Sean In Europe 2006

Halfway Home

2006-07-10T12:19:00.000-07:00

.. sorta. I am spending my last night in Europe here in Frankfurt, and my flight leaves at 1 PM. I get back into the Yay at 4 something PM local time, or 1 AM Europe time.

When I get back I will have lots of pictures and videos and other propagandous mediums to show you. So get pumped for that.

Also, HUGE Hip Hop Head Nod to Kristian, the son of Wilfriend and Christine Herpel, who I stayed with in Berlin. He hung out with my punk ass for a couple days, and really made my time there that much better. It was one of my favourite cities of the entire trip.

I hope they don't catch my 45 kilos of dope and blow at customs tomorrow.

Sean

Berlin, Berlin, wir fahren nach Berlin!

2006-07-08T05:41:00.000-07:00

So I am in Berlin. I have a lot to write about, but I am going to make this one fast because I am on dialup. I will write more, I promise.

Sean

P.S. My new passport picture is hella cute.

You. Have. Got. To. Be. Kidding. Me.

2006-07-06T11:28:00.000-07:00

Passport: Stolen
Stuck In: Bruxelles

Craptastic!

Pit Stop

2006-07-06T02:33:00.000-07:00

OK. Found an internet cafe. Finally.

Spent the last two nights in Paris, after taking an overnight train from Barcelona. Met some Aussies on the train, who I ended up staying with in a hostel. Went to the Stade de France and Parc des Princes (PSGs Stadium) where I watched the France match last night. Needless to say it was nuts. Also went to Jim Morrison's grave? scarily 35 years and one day after his death. I also climbed some tower thing, as you avid readers most likely already know.

Today I go to Amsterdam for one night via Lille and Bruxelles.

I would guess my next post will not come until 7/7 in Berlin.

Forza Italia.

Blogging From Eiffel Tower

2006-07-05T03:08:00.000-07:00

Hello. In Paris; In/On the tower.

Thats all.

Sean

LOL. Skare Taktix.

2006-07-02T16:49:00.000-07:00

I am off tomorrow, taking a flight to Barcelona. From there, I am actually not quite sure. I will end up in Amsterdam eventually, but I don't want to be traveeling during the World Cup semi finals, so I may end up staying a night where I had not originally planned (talking to you Paris). I am sure you will hear all about it. Either here or on your local news.

Preferably here.

Adioz

Alive 'n' Kickin.

2006-07-01T07:58:00.000-07:00

La Furia de 1000 Sols

2006-06-29T07:27:00.000-07:00

Its official - I am immune to sunscreen. I took everyone's advice (use it) and these are the results. Breathtaking, no? I particularly like the change in hue between neck and back. Craptastic.

Here are some much needed pictures of the view from Sergio's. He lives in a three "flat" building, meaning each apartment has the entire floor. He lives on the top, which means he also gets the roof, which has been turned into a very nice terrace. These pictures are from said terrace.

OK, time for a shower. If you hear screaming in the distance, I blame the sunscreen.

End Ape-artheid. LOL.

2006-06-29T01:47:00.000-07:00

Quick Note: to you kool kommenterz out there, if you leave it anonymous (or, here it says "El usuario anónimo") and don't put your name in the comment, I don't know who left it.

Juat an FYI.

Off to (can you believe it) THE BEACH. My next post I'll put up some pictures. I don't know of what. Monkeys maybe.

El usuario Sean

Micromaniac Attack

2006-06-28T06:38:00.000-07:00

Been living the chill lyfestile the past couple days. Mornings in the pool, afternoons on the beach. Needless to say, I am thuroughly burnt. Not a lot more to say, except I am going to stay here until the 3rd, cutting my time in Amsterdam to three nights. Which I think is better, considering I am travelling all by my lonesome.

OK, got nothing else.

ADIOZ.

Como Te WHAT?

2006-06-27T04:44:00.000-07:00

I think you need a minimum 12 beers before you even have a chance at understanding the Catalan language. French, Spanish, Latin, German, Italian, Portuguese, along with some things just out of thin air. I swear.

