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Do You Remember Fritz-Walter?

This weekend the New York Times got in on the World Cup Travel section frenzy, posting mini-guides to all 12 cities in Germany where games will be played during the month-long tournament. While Berlin's hipsters and Munich's, uh, slightly less hip hipsters have been given plenty of ink already, we were intrigued by their take on Kaiserslautern.

Aside from being one of our favorite Germany cities on the basis of having an entertaining name--okay, maybe Aachen or Saarbrücken are more fun to say--the city has the distinction of being the smallest in Germany to host a game in the tournament. It may be hosting games in part because it's so close to a U.S. military base. Otherwise, it sounds like a rather sleepy little burg where the main squares in town will show the games on big screens accompanied by laser light shows. Maybe they can play Pink Floyd's The Wall at the same time?

Kaiserslautern is also home to Fritz-Walter stadium, originally built in 1920. As Berlin's Olympic stadium got a big makeover before the cup, Kaiserslautern's stadium merely got an expensive touch-up--adding floodlights for the field--making it something like the Fenway Park of Germany. Even the "Yankees Suck" chant will be same!

Related Stories:
·   The World Cup Made Easy [NYT]
·   Kaiserslautern [NYT]