EVG in Germany

2006-09-25T15:40:00.000-04:00

A few more pics from the journey.............

2006-08-07T13:03:00.000-04:00

THE END

It reads: "World Cup - the chance to be an asshole"

Thanks for reading... maybe something exciting will happen in New York worthy of being blogged about. In the meantime, I'll spare you stories about what I ate for breakfast and the really DEEP things going on in my mind.

TheEVG

2006-07-20T11:22:00.000-04:00

I'M NOT DEAD!

Sorry about the total lack of attention to this thing in the past week or so; it's amazing what a little bit of debilitating Spanish heat and the lure of lush tropical beaches will do to your work ethic.

Long story short, Ibiza was great. Rob and Jess were wonderful hosts and I have a frighteningly dark tan. We were out until 5 in the morning one night and 7 another, but overall it was a pretty tame week. Alas, I have no stories along the lines of "I knew the foam party was out of control when I had to be taken to the hospital."

In Barcelona now, meeting lots of different travelers from all over. Several girls from Quebec, actually. And, like a certain very proud Italian-Canadian I know, I have to agree that they are quite tall and beautiful. Not Denmark-on-a-bike beautiful, but it's close. And that's saying something.

I'm off to London tomorrow, and I'll hopefully get to see Arsenal play on Saturday night in their new stadium. If not, at least I'll get to hang with some friends there.

Then it's back to New York on Sunday. I arrive at JFK at 4 o'clock on a Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt. Try not to make the "Welcome Home" sign too big; I wouldn't want to make the other passengers feel less special.

Until next time...
TheEVG

PS I plan on posting pictures once I'm home. Don't get so close to the edge of your seat; you'll fall off.

2006-07-11T13:09:00.000-04:00

ANOTHER DAY, A FINAL DÖNER

As a co-creator of the now world-famous San Loco run (a two-borough affair nowadays), I have always felt a certain duty to come up with new and exciting gastric endeavors. With that in mind, I offer you -- and the world at large -- my latest concept: dönerism, or tourism by döner.

I came up with the idea of dönerism yesterday on my final day in Berlin. After a shockingly long trip to a Citibank to try to scrounge up some cash, I found myself a bit hungry. Since I was completely on the other side of Berlin, I could go just about anywhere for a bite to eat and it would be on my way home. That's when I decided to return to the place that started it all.

Back in January 2001 when I visited Berlin with my brother and a college friend, the döner was nothing more than a twinkle in my eye. In fact, I'd never even heard of the thing. Thanks to about six trips in seven days to the Bodrum on Schönleinstrasse, life would never be the same.

Three train lines and two transfers later and I was chowing down on a massive lamb (?) sandwich with all the fixins.

Afterwards I remembered that there was a sweet vinyl store around the corner, so I tried to find it again. Alas, like most great record stores all over the world, it's dead and gone by now. I did happen upon a Turkish CD/bookstore though, and understood when the guy said "German books are in the back." Alas, I didn't have the heart to tell him I didn't speak any of the languages in any of his books.

But it got me thinking... wouldn't it be nice if there was a Web site where you could find the best döner shops in any particular town (all döner is not created equal, which is odd, since Jesus surely had something to do with its creation)? You'd also be able to find out what's cool nearby, which in turn, would give you Dönerism: Tourism by döner.

Anyway, that was my last thought before leaving Berlin. I flew to Mallorca this morning, went and saw the Schloss they have here and then headed to the beach, where as I was told to mention, there were many many beautiful boobies on display. I am ashamed to say I took a couple pictures.

Until next time... karma says I'm never never getting laid again...
Aaron

2006-07-06T13:24:00.000-04:00

QUOTES. GLORIOUS QUOTES.

