June: The World Cup Begins...

Yes, the coursework and job search must continue but...the World Cup is on. Thankfully, everyone wanted to watch the matches in the student lounge and with over 65 nationalities on campus, it was not difficult to find some home team fans. Even Trinidad and Tobago had local support in the INSEAD bar area. Come on England...

We planned early on to make two trips to Germany. Our first trip was a Cologone journey to Eilin's wonderful flat. On Saturday, Eilin arranged for a roof top tour of the cathedral in the center of Cologne. Construction started in 1248 and completed in 1880. The exterior scaffolding indicates the plans have yet to be completed.

Doctor, can you provide some advice?

If you take the roof top tour, pay close attention to the unique stones and sculptures only visible while walking along the narrow rooftop pathway.

On Sunday, we said goodbye to our INSEAD friends and drove to meet Dr. King and Rob. They had landed in Berlin and planned to spend the next two weeks chasing football matches and German sights. Sunday night in Cologne brought superb weather and crisp pints along the river. On Sunday, we picked up the lads and drove towards Gelsenkirchen. USA WC opener vs. Czech Republic kicked off at 6:00 PM (local). Kenan guided us towards this Turkish restaurant that was oh so pleasing for Mr. Bacchus.

We employed a weak strategy for buying tickets outside the stadium and firmly decided that we will pre-purchase tickets to all future World Cups. Dr. King and Rob found reasonably priced tickets but Rebecca and I went to the fan zone to watch the sad result for the United States.

We had to return to Fonty for my classes and job search during the week but the following weekend, Rebecca and I headed back to Germany to meet Rob and Dr. King in Koblenz. Following Rebecca's German instincts, she lived there for a year, we found this peaceful beer garden at the rivers junction.

The city of Koblenz is worth a visit. Like most European cities, it has a vibrant city center, rivers running through the main portion and wonderful architecture. Less touristy but worth the 1-day trip. We had one mission for Saturday, procure match tickets for USA vs. Italy. The following picture indicates the masses attending the game. Within the masses were the ticket scalpers and me with my new strategy for buying tickets. I was going head-to-head with the Italian ticket scalpers and willing to invest the time, energy and tactics required to buy tickets.

The strategy worked. Not only did I find affordable tickets for Rebecca and I to attend the USA vs. Italy match, but I also found category 1 tickets for Rob and Dr. King to attend the USA vs. Ghana match in Nuremberg. I would like to thank the friendly Italian and compassionate American for selling me tickets to this match. If you buy me a gelato then I will detail my strategy. It involves patience, humility, positioning, cardboard, negotiation and the right clothing. I am still curious to know if my Australian friend that felt a need to trail me and needed a course in negotiations ever found his way into the match.