There Was a Checkpoint Charlie

A fair warning to those faithful readers of mine who don't like to read: This may be my last update for awhile due to me travelling back to the states and then moving next weekend, so I plan on writing a lot.

Well I'm having a great time here in Germany. I've noticed a couple of cultural differences, however, that absolutly drive me crazy. The first and foremost is the fact that they make you pay to use bathrooms. Is this insane? It doesn't matter where you are -- public, private, museum, department store...there is someone's who's job it is to patrol the bathrooms and make sure that people pay the requisite 0.50€. Talk about a job that sucks! Going to the bathroom is a natural human process and they are charging us to take care of this multi-daily task? I don't think so! Being a man, it is a bit easier as we can just go wherever we want...but still. I mean, if someone is going to make me pay to go to the bathroom, I'm going to make sure I get my money's worth. I'll take Moby Dick in there or something and cozy up to do some reading. I think a great protest would be for a bunch of students (cause they love to protest) to go into bathrooms and just stand in front of the toilets. Do this all day to protest charging for bathrooms. Germany is the only country that does this.

The second gripe...well its not really a grip because it's not that big of a deal is German's adversion to crossing against a traffic light. What do us American's do? We come to a street, look to see if any traffic is coming, and as long as there is no traffic, we'll cross. We really don't care if the sign says "Don't Walk" or not...no traffic is a go for us. Germans on the otherhand will do their civic duty and wait for the sign to change. It is really something to see an empty street and a bunch of people on either side waiting for the walk sign to appear. Speaking of walk signs, being in the former GDR, I'm privy to a rather neat cultrual phenomenon, that of the Amplemannchen. The Amplemannchen is the crosswalk signal from the former GDR that is much more exciting than it's FRG counterpart, and a lot more exciting then the boring WALK/DON'T WALK we have in the US. Being in Dresden, I've also seen the female version Here is a pic of the Amplemannchen:















Other then these two things, Germany is great. One thing that Germany is known for is it's beer, and I'm more then happy to report that I've been drinking my fill. Radeberger and Feldschlößchen are the two regional beers I've been drinking the most of. Something that is really hard to get used to, as an American, is the lack of open container laws. Every day I see people having a beer walking down the road, riding the tram, or hanging out wherever...you can drink any place you like. It's great! And beer is usually one of the cheapest things on the menu, so why drink pop or water when a beer will be cheaper! I love it!















Yesterday I went to a European Soccer match. We went to the 1. FC Dynamo Dresden game. The Dynamo (procounced Du-Na-Mo btw) play in Germany's 3rd league, but it was still quite fun. I was quite impressed with the fan support. I mean I would equate this (any soccer snobs, please correct me) to attending a minor league baseball game. Small stadium, cheap seats, & a level of play below that of the Bundesliga. But the fans come out in droves! Colors of yellow, maroon, and black were everywhere! The fan section I would equate to the fan sections at NCAA Football and/or Basketball games. The fans stand the whole game and cheer and chant and yell and sing. It is great! I was patted down as I entered the stadium and I don't ever recall havind gone through that in the US. I was also told that people throw batteries onto the field at opposing players....hmmm, sounds familiar. I can only imagine what it would be like attending a game in the Bundesliga or the Premiership. Gotta put that one on life's to-do list.

We went to Berlin last weekend and that was quite something. Most of us remember the Wall coming down and what it meant...but there is a real history to the Wall and what it stood for that many of us don't know. It was real humbling and educational to read about it and how events played out. The thing that I never really thought about was that the Wall was around and containted the "free" West Germans while the "non-freee" East Germans could travel where they liked (except for West Berlin that is). The other thing that the OFOMOL told me is that East Berlin was a city where East Germans wanted to live because they could receive TV channels from the West and they had some of the best living situations; West Germans, on the other hand, didn't want to live in West Berlin (it was isolated, who could blame them?) and incentives were offered to get people to live and work there. Then in 1989 the Wall came down, David Hasselhoff came for a visit and Capitalism spread across the land. Now they make a buck by selling stuff from those by-gone days. Karl Marx must be rolling in his grave when he sees this:















OK, I fly back to the states on Wednesday. Hopefully I get home with the least of delays and there are no terrorists on my plane...if not, I'll do my best to take them down. I move down to the sticks on saturday. Look for details in the coming weeks about my place down there. I appreciate the comments, so keep them coming.

No One Else Would Know

Second Radiohead lyric in the past three posts...oh well, OK Computer is very applicable to travelling.