I made it back to Berlin without too much trouble (after a trip to Malmö, Sweden for lunch), but truth be told, I dropped the credit card at a bar on Tuesday night so I could afford a few pints with some Irishmen. (John and Paul, incidentally. I chose to remember their names by thinking of the Pope. They said it's easier to think of the Beatles, and I think I have to agree. Nice guys either way )

Figured I'd share with you a few of the "Quotes of the Day" that fell through the cracks when I couldn't post for a few days:

"I feel like we should check it out. Of course, I might have to hit the ATM first." -- Brandon, 11:26 PM on June 13th, as we discussed whether to walk through Amsterdam's famed red light district.

"I know the land shark very well." -- Brandon, in Luxembourg, June 16th at 7:15 PM.

"I LOVE these African teams." -- Orly, in Köln, as Trinidad and Tobago was singing along to their national anthem prior to playing England.

"Good thing I'm dirty." -- Orly, at some point on June 15th, and I've since totally forgotten the context.

And finally... the Grand Prize Winner.....

"Another day, another döner." -- Ilan, June 20th, 9:55 PM.

Until next time... I'm off to find a Middle Eastern sandwich-type thing...
TheEVG

2006-07-04T12:39:00.000-04:00

TRY NOT TO BLOW OFF YOUR FINGERS

Happy Fourth of July! In the words often repeated on this trip... "America... F*** YEAH!"

Updates:

I have about 170 kronurs left. I think I'll make it.
It's amazing how much reading you can get done when trying not to spend money on anything.
There's this great park in the center of Copenhagen called the Kongens Have (King's Park, I think), and right across the street there's this AWESOME sandwich shop called Lolles. In there you can get a phat sandwich for 35 DKK (approx. six bucks) and then take it across the street to eat in the park. Not incidentally, it should be noted that the way-too-cute girl working there is way too cute. I've been back twice now, in an unintentional attempt to learn the Danish word for stalker.
There is a Citibank pretty much walking distance from Raffi's in Berlin. I'll be dropping by there on Thursday.
I remembered a funny moment from hanging out with French dudes on Saturday night. One guy was trying to tell me about something at an American university. He kept saying, "You know, arr-vare?" Me: "Uh...." Him: "You must know arr-vare?" Me: "Uh..." It went on like this for a full minute... Then Other French Guy says: "He's saying Harvard." Me: "Ohhhhhh!" The moral, as always, is the French have funny accents.

Until next patriotic explosion in the sky...
TheEVG

2006-07-03T06:55:00.000-04:00

THINGS TO DO IN DENMARK WHEN YOUR DEBIT CARD IS DEAD

Ladies and gentleman, meet Murphy. Murphy, you see, is the man who came up with the ubiquitous Murphy's Law. It states, quite correctly, that "Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong." (Though there are apparently other ways you can say it too.)

It is with this in mind, of course, that I ask you to travel with me to Copenhagen, Denmark. Before leaving for Denmark, I made the prudent decision to leave the bulk of my euros in a drawer in Raffi's apartment. I brought along some 75 euros thinking I would just go to the ATM upon arrival and scoop up some Danish Kronurs. Of course, life isn't ever quite so simple -- especially when crisscrossing Europe.

I made it to my hotel, checked in and -- after watching England miss penalty after penalty* -- headed to the city center to find a bank, a meal and a view of the France-Brazil match.

After wandering for a bit, I spotted and ATM and stepped right up.

"1000 kronurs please," I said expectantly to the machine.

"May I have your PIN number," it asked politely.

"Why yes, it is xxxx," I told it, replacing the x's for the correct numbers. Naturally.

The ATM then appeared to think quite thoughtfully for a moment, as thinking generally tends to be, before informing me, less politely than before, "Your card is expired." There was no "I'm sorry sir" or "Let me just check again." That was that. Card spit up. Not even a goodbye.

I decided to have a seat in a nearby park and have a bit of a think. It turns out, as you may have deciphered from earlier posts, that thinking hasn't been my strong suit lately, but I'm happy to report that this time I did a bit better.

