Fussball Fieber...

Before I begin, I would like to translate the title. Fussball (pronounced foosball) stands for football and Fieber is Fever. Deutschland is reeling with the fussball fieber. Yesterday was the first match played against Australia, and as you all know by now, the germans won. I am no fan of football, will never be. The boys(hubby and son) had settled down on the couch. My man watched it the typical german way, with beer in hand!!! At half past ten, with the win of Deutschland, we retired to bed since a long week lay ahead of us.

          Nothing had prepared me for what was to happen the next two hours. Honk, Honk, Honk!!! All the cars in Lohr seemed to have gone in a honking spree to celebrate their beloved country's win of the first match. Never, ever in the past eight months had I heard a honk in Deutschland. My husband says its rude to honk. To think of it, I haven't heard the honk of our car too ( maybe for the next win, I will slip down to the garage and honk away to glory!!!) 

This reminded me so much of cricket crazy India and brought back memories of the past. We Indians celebrate a win by bursting noisy crackers, but definitely not for 2 hours!!! I remember the times when there would be these one day games and we would be hooked onto the screens. Runs of 4 or 6 would have us shrieking with delight and my mother constantly reminding us that girls voices should not be heard outside of the house. These matches would roughly end between 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. In my parents house, 8 at night is Rosary (Catholic prayers) time. Whatever we may be doing, however interesting a program on TV is, we stop our work and gather for our family prayers. During the course of the rosary, if India won the match, Nannu, our neighbour shopkeeper would begin to burst crackers. With the sound of the crackers we would triple the speed of the decade of the rosary. It would then become unbearable to listen to both the crackers and the muttering of prayers. With a hasty sign of the cross we would then dash to switch on the TV.  

As I lay in bed, I could not help but smile thinking of those days and could perfectly understand the reason for jubilation. But close to midnight, we did get fed up and was waiting for it to end. What with a sleepy boy coming to your room saying he is unable to fall asleep with all the honking!! I now fear the further matches and all the hoola it will create!! People tell me, its gonna get worse. So let me enjoy all the honking as long as it lasts, cause there wont be any for the next four years to come.

Pictured above is the lane right behind our house with flags flying high. Not only Deutschland, but also other countries. Do not ask me which countries are they.....