Day 31- Semi-Finals

Even when though it has been blown to shreds, and is barely in existence, it is still one of the most beautiful slices of architectures I have seen on this trip, an old castle that sits on top of a hill surrounded by its supporting city. We walked around the old ruins, and then up to the very top of the castle. As we looked down at the lime green plush grass that filled the spaces between the destroyed walls, I tried to picture a queen and her king walking around in elegant ball gowns. But time had taken over sufficiently, and it was hard to envision this area as livable, or even as a war zone.

Castle Ruins

After taking in the views, we headed to a restaurant that sat on a river and had a delicious German meal, schnitzel. It’s a thin slice of meal, veal, pork, or beef, whichever that location sells, breaded and pan seared. It’s a party in your mouth; I loved every second of it.

After lunch it was time to shop. Jill and I had to get our official Germany jerseys for the game. Everyone has non-stop been talking about the game, it was like their superbowl. Amongst the talk of how excited they were for them to play, they were also eager to get the retro green jersey. So when we got to the store, it seemed silly to get anything other than the green jersey. We bought our jerseys, and new totes to carry all of our souvenirs back to the US, and headed back home.

When we got to the bar, we had a table right next to the TV that was reserved for us. The only catch was we had to arrive 2 and a half hours early to be sure it wasn’t given to anyone else. So we were tailgating the game well in advance, and so was everyone else. Every corner of the town had someone in a Germany jersey, or their face painted, or a flag draped over their shoulders. They were proud and excited, and it was obviously seen in everyone’s faces.

Jill and I before the game

The national anthem played and everyone stood and sang their nations sacred song. Germany started the game dominating, and had several opportunities to score, but could not capitalize. Unfortunately, Italy did not have quite the same problem, the few times they were in scoring range, they made it in. In the end Germany fell to Italy, and you could feel the town’s disappointment. The loss didn’t stop us from enjoying our last night out in Germany. 

After the Loss

We spent our last night in Ali’s bar, this time we were left alone, and told to help our selves. I may or may not have done a cartwheel in the chic bar, or spent some time behind the bar. We had a few drinks and talked until the sun rose over the city. We gave Ali our last hugs goodbye and thanked him for such a wonderful time.

At Dache Cafe (Ali's bar)