A moving performance of the national anthem begins outside the town hall in Munich’s historic center.
A musical performance elicits a warm crescendo of applause from the curious Bavarian villagers who have paused to watch it.
The lone musician isn’t German, though. His nationality is Scottish. He also plays the bagpipes.
In fact, it would be difficult to find a German who would be completely content to play their national anthem in this manner. Overt or spontaneous expressions of patriotic song in public are not typically German.
But this musical interlude succinctly captures how the arrival of football fans energizes and inspires their hosts, who have up until now appeared to be a little indifferent to the celebration they are about to throw this summer.
Researchers have attributed it to a number of factors, including the exorbitant cost of tickets, a broader national illness, and the men’s team’s eight-year winless streak in international competition knockout stages.
Economic development in Germany is at best sluggish, and the country’s politics are becoming more and more fractured and acrimonious due to conflicts within the coalition administration.
The nation truly needs another “Sommermärchen,” or summertime fairy tale.
This was the term affectionately applied to the summer of 2006, when Germany hosted the World Cup for men.