I found the nearest pub, stepped up to the bar and asked the barman if he took Visa. He did and poured me a Guinness with haste. I also managed to make quick friends with about 5 Frenchman and, over the course of the next 7 hours, spent maybe $30 and drank quite a few beers. In Copenhagen, where a beer will set you back about 8 bucks, that's a pretty good accomplishment, actually. Special thank you to Thierry Henry for making the French festive.

In the ensuing days, I've found that you can hang in Copenhagen on the cheap if you just do things right.

I found a hotel that included free dinner AND free breakfast. And they let me borrow a bike. And when you're on a moving bike, I'm pretty sure it's impossible to spend money.
If you wait for your McBacon Jr. long enough at McDonald's the nice girl will offer you a free drink. Instead, ask for a small fries. She'll hook you up.
Lots of hotels leave fruit out during breakfast. Grab yourself an extra orange or two and eat it later in a park. This is a safer bet than the banana, which is more likely to become a smoothie in your bag at some point during the day.
Two computers in the Copenhagen visitors center have free internet. You have to fight off one-finger-typers from who-knows-where, but you can eventually surf gratis.
If you're really desperate for free entertainment, the three-minute snippets they let you see of 40-Year-Old Virgin on the hotel TV are enough. Also, Bad Boys 2 was worth watching, but only because it's been weeks since I've seen anything in English. Other than that, it is a stinking turd of bad acting and unfunniness. And that is me trying to be kind.
And finally, thank the good lord that you carry an extra credit card.

I have about 450 kronurs cash, which is the equivalent of about $100, except that everything is expensive as shit here. I head back to Berlin on Wednesday, where I hear EVERYTHING is going to be on sale. Wooo!

Until next time...

TheEVG without M-O-N-EEEE

*Sorry to the English among you. The difference between the English and the Germans when it comes to penalties is striking. As German went to PKs on Friday, everyone was confident they'd win. It was clear, though I wasn't with any English at the time, that the same could not be said on Saturday. At least you're rid of Sven.

2006-06-24T14:07:00.000-04:00

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"I had a bad experience at this game. Did we lose?" -- Ari Lev, 7:15 PM, June 22nd, 2006, approx. 80 minutes after the U.S. got bounced from the World Cup.

Ari, needless to say, should not drink on an empty stomach.

First and foremost, that was NEVER a penalty. The U.S. team maybe didn't deserve to advance, but it would've been nice to see what the second half would've looked like if not for that call.

I got to my seat at the stadium and a guy, Eric, that works at VH1 was sitting two rows in front of me. Gotta love the small world thing.

Ari, Ilan and Brandon headed back to the U.S. today. Orly and I are in Berlin and may head to Prague in a few days.

There are lots more GREAT quotes from the two weeks we spent driving around in a Mitsubishi Grandis and causing general nervousness among both the passengers in our car, motorists and pedestrians. I'll share more soon... but this has to be shared now... before the Ghana game this guy, a D.C. United fan, shared with us two things:

1. The previous night he'd had a bad experience with a döner kebap. He said: "I've traveled to more than 80 countries for work, and I've NEVER had a meat problem like this." He really said meat problem.

2. He also was, generally, a very nice guy... he just didn't know how to write a good song. Proof? This ditty he taught us on match day: "Michael Essien has a really nice haircut... because his mother is a whore... but he's gonna score a goal."

You really need to hear the tune to totally get how funny it is. But the total lack of logic is right there in the quote. We talked about it for awhile Friday and we still haven't been able to figure it out.

Until next time... keep your hair shaggy, or send your mom to Germany to be an underworked hooker...
TheEVG

2006-06-19T11:05:00.000-04:00

SINCE LAST WE SPOKE...

I'm not really even sure where to begin.

After Black Monday, we headed up to Amsterdam for a 24-hour stay. When we arrived, I successfully navigated the streets of central Amsterdam in a rental car, nearly every second almost hitting a biker or driving into a canal. Good fun, regardless. We stayed in a beautiful room overlooking the Liedesgracht canal and enjoyed everything Amsterdam has to offer, including the local "cuisine."

