The journey from Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the sleepy hollow near the Austrian border that’s been home to the Scotland squad this past week, to Munich, where they open Euro 2024 against the host nation on Friday night, is about an hour and a half by road.
Or to put it another way, a different dimension in time.
From the solitude of a small town to the surreal sights of the big city. The Scottish invasion. The hype, the hoopla, the sense of anticipation so present on the streets that you can almost reach out and touch it.
Head coach Steve Clarke blinked hard as he entered the heaving auditorium at 17:54 local time for his eve-of-game press conference. He had a look on his face akin to Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. He knew he wasn’t in Garmisch-Partenkirchen any more.
At their training base there’s been a small posse of reporters all week. Here, there was standing room only. Thirteen camera crews lined up at the back. One question per person.
The competition for the mic was as fierce as anything that might happen when the big show begins.
We don’t want any regrets,” said captain Andy Robertson with a stern look on his face. “We’re ready, excited, all eyes are on us and it’s time to show what we can do.”
Compared to the sedate language of earlier in the week, this was a different level. Scotland left Garmisch-Partenkirchen in early afternoon on Thursday and, clearly, on the coach trip through the Schwabing-Freimann district and the Werner-Heinsenberg-Allee road approach to the stadium, they put their game faces on.
History was one of the themes. Many men’s Scotland teams with many immortal players have tried to make it out of the group stage of a major championship and none of them have ever managed it.
“We believe we can do it,” said Robertson. Of course, times have changed and, with a 24-team European Championship now, it’s easier now to do it than it ever was when Denis Law and Jimmy Johnstone and Kenny Dalglish and Graeme Souness were trying and failing.
Third in the group might be enough. “Four points” has been Clarke’s mantra.
If they get even one point against Germany on Friday, then cue euphoria among the Scots in Bavaria. If they get three, then Oktoberfest will come early, dressed in a kilt with bagpipes skirling.