Italy vs. USA

Wow, what a game.

Me and a surgeon who I'm working with went to watch the game at an Irish pub in K-town (Kaiserslautern). The streets and bars were packed because the game was actually being held in K-town. Unfortunately we weren't able to get tickets because they were about $1000 on ebay. If I had known I would have been here a few years ago, I probably could have got tickets for $60. Oh, well.

We enjoyed watching a very close and exciting game that the US actually tied. I thought they would have been crushed considering the way they played against the Czechs. But they played very well. There were people from all over the world there watching with us, even in that tiny pub. Germans, Italians, Irish, Scottish, Americans, English. . .

At the game, we ran into some people from Landstuhl's ICU and after the game we went down to a place called Chuck's Cafe. A clearly American run local where American ideals covered the windows in such form as "YOU CLEAN IT, WE'LL COOK IT" and "IF YOU DON'T LIKE OUR COOKING, CALL 1-800-EAT-S**T" and played pool (not billiards, that's what those crazy blokes from Britain play) and foosball.

By the time we thought we should head home, it was one or two in the morning. Since there were a few of us, we decided we should try and catch a cab. Unfortunately, everyone else in the city had the same idea. Despite throwing ourselves into the street in front of every cab we saw, we couldn't find a ride. We finally gave up and decided to take the train home. However, the last train out was at 0120 which we had missed by 15 minutes. So, needless to say, we had no way to get home until 0600 later that morning.

With no other options, and the cold setting in, we all huddled in the bottom of the train station and tried to get some sleep with the hundred others that were in our situation as well. There were the 20 or 30 that didn't care about sleep and had a lot more alcohol than we had. They made it their goal to keep us awake with their incessant singing and other vocalizations. So we finally got a train home at 0600 and I made it back to my bed in time for an hour of sleep before having to go to work.

Someone just asked me tonight if it was worth it.

Without a doubt!

I hope you're all jealous. :)

Busy, Busy. . .

So, it's been a busy week for me. I haven't had much time for anything other than work, and the occasional run. It's kind of funny. I've been trying to figure out a way to run/walk to this castle on the other side of Landstuhl called Nanstein (I didn't know it's name until today). Anyway, I almost made it today, but I didn't know the name of it, so after an hour of running through the forest, I gave up and turned around just after I saw a sign for Burg Nanstein. But since I know very little German yet, I didn't know that "burg" is the word for castle. So after a few more minutes on the trail, I turned around. Bummer. Anyway, I'll get there before I leave and get some pictures to post. Here's an aerial shot of the castle.



Deanna got to Wisconsin yesterday thanks to JB and Midwest Express! She's there for her 10 yr Lawrence Reunion. I'm jealous. She got to go out to dinner with Mom, Dad, Eddie, Jamie, Sean, and Julie. I wish I could be there with her. I guess I'll have to wait until September. Hopefully she'll be posting some stuff too when she gets computer access.

Landstuhl-The first taste

I started my European living experience on 04Jun2006.

I'm doing a rotation at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center for the next month. Located in the Rhineland-Palatinate region of Germany, a green, hilly, region ideal for hiking and biking especially at this time of the year.

The town of Landstuhl from the trail I run in the morning.

Although the rotation is keeping me busy, I've had a chance to get to Heidelberg where Deanna and I will be moving in July. The FIFA World Cup is being held in Germany this month as well, so I have spent a few nights in Kaiserslautern watching the initial round of games. Unfortunately, I'm rather embarrassed to be from the US, given their performance. Oh well, I was rooting for Italy anyway.

I'll keep updating this as I find time. Feel free to post your own comments. And you all better come visit when we get settled.

Ben and Deanna