World Cup from Italy

The final game we saw at the World Cup was USA vs. Ghana.   It was disappointing that the US lost.  The stadium we were at had a capacity of 41,000.  This is another reason why Germany should have never hosted the World Cup.  This is ridiculously small stadium.  They were proud that all seats were sold out.  Are you kidding me, of course, its the World Cup, no wonder no one could find tickets.  Even local Germans we met said they could not get tickets for the games.  They were also upset with the organization of the cup.

So we decided to leave Germany and go to a nice place where people smile and love life, and food is great.  Ciao Italia!  We decided to stay  2 days in Milano.  Oh how nice it is.  It feels like heaven.  Everyone is so friendly and nice.  No more dirt fests or badly organized events by Franz Beckenbauer or Nazis.  That's right we encountered a Nazi festival\meeting in Germany!

To be honest, the games are so much better when they are comentated in Italian.  Everything sounds so good. 

Ani Mesrob de Gregory
Soccer Bride
www.4skills.com

A Better Nuremberg

Well we are in Nuremberg again for the USA - Ghana game.  I have to tell you, it looks much nicer and cleaner . Its a different city and the atmosphere is completely different also, more friendly and less scary. The last time we were here England played Trinidad and the Brits were very intense.

Today, we are pumped. We have tickets to the game and FanFests are a memory. 

The last FanFast we went to was in Munich to see Brazil - Australia.  It was great, people were friendly, both Brazilian and Australian fans were super nice.  The Fest was in the Olympic stadium.  The food and beer stands were great.  However, there seems to always be something with these  fests.  This time, you could stand up and watch the big screen from far away, but if you wanted to sit down and be able to watch the screen, you had to pay 150 euros.  No joke! Oh you also get free food and drinks, better for that price.  When we heard that, we left and decided we are not dealing with any more FanFests. 

Thanks Franz for your bad organization and hosting.   Its sad, not everyone can get helicoptered in to each game.

Next time I will check with Franz before making my plans. :)

Ani Mesrob de Gregory
Soccer Bride
www.4skills.com

Watching Germany-Poland in a Beer Garden

We are staying in a town situated on the Danube called Regensburg.  It is the cutest town we have been so far.  It has an Austrian influence and Mediterranean flare.   It has been our base for the last 2 days and we liked it so much we are staying 3 more days. 

On the night of June 15th we watched the Germany - Poland game in a Beer garden restaurant.  It was wonderful.  On the back round was the Danube and a view of the old city.  Picture perfect. The place was packed.  We found a little table on the side. Perfect view of the TV and the city.  We had a German named Heinrich join us, he could not find a spot.  He was very friendly and ended up being our translator for the rest of the night.  We ordered typical Bavarian food, it was one of the best meals I have ever had, delicious. 

The game was great and watching the excitement of the Germans was wonderful.  Luckily for us the Germans won. The town went crazy.  Everyone walking down the streets chanting, cars honking their horns and flying the German flag, electric. 

Ani Mesrob de Gregory
Soccer Bride
www.4skills.com

Nurenberg Fan Fest

June 15Th,

We went to Nuremberg to watch Trinidad play England.  Each host city organizes a FanFest for all the soccer lovers with no tickets and usually its pretty nice. 

We were at a FanFest in Cologne to watch the France -Swiss game and it was  incredible.  Wonderful atmosphere. People were having a great time. 

Well the one in Nuremberg was not FanFest but DIRT fest.   It took us an hour to find the place, because no one even knew where it was. Finally we get there and we are ready for some fun.  But the sight we saw was disgusting.  The Dirt fest was in  huge parking lot, which was so dirty.  There were food and beer stands set up but everything seemed so nasty.  There was trash everywhere.  And I thought Germany was clean  or maybe Nuremberg is not in Germany? But it seemed it did not bother the English, they were drinking their beers and half were passed out on the ground. 

