It's Tuesday morning (12th June 2016). I'm browsing internet pages to find something interesting and try to open my eyes that still want to sleep. Nothing happened last night. Everything is O.K. with the world we live in, no new wars outbreaks, no terror attacks and what's more important nobody knows about Pokemon Go game that is still under construction at Nintendo headquarters. It's all fine. Everywhere I can read about Euro. I have found out about Krychowiak nutrition habits. To be precise how much fat has to be in tuna to make it eatable for him. Other important news is about Szczesny and story how he seduced his singer wife - Marina.
All of a sudden my inner peace of mind is in tatters during watching highlights from yesterday's fixture in Marseille between England and Russia. I see demolished beer gardens, restaurant equipment dropped on the boulevards and mess everywhere. It's also report from stadium where riots between Russians and Englihs occurred. To be fair English had to escape from the stadium to avoid being beaten by Russian mob. It is said in the news that Russians crated this havoc. No wonder I watch BBC World so what should I expect but I ignore all these news focusing on the place where riots started. The name of this place is Old Port. It sounds familiar to me but I still don't know why so I hastily check my e-mail account to find out where I booked my hostel for two games in Marseille that I have in plans to watch. I'm praying to God in my thoughts to have my reservation elsewhere not in Old Port. I finally see my booking and big bold letters in French - Vieux Port. I still have a hope that "vieux" means something different in French than "old." Unfortunately I'm deeply mistaken.
I realised that I have to spend four days in a place where it's so easy to get beaten, much more easier than get alcohol. It's some kind of bonus added to fantastic Mediterranean cuisine and picturesque scenery, but never mind I'm going there, to be precise I'll turn up there on 18th June.
Old Port greets me with the blue sky and sunny weather. Thanks to that all tenements look like brand new. I can smell fresh fish in the air shortly after leaving the underground but it's not that intense because of the cool wind blowing from the sea. Water has beautiful azure colour. I decide to go further and get more of Old Port for myself. Tenements at close range don't look that good, some of them smell like urine but never mind I'm not going to complain at this stage. More annoying for me are really narrow pavements covered with rubbish.
Much to my surprise I don't see Russians but there is a large number of people from England, Sweden, Ukraine, Hungary, Poland and some trace of other nations. It's really quiet out here, no riots but police cars are almost everywhere. I have an impression that every corner is secured by police presence. There's no chance to purchase a beer from local shops so the only way to get booze is to buy it from pubs or restaurants. This is not that bad comparing to the beer from the stadium that costs 7 euros and has only 0,5% of alco. It looks like Lidl, Carrefour and Spar have introduced complete prohibition for selling alcohol on the matchdays. The only good news is that there is no ban for selling cigarettes. Police stay vigilant and identify supporters drinking on the streets but they are not penalised only instructed to stop doing this. Some fans had managed to finish their beers before police arrived.
It's really nice and friendly atmosphere in Old Port. I would compare this to what you have get when you attend music festivals where everyone is drunk or stoned. I have no idea why it is so quiet in Marseille. Maybe it's because Russian departure to Toulouse where they have next match or maybe media are exaggerating everything. In order to prove that I attached the photo where Muslim woman is having fun with Hungarians and Icelanders. There are plenty of situations where fans from different countries are celebrating together. Beer consumption is on the rise especially in a plastic mugs on the kerb of the road.
A few last sentences I have to leave for Hungarians to give them credit for their performance that made the biggest impression on me. They turned up in Old Port in a large number and were really noisy, singing for most of the time. They had flares with them when they were chanting: "Ria, Ria, Ungaria." It's been the first big competition for them since World Cup in 1986.
Old Port was really friendly place with unique atmosphere where many supporters had their fan bases. In this part of Marseille Polish fans started their march on the day where Poland played with Ukraine. I reckon 30 000 people took part in it. Old Port is a great place to get into mood before the game and breathe a bit of stadium atmosphere or for some people who don't like football to come and see what Marseille has to offer
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