Tuesday, June 13, 2006
So, This is Dusseldorf!
Okay, posting from Munich, for the day of June 11:
We were joined in Madrid by 60 Brazilians and 4 Mexicans. The guys from Brazil work for the German pharmaceutical company Bayer, which paid for their trip and tickets. (Did we understand that correctly?) They see one game (BRA-CRO)on Tuesday, visit the plant in Köln on Thursday, and fly home on Friday. The Mexicans, I think, were just there for a good time!
A young American on the train at Franfurt was explaing to a girl he was travelling with that the one bummer about that American flag around his shoulders was that people were all staring at him. Imagine that!
We rode the S-bahn (light rail) out to our hotel in Wittlaer, north of Dusseldorf, and then back in for dinner in Dusseldorf's Altstadt (Old City), with an American couple from Scottsdale AZ. He had grown up in Baltimore, and played sweeper for University of Maryland in Sasha's first year as head coach (3-14). The Altstadt was filled with bars and restaurants, each with tables and a TV out in the street with the game between Mexico and Iran. There is no missing the game, if you're anywhere near a crowd! We declared success at keeping the kids up past 8:00, and planned for a fairly early morning, to get in to the ciy of Köln.
