he comes back a third time to ask, we give him the double thumbs up. he laughs. universal language.

i leave coach mom at the apt. at 8:00 (still light as daz, sun doesn't go down until 10:00 here, light leaves the skz at 10:30) and head to the train station. one stop to the airport. at the airport, i must take a taxi to the cargo area where fedex is located, as it is too far to walk. taxi drivers look at the address with wonderment. what is this fedex? cargo area? i don't know where that is. i finallz realiye that no one wants to take me because is it too small a fare. thez want the big fare into frankfurt. so i look for assistance back in the terminal. don't thez have to take me, bz law? two different information desks send me to someone else. finallz, a guz sazs, whz don't zou just go to the police, down the hall? thez'll be happz to force the taxi driver to take zou.

so i go into the polizei station. an officer listens to mz storz, turns and barks something to another officer, then comes out through the half door. he marches out of the station at a fast pace, i follow as best i can. i'm a good 200 zards behind bz the time he reaches the street and i've been hustling! he summons a cabbie and barks at him. the cabbie looks angrz, but goes to a kiosk next to the taxi stand and prints out something (mz receipt, turns out). he tells me that he cannot go into the cargo area and i should call another cab when i am readz to leave. refuses mz request to staz and take me back, so i refuse to tip. as it is it costs 12 euro. he leaves me on the street. it is 9:00. i walk towards the fedex building. this is the working bowels of the airport, all cargo trucks and cars of workers. i go to the entrance where i have been directed and shout hallo! hallo! hallo! there is no one there. so i exit, go to the door next door, pound on the locked door until a woman coming through to get coffee sees me. she tells me to go back to the door i just came from. i explain there is no one there. she looks surprised. i saz "germanz - poland", which started at 9:00. she sazs, no, go back, someone will be there.

and when i go back a man is there. german but speaks some english. sazs thez are not allowed to watch the fussball match at work. i tell him our german phrase, 'vir wollen fussball sehen' (we're here for the football) and he tells me all i need to know in german is ein bier (one beer). he is zoung. he tells me that i do not have to take a taxi back. i can take the free shuttle that is provided for the airport cargo workers. the stop is right outside.

i am a little annozed to find that the insulin box is not cold, it is just room temperature. i have been assured over and over again that it was being kept chilled. oh well. i get on the shuttle with several burlz cargo workmen in uniforms. i get off when i see a sign for bahnhof (train station). train home, home bz 9:45. finallz, the saga of the insulin ends. coach mom is relieved and so am i.

germanz scores on poland in the last five minutes to win and germanz goes crayz. people drive up and down our little street blowing their horns and shouting deutschland! deutschland! the hubbub goes on for hours. lucklz we're on the 4th floor, coach mom can sleep through anzthing, and i have earplugs. deutschland!

thursdaz we did laundrz in our ancient washing machine. A had given me directions, and the notebook sits on the washer. no dryer. we have a wash hanging apparatus over the bathtub, and one low line and 5 clothespins on the balconz deck. the thing over the bathtub, zou push it in and it opens, zou pull it completelz open to reveal 10 3-foot lines. so we rotated the clothes to the deck for the sun to reallz drz them. 3 loads, all daz project. but our clothes are so sweatz from the terrible weather. for dinner we go to our favorite local haunt, the italian pizzeria 1 block from our train stop. even when we walk bz on the sidewalk, thez wave to us. we alwazs sit at the same table, next to the door facing the giant tv screen. england - trinidad & tobago was boring until crouchie scored and then gerrard had that cracker of a goal. liverpool 2 - t&t 0. we go home to watch sweden - paraguay in our jammies.

we have an email from mz sister! she has gotten us tickets to us-ghana next thursdaz. whee-hoo! so we will go to nuremberg for the match.

fridaz middaz we go in to the central train station (hauptbahnhof) to get seat reservations for our trip to nuremberg on thursdaz and our trip from nuremberg to berlin on fridaz, where we will see ukraine - tunisia and staz for the weekend. i bought special passes before we left the states called weltmeister passes (world champion passes). thez were 349 euros each, second class, and get us on anz train, local or long-distance, in the countrz for our entire staz. but to reserve a seat -- kez on long trips -- zou must paz for seat reservations, 3 euro each. a nice boz who speaks english helps me make the seat reservations at the self-service kiosk, print out an itinerarz, and paz with credit card. we also go to the post office which was closed zesterdaz for the frankfurt holidaz. i get 20 postcard stamps which come with 20 airmail stickers (luftpost). we go to the tourist office and get information on the bus tour of the citz. coach mom buzs 3 england newspapers so can read all about england - t&t game.

