Archive: Camille in Germany
Is this the way to Amarillo?
From Camille: Nuremberg is one giant party right now. There are an estimated 70,000 English fans here in this city of 495,000, and it appears as if every single one of them was issued a national flag when they left the country. St. George's Cross is everywhere you look; they've managed to hang it from windows, railings, fountains, body parts... The preferred way to wear it seems to be as a David Beckham-style sarong. Naturally, there are police officers everywhere in the downtown area and out near the stadium. I saw three English bobbys on one of the crowded pedestrian malls, but their role seems to be purely decorative; all I saw them do was pose for pictures with fans. (The heavily armed German polizei did not get similar requests.) The party is concentrated in the Hauptmarkt, which is a large square in the center of the walled old town....
By Camille Powell | June 15, 2006; 09:33 AM ET | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
Live from Gelsenkirchen
From Camille: I'm sitting here near the top of Veltins Arena, getting ready for US-Czech Republic. Just wanted to give everyone an idea of what the atmosphere is like here -- but I've got to be quick, since the game is due to start soon. Lots of red in the stadium, since it seems to be the preferred color of both the Czechs and US fans. Some of the US fans I talked to in town said that they thought they'd be out-numbered by a 3-to-1 margin, which I guess is to be expected since it's a much shorter trip for the Czechs. The corner of the stadium to my left seems to be entirely filled with Czech fans in red shirts. I got into Gelsenkirchen around noon, and immediately started hearing "We are the U.S., the mighty, mighty, U.S." chants and started seeing lots of Americans in their jerseys,...
By Jon DeNunzio | June 12, 2006; 11:51 AM ET | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
One time, at Fan Camp...
From Camille: My advice to anyone who is coming to Germany for the World Cup is get thee to Dortmund. The city, which is hosting six games (including a semifinal), is known for two things: soccer and beer. Two very good reasons to come, to be sure, but the best one is the Fan Camp that's been created right next to Signal Iduna Park. Westfallenhallen Dortmund, a 60,000-square meter convention hall, has been transformed into Germany's largest fan camp (www.fancamp-dortmund.de). For 35 euro/night, you can get a bed in the camp (a bunk bed without a mattress) as well as a train ticket that will allow you to travel throughout the North Rhine Westphalia region for free. It's essentially one giant hostel. There are 4,000 beds in four halls (nearly 33,000 square meters worth of space); temporary partitions have been erected to divide the halls into small cells with two...
By Camille Powell | June 10, 2006; 10:27 AM ET | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)
Freestyle Fun
From Camille Powell: The Ticos of Costa Rica may be the underdogs when they face host Germany in the World Cup opener on Friday night, but their fans were the clear favorites in Marienplatz, a picturesque square in the heart of Munich's old town, on the eve of the tournament. Costa Rican fans -- wearing their red-white-and-blue jerseys and often carrying their national flag -- could be seen in every corner of the crowded square on Thursday evening. The bar area of one bistro café was filled with Ticos supporters who sang, "Ole! Ole, ole, ole, Ti-cos, Ti-cos!" at the top of their lungs. Just a few feet away, German fans in red-yellow-and-black helmets sat outside, calmly drinking beer....
By Jon DeNunzio | June 8, 2006; 05:00 PM ET | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)
Hey, Aren't You Paolo Wanchope?
From Camille Powell: Sometimes you just stumble upon the World Cup. I went to Munich's central train station tonight at 6:30 to meet Jason for dinner and noticed a large crowd -- which included television cameras -- gathered at one of the tracks. Turns out that Costa Rica was arriving in the city (they face Germany in the opener on Friday night). There was a small group of Ticos fans -- easy to spot because of their jerseys and flags and general excitement -- but the rest of the crowd was made up of people like me, who drifted over to see what the fuss was about. The Costa Rican players got off the train, walked through the crowd (which politely applauded) and headed for their bus. The Costa Rican fans, singing "Ole! Ole, ole, ole, Ti-cos, Ti-cos," followed their team to the bus; the rest of us went on...
By Jon DeNunzio | June 7, 2006; 05:20 PM ET | Comments (8) | TrackBack (0)
100% Fussball, 100% Frauen
From Camille Powell: The games haven't started yet, and I've already fallen behind both La Canfora and Goff in terms of blog contributions. So here I am. I flew into Munich on Tuesday afternoon and am currently trying to fight the jet lag. I really shouldn't complain, though; the man behind me at passport control yesterday was from Australia, and it took him 25 hours to just get to London. He was wearing an Australia soccer shirt, and the nice American couple behind him in the line asked if he plays for the Australian soccer team. (He doesn't.)...
By Jon DeNunzio | June 7, 2006; 12:25 PM ET | Comments (9) | TrackBack (0)
