2011/05 – Gino In Germania

15 May

Gino in Germania

Farewell to the Bruchweg Stadium 14.05.2011

Un vero Tiffosi rosso !!

At the last match

A week-end of Fun, Food, Football and Cigars

May 2011

Gino aka “Mr Japan” spent a week-end with us in the village and we had a fantastic time with good food both at Massimo’s and German local cuisine, good fun and long conversations, we met with good friends and smoked good cigars plus we watched an historical football match.

It all started well and sunny, the weather being great when Gino arrived and I picked him up to the village where after settling in we had a small Juan Lopez with coffee before going down to Massimo and having a long and very good dinner that went into the small hours.

Our wives were along like on every Friday and we caught up on news from Gino of his new job and plans, travels, cigars while having dinner in the garden before moving inside and getting serious on smoking nice cigars finishing off a few bottles of fine Grappa.

Andreas, Bernhard, Christoph and me were very happy to have Gino in the house and then Massimo too joined the men’s table after closing down shop.

Not much sleep that night but Gino and I were up early for a jog around the vineyards and wind generators catching the sun and some fine fresh air for an hour.

Then it was shower time and catching the train to Mainz where we attended the last match played at the old and historic Bruchweg stadium built in 1929 by the beloved local team of Mainz 05 – remember my passion for these young and talented boygroup team that swept the Bundesliga last year winning all 9 first matches and now achieving a final 4-th place in the league and entering the European tournament for the first time.

A great achievement by this modest and well-liked club, who is moving into a brand-new larger stadium next season.

Andy of my local Irish pub had gotten us hard-sought tickets for the match, the last of the league season too, and we were to breathe the fantastic atmosphere of saying good bye to the venerable stadium. But first we stopped for some Tapas, coffee and a good cigar and decided to walk to the stadium following the red masses of fans on a pilgrimage.

There we took our seats close to the field and after all chanting “You’ll never walk alone” watched a good game, won by Mainz by 2-1 vs. the good, crazy and well-regarded pirates from St. Pauli who will play in second league next year.

Despite losing the game, the team, players and fans of St. Pauli were warmly applauded and sent off in a friendly and extremely fair manner, before the farewell to the stadium began with songs, fireworks, a great choreography and the entire Mainz 05 team on the field and in the stands celebrating with all the fans. An overwhelming emotional experience that produced goose bumps.

We enjoyed a few beers on the stand and smoked our BHK’s in a civilized manner, something that astonished Gino, as he was not used to be allowed to drink beer and smoke cigars in Italian stadiums.

We look forward to watch his team, Inter Milano play Mainz 05 and will be cheering them in style like true tiffosi.

Looks like heaven also was sad at the farewell and it began to rain – first drops in more than 7 weeks. Gino must have brought the rain with him, it was very welcomed.

After the short train ride back home it was dinner time and Inge was waiting for us. We took Gino to a small country inn for German home cooking like Handkäs’ mit Musik, Saumagen, Schnitzel with fresh asparagus and finished it off with Spundekäs’ and very tasty Rote Grütze and Wine mousse.

All washed down with Roseschorle, my favourite beverage that Gino also likes.

We also fed Gino all the information and advice he needs for a planned Algarve vacation and had a long and interesting conversation on the food industry, his plans, our lives, Cuba, cigars and any other interesting topic at hand.

After dropping Inge back home we retired to my Irish pub where we had a good cigar and played darts. Gino beat me nicely in 2 rounds – but admitted he had been playing recently with Nakamura-san in Tokyo, while my last dart game was played 20 years ago at Ned Kelly’s pub in Hong Kong.

Sunday was a more tranquil affair, meeting early at Café Fritz for a cigar, then welcoming Michael “Turner” and Sabine plus Christoph for lunch and then a long chat and cigars.

Of course we had a big laugh at the news that Dominique, the guy asking everybody to tighten up the belt could not hold up his own pants…. Another great Gallic ridicule.

We said good bye to Gino in the afternoon.

Great to have Gino here with us, always welcome by all and good news that he will be visiting Germany more frequently now, so the next meeting is already planned.

Nino