Women's World Cup Semifinal: Japan vs. Sweden

Frau A and I got to see a lot of the Women's World Cup in person.  Some group-stage games were held in Augsburg, so we attended North Korea vs. Sweden and then Australia vs. Sweden.

We bought semifinal tickets early on a gamble -- before knowing the matchup.  We though the U.S. would with their group, then win their first elimination-stage game to reach the semifinal.  We thought Germany would do the same.  Germany vs. the U.S. would have been awesome...

But as it turned out, the U.S. did NOT win Group C, (but did make the other semifinal game) and Germany lost to Japan in the quarterfinals!

So, even though the dream matchup would not happen, we took the train to Frankfurt to see Sweden (who we'd seen twice already!) take on Japan.

 

We arrived to see the opening ceremony and hear the national anthems in progress.  Notice the empty seats in the best section -- we think it's the result of German fans (who made the same gamble we did) not showing up because the German team wasn't here.

Sweden was attacking right-to-left in the first half and probably generated the most (and most dangerous) opportunities.

Frau A tool some GREAT photos of the first goal.  Sweden 1, Japan 0.  Only 10 minutes into the game.

On the other end, Japan was not getting much other than ineffective corner kicks.  There was a feeling in the stadium that it would be an easy Swedish victory...

But the Japanese team started to control ball possession more, and their attacks were getting sharper.  They got the equalizer at 19 minutes and took the tie into halftime.  Their attackes continued into the second half.

For one save, the Swedish goalie punched the ball away and hit her teammate in the process! 

In fact, Japan ended up with 60% ball possession and scored two unanswered goals within 5 minutes to open a 3-1 lead on Sweden.  On the defensive end, Japan were tight and for the remainder of the game.  Sweden created no real chances to speak of.

Japan were a pleasant surprise (and of course, would be an even bigger surprise in the Final...).  We saw three games, and are so happy that we had this opportunity.  It was a great experience and hope many of you can see games in Canada in 2015!

Globetrotter Outdoor Sports store (again)

The Globetrotter store that we visited previously has a few more surprises that we missed the first time.

But to start, I've had some requests for more photos of the wind & rain chamber and the altitude/cold chamber.

So, here is a better viewing angle of the wind & rain chamber (see prior post for the video).  Customers can put on test pants+jacket+hat+boots+gloves, then go through the door and step on the buttons to unleash the elements (or someone steps on the buttons outside the chamber for you).

In this picture you can see more clearly the dual fans that create the "wind".  The box hanging from the ceiling has four spouts that make the "rain".  I have no idea why they have water running down the plexiglass wall, though.  Probably just for visual effect.

The altitude & cold chamber has exercise machines so you can get a feel for trekking in new gear under similar conditions.  They really have quite a layout of stationary bike, treadmill, stairmaster, and mechanical steppers:

The television screen shows the current "conditions" in the room, in this case equivalent to 2200m altitude:

One new discovery -- that we walked right past the first time -- is the test area for slepping pads and sleeping bags:

You can see the bags hanging on the wall, and the pads lined up on the left.  The single-bed-sized thing with the small logs set upright is the test platform!  (A girl is sitting on its far edge.)  The concept is to have an uneven, hard surface onto which you place a potential sleeping pad and then sleeping bag -- then climb on and climb in.  You'll get a pretty good idea how much comfort the pad provides, and if the sleeping bag is the right size too.

A woman was testing these and got off moments ago:

In addition to the above test area, there was something else we missed on the initial visit.  The store has a small closet with two covered holes (wide enough for an arm) and three sets of eye holes at different heights.

You can take a flashlight or headlight, stick it through the covered hole, then peer in through the eyeholes to see how much light it provides in darkness (or even compare products back & forth):

That is really taking in-store tests to the extreme!

For some reason, they have an ant farm too!  This is located pretty close to mosquito covers and insect repellent, so perhaps you can reach through the oval hole and test something?  I'm not sure -- I didn't see anyone using this and didn't ask.  Plus, there were few ants and they were not very active. 

 
Finally, Globetrotter gives space to vendors for demonstrations too.  On that day, Columbia brought a centrifuge to demonstrate the capabilities of their "Outdry" shoes.  Columbia bought the Outdry company in 2010 and is promoting the shoes' waterproofing -- basically, it's a competitor to Gore-Tex. 

The sign says "centrifuge test" in German.  Different shoes were placed in the cylinder, with water, and spun.  The guy and gal in the picture then let the customer see/feel the difference.  Not sure entirely the point, but the lady in the backpack was enthralled.

This is definitely one of my favorite stores in Munich now!

Munich Cowboys - American football!