Unbeknownst to me, Sergio (as well as I) does drama, and happened to have a performance last night. It was short (45 minutes), and, I think, sweet. I question because the entire play was in Catalan. However, it was a comedy, and the kind of comedy which is simply completely random, hence, funny. So I too was able to laugh, either at the pure randomness, or the fact that the language can be pretty damn funny sounding as well.

Tonight is the big Spain/France match, so that is what we base our day around today.

Sean

(She Said) Have I Got A Little Story For You

2006-06-26T06:26:00.000-07:00

Estoy aqui en España finalmente. Despues de tres trens, dos taxis, y un avión. Joder, que larga.

(I'm here in Spain finally. After tree trains, two taxis, and an airplane. *Expletive*, it was so long.)

Here are some pictures from our second Copa Mundial match, as well as pictures from a tour I took of Barçalona's stadium, the 100,000 seat Nou Camp. Also featuring a special guest I met here in Mallorca, who lives in the same complex as Sergio. The first person to name him wins a prize.

Fernando Torres

It took three pictures to get the entire stadium. When I get home I'll try and photoshop them into one panaramic. This is from the field.

¿Quien es? Here's a hint (or a chance for some of use to give up): He's a soccer player.

Paz y más,
Sean

Come 'n' Ride (Choo Choo)

2006-06-24T03:52:00.000-07:00

My train leaves in less than two hours, and then it's 24 hours of train riding, finally arriving in Barcelona at 11:45 tomorrow. I took a short train ride from the Frankfurt airport to the main Frankfurt train station, and boy are those bullet trains nice. It's closer to "lift off" than "departure". Zoom zoom.

So, this one really is the last post until Spain. Furreal this time. I swears.

Sean

P.S. I am so ready for ÜBERDEUTSCHLAND to lose. The train station and ... well ... everywhere is teeming with loud, obnoxious Aryans. Oh well. Go Sweden.

P.P.S. Someone has a pair of those goddamn thundersticks, and they are putting them to good use. I blame the Angels.

1-800-GO-FIGURE

2006-06-22T10:05:00.000-07:00

Here's a silver lining, Joe SoccerFan: I have never in my life had more correct predictions than today. Let me lay them out for you:

Reyna is no good
Beasley shouldn't have a spot on the starting XI
Brian McBride will try hard
The U.S. will get 0, 1, or 3 points
What Landon Donovan does with this match is completely up to him
The U.S. won't win playing one up front
Eddie Johnson should have started

All that being said, here's what I didn't count on:

LD staying at the beach with Bianca for this one (I thought he would come back eventualy, apaprently he's still spooked by zee Germans)
The US scoring (at least the only one who deserved a goal to their name got it)
Ben Olsen playing
Reyna getting hurt (I admit, this is probably the first game where Fragile Claudio was the last thing on my mind. That'll teach me.)
Another shit ref
Jimmy Conrad apperantly preparing to man the back with Gooch in 2010.
LD sending that late freekick somewhere into the Alps.

I'll I will say about Bruce is that I hope he wasn't banking too hard on that Euro contract. Even though I have been a stern member of both the "Play Eddie Johnson" and "Sit Claudio Reyna" fan clubs, I hardly expected to be ready for a new national team coach. And yet - bring it on.

As a round-up, I have boiled it down to the following: The four stand-out members of the US Team in 2002 are the four that didn't rise to the occation this time - LD, Beasley, Reyna, and Bruce.

¡Viva España!

Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Tiger

2006-06-22T03:54:00.000-07:00

Get it? Did the old dipsy doodle on that one.

So I get a day to review, summarize, and comment, instead of playing ketchup (punny, no?)

Out of the gate - I apparently despise beer (bier). Honest to LeatherMan, who drinks that stuff? Story of my first bier goes as follows:

Beer #1 - OMGehfueshfuölsefugfesöidfhi8u948tu Holy Ess that's bad ewewewewew (etc.)
Beer #2 - Well, that's not bad.