On Wednesday, we drove to Köln. On the way, we took small German backroads, stopped so Ilan could scope out a real life windmill and even bought strawberries from a roadside stand.

In Köln, we stayed with Bianka and her two kids. Bianka was Ilan, Orly and Ari's au pair for a little more than a year back in the '80s. She was a great host and her children were wonderful too. After Germany beat Poland on Wednesday night, we partied in the streets with everyone. (Someone forgot to tell them it was only the second game of the tournament.)

Did some sightseeing on Thursday, and Friday too before we decided to make a side trip to Luxembourg. Let me say this now, and I want to make it clear so I'm going to say it in big letters on a separate line.

Someday go to Luxembourg, even if just for dinner.

We made it to the center of the capital city (also called Luxembourg) for dinner by about 6:30 on Friday evening. We had an amazing meal -- Orly and Ilan ate something delicious called the WHAZZZUP, which the barman sheepishly admitted was named seven years ago after the Bud commercial. It involved two burgers, some kind of great sauce and an omellete on a roll. It was fantastic. I had a salad... but, since I am in Europe, I had them put steak and chopped bacon on it. So good.

As we left the restaurant, a student concert band was warming up in the courtyard, and as we walked past they started their first song. It was instantly recognizable as..... "You're Beautiful" by James Blunt. Except played as an instrumental... by Luxembourgian kids... without those inane lyrics and in a totally mellow style... it was GOOD. Like Right with a capital R. I have a video of about 30 seconds of it on my camera. I wish I could post it for you. It's just amazing.

After a few hours in Luxe, we hit the road for the three-hour drive to the next shitbox hotel. We didn't leave anything in the room this time and everything was fine.

There was the Italy-US game on Saturday, which was great. If you saw it, you know how well the U.S. played and hopefully you could hear us singing on TV. It was LOUD in the stadium and the team was SO MUCH better than against Czech Republic. If things go well on Thursday, then the U.S. would play Brazil next Tuesday. That, as you might imagine, would be very fun indeed.

Now we're in Büdingen/Dudelsheim, staying again with Raffi at the home where he grew up. Today and yesterday we've seen some nice schloßs (castles) and invented the sweet new German TV game show, Schloß oder Dom oder Fabrik oder Barn, coming soon to a German TV channel near you.

Until next internet cafe...
TheEVG

2006-06-14T04:41:00.000-04:00

WELCOME TO THE NEW AND LESS IMPROVED EVGBLOG

You take the good with the bad, at least that's the way the saying goes.

Good: We got to Gelsenkirchen on Monday morning, hung out in the city center in the bright sunshine, and had beers, sang songs and basically had a blast with about a thousand U.S. fans or more.

Bad: The U.S. got absolutely stuffed by the Czechs and our good friend Rosicky (which the Czech fans and stadium announcer pronounce Roh-sid-ski).

Worse: We returned to our shitbag hotel about midnight and I found that my laptop computer, cell phone and digital camera power cord had been stolen. Oh yeah, and one match ticket for both the US-Italy game on Saturday and US-Ghana next week.

That was a bit of insult to injury, but all things considered it could be much worse. This is the way I'm cheering myself up, in no particular order:

I had my passport with me at the time.
I have my camera with me and never deleted any pictures off the memory card, so I still have all of them from this trip.
Knowing this could happen, I backed up all my photos and music and the majority of my documents before I left for Europe.
I filed a police report, have renter's insurance and barring a deductible of about $500, they should help pay for me to replace the phone and computer.
Since I've now reported the phone stolen, Verizon has suspended my service for 30 days, so I'll actually save about $50 on that bill.
On the FIFA site, they say "no one will be penalized for lost tickets" so there's a good chance we'll be able to get the tickets replaced when we get back to Germany.
The German police that left the police report for us were SUPER nice and even left a note on our car windshield that said: "Have a nice trip!"

