A great day! A bad night.

OK. I have to explain both parts: the great day and the bad night. Which do you want first?

Alright, the bad night first.

We lost our opening game of the 2009 World Cup. Shoot me in the face. We lost 13-9 in the 11th inning via the international tie-break rule. For those of you who do not know what it is: After nine innings, if the game is tied, you are allowed two runners on first and second base with no outs at the beginning of each new inning. Well, in the 10th inning, both Venezuela and us scored two runs. We went into the eleventh inning and we gave up our second - yes, SECOND - grand slam of the game. We lost 13-9.

What this means: If we lose one more while in Germany, it could mean that we are eliminated. We are the defending champions. I'm irritated. There is a possibility that if we do lose another we could stay in, but it's all up in the air. Also, this means that if we come in second place in our pool, we will not go to Amsterdam. Instead, we will travel to Italy for the second round. Italy is also the host of the Finals round as well.

Ok, so while it would be really cool to spend two weeks in Italy as opposed to one (assuming we make the final round), it would have been really cool to visit the Netherlands as well. However, I am more concerned with our team than my travel hopes. I mean, we're the defending champions. We were up 7-1 and were unable to keep the lead. I just don't want us, as defending champions, to not make the final round. However, I am confident that we'll pull out of it and we'll make it to the final round. Anyway, that is why I had a bad night. And since I have gotten that off of my chest, I can talk about my great day.

So, I woke up today and did a bunch of work during breakfast, therefore allowing me a few hours of free time before we had to travel to our baseball game. I went into downtown Regensburg and took about 150 pictures. Just for all of you!

It was great. I did it all on foot. I left the hotel and got lost - which is really the best way to learn a new city. I didn't get lost per se, but I missed a few turns. I ended up where I was hoping to go, which is all that is important. As I got into the downtown area, I went around and just took some pictures. I also sat along the river for a few minutes and kind of soaked it all in. There was this path, right beside of the river, and it was in the shade and had low trees and it was by my favorite bridge (picture). So, I sat there and rested and talked with one of the staff for a few minute as I ran into them, and then continued my picture taking adventure.

Europe is just alleys and alleys and alleys. Seriously.

There are alleys everywhere! There are larger alleys that could fit two cars and then there are alleys that can't even fit one. And in these alleys (all cobble stone, by the way) there are tons of stores and restaurants and cafes! It is exactly what you expect out of Europe based on what you've seen on TV and in the movies, but it's a lot better. Then to add to the charm of these small cafes and the remarkable intricacies that you can't even describe, there are some amazing buildings.

I am an architecture freak. I don't know much about it, but I love buildings and I love the construction of buildings. I find pleasure in unique and well designed structures. I would actually have become an architect had I gone to school at a non-liberal arts school. OK, well, at least attempted to major in it for a little while, I may not have been able to cut all the physics. But anyway, Europe has not disappointed on the architecture front. Well, I'm not a big fan of the pink buildings, but other than that, it's all cool.

So I went around and took tons and tons of pictures of buildings and really tried to enjoy the city. I ate at a tiny cafe and had some pasta with some sort of meat in it. I don't know what it was and I probably do not want to know, but it was good! Then I went and had some gelato and headed back to the hotel. Granted nothing spectacular happened to me while I was in the city, but I was able to enjoy myself! And it has been a while that I have had some time to enjoy a city that I visited. This summer was extremely busy and I did not get to venture around Japan or Canada as much as I would have liked, so this was a great time for me.

Alright. I need to get some sleep. It's going on 3 AM here. We have a game tomorrow at 1:00 PM EASTERN TIME. That's 7 PM here. It's going to be on the MLB Network on cable and satellite. Watch it! DVR it! Something!

I will keep you updated on where I am going to go for the next round - hoping that we win, that is! What's goign on at home? I need updates!

I hope you enjoy some of the pictures!

Picture 1 - Pregame. This was right before we started the national anthems. I took this picture from the press box, so this is my view of the game. We had 4,200 people in attendance. You can't tell in this picture because you can't see the majority of the stands, but it was very crowded. Picture 2 - the outside of my hotel. It's surrounded by trees, so you can't really see it. Picture 3 - The downtown area from the other side of the Danube River. I was taking the picture into the sun, so you can't really see the vibrant colors, but believe me, it's amazing. You'll see better pictures later, I'm sure. Picture 4 - from the other side of the bridge. You can see the colors better. BE SURE TO CLICK ON THE PICTURES TO SEE THE FULL VERSION!