Tailgating in Germany??

[T Nitty]

Whew, I'm sure glad you explained that. And the interweb doesn't hate you, just the people on it.

What's the rate for the BMW? I've got a compact from Budget for 18 days for about $750. Not a beamer, but it worked just fine last visit.

Yeah, if you ever want to drive a nice car on some nice roads, Germany is the place to do it. Enjoy the autobahn.

[gngrasso]

BMW 3 series for 4 days, unlimited kilos and gps navigation system (so I dont wind up in the wrong neighborhood) for 332 euro. Not cheap, I know, but what the F, this is probably a once in a lifetime trip for me, since when S. Africa rolls around I'll have a daughter in college and 2 daughters is high school.

So this is pretty much my last hurrah for the next 5 to 10 years.

Man I am pumped

[roadkit]

PS

Before I get blasted as some bmw-driving elitest rich yuppie newbie, be aware that I'm not. I just have decided to allocate a LARGE part of my savings account to this trip and do it in style. I have been a fan and supporter of the national team for several years, just not on this board. Until a month ago I still had dial-up, and hated the internet.

Hardly - in Germany/Europe taxis are typically very nice Mercedes sedans - the kind that in the U.S. cost $50K plus.

BMW is the Oldsmobile of Europe! :D :D

[scarshins]

Until a month ago I still had dial-up, and hated the internet.

You were better off then :D

[dfb547490]

With the info from this thread (http://bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=319569&highlight=tailgating), it seems like rather than stadium lots fans with cars are going to have to park in satellite lots and be shuttled into the stadium. The good news is that FIFA seems to be attempting to segregate the parking lots by the team you support, which means that US fans who are driving will all likely be congregated in one lot.

That said, if there are folks out there who are still interested in getting a traditional American-style tailgate set up in Germany, now's probably the time to start planning. This doesn't neccesarily have to be mutually exclusive with the pre-game parties that Yanks-Abroad.com is setting up, as we can certainly drink at the bar for a few hours then drink in the parking lot for a few hours. This system seemed to work well in Hartford for the T&T qualifier. What we need now are for some people who will be renting cars to step up and volunteer their car space to use for the tailgate, and also hopefully a couple people who don't mind lugging grills around Germany (ideally we can find an American living in Germany who already owns a grill, otherwise those who are interested in a traditional tailgate can chip in to buy them as well as the beer and food).

Unfortunately I won't have a car so I can't help with that stuff, but I am willing to help the planning in any other way I can. Let's get this organized.

Incidentally as I mentioned in another thread, it's too late to set it up now but I'm really thinking the way to go with this would've been to get together a group of a half-dozen or so and rent an RV. It's expensive but once you've got it done you don't need to worry about lodging or train tickets (you do still have to buy gas but split between 5-7 people I can't see that being that big of a deal as long as you don't do much joyriding, even with poor gas mileage and outrageous thieving Euro taxes), you've got an easy tailgate setup, and how much fun would it be to go tooling around Germany in an RV with a US flag on each side and a Don't Tread On Me flag on the back?? It'd also be really cool to get a bunch of US fans in RVs and have us be known as "the RV guys". Ah well, something to keep in mind for South Africa I guess.

[gngrasso]

That said, if there are folks out there who are still interested in getting a traditional American-style tailgate set up in Germany, now's probably the time to start planning. This doesn't neccesarily have to be mutually exclusive with the pre-game parties that Yanks-Abroad.com is setting up, as we can certainly drink at the bar for a few hours then drink in the parking lot for a few hours. This system seemed to work well in Hartford for the T&T qualifier. What we need now are for some people who will be renting cars to step up and volunteer their car space to use for the tailgate, and also hopefully a couple people who don't mind lugging grills around Germany (ideally we can find an American living in Germany who already owns a grill, otherwise those who are interested in a traditional tailgate can chip in to buy them as well as the beer and food).


Well as I mentioned, I plan on having a rental car and driving to K-Town, and can be the focal point for a tailgate in the US-sanctioned parking lot.

I plan on getting to the lot early in the morning. My only constraint is that this would be a fairly 'early' tailgate, say 10am thru 2 or 3pm, as I would like to spend the last 4 to 5 hours before the game in K-town proper.

If anyone digs this idea, let's keep this going.