Italian gambling....acting... soccer.

I love the world cup and soccer in general, but the italians are trying to ruin that. just when it looks like some cinderella teams that are playing good soccer are going to make it further into the tournament, the italians go and ruin the game and the "purity" of soccer by throwing themselves on the ground to get a foul and a penalty shot to win against australia. what a sucky end to a game and the chances of australia coming further.

And this after all the crap that's been going on in the italian soccer league.

I know. i'm just annoyed because i think italy plays dirty. don't get me wrong, they have great players, but they play dirty, dive and just don't deserve to win games like the one they stole from australia.

the fury continues.

Back in time. in Berlin.

I had a great time in Berlin. My 4 days there flew by, but i got to see lots of the city and just enjoy being there without the stress of having a schedule.

Everything worked out so that i could just take off sunday night and come back thursday. Markus had called his friends sunday and they said i could crash there. they had an empty room because their new roommate hadn't moved in yet. so i thought i'd just jump on an over-night train, but they were full, so i sat in trainstation for a couple hours and then had to change trains.

I got to berlin at around 9 in the morning on monday and just started walking around the city to see sites and whatnot. Saw the Siegersäule, Reichstag, Brandenburger Tor, the Fan Fast Berlin and some other stuff. i ended up not buying a tram ticket, but just walking around till my feet hurt.

I spent the next days just relaxing, watching soccer on the fan mile, taking it easy and enjoying my first time in the capital. i also saw the (berliner dom, fernseher turm, museum island and the marx-engels park thing.

Oh yeah. It just so happened that there was a "night of music" in the city wednesday night. Bands were playing on the street and in all different parks. It was just a great atmosphere and a nice little surprise on my last night in the city.

Here are a couple pictures. You can see the rest on my Flickr account. Unfortunately, flickr doesn't let you put the pictures in the right order. either way. enjoy.

Berlin, Berlin, Ich fahre nach Berlin!!!!

Hi kids.
I've been in germany for, lets just say 3 and a half years, and i haven't been to the capital. I've been debating when i'll be able to go and waiting and waiting, and i finally decided that i'm going tonight. i'll take this week off, get back thursday night maybe. yeah.

markus called a friend today and i can crash at their place. so it looks like i'll take a night train and get there tommorrow morning, hit the city and whatnot. i'm thinking i'll come back thursday night or so. we'll see.

another great thing is that germany plays against ecuador in berlin on tuesday, so it'll be great times in the city. i'll take lots of pictures and post them later.

Too much?

The world cup started 4 days ago and there have been 11 games so far. I'm happy to say that I've been able to watch each game up until now. there have been some good games, but just as much of me sitting around on my ass in front of a TV. if i actually watch all 48 first round games, that will be at least 72 hours in front of the tube.

Don't get me wrong, i'm loving it. but such a level of dedication calls for a certain amount of reflection. When was the last time i sat on my ass to read my Bible for an hour and a half? let alone 4 and a half hours a day, like it is with the world cup now.

I'll continue watching, but i think i'll be planning worthwhile activities during the break between games or when i'm not watching. frisbee, Bible reading, cleaning the bathroom, etc......... anyone have any other ideas?