About 15 years ago, a group of local boys started their own hobby soccer team. The goal was to play in weekend hobby tournaments and have a lot of fun while at it. Hence the name - Bierpulle Holthausen. Bierpulle = Beerbottle. What stood Bierpulle apart from its competition was that all of our players were much younger than the usual recreational soccer crowd as  we actually played soccer competitively. We won many tournaments and always made fun priority. Every Monday night Bierpulle practices on a small field right next to my house. Last night I joined my former team in their evening practice, which was a humbling experience. I only started scoring towards the end of the practice, as everybody else was tiring from all the beer and cigarettes consumed during what were meant to be water breaks. It feels great to be back in town.

  Stern Magazin 

Media is a bit different here in Germany, especially in regards to nudity and sexuality. Check out the latest issue of our most popular weekly news magazine. The featured story is about the trap of gaining back weight after dieting, which you surely must have recognized by the fitting visual.

I just got back from a weekend of soccer, with more pictures and videos to follow. A few friends of mine and myself were among the 20,000 Schalke fans who traveled to our team’s away game against Hannover. The game ended 1:1, which was a bit disappointing but nevertheless ended in a night of partying in the German university town of G�ngen. Below is a little video clip that I recorded right after we scored the 1:0. Keep in mind that this was an away game for Schalke.

After three days of airline travel, I finally landed in Frankfurt. As usual, these overseas flights always come with all sorts of hiccups for me. For once, I had to stand in line for about an hour when checking in for my flight. Lufthansa must have been running some sort of program where they brought back retired airline employees who had never seen a computer and then had them check people in for their flights to Frankfurt. Once on the plane, things went pretty smoothly. The guy next to me must have accidentally signed up to be served a fruit platter as every meal, which he quickly got sick of. Too bad it was a full flight, so they didn’t have any real food for him. My guess is that his wife is behind this.
In Frankfurt my luggage was of course delayed in getting in. Curiously enough, two passengers had the exact same bag that I have. It’s a green bag that my aunt got me for Christmas a few years who, which apparently must have been a popular present in Germany.

I am now sitting at the Frankfurt airport, surrounded by a bunch of smoking Germans. My cousin is supposed to pick me up but he’s a no show so far. Too bad my phone isn’t working and the only phone number I remember is from my German high school sweetheart. If Frank doesn’t show up (in Frankfurt….Frank in Frankfurt …get it) within the next hour, I am either going to call my ex girlfriend or just take the train back to my hometown.

It’s weird to think that I’ll be the surprise guest at my little sister’s birthday party tonight, and that I am seriously contemplating calling my ex girlfriend.

…just released their new team photo. We’ve all been waiting for this day. Now 2007 can finally get started. Auf gehts Schalke.

And I mean that. While soccer is unarguably the most popular and best sport in the world, the atmosphere at soccer games is unarguably the best in the world as well. While this certainly doesn’t hold true in the US, it’s a proven fact across the rest of our planet. Schalke 04 is maybe not the best soccer team in the world, but it has the best fans and best atmosphere, which the clip below is going to prove. Here’s a little bit of background. Schalke has been playing really bad, so the fans decided to do something about it. At the home game against Bayern Munich, they decided to not cheer or chant for the first 19:04 minutes of the game. Such is the club’s founding year and should show the team that it was time to step it up and play like men. 18:04 minutes into the game, 60,000 Schalke fans started clapping as a countdown to the breaking of their silence. In the video, you’ll hear loud cheers at the 19:04 mark. Only eight seconds later, Schalke scored a goal which turned the stadium into a stage of wild craziness. Hearing 60,000 Schalke fans cheer is louder than standing next to a plane at takeoff. Again, a proven fact.

If you’ve never been to a Schalke game, then you simply haven’t lived yet. This is where many of my most memorable childhood moments were created. And this is where I’ll eventually return to.

Today Germany beat Argentina 4:2 after a penalty shootout. Germany was down 1:0, but came back and tied the game. There’s always a lot of luck involved when it comes to penalty kicks, but today the better team won. Not the better individuals players, but the better team.

Who’s biased? Me? No.

Either way, travel home safely Argentinia.

There hasn’t been a bear living in Germany for over 150 years. But just before the world cup began a two-year-old bear snuck into the country over the Alps and entertained a country for weeks. His name was Bruno and he was somewhat of a superstar. Kids loved the bear and there were websites guessing his every move. The problem was that Bruno also killed a number of sheep and cows, which led the government to believe that he might be a danger to humans. Since nobody in Germany owns a gun (only slight exaggeration), they flew in professional hunters from Finland who were supposed to tranquilize Bruno and then find a safe place for him to live. Those peaceful hunts went on for a few weeks with no success. They couldn’t catch him. It’s all that good German beer.
Then just a few days ago, some wanna-be hotshot Bavarian minister declared that Bruno could be shot by any licensed hunter. To make a long story somewhat shorter, Bruno was shot.

I’ll miss reading about Bruno in the news. Farewell, Mr. Bruno Bear.

Literally.

This world cup is taking its toll on me. I get up early every morning to watch the games. I can’t sleep at all the night before Germany plays. Other nights, I usually end up on the couch. I stopped answering my cell phone a week ago. I live of protein shakes, frozen yogurt, toaster waffles and beer. I rearranged my loft so I can see the TV screen from just about everywhere. Everything looks out of place. I go through the same procedure before every game, doing whatever I can to not jinx the team.  When Germany wins, I drink to celebrate. When England wins, I drink to dim the pain. I cry all the time, even though we haven’t lost yet. From everything my friends tell me, 80 million people in Germany feel no different. Millions of people celebrate and watch the games in the streets. The church bells ring before and after every game, and church attendance is at an all-time high.

Germany has been going through some hard times politically and economically in the past few years. People have a tendency to be very negative about our country’s future. This world cup is changing everything. It’s giving people hope. It’s bringing out an adbundant energy that laid still for many many years. Win or not, Germany will be a different country after this event. A better place, filled with hope, passion, energy and a will to do.

Gl�f Deutschland. You’re as a beautiful as ever.

Congratulations to my dear mother, who finished her first marathon in 4:41. My dad finished his fourth half marathon in 2:04 (new family track record), my good friend Sebastian in 1:46 (new family and friends track record) and my buddy Uwe in 1:49 (new personal record). Congratulations to all, while my mum definitely deserves “star of the day” honors. Whatever, you are all stars. Sebastian, send me some pictures, k?