September 13, 2014

Weltmeister: Celebrating Germany's World Cup Win!


When we booked our tickets last winter for a summer visit to Europe, we knew we'd be in Germany for the final matches of the World Cup.  Danny spent his childhood summers watching fuβball in Germany, cheering on FC Bayern-München and the national team, and we were hoping to recreate some of those memories with our visit this year.  But although we hoped, we never really thought we'd be so lucky as to be in Germany when they won the World Cup for the first time in 24 years!

After a day spent touring Strasbourg, France, and driving through the Black Forest, we made it back to Stuttgart in time to change and then do a little pre-gaming on the S-Bahn (I don't exactly look my best when mid-sentence in a buzzed state!...


We watched the game in the "fellowship hall" of a church. I can't think of many places in the U.S. that would condone any drinking where a church regularly meets -- and a Protestant one at that! This is one liberal aspect of Europe that I can fully embrace!


We had a few nail-biting moments... but ultimately exploded in celebration!  As did German fans across the globe!


Götze dank!


Full of elation (and beer!), we made our way out into the streets and towards the Königstraβe, the pedestrian-only center of the city.  Apparently, so did everyone else in Stuttgart!

There were ten times as many people out celebrating compared to the German third place finish when we were visiting in 2010!  Here we were four years ago...



...And here we are in 2014!  Same pose, same group of friends, same love for Deutschland!


A HUGE thank you to our Stuttgarter friends, D. and E. for being such wonderful hosts, and for making all the arrangements to meet up with D.F., A.W., and J.B. to continue our World Cup viewing tradition!  We can't wait to do it again in 2018!




Have you experienced a World Cup celebration like this?


Linking up with Chasing the Donkey for #SundayTraveler!

22 comments:

  1. This was quite a game, wasn't it? The Germans must have been in Heaven when they won, but they totally deserved it.

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    1. It was euphoric insanity over there! They played well and yes, deserved it! :)

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  2. We will never forget this time.
    Feel embraced.
    Greetings from Stuttgart.
    E. and D.:-)

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  3. Haha! We watched it at home (near Munich)... The church bells and fireworks were great! :)

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    1. I love how everyone just lays down on their car horns, too! They know how to celebrate!

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  4. I wish I could have watched the game, let alone have been in Germany for the win! I have been waiting for a Germany win for years now! Amazing that you were able to be there

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    1. Sometimes I still can't quite believe that we actually we there! So unreal.

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  5. I wish! This sounds brilliant. Would have loved to be there for this. The best sporting event we've been to was London 2012, not football, but still absolutely incredible (and in my home town!)

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    1. Wow! My parents were in London for the Olympics and said it was amazing! If Washington D.C. hosts it during my lifetime, some of the events will probably be down here in Virginia and maybe that will come close or match the euphoria we experienced in Germany!

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  6. Ohhhh what fun! I have been in several countries during world cup, but NEVER for so much fun. Thanks for linking up to #SundayTraveler.

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    1. Absolutely! I try not to miss #SundayTraveler. :)

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  7. How fun you got to be in Germany during this time. Certainly a day I'll never forget!

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    1. It's too bad they didn't declare that Monday a national holiday! Our friends/hosts had to get up at 6am to go to work, and we'd been out til between 2 and 3!

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  8. It looks like you had a lot of fun. I'd love to experience the World Cup or some other big sporting event in the host country or in a country whose team ultimately wins. I bet the energy was electric!

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    1. It really was. I'm secretly hoping that Washington DC will be a host city for the Olympics because some of the events would probably be in my area. I can imagine that would actually top our World Cup experience!

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  9. The two pictures of you guys 4 years apart are so cute! The World Cup was definitely an awesome time to be in Germany this year.

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    1. Thanks! We didn't even notice until we got back that we had posed the same way in both pictures. :)

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  10. Looks like it was a party to remember :) I wish I was in Europe at the time. My friends in Budapest were celebrating too!

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    1. Those Europeans really know how to throw down when it comes to soccer! Wish it would catch on more in North America!

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  11. That's so cool that you got to be there for such an awesome event! Looks like tons of fun! :)

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    1. It was insane. In our younger days, I'm sure we would've stayed out later, but as it was, a 3am bedtime was late enough. ;)

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