Meeting In Cologne!!!!

Discussion in 'USA Men: World Cup Fans & Travel' started by bltleo, May 16, 2006.

  1. bltleo

    bltleo Member+

    Jan 5, 2003
    GERMANY
    Club:
    FC Bayern München
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    Hello american friends,

    I guess everyone has booked hotels, have a lot information about Germany and cities where you are going to stay. Many of you are going to Cologne, from the list I saw at another thread. In this thread I don´t want to provide you with information about Cologne. It is more organizing some meeting with american fans.

    I live in Cologne. So if someone of you need any help during your travelling, just send me PM. If someone of you wants to meet or have some drinks, just send me PM, maybe we can organize something.

    I´m not sure if we can organize meeting of all US fans who stays in Cologne.
    I think it is not possible. But if you have some ideas, let me know.

    And if you are in Cologne and have any problems, just contact me. I will help.

    It will be pleasure for me to meet US fans!

    I´m also sure if I come to the USA, many of you will help me with information too!.


    US supporter from Cologne

    Bltleo
    GERMANY/Cologne
     
  2. SUNDROP

    SUNDROP Member

    Mar 8, 2000
    Grand Junction,CO USA
    Bitleo, perhaps you could pick your favorite pub in Cologne, and any US fans staying there could gather - say on Sunday evening the 11th. Just leave it open and whoever shows up, fine. Whether it would be five or fifty, I'm sure the proprietors would be happy to sell more Kolsch !!!
     
  3. nrang

    nrang New Member

    Jan 14, 2006
    NY,NY
    BLTLEO,

    I will be there with three other US Fans from the 11th-13th. We have tickets for the Portugal-Angola game on the 11th, but will definetly go out for a few hundred Klosch's after the game. What time do you suspect bars will stay open on a Sunday night. We are staying at the Hooper Hotel St. Antonius. Is this hotel located in a good spot near bars.


    Thanks.
     
  4. Jabo

    Jabo Member

    Mar 29, 2000
    Washington, DC
    Yeah...I like this idea.....I got no games to go to that day (unless of course I scalp that Portugal - Angola game ;) ) so I'd definitely be in for a hop down from Leverkusen!
     
  5. miked9

    miked9 Member+

    May 4, 2000
    Philadelphia
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I'll be getting in to Köln on the 11th and leaving the 13th. I'd definitely stop by to have a few drinks on the night of the 11th. We're staying at the Jugendherberge Köln-Deutz.
     
  6. bltleo

    bltleo Member+

    Jan 5, 2003
    GERMANY
    Club:
    FC Bayern München
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    SUGGESTION

    I suggest to meet if one of following pub

    1. PÄFFGEN
    Die Hausbrauerei Päffgen
    Friesenstraße 64 - 66
    COLOGNE

    HOW TO GET TO PAFFGEN: TAKE SUBWAY NUMBER 5 from the TRAIN STATION (Main train station, Hauptbahhof) - direction Ossendorf - just 2 stations, you should go to station FRIESENPLATZ, from there is is only 2 minutes walking distance. You will see Starbuck cafe, then All One Bar (also good to hang up), CAfe ALEX and cross the street the famous BREWERY HOUSE PÄFFGEN - great atmosphere, typical Cologne, good beer and food

    web-site
    http://www.paeffgen-koelsch.de/index.html

    INFO IN ENGLISH: about Kölsch -culture:)
    excellent guide about Päffgen and another Cologne pubs, read about Cologne beer culture: INTERESTING
    http://www.nicecity.de/english/breweries.htm

    MEETING POINT for all who would like to meet can be Main train station,
    meeting point there.

    bltleo
    GERMANY
     
  7. bltleo

    bltleo Member+

    Jan 5, 2003
    GERMANY
    Club:
    FC Bayern München
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    Who from you want actually have some drinks in Cologne? From some of you I got PM. If someone want to join, leave a message here.

    By the way in Cologne will be the biggest World cup party in Germany - in the old town with many great parties!!! Along Rhine River, in Altstadt. Cologne is the coolest city to go out and have a fun.

