Destined for k-town?

The word quickly passed around the Australian fans that extra tickets to the Australia Italy round of 16 game in Kaiserslautern would go on sale at 10am today. Hower the ticket sale location in Stuttgart was not to be revealed until 9am on the FFA Travel website.

Well into Friday night little else was on our minds except how to get the jump on the rest of the crowd and get to the front of the line. Groups of fans laid plans-Where to get internet? Is it close to a transport? Some even scoped out potential sales locations such as hotels and conference centres for clues. Everyone was asking where are the FFA staff staying? Could it be there?

It had the amazing race written all over it. This was the middle of reality TV, except there was no cameras, producers or directors prompting the action.

Pete had his Blackberry so our plan was to station ourselves at the cab rank outside the main station and as a back up to the sometimes unreliable wireless service I would be inside at an internet kiosk. As soon as we knew the location we´d be in a cab with an offer of a big tip to the driver to get us there fast.

The FFA were doing the best to make this as fair as possible knowing that many would miss out. We knew that some would get the inside run on the location. We just hoped, somehow, it would be us.

None of us slept very well. I was certain that there was something we hadn´t considered, hadn´t thought about; something that would give us an adavantage, fair or otherwise, that in hindsight would be obvious. Sometimes it is a blurry line between fair and unfair.

We met at 8am and walked to our local station to catch the underground to the main station. As we arrived at the platform we recieved a txt- Maritim hotel. Trusting it was reliable we rushed back up stairs and as cooly as possible asked our hotel to call us a taxi.

We arrived at the Maritm and was ecstatic to find about 100 people in line but would not be satisfied until we had the tickets in our hand. It was only twenty past eight but people kept arriving, on foot and by taxi. Some tried to cut in but were quickly disuaded by a jeering crowd.

Some first hand witnesses said that the FFA website, not the FFA Travel website had the hotel location online much earlier than it was supposed to and word went around the Internet Cafe about the location and then spread from there.

As 9am approached the stream of people arriving grew. At times a train arrival at a nearby station saw a crowd of tens sprinting for the back of the line. The media appeared. How would they cover this story? The joy of those who had tickets? The dissapointment and anger of those who missed out? Or where things went wrong? Those of us there were fairly cheery as we were confident of getting tickets. But we felt for those now arriving, many of whom would have found out from the web site, and might miss out.

The five of us will be at the game and for that we are grateful and ecstatic. I have a ticket voucher in hand, Frankfurt hotel booked and plans laid to see Australia´s first round of 16 appearance. I find it hard to believe I´ll be there. Once again sporting spectator fortune has fallen my way.

But it is bittersweet. As we left for town, wanting to avoid any ugliness that might occur further down the line, we ran into a couple of mates well down the line. They had spent most of the past two weeks hanging with us sharing this world cup experience. Of all the people we should have passed the tip to these guys where the most desrving. In the heat of the moment we had forgotten them and for that we felt so, so, low. We cursed ourselves knowinf all it would have taken was a txt to them. We still don´t know wether they have tickets.

Celebration and Anticipation

Weary and sore Australian heads populate Stuttgart´s internet cafe`s today. After a long night of celeberation, many of us are trying to make arrangements to see Australia versus Italy in Kaiserslautern on Monday. A small number of tickets will go on sale tomorrow morning in Stutgart so despite the arrival of thousands of England supporters for Sunday´s game there is still a large population of Australians in town. Fans are checking ticket selling sites, talking to their contacts and planning their Saturday morning to snag some of the FFA allocation.

I´m looking forward to heading back to Kaiserslautern and am hopeful of getting a ticket. But if I don´t I´m sure it will still be fun as there will be a good contingent of Australians in town to watch it on the big screen.

Stand up if you beat Japan*

*Also sung to tune of Go West

The Croatians and Australians are in town. Thousands of fans fill the streets of Stuttgart while the two 4pm trains play on the big screens. Many Australians have gathered at a beer garden in the park so the crowd in town is mostly the red and white checks of Croation supporters.

Last night hundreds of Croation and Australian suporters faced off in a war of chants with the Croations holding the high ground of the steps to the East of the main square while the Australians stood on chairs facing them.

Today the Australians hold the steps and as I passed several cheeky chants echoed through the air such as the one above and "Your shit, but your chicks are hot". We have the benefit that we don't understand Croation but they mostly understand English. I did hear a chant of Goodby Australia in German though.

Many of us will shortly head to the ground to find out who will go onto the next round.

Heidelberg

With a whole day free of football or domestic commitments (yesterday was washing day) I took the 40 minute train ride to Heidelberg. The old city is built on the River Neckar with the Shloss (castle) overlooking the city. In its hey day the castle must have been an amazing sight (it still is) with massive grounds surrounding the defensive walls on the side of the mountain.

