Germans know how to party!

Well, it has been two days since my last post. I would have posted yesterday, but nothing really exciting occurred. I didn't want to post for postings sake... cause then it would bore you. And then you would have felt like you wasted your time reading my blog and then I'd lose my audience. See? That would have been awful! You'd have nothing to read because you'd automatically remember the boring post and never visit the blog again, thereby missing out on my awesome adventure in Europe.

So, you're welcome for not posting yesterday.

When I last left you, we lost our first game to Venezuela. Well, we won our final two games in Round 1. We beat Germany, in front of a crowd of 9,600 people, 9-1; and defeated China, today, 8-0. We did not come in first in our Pool so we are not going to the Netherlands. Instead, we are going to Italy for the second round. Incidentally, the final round is also in Italy. So I'll be in Italy for the remainder of my trip.

First, German fans are awesome! They are drunk and loud and devoted! They are very pro-USA for our games! Except when we play Germany. It was an awesome environment to watch a baseball game. And luckily, we kicked the crap out of them! It was so crowded that there were people in a construction vehicle. You know the cranes that have the baskets in it? The ones you see people from the power companies in? They had some people in one of those and pushed over the press box. It was hilarious! So we won that game (Thank goodness!) and played again today.

We had an interesting/stressful situation. If Germany beat Venezuela and we beat China, there would have been a three way tie. If we lost to China and Germany beat Venezuela, we would have been eliminated. And the easiest: if Venezuela beat Germany, we just go to Italy. What is so stressful about it is, that we have to advance to round 2 tomorrow and we play tomorrow night. Problem: we didn't know where we were going until 10 PM tonight - when Germany and Venezuela finished their game. It has been really stressful. Regardless, we finished second in our pool and are going to Italy.

Germany has been fantastic! I'm actually really bummed that we are leaving. The city is beautiful and clean and full of life! I'm very comfortable here and EVERYONE speaks English! And to celebrate my love for Germany, I went out tonight for a little while to celebrate. OK, well, I did a lot of work today, and my boss told me that I should go enjoy myself for a bit since I worked so hard. So, I listened.

There was the pre-Oktoberfest festival (I mentioned this a while back) across the river from us. So tonight, Kasey (LHP, future MLB star) and I walked over to join the rest of the team for a beer.

THE GERMAN'S KNOW HOW TO PARTY! They had regular festival stuff, but then they had two humongous tents and they had bands, beer, food, and a lot of dancing. But in Germany, they all dance on tables and benches. No joke. I walk in and there are people standing on the tables and on the benches dancing and drinking and it was incredible. (Oh, and scary, the drinking age in Germany is 16 - 14 with your parent's permission... oh, but you can't drive 'til you're 18 - wtf?). So we met up with the team, Kasey bought me a beer to celebrate the fact that I actually went out and we hung out for a bit. The music was good, the atmosphere was electric and it was hilarious watching our players hitting on the younger girls and getting blown off. HA!

I had a great night to cap my trip to Germany. The beer was good, and huge! (T.W.S.S.!), and the guys were hilarious. I finally went out one evening - with permission of course - and enjoyed myself! Mark the calendar! Haha, nah, I do enjoy myself, but I'm usually so busy that I do not get the opportunity to go out and enjoy the nightlife, so tonight was a great gift.

So, we're leaving tomorrow morning for Italy. We are flying into Milan, Parma and then bussing to Bologna (...has a first name, is O-S-C-A-R). We will then arrive at the Hotel Cosmopolitan Bologna and then travel to Reggio Emelia Stadium and play Canada in our first game of the second round!

It's going to be a long day. 6 AM bus, flight, bus, rest, bus, 8 PM game, hour ride back to hotel after the game. Not to mention that it is 2 AM here and I have to be up in 3 hours... Hmm...

Well, the first leg of my trip is finished! I start the second leg tomorrow and I'm pumped for Italy. We are traveling to a different city each day for a game, so I don't think I'm going to get to really enjoy Italy & Rome like I was hoping to, but I'm sure I'll make something work. Also, we might be going to Sicily! Crazy!

Anyway, that's all for today. I will try to post and let you all know that I made it to Italy tomorrow, but I may be still asleep!

Love you all! Miss you guys.

Photo 1 - Me and two U.S. soldiers that came to visit us while we were in Regensburg. Photo 2 - The crazy people who got in that crane to watch the game. I'm not going to lie, I was jealous. Photo 3 - The festival from my hotel. Photo 4 - MY BEER! CRAZY, it was so heavy!