    Frankie Hejduk have some favorite pubs here. He also like Päffgen:) by the way. He likes Kölsch. So maybe we can make a "beer" tour like FRANKIE HEJDUK, the former player of Leverkusen/this is near Cologne.

    your bltleo
    from Cologne
     
  8. 5446

    5446 New Member

    Nov 23, 1998
    Brooklyn, NY
    I'll be in Cologne from 11-14 June.

    Anyone w/ a spare ticket for Angola/Portugal?

    dn

     
  9. miked9

    miked9 Member+

    May 4, 2000
    Philadelphia
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    What day? If it is the 11th or 12th, my friend and I will come. Paeffgen sounds great.
     
  10. SUNDROP

    SUNDROP Member

    Mar 8, 2000
    Grand Junction,CO USA
    Sunday the 11th sounds like the time. Most of us are hopefully lucky enough to be heading up to G'kirchen for Monday's match. Sound good, Bltleo?
     
  11. primusux

    primusux Member

    Mar 17, 2005
    USA
    We're still on to meet up with you on the 9th once our train arrives from Frankfurt! :)

    Can't wait!
     
  12. turbostevo

    turbostevo New Member

    Jun 5, 2001
    dallas
    my lovely wife and i will be in cologne from the 12th-14th.

    we'll be catching the usa/czech game and the germany/poland game.

    we'd probably be up for meeting with other usa fans on the 12th after the game... but honestly, who realy knows what it's really going to be like and how long everything will take. all i know is that there are going to be lots of people. :)
     
  13. MinnesotaScouser

    Mar 29, 2005
    St Paul, Minnesota
    bltleo,

    Thanks for all the great info you have provided over the last several months. Our group of 8 will be arriving on the 11th and would definately like to join you and other US fans in having a "few" Kolsch beers that night. Brauerei Paffgen sounds like a great place. It looks like it has a biergarten which would interest me. Will they be showing the matches that night too?
     
  14. gameson

    gameson Member

    May 5, 2006
    Club:
    AC Milan
    Nat'l Team:
    Italy
    I will be in Cologne on July 3 on some sight seeing tour. I would like to meet up and share few beers with you or anyone here who will be there on July 3. If you want to tag along with me when I go sightseeing, that would be even better.
     
  15. FoxBoro 143

    FoxBoro 143 Member+

    Jan 18, 2004
    MA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Add 2 more US fans at PAFFGEN on the night of the 11th!
    I will probably be there a little early that night as I want plenty of sleep so I can make it to Gkirchen very early the next day.
    Anyone else who will be there on the 11th, PM me please. Thanks.
     
  16. Churchdown Yank

    Jan 14, 2006
    Gloucester UK
    Club:
    Seattle Sounders
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The wife and I will be hanging around Cologne sightseeing on Sunday before going up to Gelsenkirchen the next day. We'll stop by Paffgen along with some of the rest of you - if only to see the look on the owners face when he realizes his pub is full of Americans!
     
  17. George H

    George H New Member

    Apr 27, 2006
    Philadelphia
    Sure, that would be fun. I arrive on the 11th and would love to meet up with some USMNT supporters.

    Hard to believe that we're inside of two weeks already!
     
  18. YankeeHoo

    YankeeHoo New Member

    Aug 10, 2004
    NY
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    hell, add on a couple more to the list for 2 weeks from tonight

    yes, this is all two weeks away!!!!!!
     
  19. Alan

    Alan Titanium Member

    Feb 25, 1999
    Massachusetts
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Looks like Cologne is the place to be . . .

    The World Cup's World-Class Party
    Ed Alcock - The New York Times

    Published: May 28, 2006

    EVERY four years, the world's sports fans share an experience unlike any other in its intensity, its drama, its exultation, its heartbreak: the World Cup, a tournament involving 32 countries from almost every corner of the globe. And the country that plays host to that event — this year it is Germany — is more than just a place where memorable matches are played out in packed stadiums. For a month, it is transformed into perhaps the world's best party scene.

    The magnitude of this quadrennial event first hit me in 1990 when I was in Italy for the World Cup. At first, I was holed up in a villa outside Florence — a decision I quickly came to regret when I realized that I was missing out on the action: the joyous crowds eating, drinking and celebrating together in the city center. Soon, I was one of the crowd.

