Off to the World Cup - 2006!!

The trains into Gelsenkirchen, up to the north of Dusseldorf, got progressively slower and more crowded. By the time we boarded the S-Bahn to the stadium, we were at neutron star density, and sweating like sumo. A local prompted us when we were near the stadium, and we walked the last kilometer. We finally realized that the red shirts were 50/50, then 70/30 for Czech fans. Elvis and the Stars and Stripes were more obvious! We were sitting in a very red-white-and-blue section in the southeast corner, with a very red Czech section diagonally across from us. The rtractable center of the domed roof was open, but we still had a very indoor feel.

The game itself was a bust. The US hit the post and the top of the net a bunch of times, but couldnät cvoer the Czech offense on the run. First 1-0 on a header, then 2-0 on a long, stron shot from outside the box, and finally 3-0 on a breakaway up the middle, the defense didn't defend, and the offense wasn't offensive.

The loud chants and noisy "Star Spangled Banner" became a polite shuffle out of the stadium, with sweltering US and Czech fans dipping in the pool in front of the local water company. We stopped to check Kenny's feet, and found huge blisters across the back of both feet. The trains were too full to get on, people pressed against the glass, so we alternated between limping and carrying him, until a bus with a little room to stand picked us up.

Back at the Gels'n hauptbahnhof (main rail station), we cooled the kids with gelatti at an Italienische Eisse restaurant, and watched part of the game between Italia and Ghana. After brotwurst and weiners from a festival in the square, and a country artist leading an enthusiastic "Take me Home, Country Roads", the kids were exhausted. I spent ten minutes in a little internet cafe (1 euro/hr, but no upload), then got the kids back on the train to Wittlaer, finally tucking them in a little after midnight. A long first day!

Pictures to post tomorrow. It' very slow, and the kids are chomping at my heels!