The View from Berlin

I’ve been in Berlin for a little more than 10 hours now and am happy to report that I have not been attacked by chainsaw wielding hooligans, forced into prostitution or thrown in jail by FIFA’s lawsuit hungry henchman. Talk about false advertising. One thing I have learned is where not to go. There are some Berliners who are trying to organize a football-free zone for those not caught up in World Cup hysteria.

“There are enough people out there who do not want to spend 24 hours a day sitting in front of a giant screen watching football,” said one of the movement’s leaders.

Bite your tongue.

Some of the areas around Berlin are trying to tap into this small football backlash by offering things like spa weekends to help the crazies get “away from the stress of football.”

I’m as a big of fan of hitting a spa as the next guy, but if you think I am going to pass up watching Togo play South Korea so a stranger can rub cucumber oil on my skin than you are as crazy as the people who need this warning:

Don’t paint your pet. Germans, who want to show their quadruped’s support for the home team, should instead buy them jerseys in the national colours of black, red and yellow.

That message comes from an animal rights group following on the heels of reports of incidents like the one that happened to poor Simba last month.

That’s the news from Berlin for now. I’m jetlagged, weary, staying in an apartment with this view and there is a tub of Nutella sitting in the kitchen waiting for me to devour it.

Almost makes up for the lack of chainsaw carrying hooligans.