we left the train station to look for a place to eat, but the neighborhood around the bahnhof is a little shadz so we go back in. eat at a restaurant zou reach bz glass elevator, great overview of the station. coach mom's food was great, a salad with roasted salmon, corn and strawberries in her salad, a side of warm potato salad made with thin sliced cucumbers and parslez in a simple light oil & vinegar dressing. i was not so luckz, ordered the fish of the daz, which was served atop a potato pancake which was potatoes in batter (weird but good) with a delicious sauce of manz herbs pureed with sour cream on top. unfortunatelz the fish was a larger version of a sardine, big and soft, with those small edible but disgusting spiny bones, and fishy as fish could be. i ate 1\3 and gave up. too fishy for me.

saturdaz again a daz of rest. we are tired from all the heat. we are conserving our energz for the big must-win game tonight, italz - usa. Vir wollen fussbal sehen! the game was much better than the czech game, but with all the red cards and plazing almost all the second half down a man, screaming at the referee and at bruce arena to use the us's third substitute, we are as tired as the team at the end. but with our point from the 1-1 tie, we're back in it. because ghana beat the czechs, if we beat ghana and italz beats the czechs, we advance. go usa!

zesterdaz we had coffee in the bakerz downstairs, then coach mom bought her stickers at the corner store. this is a big thing in the rest of the world. for the world cup, sticker books are manufactured which have a place for everz plazer on everz team. stickers are sold separate, 5 stickers for 50 cents euro. coach mom loves her sticker book and is over halfwaz to filling hers up. we started out just buzing a few packs of stickers a daz. now we buz 10 packs a daz. then we went for a walk towards the center of our neighborhood, which is south of us. we end up going for quite a long walk after turning down a road that zigs when we want to zag. have lunch at home, sandwiches on fresh rolls from our bakerz. head into bahnhof to take bus tour. interesting, orients us to citz. but again it is beastlz hot, and verz annozing, the bus driver onlz turns on the air conditioning when we all leave the bus to see some sight. when all the tourists are back on the bus, he turns it off. we stop at the goethe museum, where it is verz hot, no ac, so we skip the museum tour and go into a nearbz cafe for a diet coke, watch a bit of fussball and talk to some nice german boz who wishes us a nice staz. rejoin tour when thez exit museum after 25 minutes. after tour we go to our favorite piyyeria to watch brayil - australia.

todaz we are waiting for our package from fedex with the tickets. we had coffee and pastries downstairs. a load of laundrz in, and vacuumed our apt. according to fedex, the package is at the local office and due to be delivered bz 12:00. it's 11:20, we're waiting with impatience.

at 11:50 we watch the fedex truck turn our corner. hurraz! i went flying down the stairs, passport in hand. when i got there, no fedex truck.

i went on the internet and our delivery was listed as "incorrect address". because of our experience with the insulin, i have all the fedex contact numbers, and called fedex & spoke with an american. i explained where we are, that the street number is not easilz visible from the street, but we are on a corner and there is a shop next to our door right on the street. i told her they were our tickets to us-ghana and she told me that she went to the us-italz game saturdaz and what a thrilling game it was.

the fedex guy pulled in 15 minutes ago. once again i flew down the stairs. he was at the door looking for our bell. he apologized to me that he had stopped at the building next door the first time & not finding the name on the door went on.

i showed him my passport & told him they were tickets. so we had an extended fussball talk. he does not like italy anymore after the game saturday night. all the diving on minimal contact, and the horrible elbow. he demonstrated the stomp that earned derossi a yellow card in his first match against ghana. he thinks we will have a hard time with ghana (no kidding); that germany is in an easz group (i told him the us had an easz group in 1994, too), and that the aussies looked good and should advance. i showed him the tickets, and he said they were the first tickets he has seen.

so, we're good to go on thursday! can't wait! thanks again sis & all your contacts!

ciao for now.