World Cup Oddities
June 30, 2010It doesn’t happen that often, but certainly once every four years patriotism abounds in Berlin. The flags come out of the woodwork and suddenly I’m seeing black, red and gold everywhere I look: on the cars (the windows, side mirrors, the hood), the buildings, even on the faces of the people passing by.
Yes the World Cup has this city in its clutches. Berlin has become one gigantic “public viewing” venue. Every little kiosk, cafe, restaurant and beer garden has a big-screen TV showing all of the games live. Even one of the major thoroughfares through the heart of the city is closed to traffic in lieu of a ferris wheel, beer tents and most importantly, a huge screen to watch the games.
While the trains do not feature TVs, the conductors do announce the scores of the soccer matches so that even those passengers without smartphones know what’s what.
So after disembarking the train in Berlin, knowing that the Netherlands had defeated Slovakia, I headed to the Prater beer garden to meet a friend. It wasn’t even game time, so you can imagine my surprise when I had to undergo a bag search before entering. They weren’t looking for knives or other weapons, but rather bottled drinks. The World Cup policy is ‘No outside beverages.’ So on one of the warmest days of the year thus far, I was forced to part with my water bottle. They don’t want you drinking water from a plastic bottle; they would prefer you drink their beer – from a plastic cup? Yes, you can imagine my chagrin when the cold and foamy wheat beer I ordered was served in a plastic cup. The sign said: “For the duration of the World Cup all drinks will be served in plastic cups. We thank you for your understanding.” But it isn’t even game time, I wanted to cry. Throwing my cup on the ground for added emphasis would not have proven effective in this case either.
Blame it on the World Cup. Luckily it only happens once every four years. On my way out of the beer garden, I was delighted to find my water bottle lined up with all the others. I will gladly drink water from a plastic bottle, beer on the other hand, is a different story. I’ll return to the beer garden in mid-July and until then I’ll watch the soccer matches at the Mexican restaurant with a margarita in a frosted glass.
