Pablo asked me last Saturday morning via Skype if Frankfurt had anything to compare to the Greenville Avenue block party St. Patrick's day celebration. I was out, er, celebrating at the time, so didn't get the message until later. I've been sort of reflecting on how to really answer that question during this past week.
I would tend to answer the question with initial quip, "yep, it's always St. Patrick's day here, simply because my Irish local happens to serve as my living room on a regular basis." I've tended to make the same remark about Halloween, "Everyday is Halloween for me." Folks who know what I do for a living, or at the very least have read some of the work related posts here can problably understand why I feel inclined to say it that way. Of course, I'm always giving nod to one particular Ministry song, too.
Though I will always have fond memories for the way Dallas celebrates March, I have kept the traditions alive over the past few years, with only a few slight variations. For example, Las Fallas, the weeklong celebration in Valencia, can easily be described as the best celebration that you never want to go to again, yet the very next year, you find yourself getting caught up in the fervor once again. I kept an eye on things from afar this past week as the celebrations came to an end; at least I could live a bit vicariously through my sister.
March has been pretty zany for a variety of reasons. We had a collosal backlog in the repair shop that HAD to be reduced and back under control by yesterday. We were able to accomplish this, but it was certainly not without a bit of stress for a LOT of people. During this same period, there were several birthday celebrations, which ultimately turned into rather small 12 hour long marathon block parties.
Six nations rugby is in full swing, which means that every other weekend, the pubs are full of expats who tend to be a bit bigger than the normal pub patron (at least at my local). While they tend to be lively, they tend to get drunk, then increasingly louder, then somewhat violent. At the very least, I notice that they usually overstay their welcome.
I'm not a small guy by any stretch, so I'm not really intimidated by the rugby crowd, and to be fair, some of the fans are really nice. However, as a football fan, I get really irritated having to compete with Rugby coverage; I want to see the football matches. Usually, this isn't a problem, though last Saturday I arrived in pub at 4pm on the dot to tune into the Arsenal game, only to find that the TV wasn't yet on the right channel. How big of a deal could that be? Huge.
I asked the busy bartender if he could sort things out. He had his hands full with the 15 pints he was trying to pull, but he made a quick stab at switiching the satellite, and succeeding in shutting off the rugby match that was already in progress. Suddenly, he had a bit of a problem. No one had a drink (including myself), and all the channels were screwed up. (note - it's a bit hard to explain, and perhaps not so important to the story, but there are multiple satellite boxes - one for Germany, and one for Ireland. There's a bit of a trick in getting one TV onto the right box).
The barman didn't react so well under pressure, so made a frantic call to the bar owner, who was out walking the dog. (Ray's team Liverpool had just completed a mauling of Man U; he had already seen his match so was out doing domestic things) In the end, the rugby got put back on, which settled those fans. Meanwhile, I sat watching a bit of Frankfurt Eintracht, then decided to watch the second half of Arsenal at another pub in the city.
Frankfurt is one of those cities where having a car is about as effective as trying to maintain a 2 Million Euro inventory on a legal pad. It's possible, but you'd better be fucking good. To get to city center, I can walk or drive the same distance in about 25 minutes. Or, I can take the U-Bahn, which will get me there in about 9 minutes. What's good, and what's logical?
I was counting on the 9 minutes last Saturday afternoon, but I hadn't anticipated the 10 minute delay in the subway. Long story short, I got to see HALF of the second half of the Arsenal match. All things considered, I saw all the goals, so you can almost argue that I saw the match.
