covers the World Cup
and its brews

I'll always find these little travel guides delightful in the same way language primers from the 60's are -- the concepts are universal, but the usages seem a bit off. For ex, heard a lot of toasts but never a "Zum Wohl" yet -- sounds like too many syllables when a Prost will get everyone into their beer faster. And I think the reason they always send Americans to Checkpoint Charlie is because, who knows, maybe it'll be torn down by 2010. Hurry, let's see what grandpa did -- and no, I'm not talking about grandpa's illegitimate family.

USA Today gets their wire reports out earlier than other newspapers, so you can generally get scoops first from them. The problem is, USA Today is also notorious for dumbing down news with its ridiculously short stories, lots of pictures and childishly crude graphs, and first-grade reading level. Well, they've obviously paid the price to be "America's No. 1 Newspaper," so cut them a break. They're right about Bier's at Friedrichstrasse -- the curry ketchup is like methadone.