After a walk fromt the station, a climb to the castle, a wander around the top of the mountain and folloing philosophers way along the mountainside on the opposite bank back to station my legs were well and truly ready for bed.

Seeing Stutgart

With a few days in Stuttgart before Australia´s final group game against Croatia I´ve had a chance to take in some sites.

Stuttgart is home to the Porsche and as my favourite fast car I could not miss the drool fest that is the Porsche Museum. The museum houses a selection of Porsches and Porsche designed vehicles (such as the VW bug) through out the years. My favourites included the fire engine and a Stuttgart police car.

I watched a little of Germany´s game in the fan fest but there were so many people and the result seemed a foregone conclusion that I continued a self guided walking tour of some of the city´s interesting sites.

On the train home I met a South African who has been to a game every day of the World Cup so far. He chooses a game and with his Eurail pass heads for the city that morning and then to the ground to buy a ticket from a scalper. He has bought most tickets under €100. On several occasions he has picked up a category 3 or 4 ticket and then resold it to buy a category 1 or 2 ticket. He recomended that I do this with my category 4 ticket but I pointed out that I don´t like to encourage scalping. He agreed but made an interesting point that all of the tickets he had bought so far were sponsors tickets such as thiose for Addidas and Yahoo.

A few of us hit the town looking for a club after watching the Sweden England game back at our hotel. There where plenty of German fans about celebrating but I called it a night after a couple of drinks. I think the pace of my holiday is catching up with me...

Home base

The small Swabian city of Oehringen, an hours drive from Stuttgart, is the home base for the Socceroos during their World Cup campaign. They laid out the welcom mat as young ambassadors welcomed each coach load of Australian fans to their city and handed out maps and guides.

Almost every shop window in town is football themed and adorned with Australain and German flags with many more Australian flags hanging from buildings around the city. They made us feel very welcome indeed. The town centre hummed to the eating and drinking of both locals and Australians as several bands played throughout the day. A nice touch to their web page is that it uses the Australian and not the UK or US flags for the English version.

While our main motivation for the visit was for the Socceroos training session it was nice to wander the streets seeing their beautiful town. They had a beautifully well prepared pitch and the locals turned out in force to join us for the training session. I know the Socceroos are in good hands.

The match we´d been waiting for

Many of the Australians on tour with FFA gathered in a Munich Beergarden at the north end of the English Garden, one of the largest city parks in Europe. The mood was good but after an early lunch of almost half a chicken, chips and a litre stein of beer I figured that I could not continue this patten until heading to the stadium for the Brazil Australia game.

I headed into the city to soak up a more mixed atmosphere of Brazilian and Australian fans and to check out some of the sights close to the city centre. Like many European cities Munich is very beautiful with many old civic buildings and churches. Unfortunatly I missed the famed Glockenspiel do its thing but to see the town centre was still worth the trip in.

After a short detour to the beer garden I was glad to head to the stadium early to watch the finish of the Croatia Japan game. The Australian crowd was pleased with the 0-0 result as it left it in Australian hands as to wether we would get to the next round. Interestingly this stadium was constructed using the same technique as the rocket tower for the National Space Centre in Leicster.

The stadium quickly became a sea of green and gold of the Australian and Brazillian fans filed into the ground with a spattering of German colours. I won´t go into the game as there is plenty written elsewhere about it except to say that the feeling of those around me was the played well and the score could have been very different. I was pleased that Brazil was scoreless at half time and felt that our team had their measure.

We only had a short time in Munich after the game before having to board the train back to Stuttgart. I don´t think I could sum it up better than I did in an SMS to a friend who asked "So do the Brazillians party as hard as the Japanese?" To which I replied: "The Brazillians party louder than the Japanese but not as hard as the Australians when we lose.

Australians in Germany Hopeful

The mood among the Australian fans heading to Munich for the World Cup clash against Brazil is both uncertain and positive. For many our match against Brazil was an almost certain loss. It was just a case of how few goals we would concede and if we would score. However since our 3-1 win over Japan many more are entertaining the possibility of a draw or maybe even a suprise win.

Fans of other nations are also considering a draw or Australian win with the Australian fans enjoying their support and well wishes. Sunday morning (Sunday evening Australian time) several thousand Australians will board the Aussie Express, two trains from Stuttgart to Munich. They will be hoping that the train ride back to Stuttgart will be the biggest party Australian Football has ever seen, even bigger than that in Kaiserslautern.

