Brazil Ghana in Dortmund

Dortmund
Brazil vs Ghana

This is the first time that I am in a stadium where Brazil is playing and the public is not rooting for them. I have to say that Ghana was the people's choice to root for on that game. There were a lot of us that like Brazil and logic said that Brazil should win the game but in soccer as in life unpredictability is part of the recipe.

Aimee and I got to Dortmund about 11 A.M. from Essen because we could not got a hotel in the that city. The day from Essen to Dortmund started really bad. I lost my camera and had to buy a new one ---I could not have let all my blog viewers without pics... :)---It got cold all of a sudden and Aimee had to run to H&M to buy a jacket because of the cold weather and it started to rain too. Then, we got on the train to go to Dortmund and it was packed with Brazilians and a few drunken Germans which made the train smell like alcohol the whole one hour train ride. We get to Dortmund and I called the people that suppose to deliver my last game tickets "Brazil vs Ghana" and he says they do not have me on the list. After some intense fighting with the head quarters they agree to give me the tickets I paid for. From here on, everything else went sort of smooth. Well! At the end of the day I lost a 1 gb USB drive, 1 gb memory card, my Mexico hat (not the one that you bought me Vic), plus my Mexico jacket (65 euros) got full of coca cola and I needed to find a cleaners so they can take care of it. I almost forgot, our train from the stadium to central stadium got stock in the middle of no where and pack with a lot of Ghanies, Brazilians, one or two drunken Mexicans and a lot of Germans, so it was really hot and the smell was not pleasant.

Yet, in between all this bad stuff, Aimee and I watched a really good game. It was really exciting to be there at the stadium rooting for Brazil and Ghana at the same time. Brazil won as logic indicates and Ronaldo scored an amazing first goal. Ghana could have tied up the game but they need more skills as far as defining the goal at the moment is needed. In the stadium there was a lot of African music and one could not distinguish from which side it was coming from, due that both played that sort of music to support their team. We met a lot of usual characters at the stadium with really crazy customers (see the pics) and exchange e-mail addresses to sent to each other. At the end of the game, fans were exchanging jerseys with each other. I exchanged mine with a really big African dude. He was like "Do we exchanged shirts?" I looked up at this 6 feet (1.90 centimeters) really muscular dude so I said "sure"....

Once we got back to central stadium, there was a "batucada"(music from Brazil that it is played at the Carnabal) and the dancing and show started. We watched until late, had dinner in downtown and went back to the Essen at 1 A.M. We had to because then is hard to find a train.

I am sad because I do not have any more games to watch at the stadium but I will go to the fanfest for semifinals and the final.

For now is Good Bye Germany.... Hello France!

Nuremberg...
I did not want to let the opportunity pass without writing about this really nice town. We booked our hotel here because this is where I thought Mexico would play if they had passed as first on the group, but since they were second they went to Leipzig (which I already wrote about the game and the city). Aimee and I stayed here regardless and the day that I got hooked up with the tickets for Mexico vs Argentina we left but came back the next day.

Nerumber is gorgeous. It is about two hour train ride from Munich but there is a train that is being built right now that will reduce the time to an hour. It will cost around 500 euros for local to ride it per month. The city has some amazing buildings, and they have a church that has a cu cu coming out every day at 12:00 PM. They are famous because of its central square full with fruit, and flower vendor. These improvise businesses under a tent paint the city beautifully. As far as food, no one comes to Nuremberg and leaves without eating a roasted wrust in a bun. They are tiny sausages roasted in a piece of bread, really not big deal. Also, they have french fries with mayo (they call it mayo but it really is not mayo). If you come here, you must visit the toy museum. It is really incredible. They have toys dated back from 1500s It is really cool to see how these toys have evolved and how the big companies that produce these toys evolved over time. Finally, you must visit the xmas stores here. Nuremberg produces a lot of xmas art craft. They really have some amazing pieces but I have to say that prices are too much.

Anyway that is my piece in this lovely city. If you ever come to Germany, come to Nuremberg. It is really beautiful.