Frau A and I went to see an American football game here in Munich!

The local team is the Munich Cowboys.  They are one of 14 teams in the top level of the German Football League.  The GFL 1st League has two 7-team conferences, North and South (Munich is in the South, naturally).  Most major metropolitan areas have a team except Hamburg (they were relegated to the 2nd league):

Some team names are awesome:  Kiel Baltic Hurricanes (so U of Miami doesn't get upset?), Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns (not the fighting unicorns?), Marburg Mercenaries.  (Berlin are the "Eagles":  Adler in German).  Defunkt teams include the Cologne Crocodiles.  The Badener Griefs (what's a Grief?), currently in the 2nd league, were founded by a group of motorcycle enthusiasts!  Also in the 2nd leauge:  Magdeburg Virgin Guards!

Surprisingly, the league was founded (but with different names and structures) in 1979.  Munich has been the most consistent participant, with 335 games in its history -- but have been champions only once (1993). 

Interesting note:  the league allowed unrestricted use of foreign players at first (probably to seed the teams) but now limits teams to only two non-EU players on the field at any time.

In its current state, teams play home & away games within their conference, plus home & away with one team from the other conference (the team that finished in the same place in that conference's standings last season).

Four of the seven teams from each conference reach the playoffs, where team #1 in the North plays team #4 in the South, etc.  From these quarterfinals then through the semifinals, the final two teams standing meet in the German Bowl.  The winner can go on to play in the EuroBowl.

On the flip side, the last place team in each conference must play against the first place team (in the respective conference) in the German Football League 2.  If they lose, they are relegated to the 2nd league and the winner moves into the 1st league -- just like soccer and most sports in Europe.

(Note to the NCAA:  playoffs are GOOD.  Promotion/relegation is also a good idea.)

The Cowboys are currently in third place in the Southern conference, and were hosting the Schwäbish Hall Unicorns.  Don't judge the Unicorns by their mascot - they came in undefeated at 10-0, in first place in the South, and are outscoring opponents by 2 touchdowns a game.

Dante Stadion is cozy, with a grandstand on one side and a smaller set of steps on the far side.  It has a capacity of 18,000, but not nearly full for the game.  It was built in 1928, and used for Hitler Youth activities during that period of time, but after the war it was used by U.S. troops stationed here for American football and baseball.

Visually, the Olympia Tower looms in the background.  Very cool backdrop for the coin toss:

I was excited to get the camera going, so I snapped this on the first play of the game...

... and the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns threw a 67-yard touchdown pass.  What a start.  7-0 after 18 seconds (note that they use 12 minute quarters):

Just like you would expect in the U.S., a large, loud coach circles the guys around for a pep talk after giving up a quick touchdown (and telling them how to fix the mistakes).

Munich is more of a running-oriented team, but couldn't get a consistent attack established.

They also seemed to be a bit sloppier, less precise.  This snap was low and wrecked the play:

The whole experience is "produced" like an NBA game.  At every break, pop music blares over the loudspeakers -- it does help keep the energy up.  Given the small stadium and crowd, the announcer roams the stands with a wireless mic and clipboard of names and stats.  He is often explaining the game in more detail to the fans, and constantly yelling "Let's go Munich..." to which the fans complete by yelling "COWBOYS"!  The whole thing works quite well.

At halftime we wandered around to where they had a throwing game for kids.  The NFL clearly is trying to help market the sport here.  The challenge is people understanding all the rules!

In the second half, Munich started to mix things up a but more - here they lined up in trips-right formation and tried to jump-start the passing offense.  The receivers are a bit slow, though.

However, the day belonged to the Unicorns.  I noticed that their quarterback looked pretty good, and learned from the president of the Bavarian Amercian Sport Association (who was sitting next to us!) that this quy is the quarterback of the German National Team too.  It looks like he's on track to lead his team to the German Bowl against Kiel, who are undefeated in the Northern conference...

Munich coaches brought out white boards to try and diagram something effective, but without success.  In the end, the Unicorns beat the Cowboys 27-7.  According to league statistics, Munich out-rushed Schwäbisch Hall 173 yards to 87, but were significantly out-passed 384-139 (and committed 3 interceptions to boot).

The overall experience (and quality of play) was a bit like a top level U.S. high school game, including hamburgers to eat and the players shaking hands at the end.  We had a great time.  The Bavarian Association president comped us tickets to another game, and we're definitely going!  Thanks Georg!  (Is there a roster spot for me?)

Train Travel

Munich Hauptbahnhof with the Olympus "Diorama" Art Filter - quiet but active in the early morning

Travel tends to bring out the best and the worst in people.  (One reason why travelling together can be a great test of a relationship...)

