Remember my glowing description of the hotel suite we have on the top floor of the hotel, how I loved all the big windows? Sunday night powerful thunderstorms came through and I thought we’d be blown away. The rain battered the windows, the wind howled, and suddenly being surrounded by all that glass seemed menacing. In the morning the sidewalks were covered with leaves and small branches, and the temperatures were mercifully far lower than Sunday’s high of 95.

Karlsruhe has proved to be a tourist friendly town. It has a fully staffed visitors’ center, a large park and a zoo, a big market square, several parks and playgrounds, and a small mall, all within walking distance of the hotel. E spent Monday getting us oriented.

We ate lunch in a café near the market called Multi Culti. I ordered a pork chop with curry sauce and pommes frites. Somewhere we had a miscommunication, despite the waitress’s ability to speak English. What I received was entirely different—a slice of tender roast beef wrapped around a filling that had corned beef and pickle in it. Sounds gross, but it was delicious. Instead of pommes frites, I received spatzle. They were awesome. E had a pasta dish with a cream sauce and spinach and shrimp. The kids had fried chicken strips and frites. The food was excellent and reasonably priced, one of the best meals I’ve had in Europe.

*****

World Cup Fever—ask me if I like sports and I’d say no, but I’ve loved watching World Cup games on the hotel TV. I’m pulling for England and it has absolutely nothing to do with how cute David Beckham is—really, it’s all about his foot work and the game saving goal against Ecuador. Monday I cheered for the Italians over the Aussies, and no it was not because the Italians had snappy blue uniforms as opposed to the Aussies icky yellow and green ones. And I assure you Luca Toni and all the players with great hair did not influence my allegiance in the least. I’m a serious sports fan. It’s all about the fine points of the game you know.

After dinner Monday we took a walk and the streets were peppered with people draped in Italian flags and cars cruising and honking their horns to celebrate the Italians victory. People have decorated their cars with flags representing the teams they support. The Americans were knocked out early and needless to say, don’t have fans over here. I have an official World Cup English jersey. If I’m brave, I’ll wear it tomorrow. Go Becks!

****

The German word for soccer, fussball, is pronounced “foosball.” Wonder if foosball tables originated in Germany?

Saw a tram with a display indicating it was heading to “Bad Wild.” See you have to get on the bad bus if want to be wild.

June 27, 2006