World Cup Fever!

So apparently the World Cup is a huge and enormous thing here.

I don't follow many sports, especially soccer - I mean, Fußball - so for my American friends who are with me in this, here are the basics on the World Cup:

• Takes place every 4 years in a different host country
• Involves 32 teams competing against each other in several arounds
• Will last approximately one month
• Most widely viewed sporting event in the world (more than the Olympics)

That's right, a month of matches daily. It started last week, so we've still got plenty more to go.

Germany played on Monday and won. Matt and I could hear the shouting from our apartment whenever they got a goal. And following the win for a few hours it was all kinds of car honking and general noise. What a thing this is.

The US also played on Monday and won. Since they're in the same initial grouping, they will play Germany too, and that will happen next Thursday the 26th.

Around town, everyone has really been getting into it. I suppose this guy is rooting for Germany - even his side mirror is into it. It's a pretty common sight.

There seem to be many more flags all over the place, and were especially prominent the day after Germany's first win.

Don't have cable? No problem - just head over to one of many grassy areas (pictured here), bars, or restaurants, because they have setup jumbo screens and TVs all over the place so you don't miss anything.

So... yay Fußball!