A quick diversion from the trip to explain a little about our trip within a trip. As all of you are aware, the World Cup of Football (soccer) started June 11th. The World Cup only happens every four years and we decided we would take advantage of the fact we are in Europe where this is a big deal. Every country we visited (that was in the world cup) cars were decorated and flags were hung outside of homes, pubs and businesses.
Within reason, a lot of our travels and sight seeing were geared around catching the big games in a good venue or one of the countries that was playing. To that end, we left Holland and traveled to Berlin to watch the first USA game versus England and the Germany v. Australia game. We found a nice local pub to view both games.
Within reason, a lot of our travels and sight seeing were geared around catching the big games in a good venue or one of the countries that was playing. To that end, we left Holland and traveled to Berlin to watch the first USA game versus England and the Germany v. Australia game. We found a nice local pub to view both games.
We continued to watch some of the lesser games whenever the opportunity arose as we traveled around the countryside. We managed to catch more than half the games and all the big match ups (Brazil v. Portugal, etc.). It was very fun and no matter who was playing, there were always people watching the games cheering for one side or the other.
We chose to leave Prague earlier than we had planned to make sure we made it to a town in Germany to watch the England v. Germany game. This was slated to be a classic match. We decided to stay in Bamberg. A little town several hours north of Munich. The town is very pretty and the old quarter has some wonderful buildings and history. This way we could see the game and sightsee. As we walked through town looking for a venue, we noticed all the young people going the same direction. In the main square they had set up a stage and a massive big screen tv. It cost two Euro to get in and then you could buy food or drinks in the venue. We waited about an hour for the game as the place filled up, around 3,000 people. The crowed had their faces painted, wearing flags (many of the girls had made dresses out of material in the colors of the flag), Germany hats and buttons. Germany dominated England in the match and the crowd went crazy with each goal. After the game, the streets were filled with people partying and cars driving up and down certain roads with flags out and horns honking. We wandered around town for several hours sightseeing and enjoying the party.
The next day we drove down to Munich to meet some friends we met in Vietnam. We had a wonderful time with them and decided to stay on to watch the Argentina v. Germany game. A very exciting and fun game, glad it was not any closer because Juergen might have had a heart attack. Very glad we stayed.
We had decided not to go to Italy earlier in the trip, but then decided that would be a good place to watch the next round to see who made it to the finals. Germany would be playing Spain and Netherlands v. Uruguay. We decided if Germany won, we would head back up to Germany. If Spain won, we would carry on to Spain. Italy became our holding spot. Europe was excited that the final might end up Germany v. The Netherlands. The Germans categorized this as a big rivalry and the Dutch claimed it would be a war and brought up memories of World War II. Football in Europe is about much more than just the sport. There are a lot of political, social and historical pieces to the football. We would discover this even more in our next leg.
As you know, Spain won and faced the Netherlands in the final, so not back to Germany. Instead, we decided to head to Barcelona to sight see and watch the game in a decent Spanish venue. The game was on July 11th and we needed to be in Madrid by the 15th for Tim to go to Pueblo Ingles. Once again the lack of a plan bit us in the rear end. Had I done a little research, I would have known that Barcelona is located in Catalonia and they do not like being part of Spain and for the most part do not support the Spain team in international events.
We decided to stay out on the coast on the Costa Brava (Spanish Riviera). We found a nice camp ground and watched the Germany v. Uruguay game. On the day of the finals, we hung out at the beach and then found a pub with tv’s on the sidewalk. There were maybe fifty people with a smattering of them dressed in orange supporting the Netherlands. It was an exciting game and the venue turned out to be fine. Spain won and a small party ensued in town. Around 800 people sang and danced in the streets, blocked traffic, lit off fireworks and had a great time. Around the edge of town people drove around honking their horns and waving flags. Not quite the party of several hundred thousand in Madrid, but a good time none the less.
Thus ended a side trip on the Road to Nowhere.
~Jeff~
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