Saturday, June 24, 2006. Schlossplatz, Stuttgart, Germany.
There was a big party centered around a few big screen TVs broadcasting the World Cup Game between Germany and Sweden from Munich. There were thousands and thousands and thousands of people from all over the world. There was a non-stop flow of beer from every booth, tent, cafe, and personal cooler.
The smell of bratwurst, schnitzel, and freshly baked pretzels filled the air. It was quite warm and the sun had only begun to ease up. There was singing, dancing, chanting—and suddenly a lot of yelling. Numerous men decked out in black riot gear from head to toe moved in packs and quickly established a line between two opposing groups.
Plastic chairs began flying through the air. The singing turned ugly. Melodious insults came from many directions in several languages. Heavily inebriated groups of men punched the air with their fists and and some of the more drunken were visibly having trouble recalling the next personal remark set to tune. Loud men belted out the next line and those suffering from an acute lack of gross motor skills resumed their place in the impromptu choir.
More chairs were vaulted back and forth. A lone beer was slung from one side of the crowd and the slinger was taken to the ground by his friends who chastised him for wasting beer.
The armoured men continued to push, weave, and snake their way through and around the crowd like a thick, determined caterpillar, growing in length, ever persistent. The drunken crowd was exhausted from the heat and grew ever weary against the relentless sober line of Polezei (police). Within a relatively short period of time, calm was restored and the only indication that a problem had existed was a pile of white plastic chairs and litter strewn throughout the area.
Article comments
1 - Silvio
Learning German: Your article would probably described as "Die Kirche im Dorf lassen." :-)
Cheers, Silvio