Other than that... there's been lots of funny stuff happening, we're having a great time (really), and it's been fun. I had just written a lot more here that I think lightened the mood a bit, but it's just mysteriously disappeared off the screen. Oh well.

Until next internet cafe...

TheEVG

2006-06-12T03:43:00.000-04:00

ESPN2 AT 12 NOON EASTERN!

2006-06-10T11:21:00.000-04:00

SORRY LONGTIME GREENPOINT RESIDENTS

If you want paella, go to Spain. If it's prosciutto you crave, head to Italia. And if you're in the market for schadenfreude, all you have to do is come to Deutschland.

If you're unfamiliar with the concept, schadenfreude is a German word that's thought to have no English equivalent. It means, in short, "pleasure taken from someone else's misfortune."

The Germans invented the term and therefore are surely the best practitioners. This was evident late on Friday night as the Germans -- happy enough with a 4-2 win over Costa Rica -- doubled their pleasure when Poland was upset 2-0 by Ecuador. We were sitting in the park after the Germany game...

...when we heard an eruption of noise from a nearby bar. "Must be a goal for Poland," we said, as how many Ecuadorians could there be in Berlin, some 4 hours drive from where the game was being played. Nope, a moment later we heard the announcement that it was Ecuador that scored to make it 1-nil. After sitting in the park until the moon came out...

...and the sun set... (which doesn't happen until almost 10 PM here, which makes me about THIS happy.)

...we set off for another cafe and another beer -- except Raffi, who was laughed at by the waitress for ordering a tomato juice. Soon we witnessed another Ecuador goal. Cue more schadenfreude-inspired cheering/jeering of their neighbors to the east. If someone would've made a "How many Polish guys does it take to screw in a lightbulb" joke just then I would've lost it. I really enjoyed it that much.

As for the Germany game itself, there was a great atmosphere inside the tent at the beer garden and I didn't have to tell anyone to get naked in order to hold onto the seats. The final tally: 12 people in our group, six goals, four for the home team, several fine beers consumed.

Tomorrow I set off for Dusseldorf to meet up with the Levs and "Mellow Yellow", who is not Asian.

Until then...
TheEVG

2006-06-09T09:54:00.000-04:00

DIE WELTMEISTERSCHAFT IST HIER!

I made my first attempt at grassroots marketing today. I kinda doubt it'll help.

This is the big set-up they have going to watch the games in Potsdamerplatz at the Sony Center.

Other scenes from the hours leading up to the first game...

At the drei-v-drei game, there were some Dutch guys cheering on the dudes in red as if they were the Holland national team. Good stuff. The dudes in red won be several goals. Now I'm off to try to save 12 seats at a beer garden for one hour by myself, without knowing how to say much in Deutsche. Last night Phillip taught me "Maches Naches" (sp?), which means simply "Make yourself naked." That oughta help me keep the space clear.

Bis morgen... (If you're in the US, turn on ESPN2 at Noon Eastern.)
TheEVG

2006-06-08T17:19:00.000-04:00

TWO SWINGERS GETTING READY TO HIT THE TOWN

Okay, so it wasn't the NC-17 thing you were hoping for, but this cool park is near the home stadium for the two former East German soccer clubs in Berlin (both play now in the lower divisions of the German league), and it features swings on the edge of a hill that overlook what was once West Berlin. The stadium was basically just barely on the East side of the wall. (That's Raffi, king of Berlin, on the left.)

"So you say you'd like to meet at Alexsanderplatz at what time? Let me just check my watch, which I felt the need to purchase after stupidly missing my connecting flight. Oh yes, 1 o'clock would be great for me. See you then."

"Or would you rather meet near Ronaldinho right now? My watch says I'm there. No? Ok, I'll go have a currywurst instead. Auf wiedersehn!"

