Sunday
Still living on the fumes of a breathless end to the Netherlands’ victory over Turkey, I use the afternoon to take myself out of the football bubble for the first time this summer. You could almost term it a “day off”: I visit Berlin’s Mauerpark flea market; I walk around Schlachtensee, one of the closest lakes to the city centre; I sit in a beer garden next to a suburban football pitch; I eat hip but slightly underwhelming Georgian food. To crown it all I see a man wearing the cream and black Ipswich Town away kit of 1996-97. This city never disappoints; like the rest of Germany, it has gladly opened its doors to Euro 2024 revelry while never feeling entirely consumed by it.
Monday
Enough lazing about: it is time for my first England appearance of the tournament. I alight at Erfurt and jump into a car with Jacob Steinberg, who entrusts me with navigation to the team base at Blankenhain. Either I slept on the job at a key moment or my iPhone’s maps application simply could not keep up with the journey; whichever you prefer, we end up taking the long route through beautiful cornfields, tiny Thuringian villages and menacingly potholed roads. All good fun as long as you are the passenger. In my defence we arrive in time to hear Luke Shaw preview the semi-final. Watching from the side is Phil Foden, who is not scheduled to take part in today’s leg of the traditional media v players darts contest but challenges one of the pack anyway and duly cleans up. Omen or not, it feels a pleasant camp to be around.
Tuesday
An early cross-country voyage to Dortmund on the gentlest, emptiest and most scenic rail journey so far. Upon arrival we hear Harry Kane speak of the “aura” that has started to see England through the scratchiest of performances. They have a game on their hands against the Netherlands tomorrow and so do their fans, who will manifestly be heavily outnumbered. We spot a famous one in the evening when watching Spain play France: it is the endurance runner Russ Cook, or “Hardest Geezer”. Cook’s choice of venue is flawless; we are in a bar and schnitzel joint owned by Kevin Grosskreutz, the Borussia Dortmund and Germany legend, some of whose match shirts adorn the walls. Lamine Yamal and company offer another reminder of what the host nation’s current side are missing.
Wednesday
The last match I covered here, Germany v Denmark, was halted by an unholy thunderstorm that reared back up just as it was time to leave. This, too, becomes a day of deluges. First my clothes get a needed soaking at a coin-op laundrette; then, having navigated the jolly orange-clad throngs to reach the stadium, the heavens open again. Next there is the maelstrom of emotions when Ollie Watkins sends England into the final and reacts with a celebration that would move hearts of stone. Finally some of the media experience a hail of often full beer cups thrown from the tier above after full time, a familiar feature at this venue and one the organisers were perfectly aware of in advance. Despite the stickiness and the stench, it is a thrill to have witnessed history.
Thursday
Back to Erfurt, this time via Frankfurt and at considerable length due to a missed connection. The saving grace of Deutsche Bahn’s surprisingly chaotic service is that the trains themselves are spacious, smooth, clean and pleasant enough to spend time in. The wifi also holds up and there is plenty of opportunity to write an article suggesting everyone should feed Gareth Southgate’s newly articulated wish to be loved. Upon returning there is just about time for a daylight walk around Erfurt, whose old town and bridges are genuine marvels. It is a stark contrast with Dortmund and the Ruhr conurbation where the day began.
Friday
The latest in a summer-long series of “I love Germany, but”. I love Germany, but its obsession with cash-only transactions is strange and infuriating. It catches out a group of us who have sat down to a final evening meal in Erfurt, resulting in a lengthy relay race to the only ATM within reach. By then England’s media centre in Blankenhain castle, an immaculately maintained late Gothic structure that comes replete with tempting nooks and crannies, has packed up. The castle has proved indestructible through fires and wars; as Watkins and Declan Rice depart from their press duties, you hope the same goes for them in just over 48 hours.
Saturday
The end of a tournament is time for analytics departments to earn their corn, crunching the numbers and taking lessons to learn for next time. So here are a few from the last month: 11 cities; 17 hotels; 20 Deutsche Bahn trips over a total distance of 3,552 miles and, if we are generous enough to exclude delays, 52 hours and 39 minutes onboard. Surely Gareth Southgate’s personal journey at Euro 2024 has nothing on this. It has all led back here to Berlin, where Alexanderplatz is overcast but starting to hum with English anticipation. Nobody knows whether it is coming home tomorrow, but those of us lucky enough to have been in Germany from start to finish certainly will be on Monday. It has, as ever, been a pleasure.
