We have been spargeled.

If we had the ability to add pictures to this posting, you would see us decked out in our U.S. soccer gear toasting to 2010 in South Africa, because that is how long we are going to have to wait to see the U.S. in the World Cup. Nuremberg opened its arms to the Americans- they were everywhere in town draped in flags and face paint. The "Black Stars" of Ghana, as they are called, were there, but did not nearly have the numbers of the Americans. In fact, the majority of "Ghanians" did not appear to actually come from Ghana, unless they also had excellent German skills.

There was some ugly Americanism displayed, with a number of Americans shouting, "Nobody likes us and we don't care" and some rude chants using extensions of the word Ghana. But for the most part the atmosphere was as amazing as it has been in other cities. Mark enjoyed it, because as you know from previous posts, he has been longing to actually cheer in English.

All in all, the game was very frustrating to watch. The U.S. did not have the same ability to control the ball that they did in previous matches. Whether they were tired from Italy or if Ghana just pressured them that much, they did not play great. It was also extremely frustrating to watch Ghana's antics on the field, rolling over in pain even when the U.S. didn't touch them. So much for FIFA vowing to issue yellow cards for diving!

So much for soccer. We had a great lunch before the match. We met some fellow DC folks at a restaurant in the old town and enjoyed some käse späztle. Everyone should be on the lookout when Mark returns to make sure he is not an alcoholic, he downed two beers for lunch. Not much for some people, but for Mark that is. Dinner was not such a success. Mark decided to enjoy some German culture and eat Spargel. Every June, Germany has spargel (white asparagus) on every menu. Mark decided to have a spargel night and had spargel soup and spargel with sauce for the main course. He is spargeled out- he seemed to have offended the waitstaff by not eating all his spargel.

Yesterday was a castle-fest. We rented a car and drove to Rothenburg ob der Tauber and Heidelberg. On our way back we drove along a small road along the Neckar river, where we had dinner in a castle on a hill- they did not serve Spargel. Although Mark is not yet sure what he exactly ate, he liked it. Today we are off to Munich to watch Germany play Sweden (Lisa has her Swedish flag skirt ready), and tomorrow we are heading to Stuttgart to see how the 70,000 + English fans cheer on their team in the match against Ecuador. Mark bought an English flag yesterday, so people don't need to worry about the hooligans. We will be considered friends not foes.

We hope to have more pictures soon.