crinkly_ears | Germany v Holland Pt 2

I'll just start this post right of by confessing that there are no amazing close-up pics of the international friendly between Germany and the Netherlands last week, unfortunately. I found out the hard way that alkaline batteries used in the super-duper zoom high-techie whatchamacallit digital camera I bought specially for the occasion have the lifespan of a burning matchstick. Luckily, I'd taken a second camera along with me, in case of emergencies, but it doesn't have the same zoom capacity. Manage to scrape together enough to make a general experience blog, so I hope you guys will still enjoy it.

So, travelled to Amsterdam to meet up with some friends who were also going to the game, though none of us sat together since we'd all purchased our tickets individually so our seats were all scattered. We gathered on De Dam, in front of the Royal Palace. Took the opportunity to try out the panoramic feature on my camera.

Madame Tussuads on the left; Royal Palace in the middle; Nieuwe Kerk/New Church on the right.

Royal Palace in all its glory. Note it was pitch dark out (it was around five-thirty in the afternoon) but camera makes it look like almost daylight.

De Bijenkorf, one of a chain of high-end department stores filled with the most expensive stores and brands. You rarely can buy anything in there, but it's a beautiful building and people like to visit it like an attraction :)

What's that? Growing bored with this post already? Here's Özil's belly:

Okay, still with me? On we go!

Took the metro to Amsterdam ArenA, which is adjacent to the Arenaplein (Arena Plane) where those who don't have/want tickets but want to enjoy the atmosphere can watch the match on large outdoor screens or in one of the many bars and cafes. As you can imagine, place was crawling with orange:

Added white arrow to point out where the ArenA itself is.

Of course, I only find out AFTERWARDS that they were giving out free complimentary snacks on the other side of the square, which would have been handy because I was starving by this point.

Oy, where are you going?? Pay attention! Okay, fine, HERE:

Keep this image of Pipita's bum in the back of your mind as you read on.

We could enter the arena at six-thirty.

I went straight to my seat to get an idea of what kind of view I'd have. I was in row 22, which was pretty good:

I loved how bright and colourful the ArenA is. And they actually played some great music the whole time. Mostly pop, of course, but I found myself bopping along every now and then.

I always thought those screens showed the actual match live, but all that it displayed was the time played and the score during the match. Boy, the things you learn when you attend these things live XD

I swear, I swear, I will get to the players! Bear with me for a bit longer! Here. Gomez wasn't there that night, but this should suffice for now:

Patience, patience! :)

I had some ... interesting neighbours. Right below me was a 50-something woman with both her elderly parents. She knew nothing of football, nor did her mother, but bless them because they provided me with 90 minutes of unintentional comedy gold. I watched the entire match muffling my laughter with my hand. The poor dad clearly wanted to just watch the match but the two most important women in his life kept asking/saying the most banal things. They spoke Dutch so I'll translate it for your convenience:
"Oh, look, he's over the line! Why doesn't he get one of those little yellow cards?" -- the daughter when she spotted Neuer standing halfway up the field while the action took place in front of Holland's goal. Apparently she believed that goalies aren't allowed to step one foot away from their goal line XD
"Oh my, that was very naughty, wasn't it!" -- the mother whenever a player was pushed to the ground.
"How funny! Doesn't he look like the other one? I wonder if they're related." -- the daughter when Sven Bender came on for his twin, Lars Bender.

This guy was sitting a few rows in front of me, an unashamed German supporter in a sea of Dutch fans. I admired his courage!

And this guy was off to my left. We Dutch are an ... colourful bunch :D

But back to the prematch activities. My night took a turn for the creepy when I spotted THIS jogging about on the field.

This would be a good time to confess that I HATE mascots, especially ones that wouldn't look out of place at a furry convention. This one is ours.
And here's the German team's own:

And they were really trying to sell the whole "Let's all be friends" shtick by shaking hands and hugging as they skipped about the field. Little did the lion know the eagle(??) was secretly cavorting with its allies in one corner of the stadium:

DAS GERMANS!

They were a very small minority, but boy were they loud. They out-sung Holland throughout the entire match XD

You're so close! Keep on reading! Do it for shirtless Samisut!

Thanks! :)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

jenny-jenkins.livejournal.com

Gorgeous!

It's a beautiful Arena - just stunning.

Why was the crowd so silent? Were they happy with the way the team were playing?

I mean - we could hear the Germans!

And the atmosphere seemed unusually tame for Holland-Germany!

ladya-sama.livejournal.com

Thanks! :)

The Germans were indeed noticeably louder than the Dutch, probably because they were but a fraction of the crowd and were the away team, so they ampted up the cheers.

That said, the Dutch were indeed rather tame. In the beginning they countered the German cheers with their own (and we even managed to get a full wave going) but after a while, with not much happening on the pitch, they quieted out.
I think it did have something to do with the match itself. Many were hoping for revenge after Holland lost to Germany 3-0 in last year's friendly (not to mention the 2-1 defeat at the Euros), and with Germany missing several key players they might have believed that we'd wipe the floor with what was essentially a German reserve team. Holland was also playing with a somewhat depleted side, so it was a bit of a wait-and-see sort of vibe, with the crowd not quite sure what to make of either teams. Of course, when Holland threatened to score everyone was on their feet, but otherwise they were most likely underwhelmed by the performance.

Like I said in Pt 3, had I watched this match at home I would have grown bored and maybe even changed the channel because, in all honesty, it wasn't a terribly active match. There was little pace (one guy behind me quipped that the match was "too friendly", in that the teams looked hesitant to really challenge each other, to which his friend said that there was no passion and that the teams should have read 50 Shades Of Grey(??) <- you can see why *I* wasn't bored in the stands. The commentary going on around me was hysterical!) and it was mostly a scramble in midfield. With Germany missing Özil and Holland missing Sneijder they were playing without their essential playmakers, and it showed. Reus had a few good runs, but no one was really leading the charge up field on either side.

Long story short: the Dutch kinda knew coming in that, with such an injury-struck lineup, we most likely wouldn't be in for a classic. As more and more players from both sides were left out, the enthusiasm ebbed a bit. Germans knew this too, but since they were the away team they made sure their voices were heard :)

suzanne410.livejournal.com

This was fun to read! And I love your pics of the buildings. I'm almost as addicted to pictures of architecture as I am to Mesut's belly, (which was a lovely interlude BTW). Anytime I travel, I come home with hundreds of pictures of buildings. IDK why. And I loved the dialogue of the older couple in front of you. So hilarious!

If I'm lucky I'll get to see Germany play here this summer. Not sure who will actually travel, but whatever. I'll take whoever I can get. Thanks for sharing!

If buildings are your thing, you'd LOVE Amsterdam. I'm there almost everyday because I study at the University of Amsterdam, which isn't one main building but several scattered throughout the city (most of my English literature classes are taught in the building right behind the Royal Palace), and I never grow bored of it. During free periods I just go wandering about and there's always something new that had been hidden from me. An Australian exchange student who took Academic Reading with me actually gave the best description of the city I've ever heard:
"Amsterdam is what would happened if you combined a more adult-themed Disneyworld with Diagon Alley."
He got it spot on. Amsterdam is an interesting combination of 16th century architecture with modern liberal trimmings. Yes, we have sex museums and sex shops and "coffee shops" on unashamedly on display out in the open, but boy do they look classy XD