World Cup Baby!

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After much anticipation, I am finally here!!!
We are staying at the "Stay and Learn" Hostel located conviniently right next to the central train station (well, and depends on your interest, right next to the red light district as well). But its a great place... quite clean and quite well organized. We actually got a semi-private bathroom with our room too, and its surprisingly new as well.

I must say, when we got here, we didn't really know what to expect or how to get around. And we didnt have to. Everywhere we go, if people see us with our maps and looking confused, we were offered help to get back onto the right track. Its great! However, I must confess I am still not sure how to get around here by train or bus... it seems like a rather complex system compared to many other cities I've been to. On the other hand, we didnt have to use much public transportation! On our first day, we set about on foot and was able to cover most of the attractive areas, and get a good feel for the city that way. The city is not particularly large, and I've always enjoyed walking more than sitting anyways.

Food wise, there seems to be lots of very good and upscale places around here... we just havent gotten around to them (or gotten around to decide we want to commit the money on them). Instead, we've been eating street food... some of my favorites anyways... beer and sausages from carts on the streets (given it is during the World Cup, the streets of full of vendors).

Now, on to the main event... watching Germany vs Argentina on the Main River where Jumbo-trons were setup for thousands to view. As my friend said, "man, I wonder if the outcome will effect our vacation... I do not want to see 80,000 people upset tonight". We didnt really get to find out because Germany did take the victory and boy did people celebrate. The joy they experienced is probably one that most of us from the US cant ever relate to. You just do not see a whole country come together like this. Its like everyone left them homes and headed for the streets to cheer and sing... pictures to come of course!

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