    In Florence, a group from Czechoslovakia tried to get me drunk as they celebrated both a 5-1 victory over the United States and their country's first post-Soviet elections. In Siena, a lone Cameroonian carrying his country's flag crossed the central piazza to waves of applause from cafe patrons. In Naples, the woman sitting next to me prayed audibly for Argentina to hold on to its narrow lead over Brazil.

    On trains, ferries and planes, I was swept along with cheerful Irishmen, barmy Scots, dancing Colombians and, of course, the Italians, flashing updated scores with their fingers at opera recitals as they listened to matches through earpieces, festooning their apartment balconies by the hundreds in red, white and green, and generally reveling in the monthlong holiday of fun, monomania and anxiety that is the World Cup.

    So it will be in Germany starting June 9 and ending exactly a month later, with a match that for a couple of hours will literally stop the world. If you go, you won't want to be in the Teutonic equivalent of a villa in the Tuscan countryside; you'll want to be right smack in the middle of the action.

    At past World Cups, it was easy to figure out where the action was going to be: you'd simply go to the city where your team would play. But it'll be different at World Cup 2006. Tournament organizers have decentralized the format, and every one of the 32 teams will play their first three matches in a different venue, from obscure places like Kaiserslautern to the cosmopolitan capital, Berlin. The trick, then, will be to figure out which of the 12 host cities is the right one to choose.

    You'll want someplace with night life and culture, plenty of football atmosphere and a great stadium. And because you'll want to travel to other cities and take part in the moveable feast that is the World Cup, you'll need a place that's central with plenty of rail and air options. There's no wrong answer to this riddle — any one of the 12 cities will be great fun. But there's also an answer that's more correct than the others.

    You can start by ruling out Gelsenkirchen and Dortmund, the old industrial centers of the Ruhr Valley. In many ways, they're the spiritual home of German soccer, with terrific stadiums and loyal fans, but they are not places that draw world travelers. Farther south, Kaiserslautern is a pleasant town with a legendary stadium, but a quarter of its population are American military personnel, and you didn't cross an ocean to eat Whoppers, did you?

    Then we come to the middle-tier cities. Stuttgart, known for its car museums, has a relaxed, wine-fueled way of life, but it's a bit on the small side. Leipzig, despite its beauty and status as the only host city in the old East Germany, is somewhat isolated. Nuremburg, beautiful and historic, suffers from some unfortunate associations. Hanover is a tad sedate. And Frankfurt, Germany's financial capital, is, frankly, too business-y to be a party base.

    Of the remaining four, there's Hamburg, with the rowdy night life of an international port, but it's far from the other tournament destinations. Berlin is one of the world's great cities but not a great football town, and the monumental scale of Olympic Stadium leaves fans feeling like ants. And then there's Munich, an easygoing metropolis of pervasive good cheer, footballing tradition and a breathtaking new stadium. But there's one big drawback: it's a long haul from there to the rest of the tournament.

    Cologne, on the other hand, is a vibrant, fashionable city on the Rhine whose one million citizens are renowned throughout Germany for knowing how to have a good time. Surprisingly cosmopolitan for a Middle European city, it has plenty of smart hotels, culturally sophisticated attractions and football atmosphere. And — the clincher — it's a transportation nexus, with a half-dozen other host cities reachable in about an hour.

    And so, if you must pick one place as your World Cup base, Cologne is it. The Brazilians did, so why not you?

    WHEN I arrived in Cologne at the end of April, the city was getting primed for the Weltmeisterschaft, as the World Cup is called in German. Signs, banners and ads for the tournament were everywhere. In one bookstore, I counted at least 20 new soccer titles in the World Cup display, ranging from intellectual treatises on German teams to naughty cartoons about referees.

    Pascha, a 10-story bordello on the aptly named Hornstrasse, was already welcoming soccer fans from around the world. A giant picture of a seminude woman graced the facade, along with the flags of the 32 participating nations, though those of Saudi Arabia and Iran were blacked out after receiving phone threats.