After 2 minutes we left, we could not take it anymore.  We went to a nice Italian cafe by the train station.  Nice food , good flat screen TV and enjoyed the game.  The next day we met some Aussies at our hotel and one of them was at the Dirt fest as well.  He said he lasted 1 beer and got the heck out of there..... "Hey Nurenberg, what happened to you."

Ani Mesrob de Gregory
Soccer Bride
www.4skills.com

A day for a US fan in Germany

June 12th. 
Our base for these two days is Cologne.  2pm we take the train to Gelsenkirchen to watch the USA playing the Czech Republic.  The whole station is packed with US fans (great showing).  Some wrapped in US flags, some wearing US soccer gear.  It was great, I got goose bumps.  This would have been hard to imagine a couple of years ago. Seeing so many fans coming all the way to Germany to support the US team would have been impossible. Well, we get on the train and everyone is anxious.  We are all meeting new people from New York to Tenneesee, making friends and chanting USA.  We would have made all of you at home proud.

Not even 10 minutes after we left Cologne station we started smelling smoke.  Next thing we know the train is stopped and smoke is coming from the brakes of the cart in front of us.  Great....how can this be happening now, we need to get to Gelsenkirchen....There was a German girl sitting next to us (who had lived in Alabama), she said this has never happened before.  We are all waiting for some kind of announcement and at the same time we are ready to even walk to the next train station and get on another train.  We had the conductor of the train take the fire extinguisher out....Finlay after 40 minutes the train was on its way.  We arrive at Gelsenkirchen Central Station with an hour to go.

We think we are set and everything is dandy, but how wrong were we.  We have to go downstairs and take another train that will take us to the Stadium.  The amount of police officers they had at the entrance of the stairs leading to the train was incredible.  But the amount of people waiting to go to the stadium was more incredible, around 10,000 people at least.  Taking that train was one of the worst experiences of my life.  At that point in time, everyone was no different than caged, sweaty animals. 

For those of us with no tickets, we had to get off 2 stops before at the old stadium where a huge projector was set up. It was the old Schalke Arena.  The placed was packed as well.  Our joy did not last long.  5 minutes in the game and we were already losing 1-0.  By the 80th minute we were ready to get the heck out of there.  We wish we stayed in Cologne to watch the game.

Cologne was better prepared to host the games.  Now I know why Ailton wanted to get out of  Gelsenkirchen....its that bad.....and has nothing to do with the US losing...

Hopefully the US and US fans will have better luck next game.

Ani Mesrob-de Gregory
Soccer Bride
www.4SKILLS.com

In the middle of a big splash

Well the wedding is done and it went great.  We jammed for 3 days and 3 nights with 20 people from the wedding party. Nights in the Bahamas with people you love is a time everyone should experience once in their lives.

Now for the honeymoon or what some would call an epic adventure.  Three weeks floating around the world cup which begins and ends in Amsterdam for us.  I have my diesels ready and my  21 day euro rail pass.  Sounds good to me.  Maybe a tour on the Rhine or where ever else the flow takes us.  We are ready to party with Brazilians and Australians on June 18th in Munich.  If the US makes it to the next round then we are ready to hit Dortmund or Kaiserslautern. Prague, and Luxembourg will be in between. We might have to stay on campus at my cousin's dorm in Stuttgart if the going gets tough.

Any which way, I'm willing to go and explore the depths of Germany o6. Let's see how the honeymoon and the world cup play out.

My Honeymoon in Germany

Hello, my name is Anahid. I have loved soccer as far as I can remember; soccer has always been a major part of my life.  I grew up in Sofia, Bulgaria until I was 15.  I used to play with the boys all the time.  I wanted my jersey to be #1.  No one could convince me that # 1 is only for the goalies.  After that I went to a boarding school in Cyprus for 4 years, I used to get special permission to watch the Champions League games.  One of my dreams has always been to go to the World Cup.  I am getting married in May, and what would be a better honey moon than to go to the World Cup 2006 in Germany? I can’t wait.  I don't know if I am more excited for the wedding, or the World Cup? Olympic stadion here I come.