Seeing Berlin

I´m finding it hard to fit the normal touring around the football festivities. Not wanting to at least have a taste of the sights in Berlin I set aside today to have a look around and let the football take a back seat.

If you are short on time I can heartily reccomend Fat Tire Bike Tours in Berlin to show you around. From 1030 to 1530 our guide Nicole, from USA, navigated us around Berling on a Third Reich tour seeing and leaning about this sad but interesting time in Germany. A stop for lunch at a beer garden helped keep the mood up beat despite the subject.

At the end of the tour I was still keen to join the city tour from 1600 to 2100 for a more light hearted look around Berlin with our guide, Randell from Australia. We had a lot of fun, again helped by a stop at the beer garden.

I don´t appear in any of the photos but you can see us having some fun.

Football hotel violence

So I had my first tast of the German hospital system today.

I was about to head off on a few morning errands before joining the brothers to watch the games on the big screens at the fan fest in central Berlin. I started having an animated discussion with our hotel window about the merits of automatic qualification to the World Cup of host and defending champion teams.

Things turned violent when the window cast aspersions about the state of Australian football. Incensed I head butted the window however I came off second best striking the sharp corner of the window.

Those who know me well know that I have a history of head butting things, usually because of my height, so I was not concerned until that warm sensation of blood running through my hair and and down my face. Unphased to begin with I became a little worried when cold tap water failed to stem the bleeding. The bathroom was getting red.

With help from Andrew I found an appropriate pad from my first aid kit and stuck it on the wound. I went looking for help from hotel staff for directions to a doctor or hospital just in case it was serious.

I must have looked as though I had kicked on, holding a pad on my head and blood all over my face and football jersey. With help from hotel staff and cabbie I was soon at a hospital, passport and insurance details in hand.

I was impressed with how quickly I was seen to. The male nurse who looked after me was very excited when he discovered I was from Australia. He was friendly and despite my poor German and his poor English we established the wound was only minor and needed only a clean. After a consult from a doctor to double check that I had no other problems I was free to go.

Happy nurse handed me my passport and insurance papers and ensured me that all was well and there was nothing to pay. I think he was just happy to meet an Australian. We are finding everywhere that Australians are warmly welcomed and have met people from all over the world, many wishing us well against Brazil.

White hotel towels are not good at cleaning up blood but thanks to Andrew I returned to find a hotel bathroom white not red. Alles gut-everything is good.

Deutschland Gewonnen

Das evenang wir gehen zu fan plaz um central Berlin zu fussball Duetschland vs Poland um grosse tv gewatchen. Die atmosvere was phantastich!

Tausands of Duetshe fans mit flags und kolors wer cheeren und chantern. Alles war tense uuntil Duetschland zum last minuten gescored. Die krowd wild gewent!

spaking the lango

There are many parts of Germany where English isn´t common and travellers must get by on gestures. Even in a Mcdonalds.

This was the case on our long coasch ride from Frankfurt to Berlin. The regulations on rest breaks for coach drivers here in Germany are quite strict compared to Australia so the 4.5 hour drive soon stretched out to 7.5 to 12 hours depending on your driver and how lost they got in Berlin. We where lucky enough to get a two hour tour of the Berlin suburbs looking for our hotel.

It seemed that there was no shortage of Mcdonalds to stop at, except for the stop in Erfurt for lunch. In each case I had another opportunity to practice my German, which has definitly improved. In one case I became quite proficient at translating the total prices for my fellow travellers.

However in a small bakery and cafe in Erfurt I did come a cropper. The ladies behind the counter where very amused at something I said and on reflection I think I told one of them that she was hot! All I wanted to do was agree with her statments about the weather.

John Asimakidis

After a suitable sleep to recover from our post match celebrations it was time to check out Frankfurt and find a good spot to watch the other match in our group between Barzil and Croatia.

I spent most of the day wandering the streets of the city. Most of Frankfurt was destroyed during WWII but there is a small section of the old city left including some excavations of a much larger and older Cathedral. I had alook around to get a feel for the old city and the much more modern areas that is Europe´s banking capital. From the top of Main Tower there is a great view of the city and surrounding country and for only €4.50 it was certainly worth it.

I stopped back in the old city for a late lunch with a coffee and a beer. I was amused when the waiter asked if I was from Germany. My German, at least in the restaraunt context, must be getting better if he thought I was local. In fairness I think he was Italian.

I headed back to the hotel to freshen up before going into the city with the brothers to watch the Brazilian game. I share a room with one of three brothers from Melbourne, Andrew, Bill and Pete. They are Greek Australians , big football fans and are great fellas who have adopted me as one of the Asimakidis brothers for the tour.

