Entering the Land - July 4

Sunrise over Europe ...

So far it's an uneventful flight ... pleasant but boring. A little snooze here and there ... feeling a little frayed around the edges ... still suffering a variety of toothaches and some chest congestion.

(note from Chris: blogger tech problems ... I'll fill in the blanks later ... I'm here in Germany having a blast! All is well!)


Update (added "weeks" later):

Arrived in Frankfurt airport somewhat bewildered (groggy, etc.). It was very hot and the terminal was under construction ... suddenly (it really seemed that way) I was out ... flashed my German passport, found my luggage and gear ... no customs check ... wow, what a contrast!

Found the train station (in the airport) - huge and ultra-modern, purchased my ticket and waited. ... now on the train (ICE to Freiburg) ... I sat with a very kind fellow, a salesman from Switzerland who regularly traveled through central Europe. We talked about language, currency and the World Cup.
He offered me a bottle of water and we watched the world flash by. The train cruised at 245 km/hr (top speed 300 km/hr). My total travel time was approaching 21 hours at this point and I was starting to feel a little "rubbery".
Finally arriving in Freiburg, I realized that I was on a different platform than Dieter was expecting me to be on, as I had taken a slightly earlier train (by 5 min.). I couldn't find an escalator and had to carry my heavy luggage, one at a time, down and up the long flights of stairs under the tracks into the busy, crowded station building, where I hoped he'd find me. It was sweltering and I was now very tired, sore and sweat soaked.

Finally, I spotted Dieter and Marliese, who were diligently hunting for me. Dieter had already surmised that I was on a different train. So great to see my favorite cousin again!! Now to find the car and stow the luggage and find a bite to eat ... once more around the complete Banhof ... ready to keel over now ...

Sat in the busy town centre pedestrian zone in a cafe ... watching mostly university students walking by ... It's 1 o'clock pm German time, 23 hours on the go now and fading ... mmm .... Fleischsalat (meat salad). Really suffering from an intense toothache ... can't even chew on my right side ... what's up with that??

3:30 pm we arrived in St.Georgen .... ahhh ....... nice cool cellar bedroom at Dieter's place .... shower and ..... zzzzzzzz .... zzzzzz

18:30 .... eyes snap open ... yes! I'm in synch ... ready to eat and watch the match between Germany and Italy. This is the important one, "make or break". I'll go to bed at 11pm and get up in the morning, Germany time, fit as a fiddle!

Dieter and I ate a nice dinner (sort of a lunch for me) on his patio already wearing our national team jerseys. Meat and cheese and heavy rye bread and fresh buns with a variety of prepared salads and coffee ... ahhhh .... German Kaffee ... so nice. Need the strength to cheer on our team ...

Marliese was waiting for us at a hilltop inn that had set up a tent with a big screen. She'd saved us a seat as a large crowd from the village of St. Georgen was expected. Sure enough as we hiked up the mountain trail through the forest we could hear the excited cheers of a substantial crowd further up.

As the trail broke into a clearing, I was greeted by the smell of BBQ and beer and an "electric" atmosphere. We sat at a wooden table in the middle of an already excited crowd next to Marliese.

Tireless team songs were sung around us as we watched the football "knights" joust on the screen. Dieter brought us some tasty local beer as the tension mounted, scoreless through the first half.

It was quite the incredible game .... ahhh, until the goals started to arrive ... one two punch in the second half .... oooooo .... it doesn't look like Germany will get up again after this ... a definite KO punch. The group of youth behind me stopped singing ... quite the mournful silence descended on the crowd as darkness fell like a shroud ... (I'm enjoying this exaggerated drama).

"Drei"tschland!! I think the nation will make for a much more gracious host as third place "winners". Oh well ... perhaps it's better this way.

We could hear the Italians celebrating in the valley ... it's going to be a long night for some folks ... Viva Italia!

A bit of chat and ... hit the hay for the next day ... Ach nee ... Oy vey!