Day one, in the bag

Day one…it all begins.

Every story must have a beginning it seems, and our arrival in Munich was greeted by thousands of Bayern Munich supporters awaiting their team’s triumph in the Champions League final.  They were everywhere, and they were loud.

We arrived at our first assignment, lunch at the Paulaner Brewery finding a few hundred of the Bayern faithful were already packing the place ready for action. Given that this was one of Europe’s best breweries which also possessed a giant screen and replica of the trophy, it was inevitably a meeting points for the hoards that couldn’t get tickets for the game.

We took up our positions, eagerly eyed by the locals, and decided the only way to start the day was to join in the festivities. Some of the group were overjoyed, kinda like children at Christmas when they saw the litre steins headed our way. A large beer which tasted good, and in fine weather, was the perfect setting for a Saturday afternoon.

After the lunch, we found the big one, a giant 3 litre beer glass and started our quest to see how many South Africans it would take to finish it. After all, one has to have some sort of measure for the tour to begin, a yardstick to measure yourself against and in foreign territory this was as good as ever.

Eagerly the boys (and girls) jumped in to finish the first round, which was quickly topped up again. Having proven ourselves worthy we turned to find those wearing lederhosen and see if they were as brave as the South Africans in the vicinity.

We found a few souls who first baulked at the idea, but eventually joined it. They might brew good beer, but the Germans certainly don’t have the stomach for a challenge of this sort, and we were quickly on our own again.

But then it was back to business, and a tour of the Paulaner brewery was on. Deathly quiet on a Saturday we were told the workers had the day off to watch the football, although the intimidating sight of 30 South African super beer drinkers may have had something to do with this.

Later on we were treated to some yodellng and traditional dancing by the locals at a bar as we settled into watch the game. We made it a point to see who could yodel later on in the tour with some encouragement, and the match started.

Germany sure is a strange place, the precision of everything has filtered through into their support for their football team. There were no cries of anguish, no heated debates and no soul-searching after Didier Drogba fired home his penalty to win the game for Chelsea. They simply got up and went home.

All this left us in a quandary. What had we learnt on day one? Castle Superfans certainly can hold their own with a big glass of beer, and the Germans need to take lessons on supporting a team. I mean, what self-respecting Bafana Bafana supporter wouldn’t be in anguish with a similar loss. Where, over a beer or two, would the game not be discussed at length? Passion and sport flows through our blood like our favourite beer. Clinical is never a word that would describe a few beers with mates.

Day one was finished, and an epic start was made to the tour. Tougher moments will face us, but having enjoyed some amber brew with our German friends, we knew we were ready.


- Brenden Nel