EM Days 7-8 - kein Bier

Wow! Amazing Group of Death action on EM Day 7, with an en fuego Holland administering another spanking to France 4-1 after similarly dispatching Italy 3-1--those are the last two World Cup champion teams, by the way--to emphatically win the group. France was both inept and unlucky in that order and now battles an equally struggling Italy, held tied 1-1 with impressively resilient Romania, with the winner likely taking the remaining second round berth. That's a grudge rematch of the World Cup 2006 final to see who limps through. Day 8 saw Spain clinch their group with a couldn't-be-more-last-minute goal to win 2-1 against a previously content Sweden, whereas Russia ponderously eliminated defending Euro 2004 cinderella champ Greece. The tournament so far could not be better.

With Steph tied up at a work training event Friday and Saturday evenings (uh, bad scheduling, yes?), I gingerly visited the FanZone alone Friday evening after a tough recovery day. At their FanZone booth backdropped by their enormous "Big Boy" rotisserie smoker, World Barbeque Team Switzerland is aiming for a world record 600 hours (25 days) non-stop BBQ'ed pork & beef during the month-long EM tournament, or 20,000 portions or about 7 tons; it all must be eaten for the record to count. We tested them Monday and these guys give the Texans and Carolinians a serious run for their money--really good. I dined there again Friday night during Holland v. France, then made the mistake of trying to drink a beer. My body would have accepted paint thinner more readily. Serves me right. Kein is negation in German; kein Bier means "Not any beer!" My mantra until at least Day 9.

The funniest part (to an American) of the BBQ is the wondering crowd it attracts--Swiss and other visiting Europeans crowding and gawking at the display, inquiring amongst themselves and questioning the proprietor shredding the meat by hand, "Schwein oder Rind (pork or beef)?" (answer: both). The spectators taste a sample and their eyes widen, "Ooh, ist gut!" It's the only BBQ we've seen in Europe in nearly eight months, so its exotically delicious stature shouldn't be a surprise. But we giggle anyway. Take that, international cuisine, still sneering that all we got is McDonald's??