Always say hello
Here are some of the oh-so-sensitive songs that were quite popular among the hordes of English fans in Köln:
I’d rather be a cabbage
Rather be a cabbage
Rather be a cabbage
Than a Swede.
My granddad shot your granddad
Doo da, doo da
My granddad shot your granddad
Doo da, doo da
Oh it’s fun to be morally superior. It makes for an interesting mix with the newly found patriotic fervour that the hosts have tried on, found they liked and are now wearing it everywhere. Carolin, who I stayed with during my time in this ancient Roman city, was telling me about the last world cup which was on while she was living in Australia and how it was only after seeing some other guys wearing German tops into bars and cheering the team on that she did the same for the first ever time. Many people have commented that the number of black, red and yellow flags about the place is unprecedented, and more than a few have suggested that if Germany win the thing then Poland should look out in a generations time.
It’s pretty cool really to see a nation awakening to itself and be able to show pride for the first time. Of course all of this is being helped by the way their team is playing and with their 3-0 demolition of Ecuador to top their group they are proving to be one of the form teams.
The past few days have been almost nothing but travel. After returning from Copenhagen on Sunday we went to game number three in Hamburg – Saudi/Ukraine – then the next day hopped the train down to Dedinghausen, met Grader’s host mum from his time in Germany, had lunch and then straight down to Köln. The idea being to be in amongst the English fans for their game against Sweden which is being played here tonight. Today is one of the biggest days of the tournament so far with both Germmany and England playing, both of whom probably have the biggest fan bases at the tournament, the Germans obviously because they are at home and the English because they have a good tradition of following their team. There were so many fans that they had to create three fan areas all of which were full. Then when I went to meet up with Carolin I found that most of Köln’s many Platzs were also crammed with locals.
All of this made it interesting trying to meet up, especially as our contact was a ride in the back of a truck from Mizunte in Mexico last year. She was with two friends then one of whom, Astrid, came out tonight. (Which if I ever get around to typing it out you can read about here one day :). Whoever says that Germans aren’t the friendliest people around obviously needs to come to Köln where they are known for being a bit more outgoing than the average. And this was certainly the case as I had a great night out and met so many really cool people. Later on Carolin told me that she had laughed with Astrid about how I just talk to everyone – I had been talking surfing with the girlfriend of one of Astrid’s brother’s friends :) – which the only response open was “but that’s how you end up with a place to stay in a German city that you had never thought you’d visit from a ride in a ute.”
I’d rather be a cabbage
Rather be a cabbage
Rather be a cabbage
Than a Swede.
My granddad shot your granddad
Doo da, doo da
My granddad shot your granddad
Doo da, doo da
Oh it’s fun to be morally superior. It makes for an interesting mix with the newly found patriotic fervour that the hosts have tried on, found they liked and are now wearing it everywhere. Carolin, who I stayed with during my time in this ancient Roman city, was telling me about the last world cup which was on while she was living in Australia and how it was only after seeing some other guys wearing German tops into bars and cheering the team on that she did the same for the first ever time. Many people have commented that the number of black, red and yellow flags about the place is unprecedented, and more than a few have suggested that if Germany win the thing then Poland should look out in a generations time.
It’s pretty cool really to see a nation awakening to itself and be able to show pride for the first time. Of course all of this is being helped by the way their team is playing and with their 3-0 demolition of Ecuador to top their group they are proving to be one of the form teams.
The past few days have been almost nothing but travel. After returning from Copenhagen on Sunday we went to game number three in Hamburg – Saudi/Ukraine – then the next day hopped the train down to Dedinghausen, met Grader’s host mum from his time in Germany, had lunch and then straight down to Köln. The idea being to be in amongst the English fans for their game against Sweden which is being played here tonight. Today is one of the biggest days of the tournament so far with both Germmany and England playing, both of whom probably have the biggest fan bases at the tournament, the Germans obviously because they are at home and the English because they have a good tradition of following their team. There were so many fans that they had to create three fan areas all of which were full. Then when I went to meet up with Carolin I found that most of Köln’s many Platzs were also crammed with locals.
All of this made it interesting trying to meet up, especially as our contact was a ride in the back of a truck from Mizunte in Mexico last year. She was with two friends then one of whom, Astrid, came out tonight. (Which if I ever get around to typing it out you can read about here one day :). Whoever says that Germans aren’t the friendliest people around obviously needs to come to Köln where they are known for being a bit more outgoing than the average. And this was certainly the case as I had a great night out and met so many really cool people. Later on Carolin told me that she had laughed with Astrid about how I just talk to everyone – I had been talking surfing with the girlfriend of one of Astrid’s brother’s friends :) – which the only response open was “but that’s how you end up with a place to stay in a German city that you had never thought you’d visit from a ride in a ute.”
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