We were invited out by some of Saori's coworkers to watch the World Cup final Sunday night. The time we were originally going to meet was at 5, but that got pushed back to 7. Five pm might have been realistic if we really wanted to get seats, but none of us were dedicated enough to jam in to packed bar for the four hours leading up to the start of the game.
The city was in a festive mood- many of the Germans I know where surprised and slightly disconcerted by all the flag waving, signing, and black, red, and yellow face paint I saw everywhere. Even three generations removed from the rise of Nazism, there is still a sense of taboo to overt signs of nationalism. Or at least it's seen as a fine line.
Of course when we got to the bar, a big old one off of the central square, it was long since packed, with patrons seated inside ducking out to take more chairs from the outdoor seating.
We joined the throngs to walk over to the Schlossgarten biergarten, but that was even more packed. They were so crowded in the outdoor park, they were turning people away. The crowds seated everywhere, filling the entire park as far as the eye could see. Already, chants were going around.
We finally grabbed one of the last tables at an outdoor patio of a fancy Italian restaurant by the hauptbahnhof, which was largely overlooked by the crowds. It was a good spot, amazing for the last minute grab. Waiters in black bow ties and white shortsleeves brought us German beers and a good but wildly overpriced club sandwich.
The game kicked off to a good start, but got bogged down in the second half when it began to rain lightly in the patio. A German goal in extra time clinched the deal and the patio exploded.
Shortly after, everyone left to begin celebrating, including the wait staff, leaving our group the last people hanging around watching the award ceremony on the still running projection screen.
Saori and I split from the group and walked through the city. The streets became a mixture of impromptu parade and street party. It was actually quite irritating to me because of the constant honking, and random bang fireworks going off in the street. And all the drunk celebratants. I wish I could have gotten into it more, but I was just tired, and secretly kind of releived that the World Cup was over.
The city was in a festive mood- many of the Germans I know where surprised and slightly disconcerted by all the flag waving, signing, and black, red, and yellow face paint I saw everywhere. Even three generations removed from the rise of Nazism, there is still a sense of taboo to overt signs of nationalism. Or at least it's seen as a fine line.
Of course when we got to the bar, a big old one off of the central square, it was long since packed, with patrons seated inside ducking out to take more chairs from the outdoor seating.
We joined the throngs to walk over to the Schlossgarten biergarten, but that was even more packed. They were so crowded in the outdoor park, they were turning people away. The crowds seated everywhere, filling the entire park as far as the eye could see. Already, chants were going around.
We finally grabbed one of the last tables at an outdoor patio of a fancy Italian restaurant by the hauptbahnhof, which was largely overlooked by the crowds. It was a good spot, amazing for the last minute grab. Waiters in black bow ties and white shortsleeves brought us German beers and a good but wildly overpriced club sandwich.
The game kicked off to a good start, but got bogged down in the second half when it began to rain lightly in the patio. A German goal in extra time clinched the deal and the patio exploded.
Shortly after, everyone left to begin celebrating, including the wait staff, leaving our group the last people hanging around watching the award ceremony on the still running projection screen.
Saori and I split from the group and walked through the city. The streets became a mixture of impromptu parade and street party. It was actually quite irritating to me because of the constant honking, and random bang fireworks going off in the street. And all the drunk celebratants. I wish I could have gotten into it more, but I was just tired, and secretly kind of releived that the World Cup was over.
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