Day 6: Hup Holland Hup!

Euro 2008 is going on in Switzerland in Austria. It's a big football(soccer) tournament for the top teams in Europe. The Netherlands has done quite well, despite most predictions against them. They won their first three games, and will play in the quarterfinals against Russia on Saturday. On Tuesday night I went to meet some new friends at the Cafe Boudewijn on Nieuwe Binneweg. I had forgotten this was the same night as the Holland vs. Romania game. The bar was packed, and quickly filled up more and more. Men and women decked out in orange crowded in front of the TVs. The atmosphere was noisy, smoky(for three more weeks) and everyone had a beer in their hand. People order pitchers and quickly emptied them into whoever had empty glasses in their hands, including strangers. When the national anthem was played, everyone started singing. When the game started, the whole bar hushed, and the only noise was groans or cheers depending on what happened in the game. At half time, everyone ordered more beer, or went outside to stretch their legs. In the second half when Holland scored their second goal, the whole bar broke out into a rousing chorus of 'We are the Champions'. When the game ended with the Netherlands winning 2-0 everyone cheered and hugged and was overall quite happy. If you ever visit the Netherlands, I recommend visiting a bar during football season. it makes for a very interesting atmosphere.