However, Arsenal are finally playing well again, particularly since the beginning of March, so I find it important to catch every match I can. I've done well in this area, mostly thanks to the Liverpool fan bar owner who goes out of his way to ensure that he shows the Arse whenever possible. (Ray will often phone me to confirm that I need a certain TV or spot at the bar, particularly on the crowded rugby days. That's a very nice thing for a landlord to do)
Instead of college basketball tournaments, footy begins to take precedence during the month throughout Europe. It's the time of the season when things really get interesting: FA cup advanced rounds, Champs League and UEFA Cup matches, plus the normal leagues. It's the last quarter of the season, so everyone is jockeying for position. As I already mentioned, Arsenal are starting to show their form again, and it couldn't have come at a better time. They're still in FA cup and Champs League (bring on Villareal!), and they're showing all the right signs of solidifying their place in the top 4 for Premiership. Not too shabby, really.
The same goes for the other Euro countries, and Germany has recently gotten more interested in English and Spanish football. I believe that has a great deal to do with the fact that Bundesliga tends to be rather boring. Bayern Munich can be entertaining and annoying to watch, but beyond that, the league goes downhill quickly. Frankfurt is a middle to bottom half of the table club. They're the kind of team that can go up 3-0 against a better team, then give up 3 own goals for absolutely no reason whatsoever. They're their worst opponents, but sort of charming. Eintracht fans are pretty passionate, so it's easy for me to support the team, even if I can't name all the players.
That said, I still only get emotional about Arsenal, really. Take the last round of Champs League. Arsenal needed only to draw to proceed to the next round. Instead, the found themselves losing the 2nd leg, which forced extra time, and ultimately a penalty shootout. I hate that. Thank goodness that a friend happened to show up in the pub two weeks ago right as the shootout was beginning. She's actually an Eintracht fan, so appreciates football and wisely kept quiet as I tore my bierdeckel (coaster) to shreds. End result, Arsenal got through 7-6 on penalties; I haven't been so worked up since the final back in 2006. And Nathalie welcomed the post match celebratory Jaegermeister.
So March has been a pretty good month, all things considered. Sure, I spent way too much time in the pub, and probably need to stop saying each Monday afternoon on a conference call (in response to the question, "How was the weekend?") "I believe I abused my liver!" That said, you can simply appreciate that I extended my Greenville Ave Saturday before St Patrick's Day party experience and stretched it to cover the entire month.
Looking back, it probably wasn't such a good idea to have a vat of wine and some schnapps at a restaurant before heading off to the pub to mix more Pils and shots for the next 7 hours as I did at a birthday party two weeks ago. However, I'm off to Massimo or Zara today to see about replacing the belt and the coat that somehow didn't survive the evening too well.
St. Patrick's itself was a relatively quiet affair for me. The pub was too full of Ami's, and, as some of us found years ago back at the Dub, sometimes it's best to avoid your Irish local on special days where everyone suddently becomes "Irish."
Most Germans don't really keep up with the celebration, but then again, how many folks are going to follow Bornheim Kerb or Faschings, unless you're actually there in person. Several folks actually asked me about the significance of the event, and, I've since discovered, quite a few people have thought I am Irish.
I tend to speak German with Germans, and English with any English native speaker, for obvious reasons. Many natives here have experience in at least one English speaking country, and they tend to favor this country over the others. I know plenty of Germans who prefer the UK to Ireland, or the states to the UK. What I'm unable to figure out just yet is how they hear my personal accent, and what makes them think I'm speaking German with an Irish accent? Ah well, I'm sure that will all come in good time.
Time to wrap this up, I've scribbled random thoughts down for the last two hours and have a feeling this is a pretty disjointed piece. The month long Frankfurt celebration is coming to a close, and I'll go so far as to say that it was fun filled and action packed. Might as well make it routine, and do it again in April.
Spring is quickly approaching, which means the terraces will soon be filled with folks enjoying the nice weather. It makes for rather a pleasant time.
Support the Arse, keep the faith, and all that. See you out there.
bryan
soundtrack (don't laugh)
A Split Second - Flesh (wow, that's REALLY old)
Psychedelic Furs - House (mmmm, that one, too)
Alkaine Trio - Calling All Skeletons
Maná - Nada Que Perder
The Clash - Safe European Home
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