Miami's women's basketball team in Strasbourg, France.  • Europe Trip Index Page

Guten tag ~ (Good Day)

The World Cup was up for grabs as Germany took on Brazil in final match. The streets of Freiburg were crowded with German flags being worn with pride and a handful of Brazilian fans. All gathered around any local television to cheer their country to victory. The German men's soccer team had not won the World Cup since 1990, so a win for the Germans would send this country into a huge block party for days. I did not tell the Germans, but I was cheering for the Brazilians.

Every bar/restaurant was filled with hundreds of people. Most of us ended up at a restaurant called Graffenegg Schlossle. We sat in an area that they referred to as a "beer garden" where we watched the game on two 25" televisions--one side of the garden cheering for the Germans and the other side cheering for Brazil. Brazil beat Germany 2-0 and although Germany lost, the German fans still paraded the streets of Freiburg after the game waving their flags. The neat thing about these countries compared to the United States is that they really support their countries without hesitation.

I did happen to see something surprising during the aftermath of the World Cup. As cars were stopped at a red light, a man with a German flag stood in the middle of the street and someone with a Brazilian flag got out of his car and stood next to the man with the German flag and they proudly waved both flags together. Not only does that show great sportsmanship, but it reflects on how events like the World Cup can bring people together. I guess sometimes we tend to take things too seriously and block out the positive in our lives. About a half hour after the game ended we headed to our next destination, Strasbourg, France.

We met up with our tour guide Katherine, who guided us through the historic town of Strasbourg. Strasbourg has been passed back and forth to German and France throughout history. I thought the Cathedral located in the middle of the town was amazing. It was too tall to even try and take a picture of it. I believe most of the girls just bought a postcard of the Cathedral so that they can say they did see it. We did have a chance to peek into the Cathedral before mass started. The Cathedral can be compared to the famous Notre Dame in Paris. The main difference is that they could not build the second tower of the Cathedral because the foundation was not stable enough.

After the tour ended, we all went our separate ways for dinner. Colleen, Katie, Heather, Pru, Jana, Kim S. and I ate dinner at the Riva Destra, which is an Italian restaurant in town. The restaurant was not very crowded, so we sat in an area where we knew that we could enjoy our meal. We learned that the French are very impatient with Americans being ignorant to their language, and quickly noticed that we were the first ones to order, but the last ones to receive our meal. I hope the service in Paris improves.

Before I finish, I would like to mention that the best part of this trip has been spending ten days with the ultimate roomie, Beth Roederer.

Kim Lancaster

Thanks to Ohio Valley Concessions for contributing toward our wonderful meals today!