It's not just air travel - it's also true when travelling by train. While one of the things I enjoy most about train travel is seeing how the countryside changes, I also enjoy seeing the people and how they interact with one another.

Let's be honest, usually the most memorable travel stories are about the "worsts," not the "bests."  Last week, however, I experienced one of the bests.

I had another work day with a round trip to Frankfurt.  Early that morning the train left Munich with the car rather empty.  In our section of 4 seats facing each other (with the table in the middle), I sat at the window and another guy sat across the table on the aisle. And had his stuff in the seat by the window. He then decided to take the seat next to me for sitting, AND the TWO across the table for his belongings....Not the best start for positive glimpses into humanity, but it didn't matter much to me...I was in my reserved seat and had the space I needed.  The issue of the other seats would be someone else's battle to fight.  This is a typical German train situation.

Munich Hauptbahnhof with the Olympus "Dramatic Tone" Art Filter - almost empty when Frau A returns about 21:00

At Würzburg, a lot of people boarded the train, meaning this guy occupying 3 seats had to move some of his things and share the space.

A 30-something German guy sits down at the window seat across from me just before the train departs. At this point, many people are walking through the train trying to find empty seats. He moves the other guy's stuff and tells a 20-something tourist that the seat is "vacant."  In the confusion, it sounded a bit like "taken," but he made sure to let her know that she could sit there. So she and her friend finally find seats on the packed train - one at our table and one across the aisle.

Then the fun begins.  The German guy asks "So where are you from?" The average business traveller is not usually so outgoing or caring about other people and strangers don't strike up a conversation here as much as they do in the southern US where you learn someone's family history in the grocery checkout line. I admit that while I'm always careful not to infringe upon anyone's rights to enjoy the train, I'm usually exhausted and don't go out of my way to talk to people. 

These girls were here from Dallas (!) and were headed to the Frankfurt airport after the last leg of their European vacation.  They had visited Wurzburg, home of Dirk Nowitski, which only made me like them more. 

The German guy noticed that at times the two girls conversed in Spanish, so when she apologized for bumping him, he responded with a no te preocupes to her.  Over the next hour or so, he conversed with her in Spanish and English, and was incredibly helpful in telling them out of which terminal their flights would depart and drawing a map of how to most quickly navigate the airport (they were a bit pressed for time). And at which club in Würzburg they stood the best chance of running into Dirk.

It left me with a happy feeling, because I had witnessed what I'm sure was the creation of a positive memory of foreign travel and of the people who live there. When she first found a seat, she commented to her friend that "this train is totally different than the last one...people aren't so rude!" And after talking to a random German guy (in two languages that were not his native tongue), I suspect that the feeling was intensified.  Instead of the usual difficulties anyone faces in navigating a foreign country, the last part of the trip included a friendly and helpful person and an easy final leg of the journey. It just left me with a happy feeling inside.

 

Garmisch-Partenkirchen Bahnhof with Photomatix for HDRThe Munich-Frankfurt connection also delivered another memorable trip, this time with an eastern twist:

A couple of months ago, I was seated in the middle of a wonderful example of clashing cultures: Middle-aged Chinese tourists vs weary German business travellers.  It's slightly before 5am on the Munich-Frankfurt train, and only a few of us are scattered through the train car. No one wants to be up this early, so it is quiet and peaceful. Until the flash flood of Chinese tourists, that is. I choose the description "flash flood," as the train changed in a few seconds from an empty & quiet to overcrowded with much noise and activity.

As a generalization, Germans often are more measured and deliberate in their actions, and on the mornings trains prefer relative quiet, especially in the cars that don't allow talking on the cell phones. A disapproving glare at an offender often is enough to quiet him or her down.  While conflict definitely has a place in German culture, it usually is more quiet conflict...battles fought by laying down umbrellas to keep the neighboring empty seat or a short gesture or word to let someone know when they have overstepped the boundaries.

In China, things are louder and, to the outsider, utterly chaotic.  Lots of pushing, bumping and speaking very loudly, but that's just how the system works.  This tour group was ending their German trip and headed to the Frankfurt airport with loads of suitcases and packed cardboard boxes. As they began to fill the train car - both physically and with noise - I could see the discomfort on the other passengers' faces.  These new passengers were very loud, bumping each other, and taking all of the overhead and luggage rack space in the car.  One of the already seated passengers muttered very softly, Ruhe, bitte, but a barely audible whisper in German is not going register over the din to non-German speakers. Most just sat there looking very uncomfortable, as if they didn't know what to do about the situation.  I sat there trying not to chuckle.  On one hand, yes, a lot of noise is not what you want when you've gotten up at 3am. But on the other it was fascinating to see how different the two cultures were. Both the Germans and the Chinese were following their respective social norms, but WOW do those norms clash! Probably the same would be true on early morning trains in most Western European or US cities, but the differences were so clear here.

