Cheering On Team USA

This morning, Spencer and I got up and headed out to Kreuzberg for schawarmas for lunch. 'Twas amazing as usual. Then we started our tour, and I showed him the highlights of Berlin, including the Topographies of Terror. Hadn't been there in a while, but it's looking good as usual.

In fact, the Martin Gropius Bau next door is finally starting to show signs of its renovation being down. Looks nice. Haven't ever seen it like that actually.

We walked around a couple of other highlights, but we made it to the Brandenburg Gate and took some pictures. Still love it. Gonna miss it.

We then went to my university, where there was a model taking pictures. People were staring and everything. Haha.

Crazy that we were able to go upstairs in the building too. You normally see the balcony from the outside, but it's not typically accessible. But we walked in there today and got up there. Maybe on Sundays?

We also spent the afternoon drinking Kölsch (beer from Cologne) near Gendarmenmarkt. Was pretty fun. We then headed back to Kreuzberg to hit up that one Asian restaurant I went to with Tamar the other day. 3€ per main dish. Spencer and I each got two dishes each. The server was like, "Are the last two to go?" And we responded with, "Um...no...we're eating it all here." Haha. Eating like kings. Here's my duck with oyster sauce dish. I think I preferred the curry I had before it though.

In the evening, we went to Schlesisches Tor to meet up with friends to watch the U.S. vs. Japan World Cup final. It's interesting...if this had been the men's World Cup final, there's no way we would've even made it into the bar. But we made it in after a short wait and headed to the back. I saw some familiar faces from the U.S. Embassy too. Lots of Americans, but also lots of Japanese fans.

My buddy, Matt, came by too, and he got interviewed by TV Berlin. Pretty funny. After the game, they seemed to want to interview me too, but I was too upset to talk to them.

We screamed our heads off, and now my voice is gone. But the Americans lost an epic game on penalty kicks. They should've won this game handily, but they just couldn't get the ball in the goal when they needed to. When they finally did, they seemed to give it right back within 10 minutes. Frustrating.

Anyway, time for bed now and another day of Berlin exploring tomorrow. I also have a meeting at the Embassy as I wrap up my year. Sad. One week till I head home! Nein!!

Sam