    At the plaza surrounding the Dom, the towering Gothic cathedral near the main train station, peddlers were also selling flags to tourists and commuters alike. And along the narrow cobblestone streets of this compact city, nearly every storefront had the official tournament logo in its window, a stylized "2006" composed of laughing faces. Cologne was ready to party.

    The real action, of course, would be taking place at the RheinEnergie Stadium, about 25 minutes from the city center. Like many World Cup stadiums, it was rebuilt last year to heighten what Germans call fan-kultur.

    Where once the Cologne stadium was an oval that separated fans from the players, it is now in the English style, a rectangle that hews closely to the dimensions of the field. Everyone is within a few yards of the boundary lines, even in the steep upper deck.

    "It gets so loud in here that we got complaints from people who live a quarter-mile away," said Hubert Roser, the stadium manager, as he sat in one of the 46,000 seats that will almost certainly be filled for the five matches to be played in Cologne.

    Those without tickets, however, will not be left out. All 64 World Cup matches will be shown on large video screens, either in the plaza outside the cathedral or the cafe-ringed Heumarkt (Haymarket). The partylike atmosphere will feature concerts, food courts and makeshift beer halls.

    It was that promise of good times that led Brazil to pick Cologne as its home base, even though Brazil will not play a single game there and even though most Brazilians had probably never heard of this city. But that changed with a fluke. The newly elected Pope Benedict happened to be in Cologne last year, at the same time as Pelé.

    "The pope was at the cathedral, and there's the chief of police making his way through the crowd, escorting Pelé," recounted Harald Roesch, an organizer at the Cologne World Cup office. "He brings him right up to meet the pope. Afterward, Pelé said it was the greatest 10 minutes of his life. Of course, it was only 10 seconds. But everyone in Brazil saw all of this on the news. And that is how they came to know Cologne."

    And so, Cologne will be playing host next month to 5,000 Brazilians in all their samba-drumming, midriff-baring glory.

    As much as you'll want to live and breathe soccer, you'll also need a break from it. Cologne does not disappoint. During the day, there are splendid cruises up and down the Rhine, great shopping and delightful museums devoted to history, art, chocolate and sports. At night, there are theaters, restaurants and, of course, a booming night life.

    On a cool Friday evening in April, the pubs and cafes were filled with people young and old, including many jolly groups immersed in soccer conversations. In the tourist-packed Alter Markt, or Old Market, gregarious fans of the local club, 1. FC Köln, were boarding an end-of-season cruise up the Rhine, beers in hand — even though their team finished next to last in the Bundesliga. In the Friesen Quarter, a chic and diverse crowd made its way from boîte to boîte, and did so until the wee hours.

    The city has a large university population, thousands of foreign-born citizens and a thriving gay scene. And despite losing some of its galleries to Berlin in recent years, Cologne remains a center of art and design. The Hotel Santo on Dagobertstrasse, the inexpensive but designy hotel where I stayed, featured life-size Helmut Newton nudes of women with Dobermans — the perfect antidote if you find yourself obsessing too much over Wayne Rooney's metatarsal injury.

    And if you want to sample other host cities, from Cologne you can easily hopscotch from city to city, match to match and day by day, entirely based on the efficient and inexpensive Deutsche Bahn, the German railway system that radiates out from this city. After all, one of the seminal experiences of any World Cup is piling onto an intercity train with the gabbing, singing fans of a particular team heading to a big match.

    For example, you could spend Sunday night in Cologne for the Portugal-Angola match on June 11, hop over to Gelsenkirchen (30 minutes) for the United States-Czech Republic game the next evening, hit Frankfurt (60 minutes) for the Tuesday afternoon lineup between South Korea and Togo, and go to Dortmund (30 minutes) on Wednesday night to soak in the excitement of the Germany-Poland rivalry.

    Moreover, the Konrad Adenauer Airport outside Cologne has plenty of discount airlines that can take you to Leipzig, Munich and Berlin. With some planning, you can fly to Berlin in just over an hour for as little as roughly 60 euros one way on dba Airlines (www.flydba.com).

    But you'll want to come back to Cologne, where the spirit is welcoming and properly fixated on fussball.

    "The World Cup is not really for us here," said Christian, a 40-ish punk musician who was watching the German Cup Final in a tiny bar on Weidengasse. "It's for all the people coming from around the world."