More imaginary convesations from a guy with cell-phone-withdrawal syndrome another time...
TheEVG

2006-06-08T02:08:00.000-04:00

I FORGOT TO PACK MY BRAIN
I am now firmly aware that there is a massive difference between a “vacation” and “quitting your job, turning off your brain and heading to Europe.” On a “vacation”, I’ve never once missed a connecting flight because I’ve loafed around the lounge for too long, failing to realize that I’d have to go through passport control and down The Longest Hallway in the History of Mankind at the Frankfurt airport. I ran and I ran, even incorporating a moving sidewalk or two along the way, and still I was late. In turn, I had a few extra hours to spend chilling in the Frankfurt airport, so I amused myself by watching little kids and businessmen play fusball on the tables that Lufthansa has placed throughout the terminal. I had a go myself, but one-man fusball leaves a little something to be desired. Even so, I scored two goals and did the robot in honor of Peter Crouch.

The comedy of errors continued on the ground in Berlin, as I walked off the plane and straight out through security, not realizing, quite illogically, that I should’ve probably grabbed my luggage first. This led to a trip to the Lufthansa baggage claim office to speak with a nice woman with spiky red hair. She told me to walk past the bus station, down some stairs and look for the white building. “Your luggage will be there in 45 minutes,” she said. And so it was. Here’s a pic of me waiting for my bag. I tried to take this self-portrait twice, and didn’t realize I was blinding the customs officer behind the window with the flash.

When I finally got my bag, I passed the gentleman you see over my shoulder and his colleague asked me if I had any cigarettes. I thought it was quite rude for a gainfully employed guy to try to bum a smoke, but it turns out it was a standard customs question. I told them I had none, but volunteered that I would be off to Amsterdam in a week. They warned me to watch out for the space cakes, I thanked them and I was off. A bus and a train later and I made it to a café in Prenzauer Berg to wait for Raffi. The weather is here, wish you were beautiful, etc. etc.

Until next time…

TheEVG

2006-06-07T23:22:00.000-04:00

GOODBYE AARON, HELLO PAUL

The left is me about to hit the road, and the right is Paul. Paul is living in my apartment in Williamsburg. If you see him around, say hello.

2006-06-06T02:30:00.000-04:00

NEW RULE

I propose a new rule: When about to spend a month or more out of the United States, you must absolutely destroy your body by consuming extremely American food on the night before your departure. Case in point? Last night, in a stupor brought on by the intake of several bottles of the fine American lager Budweiser, I stumbled into my local White Castle. It was there that I purchased the food you see above. Harold and Kumar would be proud, I think.

2006-06-02T10:26:00.000-04:00

GOOD OMENS

When I first moved into my neighborhood about a year ago, I'd noticed there's this shop on my walk to the train that had a sticker up saying it accepted MasterCard: "The Official Card of World Cup USA '94". Well, today on my way to my last day of work I noticed it again, so I snapped a picture of it. I figure it could be a good sign.

Another good one this morning: I just flipped on KEXP, which has been my best friend for five years, and the song that was playing was this Barmy Army track called "Sharp as a Needle" that features football chants and announcer commentary -- including a passing reference to Ian Rush, whose skills on the field were rivaled only by his fantastic late-'80s mustachio.

I swear this blog gets way more exciting in a few days. I promise. Even I'm bored with this.

Until next time...
TheEVG

2006-05-23T12:12:00.000-04:00

CLUB VS. COUNTRY

Czech international Tomas Rosicky signed for Arsenal today, saying, "It is a great day for me." And so it may be for all Arsenal supporters... the 25-year-old midfielder is a great playmaker, has had success in Germany and hopefully will continue to progress for Arsenal.

But here's the problem. Before he gets to North London, Rosicky will play for the Czech Republic against the U.S. in Germany, which brings up the long-standing debate: which comes first, club or country?

I equate the situation to having a good friend who hasn't gotten laid in quite some time. You're looking out for him and you really hope he makes it happen. Mostly, quite frankly, because he's gotten a little annoying to be around and won't stop whining about the lack of horizontal mambo in his life.

Then he fucks your sister.

All along you had his back, playing wingman and encouraging him to get back on the horse. Then he makes your sis his mare. You'd be happy for the guy, but you can't be happy for the guy.

