May 2018 - World Chump

Sensations in the Bundesliga, as I pointed out a few posts back, are just rare these days. Some years back, you could count on at least Borussia Dortmund giving Bayern a run for its money, but not anymore. And if Dortmund can't compete with Bayern anymore, what does that say about other teams? What does it say about the league?

RB Leipzig, behind sponsor giant Red Bull, was thought to be the heir apparent after last year, but they dropped all the way to sixth place and barely salvaged a place in next year's Euro League, which is wide beyond expectations. Wolfsburg, between equally powerful sponsor VW, barely avoided being relegated this year. Money in today's football world certainly helps, although it is never a guarantee for success.

Enter Eintracht Frankfurt, the local team here. Frankfurt has certainly improved over the years, although this year, they looked like a sure-fire bet to qualify for the lucrative Champions League following an impressive streak of good results over the first half of the season. A late season slump saw them sink all the way to eighth place, which would likely see them miss out on playing on the European stage altogether. Luckily for them, there was the cup final, the last game of the year to be played in Berlin. Only one problem: they would be meeting with powerhouse Bayern Munich, who is not in the business of losing domestic titles, let alone cup finals. One game, winner-takes-all, up against the best team in the league, who, in addition to winning the Bundesliga for the sixth straight time, also hawked Frankfurt's young head coach, Niko Kovac, for next year, much to the fans' chagrin here in Frankfurt.

But miracles do happen.

Frankfurt pulled off the stunner by beating Bayern, 3-1. What exactly happened to Bayern? Were they lacking motivation after another semifinal exit in the Champions League? Were their players, all seasoned nationals, merely anticipating the World Cup in Russia? We'll never know, and the Eintracht Frankfurt fans really don't care after winning their first cup of any kind in 30 years. Only one year ago, Frankfurt had lost the cup final to Schalke. This year, the city would celebrate in style.

The Römer here in Frankfurt, the central market place in front of the town hall, was sheer pandemonium when it received their victorious team the day after winning the cup, on a warm Sunday afternoon. The tradition for any German football club is to present any freshly won title to its fans at the town hall of the city, usually from the balcony. Tens of thousands of Frankfurt fans packed the place, even the Christmas Market looked sparsely attended by comparison. One mean tweet even claimed that there were more people at Frankfurt's victory parade than on Trump's inauguration day. Fans sang and danced, it's nice to witness football history being made. For Bayern Munich, a cup victory would have been a mere footnote. For Frankfurt, the victory against Bayern is already legend.

What happens with Frankfurt next year is anybody's guess. They have already lost their goalkeeper, one of their star players. They have lost their head coach, the architect of Frankfurt's renaissance, to Bayern. For now, all of that matters so little. For now, Frankfurt is happy. For now, Eintracht rules and has brought a smile to Football Germany outside of Munich. For now, that's all that matters.

That is, at least until the World Cup starts next month.

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Now that the autobahn is nearing its 100th birthday, I thought I would expand on last post's brief survey results about speed limits and dedicate a full post to the world's fastest street network.

Although the autobahn was first brought to life in 1921, the street was meant as a toll road which could only be afforded by the wealthy and people with race cars. The word bahn itself translates as train, since people in Germany believed that the expression Autostraße didn't amply describe the project.

The Nazis took plenty of credit for expanding the autobahn network, as public autobahn routes (and without tolls, no less) were launched, primarily in the thickest metro regions of the Ruhr area, like Cologne to Bonn or later Cologne to Düsseldorf. The only stipulation was that the autobahn needed to have at least two lanes, which to this day qualifies a road to be an autobahn, as opposed to merely a Landstraße (country road) or a Bundesstraße (federal road). The only way an autobahn will not have two lanes today is whenever it happens to be under construction, which can be quite frequent. Construction projects vary, as they could be fixing certain stretches of the road, or - irony of ironies - adding lanes.

Although the autobahn for long tracts of its network has no speed limit, I found that there are plenty of speed limits the driver must observe, particularly in a dense, metropolitan region like Frankfurt. Construction projects, of course, will add plenty of speed limits of their own. The highest speed limit on certain roads is 130 km/h, or 80 mph. The lowest hovers around 60 km/h, which in itself is as fast as cars using inner-city streets. Speed limits will also occur within areas where the danger of noise pollution is particularly great, like more residential areas. I have never seen drivers get pulled over by German law enforcement, although there are plenty of cameras around to capture your ecstatic speeding smile. Usually, the driver receives a fine and a certain number of points, which, when accumulated, can jeopardize your driving status and eventually your license. Fact is, you will be fined for driving too slow on the autobahn.

