Fodboldfeber - Football fever

I dag tog jeg en tur til Basel (min yndlingsby) for at hygge mig. Hvad jeg ikke havde forudset var de tusindvis af hollandske fodboldfans, som også var i byen for at feste før aftenens EM-semifinale. Alt var orange! De hyggede sig virkelig, og der var en fantastisk stemning i byen (og en frygtelig stank). Men det var lidt svært at komme frem.

Da jeg skulle hjem, havde en folkefest udviklet sig midt i bycentrum, og jeg gik derfor hen til et par schweizere for at spørge om en omvej til stationen. Sådan forløb samtalen:
D: Undskyld, men kan De fortælle mig, hvordan jeg kommer til stationen?
S: Ja, De tager bare sporvognen herfra om lidt.
D: Tror De, at sporvognen kan komme igennem dette mylder?
S: Der står I køreplanen, at sporvognen kommer, så det skal den jo gøre. (Typisk schweizer-tillid)
D: Tror De virkelig, at det er muligt?
S: Næ, egentlig ikke, følg efter os! (Atypisk schweizer-opførsel)

Og så gik vi gennem folkefesten og hyggede os med at kigge på alle de totalt gakkede mennesker med kreative kostymer.
Det var ret smittende, og jeg har derfor totalt overdraget min opbakning til det hollandske team (eftersom Sverige og Schweiz nu er ude af turneringen).

Today I went on a little trip to Basel (my favourite town) to have a cosy day. What I hadn’t anticipated was the thousands of Dutch football fans who also had made it to Basel before tonight’s Eurocup game. Everything was orange! There was a fantastic atmosphere in town (and a horrible smell) but it was a bit hard to come from one place to another.

When I decided to return, a big party had developed in the town centre and I approached a Swiss couple to ask if they knew an alternative route to the station. This is how our conversation went:
D: Sorry, could you tell me how to get to the station, please?
S: Yes, just take the tram that will arrive here in a few minutes.
D: Do you think the tram will be able to get past this gathering?
S: The timetable says that the tram will arrive here in a few minutes, so that is a given fact? (Typical Swiss trust)
D: Really?
S: You are right, let’s walk together! (Not so typical Swiss behaviour)

So we went through the big party gathering and we had a blast looking at all the crazy people in great costumes. The atmosphere was totally contagious so I am officially smitten and have transferred my football support to the Dutch team.