Which brings me back to Rosicky. If he goes out on June 12th in Gelsenkirchen and has a great game against the U.S., I'm not going to be happy. But some part of me might start thinking, "Well, at least he looks promising."

The reality is that it's hard to support a club team and then have those same players come up against your country in an international competition. I guess the only hope you can have is that your favorite players have a good game, but somehow your country wins anyway.

And I shudder to think about an Arsenal player scoring against the U.S. in Germany. If a draw is like kissing your sister, having a player from your favorite club team beat your country has got to be like having your friend fuck your sister. It's confusing, dirty and, ultimately, life-altering for everyone involved.

For my own sake, and that of the U.S. Men's National Team, I'm glad I only have a brother.

2006-05-16T19:31:00.000-04:00

WE'RE ON OUR WAY...

Don't know these guys but I can tell you this much from experience: they went immediately to the pub afterwards, were louder than everyone else there, and sang the following song...

We're on our way, we're on our way... We're going to Paris, we're on our way... How we get there, we don't know. How we get there, we don't care.... All we know is we are on our way.

This time tomorrow I'll be in a great mood or a terrible one. It's really as simple as that.

2006-05-15T12:51:00.000-04:00

Just 25 days until the start of the World Cup... if you're in the States, you might have seen the U2-inspired ads airing on ESPN. There are actually four different ones, though I've only seen the one about the ball over "City of Blinding Lights" on TV. Check out this link to watch the other three.

One is about Scottish fans attending the Cup, even though they haven't qualified, another is about the Ivory Coast, and the other is about sick days during the tournament -- which I think we can all relate to.

They also feature a nod to Bono's One campaign. A tasteful tie-in, if you'll allow me to be the judge of such things.

Until next time...
TheEVG

2006-05-08T23:35:00.000-04:00

Orly takes a few seconds to show us the subtle difference between, "Yay, I've got my World Cup tickets!" and "I am absolutely insane; steer clear of me at all costs. Seriously. I own many sharp knives."

(Hint: The difference is having World Cup tickets in your hands.)

There's also a picture circulating the internet of some militant looking dude with his tickets, but I've been advised by that guy Bush just nominated to head up the CIA that posting it here would be a bad idea. And since that guy is credited with coming up with that whole fancy "warrantless wiretap" thing, I'll just steer clear.

The Levs now have their tickets too, as you may have been able to figure out. Apparently the one Lev child *not* going on the trip had the chance to hang with Carlos Bocanegra tonight in Miami, where she gets a tan and occasionally accidentally attends classes at a university. She says she chose studying for finals over partying with Fulham Football Club’s fullback-in-search-of-Miami-hotspots-on-a-Monday-night. Something tells me this ends in me receiving another picture that guy from the CIA says I can’t post.

2006-05-06T11:46:00.000-04:00

With Bruce Arena announcing his squad for the World Cup this week, I figured now was a great time to introduce the EVG in Germany crew. Because there are five of us, and because you’ve made the mistake of frequenting a place where I’m always Right with a capital R, here is our starting five… as a basketball lineup. Take that, logic!

Ilan Lev (6’3”, Michigan) – Center – Ilan is the kind of guy who looks a bit like Ben Affleck and ended up on Conan because of it. No kind of about it, actually. He is that guy. He was also my intern at one point, and must be considered the Lev child most likely to drink to excess and fall over. Repeatedly.

Ilan will be wearing an Onyewu jersey.

Ari Lev (height unknown, university unknown) – Power Forward – The elder statesman of the EVG in Germany crew, Ari’s a mystery wrapped inside an enigma. I consider him our secret weapon. Ari must be considered the Lev child most likely to have reggae on his iPod. I also have a feeling he could quickly learn how to drive a stick shift if I get tired of driving. Just a gut feeling.

Ari will be sporting a Bocanegra jersey.

