The 85 Hour Endurance Challenge

I got out of bed at 11:00 am on Saturday morning; I did not crawl into bed until after midnight Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. Outside of about an hour on a Frankfurt airport bench, I wasn't even close to horizontal during any of that time inbetween.

Saturday, I ran some errands before dropping off the Tobster at my parents. Then, it was time to get dolled up and head over to pick up Andrew for the engagement party of a lifetime. I could spend a whole post just describing it. Let me see if I can hit the high points - the house could be mistaken for either a country club or a museum; there was valet parking; food for something like 200 guests was catered by Perry's Steakhouse; the wine bar was on one side of the pool, and the martini bar was on the other; and there was a live jazz band. It was all very 'My Super Sweet Sixteen' but classier - just substitute being carried in by shirtless guys with toasts given by state representatives and other dignitaries. I think Andrew put it best when he said, "Jesus Christ! There are lights in the centerpieces!"

We ate, and then ate some more, and Andrew drank, and then drank some more (it's required when there are special cocktails named after the bride and groom-to-be). After most of the guests left, the rest of us put on our swimsuits and jumped into the crescent-shaped pool. Andrew and I didn't leave till after 3:00 am. Good times. We even made a special friend. Her name was Jeanie, and in her honor, I would just like to say, "What the hell is a licorice tooth?"

Anyways, being lucky enough to partake in all the festivities of Andrew's good friend's engagement extravaganza meant that I didn't make it home until 4:00 am. All I had time for was a shower before shoving some things in a bag and running out the door to catch my 6:30 am flight to Newark. That's when the real test of human endurance began...

To sum up most of my trip, let me just give these stats. I spent:

13 hours wandering around Newark airport
24 hours on planes
8 hours wandering around Frankfurt airport
6 hours on trains

... all so that I could spend 10 hours in Gelsenkirchen, Germany and attend the USA vs. Czech Republic World Cup game.


USA vs CZE

Even though I was filthy and exhausted the entire time, it was totally worth it. Germany lived up to its stereotype of being clean and efficient. Of course, beer was plentiful, cheap, and available 24 hours a day. If you saw a line somewhere, it was for beer.

I was, however, surprised by the World Cup atmosphere. One, other than inside the stadium where it cost 4 euros for a drink (controlled by Budweiser and Coca-Cola), none of the stores and restaurants had jacked up their prices. Places were selling official FIFA World Cup shirts for 7 euros or flags for 1 euro. Drinks and food were all around 1 or 2 euros. They clearly do not have the greedy, opportunistic spirit that we have back in the States.

Two, everyone was genuinely friendly. When you think of a bunch of fiercely nationalistic, drunk futbol fanatics, you assume there is going to be some kind of obnoxious behavior. That was not the case at all. The World Cup really does live up to its motto "A Time to Make Friends." People couldn't have been happier or more amiable. On the trains, in the city, strangers from all over the world were striking up conversations and having a good time. At the stadium, Americans and Czechs who were decked out from head to toe were taking pictures with each other... before and after the Czechs kicked our asses. Even the drunks were the happy, smiley drunks that sang on the train and made you laugh, not the belligerent kind.

Curiously enough, even though Brian and I had no distinguishing paraphernalia on, everyone seemed to know we were a) there for the World Cup, b) American, and c) Chinese. Okay, a and b are easy to guess since you don't see that many Asians in Germany. But, c is pretty impressive. Maybe those guys who passed us only knew how to say "hello" in Chinese, but it's weird that they didn't assume we were Japanese or Korean, since their teams are actually in the World Cup.

In conclusion, it was a fun trip. Painful, but fun. Dirty, but fun. Might not be as enthusiastic about this kind of schedule again, but fun.

I can't believe I survived on short 30 minute naps while curled up in some kind of chair for 3 days straight. We had plenty of time to kill, but it's hard to sleep when you're waking up for meals on flights, getting elbowed by other people, or just generally nervous about missing your stop/flight. My brain was definitely mush, and I did run the risk of dozing off at the game. But, after I finally got a full night's sleep last night, I am fully recovered. I feel fantastic in fact. Still, I agree with my brother, who, at the end of this trip, said, "Next time, we're getting a hotel room."