Empty track at Munich Hbf - awaiting arrival of Frau A's train from Frankfurt Hbf after 3.5 hours

Today is another Munich-Frankfurt round trip....another 7 hours to pass the time with sudoku and reading and watching people. I'm hoping for some more positive experiences or just some sleep!

Lobster Cocktails

Friday evening Herr J whipped up an ad-hoc version of a classic summer appetizer - Lobster Cocktails.

In the really strange world of coincidence, Thursday night I dreamed about chasing a lobster across a front lawn. One of those pretty blue-spotted French lobsters they have here, but with two big claws that featured in the chase scene! I didn't tell him about this odd dream, but Friday afternoon he called and offered to swing by Nordsee and see what good seafood they had. We don't often eat lobster - and I've only once dreamed of lobsters -  so this was a very bizarre coincidence.

We didn't plan to celebrate anything, but it ended up being a wonderful celebration of Herr J making it through a super stressful week, of me getting a contract extension (yay!), and of FINALLY having an evening where we could eat outside.  

So, we set the table on the balcony, cooked up some Steinbeißer fillets with a light Asian-style marinade, opened a bottle of Macon Village chardonnay, and added some fresh green beans to compliment the main event - the lobster cocktails.

Very tasty and light, and fun to serve.  Here's the first recipe, below. We had an extra lobster tail so we experimented with it on Saturday, too.

(And most importantly to me, it was a delicious mayo-free seafood salad!)

Herr J's Lobster Cocktail Recipe:

• Use 1 medium lobster tail per person.  Broil, bake, steam, or boil until cooked.  Let cool to room temp.
• Cut into small pieces, place into bowl.  Add just enough olive oil to barely coat the pieces.
• Sprinkle generous portion of kosher (large grain) salt.
• Grind szechuan and pink peppercorns together and sprinkle over the mix (regular black peppercorns would work too if don't have szechuan and pink - they just add a different twist and flavor).*
• Add 1/2 tablespoon of your favorite spicy mustard, or mix your own.
  (We used a "grill" mustard which contains paprika, a little white wine vinegar, and a little garlic.)
• Add a splash of lemon juice and turn over with spoon until evenly coated.
• Should NOT be a heavy sauce - the lobster pieces should barely be covered.
• Cook's prerogative:  test and add mustard etc. to taste if it needs adjusting.

* I keep a jar of szechuan and pink peppercorns that have been ground together to add a little zest to simple seasonings. Neither actually are true peppercorns, but they have a nice subtle flavor. More complex flavors and don't overpower a dish the way black pepper can. We use this mix often for a quick seasoning to grill shrimp or something else where you want to add a little flavor but let the taste of the meat come through.

Google Analytics Part 3 - Trigger Points

In a prior post we shared maps indicating the locations from where people read the Schnitzelbahn blog.  Hello world!

In this last part about Google Analytics we'll share what this tool tells us about how people found Schnitzelbahn, and what they're looking at.  (Commercial sites must analyze this data endlessly!)

Traffic tools tend to identify three general sources of traffic.  "Direct" means that the web surfer typed the URL directly into his/her browser.  "Referring" or "Referred" means that they followed a link to Schnitzelbahn from another site.  Finally, "Search Engines" indicate a pass-through from Google, Bing, etc.  Here is our breakdown to date:

At the beginning, most traffic was Direct -- friends and family knew about our little project and simply typed www.schnitzelbahn.com.  Then we started using Facebook statuses (nope, statii is not the plural of 'status', FYI) to let friends know new pages were available, so Referrals increased.  Now, we're continuing to see increase in Referrals (from other web sites outside Facebook) but also an increase in Search Engine-generated traffic.

As with the visitor maps, you can deep-dive to see more information.  For example (see below), Facebook Referrals have a lower Bounce Rate (bounce: reads one page and then leaves) and stay longer.  No surprise here -- what nice friends we have!  People typing the URL directly bounce more and leave more quickly... perhaps because they visit more often and have already seen the older posts?

Referrals from another expat-in-Germany blog (amiexpat.com) are great.  These visitors don't bounce and stay a while.  Thanks Christina!  (Makes sense - both sites talk about life as an American in Germany, so a reader of one probably has some interest in the other.)  There are other insights here as well.

