The Dutch

Football is in full swing over here. I thought perhaps I’d escaped it by going to the U.S. for three weeks, but they’re all still here, driving through the streets with their flags on their cars, honking at all hours of the night (I’ve brought NYC with me), hooting and hollering and throwing garbage all over the city.

I actually think this is kind of funny. Zurich needs to be roughed up a little. It’s holding up well though, as it does even under pressure. Every night there’s trash strewn everywhere, garbage in the lake, vomit on the tram tracks, and every morning it’s all gone as if no one had ever passed through.

I walked to the Enge train station late Friday night, around 11:30 p.m. Normally the place is deserted, but to my utter surprise it was teeming with people, some stumbling about, some trying to figure out the ticket machine, some blocking the ATM, and some lying in the gutter. My number 7 tram was full when I’m usually one of three people on it riding back to Wollishofen. I might actually miss these people.

I read an article the other day about Dutch soccer fans being confused by the orange safety vests worn by the Swiss train workers. Apparently the fans had been following the train workers onto tracks and into other dangerous places because of the color orange. I’m sorry, but wtf? Is orange some kind of Dutch Pied Piper call, whereby the Dutch fans turn into senseless lemmings and jump onto train tracks to their deaths? The train workers have actually been given new, yellow vests to try and prevent Dutch soccer fan tragedy, and so far it’s been working. So now you know, if you ever want to take a Dutch person home with you, just wear orange.