Straight from the World Cup...
We arrived in Munich from Venice in the evening. As soon as we set foot outside of our train we felt the World Cup fever. There were tons of fans returning from the game, or fan fest in the station with painted faces and flags draping them, and chanting for their country. We finally located our hostel which was just a few blocks down from the main train station. We were all anxious to try some of the authentic German Bratwurst, so we found an authentic looking stall and tried some curry wurst. It was basically a bratwurst with some curry tasting mustard and ketchup.
After that we decided to go to a place where all the World Cup action was happening: an old fashioned German Biergarten (Beer Garden). The name of the place was Hafbrauhaus. From the outside, it appeared to be a small little place with a small bar and one room. When we went inside however, there was about 4 huge rooms and bars lined the walls. It's difficult to describe the ambiance in there, but we will try to post pictures (this hostel won't let us post pictures, sorry). Anyways, to try and describe it a little, there are basically just rows and rows of benches full of people with beer mugs. These aren't normal beer mugs mind you, they are one liter mugs. In Germany, you can only buy beer in either a .5L or 1 Liter mugs. Also, the people don't really sit down, over half of the people were standing on the benches screaming there country's favorite futbol chants. They were all wearing jerseys or flags, and had their faces painted. Some even have mohawks that were painted with their country's colors. It was truly a sight to see. No where else have I seen the world in a nutshell like that.
We managed to find a group of Americans and started our own chants in the corner like, "USA USA USA!" When we realized this wasn't too creative we started singing some other American songs. It was pretty funny because everyone there pretty much hated us and showed no respect because the U.S. isn't viewed as a futbol country. Also, we were really outnumbered by other countries. It was really an experience though and by the end of the night we were wishing we had another night in Munich. After the biergarten we went to a club called Americanos with some of the other Americans and shared a few drinks with them.
The following morning we journeyed out to the World Cup fan fest area. This is the area where they have a huge 50ft screen where super fans who don't have tickets watch their team. We first watched the Czech vs. Ghana game and it was pretty wild. After that was over we picked up some bratwursts and German Weisz beer. This beer is lighter colored and is a bit sweeter. We then headed back to the screen area to watch the U.S. vs. Italy. We ended up finding the same American guys we hung out with the night before and picked a spot close to the screen up front. Once again, we were grossly outnumbered by the Italian fans. We watched the complete 1st half there and unfortunately had to leave to catch our sleeper train to Prague. Luckily, we caught the last 15 minutes at the train station. All in all Munich was a experience we will never forget with all of the World Cup fan fair that surrounded us. There is no other sporting event that compares to this. We couldn't wait to get back to Berlin to experience World Cup Fever again! Until next time...one love.
The Eurotravelers
After that we decided to go to a place where all the World Cup action was happening: an old fashioned German Biergarten (Beer Garden). The name of the place was Hafbrauhaus. From the outside, it appeared to be a small little place with a small bar and one room. When we went inside however, there was about 4 huge rooms and bars lined the walls. It's difficult to describe the ambiance in there, but we will try to post pictures (this hostel won't let us post pictures, sorry). Anyways, to try and describe it a little, there are basically just rows and rows of benches full of people with beer mugs. These aren't normal beer mugs mind you, they are one liter mugs. In Germany, you can only buy beer in either a .5L or 1 Liter mugs. Also, the people don't really sit down, over half of the people were standing on the benches screaming there country's favorite futbol chants. They were all wearing jerseys or flags, and had their faces painted. Some even have mohawks that were painted with their country's colors. It was truly a sight to see. No where else have I seen the world in a nutshell like that.
We managed to find a group of Americans and started our own chants in the corner like, "USA USA USA!" When we realized this wasn't too creative we started singing some other American songs. It was pretty funny because everyone there pretty much hated us and showed no respect because the U.S. isn't viewed as a futbol country. Also, we were really outnumbered by other countries. It was really an experience though and by the end of the night we were wishing we had another night in Munich. After the biergarten we went to a club called Americanos with some of the other Americans and shared a few drinks with them.
The following morning we journeyed out to the World Cup fan fest area. This is the area where they have a huge 50ft screen where super fans who don't have tickets watch their team. We first watched the Czech vs. Ghana game and it was pretty wild. After that was over we picked up some bratwursts and German Weisz beer. This beer is lighter colored and is a bit sweeter. We then headed back to the screen area to watch the U.S. vs. Italy. We ended up finding the same American guys we hung out with the night before and picked a spot close to the screen up front. Once again, we were grossly outnumbered by the Italian fans. We watched the complete 1st half there and unfortunately had to leave to catch our sleeper train to Prague. Luckily, we caught the last 15 minutes at the train station. All in all Munich was a experience we will never forget with all of the World Cup fan fair that surrounded us. There is no other sporting event that compares to this. We couldn't wait to get back to Berlin to experience World Cup Fever again! Until next time...one love.
The Eurotravelers
posted by Jay Tatachar at
4:58 AM
