By Mike Woitalla in Hamburg
In Saudi Arabia, the law bans alcohol, pork and pornography, and women aren't allowed to drive.
In Germany, drinking in public is legal, major newspapers feature naked bodies on their front pages and policewomen drive patrol cars.
''It seemed pretty odd for the first few days,'' said Abdullah Alaraifi, a Jeddah resident who is attending all of Saudi Arabia's games in Germany. ''But you get used to it after a couple of days. There's beer everywhere. I don't think drinking is healthy, but it's their country.''
Saudi fan Saied Mohammed says, ''It is something I must accept. It is not my property.''
Mhommad Al Qahtani traveled from Damman for the World Cup.
''The Germans are so friendly,'' he says. ''And they warn us if the food has pig meat in it or if the drinks have alcohol.''
That's especially necessary in a city like Hamburg, where a popular drink, Alsterwasser, is called ''water'' but is lemonade mixed with beer.
Many of the other Saudis attending the games here reside in Europe, like Saeed Barahim, 18, and Ammar Ghorab, 16, who attend the King Fahd Academy in London and have come with 11 other students and three teachers.
At first, it seemed that thousands of Saudis were in Hamburg's AOL Arena to support their team against Ukraine. But most of those wearing green and white Saudi shirts, and even some wearing white robes and ghutra headgear, were Germans who chose to cheer on the Green Hawks.
''We bought these on eBay,'' said one of four Germans about the ankle-length thawbs he and his pals donned. ''The only tickets we got were for the Saudi Arabia games, so we became fans.''
Hamburg resident Roessi Volker wore a Saudi replica jersey and said he supported the team because, ''I support the outsider, the underdog. And their players are likable, they don't have egos.''
Volker was born to a German mother and Turkish father but says his backing of the Saudis has nothing to do with the fact that Turkey and Saudi Arabia are Muslim nations: ''This is only about sports.''
The 90-man Saudi delegation, led by Prince Sultan Bin Fahd Abdul Aziz, has been staying at Hamburg's Four Seasons Hotel. Management replaced the Gideons Bibles with copies of the Koran in the drawers of the night stands, on which were placed stickers of arrows pointing toward Mecca. The Prince, also president of the soccer federation, has been staying in a $4,800 per night suite. The players loded at the Intercontinental Hotel on the shore of Hamburg's Alster lake, 400 yards from U.S. Consulate.
The Saudis opened the tournament with a 2-2 tie with Tunisia. Saudi Arabia's Brazilian coach, Marcus Paqueta, has motivated his players by reading them passages from the Koran, such as, ''It is more important to master your own spirit and body than to control others.'' Paqueta called Ukraine a weak team after it lost its opener, 4-0, to Spain. He would be embarrassed by that statement as the Ukrainians routed the Saudis, 4-0, on Monday.
Abdullah Alaraifi left the stadium disappointed, but said his stay has been absolutely enjoyable, except for one thing.
''It's much colder here than at home,'' he says on an 82-degree day in Hamburg.