Sunday, December 6, 2009

Chicago Sports and Shopping

Well, I have just returned from a week in Chicago and I must admit that I am starting to get excited for the move. Chicago has never been that appealing to me for some reason but now that I have actually spent some time there I am starting to think that this may be fun after all.


Most people know that Chicago is a pretty big sports town and while I am not a big fan of baseball, hockey, basketball, tennis, handball, track & field, dog racing, laser tag & Wii Fit, all of those sports are more popular than soccer. To open the paper and see non-soccer related sports news will be a wondrous treat, even if that news is about Harry Carey's. If I never, ever hear about Bayern Munich ever again I will know that Walter Payton is smiling. Also, the Bears are terrible, so the series of endless Jay Cutler interceptions will deflect attention away from my hapless Raiders.


I went shopping on Sunday which was amazing. I have not been shopping on Sunday in 8 years since Germans would rather spend Sundays stuck in traffic on the famous autobahns. We are looking at places to live in the western suburbs of Chicago and I now know for sure that shopping opportunities are plentiful.


Update on getting rid of stuff:
We have made the big deal and sold our car! I know that walking is for suckers in the USA, but it is quite acceptable to walk here in Munich. Plus the public transportation system is excellent. Our 1998 Opel Astra did not pass inspection this year, so rather than throw money at it for another 6 months of driving we simply sold it. We were able to sell it quickly because of the awesome Oakland Raiders sticker on the back window.