Shopping, Soccer and Supper

The Cologne supporters sway and chant in their section.
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Friday, we went to downtown Dortmund. Much to my surprise, there were no skyscrapers in this large city. We took the bus and subway to get to the area around city hall. There were several different shops, not much different from the Bay, Indigo, and Best Buy. We bought clothes and some DS games for Rory. Of course, we had to stop for some German baked goods. I had some sort of Texas BBQ sandwich. I am still not sure what the meat was.

Rory gives the thumbs up to a donut-like pastry.
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I spent quite a bit of time browsing through Karstadt Sports, a five-story sporting goods and clothing store. I looked through all the soccer stuff, while the rest of them hung out at the biergarten and had cola and fries again. I also went to the BVB fan shop to stock up with gear for Saturday’s big game.

I am not sure what the meat was!

Chantal finished our journey off by splurging on German chocolates, about 35 Euros worth.

The "Yellow Wall" is the rowdy section of BVB supporters.
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Chantal’s cousins from Leipzig were waiting for us when we got back to the house. They were the German cousins that actually came to our wedding, so they were the only ones that I had met before. We all walked down the road to an outdoor grill and biergarten. Rory and Scarlett played tag with a German girl, proving that language barriers can easily be broken.

We had a massive dinner and to be honest, I have no idea what I ate. The vegetables, fries and rice were easy to spot. The meat was smothered in some sauce and could have been anything.

Scarlett nibbles the chocolate off a cookie.
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We woke up Saturday morning to the first poor weather of our trip. However, it was not enough to put a damper on my excitement. Andreas and his family picked me up at 1 p.m. for the 3:30 soccer game. They were all decked out in their BVB yellow and black fan gear. I was too.

Chantal and the kids went with Peter to some children-friendly museums. The highlight according to Scarlett was the “ice cream.”

Signal Inouda Park is the largest soccer stadium in Germany. It holds 80,000 people and BVB has more than 50,000 season ticket holders. Second only to Manchester United. We arrived a full hour and a half before kick-off. Many of the spectators were already singing team chants, a sure sign that the beers had been flowing early. Police in full riot gear roamed about until all the fans erupted in applause or jeers as each team’s bus arrived and pulled into the stadium. Once that was over, the police pulled out of the parking lot.

The supporters of FC Cologne were allotted a small section of the north stands, the only part of the stadium without proper seating. It did not matter much, because they spent the whole game on their feet chanting and swaying.

At the opposite end, the BVB supporters waved flags and chanted as part of the Yellow Wall. These two sections were full and rollicking an hour before the game and never stopped throughout the match. The rest of the stadium filled up gradually.

The game itself was exciting although low scoring. BVB pulled off a 1-0 win, scoring a lucky goal off a corner midway through the second half. This despite the fact that BVB dominated the game thoroughly. The Cologne goalkeeper made some spectacular saves when he was not feigning injury.

After the game, you could not look any where without witnessing pulic urination. Apparently it is perfectly okay to whip it out and pee against a wall, tree or bush in public without the polizei stepping in. Chantal's cousin said the police are far too outnumbered to intervene. I guess that makes sense.

Saturday evening, we had a combination of Thai and traditional German BBQ. The noodles and brats went well together. The children shied away from most of the food, opting for bland noodles and hot dogs. Chantal went for some of the more spicey fare. She also had her nightly helping of beer. I can honestly say, I have never seen her drink so much. The things you learn about your loved ones while travelling with them.