Hockey in Germany

[Deerok 3]

I got back last week from Germany and although I was unable to attend a DEL game I did have the pleasure of touring the SAP arena where the Mannheim Adler (Eagles) play. I was very impressed by the facility, which featured the main rink as well as two additional practice rinks. When I got to the arena I knew that Mannheim was playing later that night against their rivals Frankfurt, so I expected the rink to be deserted; but it was actually quite busy with both mites and adult rec players. Since I was killing time anyways I decided to eat lunch at the restaurant/buffet they had in the arena (overlooking one of the rinks)...the food and beer were great.

I had no idea that hockey was this popular in Germany but was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the arena and by the activity inside.

[Aussie Joe 0]

Generally the Germans do things pretty well (cars, TV, fridges, pencils) but I was impressed when I was over there a few years ago. Ingolstadt was beautiful and the arena was amazing. I was also lucky enough to see the rink in Bad Tolz that was holding the IIHF inline worlds at the time. Very nice facility and I picked up some very amazing jerseys from there as well.