...all about going to a World Cup Match!

guten tag!  daniel and arrived in Lauf, Germany today.  it is a small town outside of Nurnberg. the game in Hanover was quite exciting last night.  A couple of things you should know about going to a world cup game.  1 - be prepared to be stripped searched every time you enter the stadium.  2 - just about every person attending the game is either wearing a flag, wearing a crazy hat with the colors of their team, or has the flag of the team they are supporting painted on their face -- so be prepared to follow one of these options (daniel and i painted the fabulous stripes of red-yellow-red - for spain - on our faces -- hopefully we'll be able to upload some pictures when we get to Spain)  and 3 - we were shocked to learn we had come all the way to germany to a world cup game, simply to discover the only kind of beer one can buy in any of the world cup stadiums -- is budweiser!  -- ugh!  daniel was very dismayed.  but, never fear -- he has tasted many a good german beer outside of the match stadiums!  :)   the matches themselves are like nothing i have experienced. it is amazing to hear the spanish and french voices singing in the stadium at the top of their lungs.  and to be able to see so many revered football players race across the field, pass, catch, trap, and juggle is astounding -- like Zidane and Henry from France and Raul and Torres from Spain -- incredible!! (more to daniel then me...but even i have quite an appreciation).  and now we wait to see who will play in the semi-final in dortmund -- we are hoping for germany -- but we shall see...