WC2006: Two Daze Gone

BERLIN (1.34pm local time) -- The second full day in Berlin consisted of a lot more aimless walking. Stopped at Zoo Station - suddenly the U2 tour makes much more sense - thinking I might visit some of the stores I had passed during last night's revelrie, but that lost its appeal. I knew I needed food, but was in that state where I just can't decide what I want. Some of it was the poor night's sleep, some of it the lingering jet lag. To reinstill some order, I resolve to lay off the coffee and see how my body responds. After a bratwurst and pommes frites from one of the vendors in the square by the burned-out church, I head back to the main train station.

This time, I deliberately skirted the Fan Fest and came to the Brandenberg Gate from the other side. I stumbled on an Internet café and tried to get at least closer to being caught up on these entries.. The row of shops looked over this sea of large stone blocks that I thought could have been a memorial, or could have been East German art. Turns out it was the Holocaust Memorial, but I would have expected more tourists.

I briefly took a detour into the Adidas "World of Football," conveniently placed between the Hbf and the free Fan Fest. For 1€ I got...I don't know what I got, other than a disturbing view of another half-naked Swede, this time getting a tattoo put on his ass by his friends. What is it with these guys?

Now that I had my bearings, I was hoping to take the sightseeing bus tour of the city, so I could figure out what I might want to see close-up on Friday. I probably should have done it sooner - I feel like I'm missing the history a bit. But in trying to take the long way back to the Hbf so I could get out of my apartment to Zoo Station to Hbf to Fan Fest rut, there wasn't really enough time to do the tour and still watch the England match. Plus, I had secured that ticket for Sweden-Paraguay, so I would need to get back to the stadium.

I picked up some souveniers and some spatzle, watching England once again go for long stretches without scoring, and then hopped the train to the stadium. For once, it was neither overcrowded nor oppressively hot and stuffy, and I found myself suddenly popular with the other riders as I checked my phone for score updates.