Not being a native speaker and knowing all of 50 words in German, watching TV hasn't been that exciting. There is CNN International to watch, which is in English. Although I can only watch so much of the conflict in the Middle East. The other channel I've found interest in in Eurosport. Yes, everything is in German, but sports are pretty universal and I can figure out what is going on without knowing that the announcers are saying.

Without my knowledge I happen to be here during the European Swimming Championships. This is great as Eurosport is broadcasting them. It is not that they are just broadcasting the finals of each event...no, they are showing most of the preliminary heats, semifinals, and finals of all swimming and diving events. This is amazing! How often are we treated to swimming on TV in the states? I know they show the NCAA Division I National meet every year, but that is on tape delay a week or so after the competition takes place. Other then that, the only swimming on TV we get is every four years with the Olympic Trials and the Olympics. Not only is Eurosport showing everything, most of it is LIVE! None of this tape delay BS where, in the age of the internet, you know who has won. Its really great! I wake up in the morning and while we're eating breakfast, I get to watch prelims swims of events. Even with the distance events of the 800 and 1500, they show practically every length. I remember watching Olympics in years past where they would show the start and then the last 100 of the 1500. It was beautiful to watch the German women destroy the world record in the 800 Free Relay last night as the anchor brought it home in a blistering 1:55 and change.

Those of us that are involved in the sport of swimming often complain to the lack of attention our sport gets outside of the Olympics. This is because networks choose not to broadcast meets such as Nationals; if they do, it is on tape delay and takes away from the excitement of watching the event live. Part of the reason for this is ESPN's near monopoly on sports coverage. Yes there are other networks that cover sports, but ESPN is the only 24-hour sports network and is watched in more homes then any other network. How great would it be instead of watching a radio broadcast (yes, they actually film the inside of the radio booth...very exciting TV) of Mike & Mike in the morning, they broadcast live events such as swimming, track and field, or even the EPL. Instead of watching Skip Bayless and Woody Paige argue non-sensical points, we could actually be watching real sports events. What a concept! There are very few US events (well, those that ESPN covers) that take place during the day and based on the success of the 2006 World Cup, the EPL could do very well.

I've started to tire of ESPN and it only sucks because there really isn't a viable alternative. It reminds me of when MTV started broadcasting shows instead of videos. ESPN needs to broadcast sports, instead of another talking head. But keep PTI, that is one of the few shows that works.

Wir Fahr'n Fahr'n Fahr'n Auf Der Autobahn

Spent the good portion of sunday sight-seeing and being a good little tourist. We started the day by going to church in downtown Dresden. I've been attending Catholic masses my whole life, but this was my first one in a foreign language. I knew the procedure and what was going on, but gosh if I had any idea what they were saying. If the church ever needed an argument for a return to Latin celebrations, this is it. It was a bit ironic that in an old historical church, they use electronic boards to indicate the number of the hymn. I'm pretty sure I've never seen THAT in any other church before. Of course I would have been happier had they spent a bit more money and put pads on the kneelers...I do not enjoy kneeling on just wooden kneelers.

Dresden is probably most famous for the firebombing that took place there at the end of World War II. The former GDR lacked money (one reason communism is maybe not so good) to rebuild many of the historical buildings in the city that were destroyed, so they remained in ruins until reunification. The city is still in the midst of rebuilding and renovating the buildings, but it is amazing what they have done so far. They've mixed old bricks that were salvagable with new ones to completely reconstruct these buildings. It is all pretty amazing. We certainly do not have historical buildings like that in the U.S.

One thing I do like to joke about with the OFOMOL is how I'm visiting a former Communist country. Growing up in the US (and the West) we have certain stereotypes about Eastern Bloc countries and how life was so bad there. Talking to her about it, and learning from her mom, life wasn't bad...it was just different. They were not lesser people. The citizens were not tortured or treated badlz. Some western Germans still think this, and that is a shame.

I have taken some pictures of Communist things -- some buildings and murals that still stand, and I even saw an old car from the GDR. Another reason that Communism may not be the best way of governance -- people had to wait 10+ years for a car. And tropical fruits were unavailble...they could only visit other Easter Bloc countries and even this was hard...although they did have "free elections" where the people could vote for whoever they wanted. Then there was the Stasi -- no one knew who was a member and they mointored for anti-government behavior. So yeah, Communsim was not a good thing. On a good note, I even touched one of the buildings and I am happy to report that I did not catch Communism.

It is nice to see all of these buildings and symbols as they remind all of us that History is filled with not-so-great moments. We should look back and learn from these things so that we can create a more better world.