Next hazardous sip, a few minutes later, of Beer #2:

OMGehfueshfuölsefugfesöidfhi8u948tu Holy Ess that's bad ewewewewew (etc.)
It's all relative, I suppose. The urrsher at the Stadium told me the beers taste better, the more you drink. Oh that German humour.

It took a lot for me to restrain myself from asking these 5 German ges-- I mean "polizei" to take my picture with them. They were so loud and obnoxious, you'd think they are American. Ah home.

I suppose that is enough for now. Make sure to watch Spain tomorrow, and look for me. I'll be the one in red. Can't miss me.

Sean

Gestapo Fiesta

2006-06-21T10:43:00.000-07:00

Don't tell me that didn't deserve its own post. Confetti = vunderbar.

Jesus Looks Good In Leather

2006-06-21T10:15:00.002-07:00

Oh those Germans.

PICTURES!!!!

Many more here.

Thursday: Watch the U.S. advance (Please O God of Leathery Materials)
Friday: Back to Kaiserslautern (K-Town to us locals)
Saturday: Train
Sunday: Train y Barcelona

So I may not speak with you again until the land of tapas and nap ... as.

Sean

P.S. I pooped in the woods in Germany. What have you done with your summer?

I Turn My Camera On (I Cut My Fingers On The Way)

2006-06-20T03:18:00.000-07:00

These German keyboards suck. Apparently, they don't use the letter "y" so its tucked it back into a corner. No love.

This particular computer lacks a USB port, but the one next to me has one! Apparently, changing computers is out of the question. Gotta love that Bavarian flexibility.

I am off to Trinidad/Paraguay today. We are takign a couple T&T fans with us, so they donät have to take a train. Pics will come during the next post, hopefully.

A parting comment: Sergio was right. The Germans really are the hottest in Europe. Even their police officers are hot. I'm serious.

Sincerel ... ... ... y (found it)
Sean

Tomorrow - We Fly, Comrades

2006-06-17T15:28:00.000-07:00

Our plane leaves tomorrow from SFO @ 1:45 PM, arriving 9 AM local time in Frankfurt.

I lied in my earlier post, I only have actual tickets for Barca -> Paris and Paris -> Amsterdam. I do, however, have a pass, and now all I need to do is book seats on whichever trains I want (which I will do upon my arrival in Frankfurt).

You can most likely expect pictures of arriving in Germany in my next post, which won't come until Monday. Until then, have a nice few weeks, America, and I'll be back on 7/11!

Sean

RIP Sr. López

2006-06-16T10:05:00.000-07:00

I recieved an e-mail today from Sergio, my exchange student and corrospondent in Spain. It seems as though his father has passed away suddenly, for reasons unknown. I figured I would have a couple wrenches thrown in my plan along the way, but I didn't imagine it would be anything this serious. Set to arrive in Spain in just over a week, I now must re-evaluate the entire situation. Yes, there are dozens of hostels in Barcelona, but I think "staying the course" might be the best option. If you can't tell, I'm pretty swamped by the situation and have a lot of figuring out and growing up to do, and fast.

I am sure Señor López was a good man. While I never knew him personally, he sure raised one hell of a son. And I'm sure he did much more than that.

Please send your thoughts at wishes out to Sergio and his family, as this was a very unexpected loss.

Sean

Hello

2006-06-14T13:53:00.000-07:00

Hello out there. This blog is just for anyone who cares out there, as well as for my parents, so they know I'm still alive when I am by myself in Europe.

I booked the following train tickets today.

6/24 Frankfurt -> Barcelona
6/29 Barcelona -> Paris
6/30 Paris -> Amsterdam
7/7? Amsterdam -> Berlin
7/10 Berlin -> Frankfurt

I am waiting on Amsterdam -> Berlin because I may want to go earlier or later than the planned date. Flexibility and all that.

Countdown - Four Days.