    Raising his glass of whiskey and laughing he added, "And we'll be right here ready to show everyone a good time."

    If You Go

    GETTING THERE

    Continental Airlines (www.continental.com) started direct service this month from Newark to Cologne. Round-trip fares start at $980.

    An alternative is to fly to Frankfurt, about an hour's train ride from Cologne. A recent Web search found flights next month starting around $935.

    FINDING A ROOM

    Some World Cup host cities, like Cologne, have plenty of hotel rooms, but others don't. FIFA, the World Cup organizer, has a national hotel booking service (www.fifaworldcup.com, 49-69-509-586-450).

    A block of hotel rooms has also been set aside by Expedia, available through its site, www.expedia.com.

    Numerous Web sites are also offering short-term apartment sublets and swaps during the World Cup, including E-Domizil (49-180-33-66-49-45; www.e-domizil.de,).

    GETTING AROUND

    Almost everything in the city center is within a 10-minute walk of the train station and the cathedral, including hotels, museums and restaurants. There is an extensive subway and tram system to get you to the stadium and other points in the city.

    To travel outside Cologne, the Deutsche Bahn has frequent and efficient trains, and special World Cup tickets and passes, including one for unlimited travel for 349 euros ($457, at $1.31. to the euro). Information is at www.bahn.de or from 49-1805-996-633 (or 11-8-61 within Germany).

    For low-cost flights to other German cities, try Air Berlin (www.airberlin.com) or dba Airlines (www.flydba.com).

    GETTING TICKETS

    Applications for World Cup tickets are available through the FIFA Web site (www.fifaworldcup.com). Face values are 35 to 600 euros.

    WHERE TO EAT AND DRINK

    For entertainment and dining information while you're in Cologne, look in hotels and tourist offices for the Insomnia City Guide, which offers an extensive directory in English.

    If you can read a bit of German, the arts weekly Choices (www.choices.de), has listings for film, theater, music, dance and literature.

    In concert with the World Cup, numerous arts and cultural events are being held in Cologne and other host cities, from photography exhibits to outdoor symphonies. For a list of events, go to www.dfb-kulturstiftung.de.
     
  20. leftjab

    leftjab Member

    Jan 11, 2004
    Berkeley
    I arrive in Dusseldorf mid-afternoon on the 11th, and I'm up for meeting everyone in Cologne that evening. Thanks for setting this up, btleo!
     
  21. Dougdog

    Dougdog New Member

    Apr 27, 2005
    Long Island
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    We are arriving on the 11th and staying near the main Train station in Koln. We will definately be there that night for some kolsch.
     
  22. SUNDROP

    SUNDROP Member

    Mar 8, 2000
    Grand Junction,CO USA
    In case you haven't seen the blurb on the European Beer Guide site, http://www.xs4all.nl/~patto1ro/index.htm
    Here's a quote - "Päffgen is a must visit (not a Cologne must visit, but a European must visit)."

    We'll all hoist a few to Bltleo, for all his good information over the past few months!
     
  23. bltleo

    bltleo Member+

    Jan 5, 2003
    GERMANY
    Club:
    FC Bayern München
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    HEY dear american friends visiting Cologne?

    Let me know when you are in Cologne and we can set up some meetings for having some drinks in Cologne pub.

    June 11 is one good date, before game Czech-USA in gelsenkirchen.

    I´m mostly of days in Cologne, so feel free if you want to have some drinks
    or meet for a cafe or whatever you prefer.

    your special host in Cologne:)

    I´m looking forward to meeting AMERICAN FANS!!!!

    bltleo
     
  24. miked9

    miked9 Member+

    May 4, 2000
    Philadelphia
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I won't be able to meet before the game, because I'll be in Gelsenkirchen. But if it's a few hours afterward (celebrating the victory!) or if people would like to meet again on the 12th, I'll be there with my friend. We are going to go to Paeffgen regardless, but if people want to join us it'd be great.
     
  25. leftjab

    leftjab Member

    Jan 11, 2004
    Berkeley
    Paffgen in the late afternoon/early evening of Sunday June 11th seems to work for a lot of us. is this still your suggestion, bltleo?
     

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