Taking Off and Landing

Well I made it safe and sound to Germany. I survived my first overseas plane flight. Before leaving C-town I got a bite to eat while watching the Tribe lose (damn they suck) at Max & Ermas. I got a turkey sandwhich and washed it down with a Sam Adams Summer Ale. While doing this I decided to do a little reading. My current book of choice is "Swimming Fastest" by Ernest Maglischo. An 800-page behemoth that details anything related to training swimmers. So here I am at the bar, enjoying a sandwhich and a brew, while reading & highlighting this book. The fellow next to me was a bit surprised and made some comment about the size of the book and its subject matter. During the rest of the trip whenever I brought it out, I received a couple of strange looks.

We were an hour or so late getting out of Detroit due to some inclimate weather. After taking off I quickly got comfortable and began watching movies, playing games, eating, drinking, and trying to sleep. I watched most of V for Vendetta and The Benchwarmers. I wasn't impressed with either movie. The last two hours of so of the flight seemed to take longer then it should have and we had to circle around Frankfort before we landed.

During my layover in Frankfort I noticed a couple of things. First off, people are allowed to smoke in the airport! This is pretty crazy as us Americans are pretty used to smokers not being able to light-up in most places. I got some coffee and it wasn't served in a styrofoam cup. No, I got an actual saucer and mug. What a concept! My flight to Dresden was about an hour late getting off the ground because we had to wait for the plane from London. Finally we took off and I arrived safely at my final destination, Dresden.

I went to get my luggage and waited to see my big blue suitcase. I waited. Then the belt stopped and I realized I had suffered the greatest of fates of an air traveller -- that of the lost luggage. So I went to the woman and asked "English?" and she spoke it! Yes! I told her where I was staying and would hopefully see the bag soon.

Then there was the moment of truth, the reason for my trip. It had been 7 weeks weeks since we last saw each other. I walked through the door and saw the OFOMOL looking as beautiful as I remember. That was a fantastic moment. We took the train and arrived at her place.

In order not to talk too long (ha!), I'll save my observations of European life until later.

It's the Eye of the Tiger

Tiger Woods wrapped up his 11th Major win by capturing his 3rd (repeating his victory from 2005) Open Championship. Here he is, 30 years old, now sitting tied for 2nd on the all-time list of victories in the Majors. The number to beat is 18, held by the Golden Bear, Jack Nicklaus. I am a big Tiger fan and enjoy watching him dominate the game. I have no love for Hefty, Els, or Vijay. I want to see Tiger, in his sunday red, give us yet another classic performance. We are used to the Tiger who pulls out driver and kills the ball for 300+ yards, often finding the rough. He's got a great all-around game that he is able to recover these shots. This weekend was different as he kept the driver in the bag and chose to tee-off with an iron most of the time. He sacrificed distance, but damn was he accurate. Every hole he was hitting it right down the fairway. This is a mature Tiger who played a smart game this weekend. Hefty could take some advice (see: Winged Foot, 2006 US Open)...but don't because I like seeing you suffer.

Anyway, #11 got me thinking. He's got 7 to tie Jack, 8 to surpass him. It seems pretty inevitable that he is going to do this. It is rare that in a lifetime you get to see someone achieve a major historical sports achievement. Baseball is a sport that is filled with hallowed records -- Babe Ruth's 714 and Henry Aaron's 756 immediately come to mind. Pete Rose's 4256 hits, Nolan Ryan's 7 No-nos, and Hack Wilson's 191 RBIs are some others. Football and basketball are less number-oriented. When someone throws for 30000+ yds or scores 30000+ points, it gets hard to relate to. Records with smaller numbers are perceived as bigger and we understand them.

I wasn't there for Aaron to pass Ruth...I can only listen to what the historians and folks from the Worldwide Leader tell me. I do know that Aaron, being a black man who was going to surpass the most significant sports record established by Babe Ruth, had to deal with racist comments and hate mail. There was also some media pressure on him...but the media circa 1974 was a different being then it is today. Now we have a black man (in a white man's sport) chasing the most hallowed record of the game. I would like to say that in the 21st century that Tiger will not be subjected to such racist commentary that Aaron was...but the cynic in me realizes that there are probably some folks out there who will not like the fact that Tiger take's Jack's record. Jack Nicklaus is the Babe Ruth of golf. Sure there was Arnie Palmer before him, and there were others before Ruth...but Babe Ruth is the name that defines baseball and Jack Nicklaus is the name that defines golf. It will be interesting to see how Tiger deals with the pressure, once he gets to 17. One thing that he excels at is playing under pressure. There is no one else who is cooler and more collected when the pressure is on him.

Tiger will surpass Jack, this much I know. Whether he ends up with 19, 21, or 24 majors, we don't know. But for this generation, Tiger passing Jack is our version of Aaron passing Ruth. Let us enjoy the ride, as these things happen only on a few occasions.