In the referrals, there are tons of Google sites in the list above:  USA, Germany, UK, Bulgaria, Hungary, Czech, Italy, Sweden, India... but what exactly did everyone type into Google to find Schnitzelbahn?  Here's a snapshot of the last couple months.

I highlighted the searches that included "schnitzelbahn".  They're positive, because people are searching for us semi-directly... but they're also not as "organic" as a blind search (blind = they found us purely because of Google says we have valuable content about a specific topic).  Again using the visit data, we can infer a few things.  First, people liked (or at least spent time on) the English Garden and Schlager posts.  They spent more time on site, and these posts inspired them to look at other pages too (low Bounce Rate).

It was neat to see that Google is sending us new visitors on completely organic searches to -- for example, the ones outlined in blue, from "street painting" to "german pranks".  The hits often resulted in 1-and-done visits, but we're not an encyclopedia on these topics by design so that's OK.

Of course Google searches themselves (like Facebook data) are both a source of academic research and cultural indicators.  Google has a hot trends page showing the currently most popular searches.  Google also created a zeitgeist page (zeitgeist is German, meaning "spirit of the times"), showing "how the world searched" in 2010.

For me, the Google searches give insight into how people perceive Germany, and what their personal interests are here.  For example:

"texas like bavaria"                                                      (discussed in our post here)
"deutschland yodeling"                                                (German stereotype)
"German sense of humor"                                            (another stereotype, discussed in our post here)
"where to get a decent hamburger in Munich"      (questions like this are common... need to be a future post obviously)
"German facial hair"                                                     (yet another stereotype, but partially true per our post here)
"weissbier pope"                                                              (you'd be surprised, the Pope and beer are linked!)
"wearing Uggs in Germany"                                      (What the heck???)

There are some, ummmm, other searches that Google connects somehow to Schnitzelbahn.  Not sure if I should say "sorry Mom" in advance, or hope she just doesn't read this far:

"naked on Sylt"                  (nude sunbathing is common here, and Sylt is a popular island)
"bahn bunnies"                  (oh my!)
"wiese nude sunbathing"   (nude sunbathing is also common in Munich's English Garden)
"xxl german frau"               (oh my, oh my!!)

Back to more professional themes -  I went through all searches in the last couple weeks and grouped some by topic.  (Google Analytics can't to this.)  It was interesting to see the terms that showed up most frequently:

25 - Munich hiking day trips
17 - photography, Olympus, dramatic tone art filter
14 - alter ego names
12 - Franziskaner, naturtrub
11 - compact camera
10 - chocolate, easter, kinder chocolate
  9 - nutella
  8 - asparagus, spargel
  7 - David Hasselhoff
  6 - gummi bears
  5 - german beards
  4 - beer (this used to be one of the top search topcs... we need to post more about beer again!)

I like to look at these at a higher, more aggregate level:

49 - food
28 - photography
25 - travel
12 - German culture

These are the general themes that Google is matching to Schnitzelbahn, and basically how the blog/site header describes our hobby's intent.  Everything is right with the world!

In fact, Google is also ranking our photographs higher too.  At least in my search results, this Porsche photo is #25 for "dramatic tone art filter", this creation of Frau A is #4 for "gummi art", this Marienplatz photo is #2 for "Munich figures", and bizzarely our map here is #1 for "Kufstein sledding".  (Readers:  out of curiousity... what do your search results return?)

Lastly, Google Analytics can show Entry/Exit pages for visits.  This is interesting because it identifies where people started, and to where they eventually exited on the blog.  For example (below), of the most recent visits to the "How to Build an Igloo" post, a number of visitors then looked at the Time Lapse Photography post before leaving the site.  I can't explain this - not sure what they have in common!  But interesting, no?

We can see how large, commercial (revenue-generating) web sites rely on tools like Google Analytics to improve "performance".  For us, it was simply interesting to see what is out there and learn about it.  Hope you found it interesting too.

Have you seen... [crazy awesome people]

There are a lot of "blooper" style videos on YouTube.  I like this one more because it shows the cool (and crazy) things we're capable of, rather than all the mistakes along the way.

"People are Awesome" has over 30 million views to date, and it's easy to see why.

Update on Saturday, August 13, 2011 at 12:07 by Frau A

To give a little background...."Have you seen...?" is a phrase we often hear from Herr J related to cool videos online. Really, he's the YouTube king in our circle of friends.

Since he's had several requests to put together some of his favorite videos (for those of us who prefer to get the previewed highlights instead of doing all the surfing ourselves), we've started the "Have You Seen..." series on Schnitzelbahn.

Feel free to send in or post some of your favorite videos. We love to see new things and remember old favorites!