Euro2008

The last time I was in Zurich when I lived in Europe I snapped this photo. People were starting to talk about how Euro2008 was coming and even in the three years I was in Neuch a huge football stadium appeared out of nowhere. I never imagined that I would be in the country when the tournament was on. Never. One year seemed too soon to be back to Europe. Luckily for me, everything works out for a reason and I happened to be back in Switzerland from the quarterfinals onwards.
I'm so lucky.
The country was alive and soaking in the vibe of Euro.
Where the countdown sign was in the Zurich HB was this:
Yup. Wicked. Totally wicked. Amazing wicked.





Zurich even dolled up the Grossmunster:












Euro2008 was definitely here.
Neuch hosted the Portuguese team. They stayed at the Hotel Beau Rivage and the area was sectioned off. Police roamed around. They set up fences around the place and put up barbed wire too. The underground parking by the hotel had serious security.
This was serious stuff. They practiced at the new stadium in town and requested that real grass be brought in to practice on as opposed to astroturf. So the stadium charged 25CHF for spectators during practices to compensate. Nice.





Bern hosted a couple of the earlier games in their new stadium. The Dutch took over the city and when they lost the city mourned. So many cities in the country (and I'm sure in Austria
too) fully embraced the tournament. People lined up to get into the FanZones hours before matches and security was serious stuff.




I watched the Turkey/Germany semi-final game from the Zurich FanZone. The vibe was AMAZING.
They closed off most of the major streets. Stopped the tram routes (but had shuttle buses instead). Set up food/bar/club/pub/drink/souvenir stalls throughout the streets. It was a little Fete des Vendanges-esque.