The super-excited 1. Stv. Bürgermeister der Stadt Gelsenkirchen Joachim Hampe. He was happy as a bear with a honey pot to have us visit his humble city of Gelsenkirchen...
Gelsenkirchen is in the old mining region of Germany (Ruhrgebiet) and since the mines have closed, these areas have had some serious economic difficulties. Gelsenkirchen is attempting to transition to a service-based economy and one of their first actions was converting an old mine into an office complex. That statue on top is supposed to be Hercules or something.
Remains of the old mining shaft...
Lunch! Very possibly the freshest mozzarella I've ever had, muy delicioso!
Frank Baranowski, Oberbürgermeister der Stadt Gelsenkirchen, extolling the virtues of their economic development plan
Schalke Stadium, one of the most loved or most hated teams in Germany, depending on who you ask. Either way, I think it's supercool to get a behind-the-scenes tour of any stadium, and we got to see everything from the VIP boxes to the stadium to the hallway the players walk down to get to the field (which incidentally we also walked down, imagining crowds of spectators cheering us on as we appeared on the field).
The stadium was unfortunately empty and the grass had been moved outdoors for the time-being...But the cheering was REALLY LOUD in my head.
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