What makes Germany's autobahns so popular are not only the relative lack of speed limits, but the fact that they are toll-free. Initiatives have been started (and dropped) to reduce speed limits and at least exact tolls from truck drivers, but without success. I can't imagine anybody who would lobby against such well-meaning proposals, can you? (hint: the all-powerful automobile maunfacturing industry in Germany)

To many, driving on the autobahn can be a daunting experience, if you're not used to it. German drivers exhibit a rare combination of skill, or speed and precision, so you need to mind your p's and q's at all times. The anarchy I've seen on so many streets in third world countries simply wouldn't fly in Germany. I suggest starting off slowly, learn from other drivers, and follow the traffic flow. If you are in the fast lane, it would be folly to remain there, especially if you have that 7 series BMW bearing down on you from behind. On a two-lane autobahn, you don't necessarily want to remain in the slow lane, either, since this is more the trucks' territory and can unnecessarily prolong your trip.

The one road most Germans look for is the white circle with the diagonal black lines running through it. This means no speed limit, and the driver can let her rip.

Contrary to popular belief, the mortal accident rate on the German autobahn is not as high as you would think. It is actually lower than certain countries with speed limits, like France, Belgium or Austria. In addition, the death rate is lower than slower country roads in the country, which is understandable, since the autobahn is not exactly built like the formula one circuit in Monte Carlo. Wildlife running into your vehicles are a common hazard on country roads, as are other vehicles.

Personally, I have found the autobahn experience to be relatively stress free, unlike some highways or freeways I've regularly driven on in the States (Los Angeles and Washington, come on down).
Though I personally prefer trains, an autobahn can be a pleasant experience once you have buckled up and found your streetlegs.

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One of the things I like the most about this blog is writing about places you would have to dig a little for. While the Taj Mahal, Machu Picchu, and the Giza Pyramids are exciting in their own right, there are millions of reports and photos dealing with these sites, so you hardly need to read my (albeit photo-less) posts about them here.

In the last post, I already introduced one gem of German tourism, Rothenburg. in this one follows another...Dinkelsbühl, a short drive from Rothenburg, is just as charming as its neighboring town to the north hugging the state border to Baden Württemberg, and just as unique. Hailed as the prettiest old city center of Germany on its own website, it's hard to disagree, once you've taken the walk through town yourself.

It seems there is hardly a building within the town center that isn't (or doesn't appear to be) of some historic significance. With its rows and rows of half-timbered houses, this is where time seems to have stood still. It is dreamlike just walking through some of the narrow alleyways, only to come upon a simple youth hostel or an atelier that looks like it could just as easily be housing rare artifacts or a Shakespearian stage. Granted, the vehicles might be a little disturbing, although permitting only horse and carriage into the town center might be a little over the top. There's also a fantastic city wall, although this one isn't passable. That takes very little away from the overall charm of Dinkelsbühl, another town that was spared major damages during the formidable war years in middle Europe.

There are four gates that have been preserved along the city wall aside from the 20 or so towers. One of these, the bright orange colored Wörnitztor (also named after the river flowing through Dinkelsbühl), is the oldest gate of the four and dates back to the 14th century. Aside from the gate, the Wörnitztor is also a high bell tower that proudly presents the coat of arms. A different gate is the Nördlinger Tor, or gate, which may not look as exciting as the Wörnitztor, but is a good starting point for those who wish to lap the entire town.

A good fit for the Altstadt is also the Gothic style St. George Cathedral, just a short walk from the Nördlinger Tor. I scratched my head at this gigantic church, particularly when you consider the fact that Dinkelsbühl has a population of little more than 10,000.

Not to slight the Protestant population, which was largely treated equally after the notable wars of religious strife, there is also the St. Paul church. The demand by the Protestant population to share the St. George cathedral with the Catholics after the 30 Year War was duly rejected, so that the Protestants were left with the church that was added on to the Holy Ghost infirmary. The Protestants were to wait for a sizable church of their own, at least until St. Paul was built in the 19th century.

My personal favorite in Dinkelsbühl was the Spital zum Heiligen Geist, or the Holy Ghost Infirmary, just a quick walk from the Rothenburger gate and down the road from St. George. Walk a few yards beyond the building, and there is the theater on one side and and the old dye house on the other, fully intact, although now merely a museum piece.

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World Chump - Wanderlust

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