Europe '06, Part IV: WM06

After our long train ride through the night, Corey and I finally made it to Germany, the host country of the World Cup (a.k.a. Weltmeistershaft). When we had originally applied for tickets back in February of 2005, I had decided that we would try to get games in Cologne/Köln. I had lived here during the summer between my junior and senior years of college, so I felt more comfortable with the city layout, and I thought it would be fun to return for a stroll down memory lane. An added benefit that came in quite helpful was that the father of a friend from Rochester lived just outside Köln. He and his girlfriend were kind enough to let us stay at their place for a few days...actually they were remarkably hospitable (a European trait that some of us Americans could use a lesson on sometimes). The train pulled into the Köln Hbf (train station) fairly early in the day, and as Christiane was still at work (and Steve was out of town on business), we decided to check our backpacks at the station and explore the city for a few hours. While many things in Europe remain the same for years and years (like the cathedral--a.k.a. Dom--that was completed in 1880), I was amazed to see how many renovations had been made in Köln (especially to the Hbf) in the eight years since I was last there. Something else I wasn't expecting were the DROVES of England fans that had taken over the steps in front of the Dom.

One of my favorite places in Köln is the Rheinpark, just across the river from the Hbf and Dom. After a little shopping for groceries and a thank-you gift of chocolate and wine (can you believe I remembered where the fancy--opposed to Aldi's--grocery store was), we walked over the bridge for a picnic lunch. Have I ever told you how good the bread tastes in Germany....oh my goodness!!!! Shortly after finishing the meal and snapping a few pictures, the clouds rolled in and began to sprinkle on us...then rain...and then downpour!!! We were unfortunately across the river without our rain gear (still in the checked backpacks at the Hbf). Our best efforts to keep as dry as possible included hanging out under some stairs/trees and running across the bridge, etc. The attendant at the station was nice enough to let us get our umbrellas and rain ponchos out of our bags for no charge. We then spent some time looking for my old dormitory...and more importantly, the free bathrooms in the lobby, followed by a little shopping. Corey picked up a Brazil jersey and an England scarf, while I got a new pair of Birkenstocks:)

To help us kill the next couple of hours we visited the Fan Fest area right next to the Dom, where they were showing live football games on a HUGE projection screen...and selling beer, of course (this is Germany)!!! The little crinkle in this, however, was that you were not allowed to take in large bags (like Corey's daypack) or anything that could be used as a weapon (like a glass wine bottle). So back we went to the baggage check to make a new deposit.

Before we took the train to meet Christiane that evening, I wanted to stop by the WM06 information booth and find our where the new stadium was, and what U-Bahn/Strassenbahn trains we would need to take to get there. I was so excited to be able to speak German again (and even more excited to have German spoken back to me). Funny thing was that afterwards, instead of saying "danke" to the gentleman that helped me, I said, "Grazie...I mean, thank you...aghhhh, Danke!" We all had a laugh over that.

We finally made it to Neuhonrath, where Christiane was waiting for us at the train stop. She drove us back to the house and prepared a wonderful meal for us. We had great conversation over dinner and then watched a little TV (more football, of course) before going to sleep...I'm pretty sure Corey and I both fell asleep on the couch before we actually went up to bed that night.

The next morning was the BIG DAY...after waiting for more than a year after ticket allocation, we were finally going to the WORLD CUP!!!! But first things first, we needed some "chill time," and there was no better place to do that than in an actual home. We made breakfast (Corey scrambled up some eggs, while I opted for bread and cheese), and then parked ourselves on the couch for some home improvement television--BBC style. The game wasn't scheduled to begin until 9pm (i.e. 21:00), but we wanted to be there in plenty of time--after traveling all this way we didn't want to miss a thing! We left the house about 3pm and took a casual stroll down the streets and footpaths to get to the train stop. Once at the Hbf, we grabbed a bite to eat from a fast-food fish place and then took the U-Bahn to the stadium. We waited outside the gates until ~6pm, when they opened up the activity area outside the stadium.

For the next couple of hours we enjoyed all the sponsors' booths, getting a chance to have our picture taken with "California" Klinsmann at the Master Card tent and testing our goal making abilities at the Fly Emirates tent. Finally making our way into the stadium, we bought brats and beverages.

As we climbed up, and up, and up to our seats, we discovered that we were in the second row from the back...but who cares we were at the World Cup. The seats slowly filled in, mostly with English fans, but there were quite a few Germans and a distinct section of Swedes proudly donning their yellow and blue. Not to bore you with too many details of the actual game, we enjoyed seeing a total of four goals scored (two a piece for England and Sweden), including one English goal that occurred during a crowd rendition of "God Save the Queen."

The match was naturally a joy to watch live, but the best parts of that night for me were the interactions with the other spectators before/during/after the game, seeing the crazy fans dressed to support their respective countries, and the cheering/singing of the rowdy Britons. Even the train ride back to the house was a crowded adventure to remember. We got back to Neuhonrath just after midnight, where we got to meet Kt's dad, Steve, for the first time and shared a couple of stories of our activities for the day before saying goodnight. The next morning we packed up our things, had a bite to eat, and thanked our hosts for all they had done (including a ride back to the train stop). Again, we were off to another country...this time, the Netherlands.