Brandon Schubert (totally unknown) – Small Forward – I’ve never actually met the guy, but he responds quickly to emails and text messages, and that’s the kind of thing that scores big points with me. I also hear he walks (and talks) softly, so I’m going to assume he carries a big stick. Which is a baseball cliché, wrapped inside a basketball lineup, posted on a soccer blog. EVG 2, Logic Nil.

Brandon will be wearing a Donovan shirt. I've decided his nickname is gonna be Mellow Yellow. Unless it turns out he's Asian. That'd just be wrong.

EVG/Aaron Cummins (5’10”, Missouri) – Shooting guard – I’m the guy with the keys. Literally. We rented a car, and because it’s Europe and Europe is awesome, we saved about 300 euro by getting a manual transmission instead of an automatic. And it turns out I’m the only one who drives stick. We’ve all heard of the autobahn, right? The guy who drives a car about six days every year? Hurtling down the highway at 200 km/hour, which is like 450mph, if I did the calculations right? This should be an interesting subplot of the trip.

I've got a DaMarcus Beasley jersey, mostly because I like names with prefixes and internal capitalization. He's also a great fucking player, but that's less important than the capital M.

Orly Lev (5’nothing, a hundred and nothing) – Point Guard – That’s right, bitches. It’s a reference to Rudy starring that guy from the hobbit movie. An American football reference. Score another in the fight against logic. Orly must be considered the Lev child most likely to help keep us all in line, and thus, earns the nod at the point. She’s agreed to bring along her estrogen, which should help keep things just slightly less smelly and gross. She also seems good at being one of the guys, though, so I fully expect her to congratulate me on my new Russian “girlfriend”, rather than reminding me that the "prostitute" is “on the clock.” Thanks in advance, Orly!

Orly will be a girl in a U.S. jersey. I just can't remember which one.

The Levs at US-Trinidad last August. That was way back when New York had a professional soccer team. LtoR: Ari, Orly, Ilan.

It’s May 6^th… half of our ticket supply is in hand… and I leave for Berlin exactly one month from today.

Until next time…

The EVG

2006-04-08T12:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the world's foreleast source for information on the 2006 World Cup in Germany!

Instead, this will be a place for me to post pictures, tell stories and drunkenly recall the goings on during a summer 2006 trip to Europe and the World Cup in Germany. Think of it as an embarrassingly public diary, an ongoing chronicle of my quarter-life crisis, as I quit my job, leave life-as-I’ve-known-it-for-the-past-five-years behind, and run amok in Europe for about two months.

I will be traveling, along with four friends, throughout Germany as we follow the U.S. team as far as they can go in this summer’s World Cup. We’re all in our 20s, live somewhere near – or have roots in – New York, and we’re all crazed for soccer. They are staying for as long as the U.S. stays around; I’m staying in Europe through the end of July. More on the EVGinGermany crew at a later date…

Over the coming weeks, as I gear up to set off for Europe, I’ll occasionally update this site with random musings. Then once I hit the road on June 6^th, I hope to be able to update the site daily (or at the very least, every few days).

Mostly, this is a totally vain exercise, something to look back upon when the trip is over and I find myself back in New York and have trouble recalling anything that happened. But, at least in part, I hope to make it something more than your average “Look-at-me-I’m-in-Europe-YAY-for-me” blog. At least that’s the goal. Watching it fail, dear readers, could be as fun as watching it succeed.

Actually, I think that’s sort of the Englishman’s way of looking at England’s national team. You find that, as much as the English want their team to win the World Cup, they’re also already wondering who will be the scapegoat this time around. Will is be Beckham again (see France ’98/Portugal ’04), or possibly the ‘keeper (Seaman in Korea/Japan in ’02)? Something tells me to look towards young Wayne Rooney. He has the potential to be a hero, of course, but he also recently dined with Mike Tyson who, according to Sports Illustrated, gave Wayne some anger-management tips. Um, I know it’s been nearly a decade… but Mike bit a guy’s ear off. Twice. This might end badly.

Until next time...

TheEVG