We found a spot in the street in front of a screen in Frankfurt´s red light district. There were plenty of Brazilians around so we figured it was a good place to watch the match. We sat back to enjoy some beers, german food and the football.

After the game we went looking for a good nightspot but alas Frankfurt is like similar size cities on a Tuesday night. Fairly quiet. However there were plenty of people over at the fan site so we spent the rest of the evening there.

Sadly there probably won't be any more photos this trip as my camera lens finally died in Kaiserslautern after I had dropped it in Bayuex, France just over a week ago. It is possible than many of my France and Belguim photos will be dodgy but will probably wait till I´m home. I´m disapointrd as the fans and celebrations make such good subjects. All is not lost however as my adopted brothers are happy to include me in photos and I´ll get a copy when we get back to Australia.

Three one to the Soccoroos*

*sung to the tune of go west

Monday morning I woke to meet Andrew, my room mate for the tour. He´s travelling with his brother and another friend, all three from Melbourne.

We and the other Australian fans gathered at Frankfurt Südbahn, south train station, for the Aussie express. FFA Travel had charted two trains to take us two hours to the south to Kaiseslaturn, location of Australia´s first game against Japan.

Like most train rides I had taken in Europe we had beautiful scenery along the way, which added to the keen chatter about Australia´s chances. The bar was getting plenty of business but the four of us were content to just soak it in and chat to the couple from Sydney who were sharing our compartment. On occasions we stopped at sidings or platforms to let faster trains past and each stop was an opportunity for us to make ourselves known to the locals and in some cases fans of other teams who are in the area, particularly Korea and Japan.

Kaiserslautern is the smallest city hosting world cup matches. They have a proud history of football as I was to find out from one local (who didn´t speak English so I finally had a chance to practice my very poor German). It is a beautiful city and there was a great atomsphere with thousands of Australian and Japanese fans and others filling the streets. We found a spot in the Australian ghetto where typical Australian anthemic tunes from the likes of ACDC, Hunters & Collectors, Farnham, John Williamson and Cold Chisel were pumping through the sound system.

We sung along both to the music and to our own Australian chants and had plenty of photos with the Japanese. Andrew had a large inflatable Kangaroo, which was a hit with the Japanese. It was great to soak up the atmosphere for a few hours before walking 2km up to the stadium.

I had a seat away from the others so I went my way to the stadium. On arrival I discovered that I was a long way back, in the very last row. I could still see all of the ground, if not in the distance, and before me stretched a sea of green and gold. We and the Japanese trades songs and chants as we waited for the formalities to begin.

Australia´s good start to the game with a lot of possesion and several shots at goal inspired us to sing louder and harder. I´ve been to many major sporting events but I think this takes the cake for atmosphere.

We were stunned into silence when Japan scored a controversial goal. How did it happen? The Japanese took heart and there chanting became louder. However we kept up the crowd support for the Socceroos with plenty of regular singing and chants.

Imagine the response when late in the second half they scored a goal to level the match. Suddenly we were back in the game and the Australian crowd were fired up. Strangers were hugging each other as they cheered. But when we scored a second and a third the crowd went wild. In the last ten minutes we had snatched victory.

Most of the Australians stayed in the ground for half an hour soaking in the glory of our first World Cup Match win. I headed back to the Australian ghetto where we where singing with renewed vigour.

The Japanese fans were very gracious loosers, more so the we would have been, and many of them joined in for the party. We had three hours after the game in Kaiserslautern before the train ride back to Frankfurt. It was a great place to be and to be at the game and see us win.

I spent most of the train ride back in the club car having a few beers and meeting a few more Australians. There was much celebrating to be done and for some I don´t think it stopped when we arrived at Frankfurt.

The fans meet

Room 2012 at Frankfurt Airport Sheraton Towers Conference Centre was a buzz as Australian fans on tour with the FFA stopped by to pick up their tickets and merchandise before heading to their respective hotels. Despite the jet lag their was an air of excitement at the days ahead.

Those 500 odd fans on tour B were invited to a party at "Yours", an Australian Bar in the city. It seemed ironic to trip half way around the world to start in a bar themed on where you had just come from. However almost all of the staff were neither Australian or German and there was an open beer and wine tab and plenty of food to go around.

At the conclusion of the day´s last game and the food came the merriment. Lubricated by alcohol, and in most cases jet lag, the singing began. I met several groups of people including some fellows from Brisbane who had been around the town for a few days. They had some interedting stories of hanging with England fans, whose reputation proceeds them everywhere, and riot police. They had the phots to prove that the riot police where ready to share the helmets and hugs with the Australian fans at least.

Jet lag caught most fairly quickly and late in the evening the crowd thinned to several tens of very well lubricated fans singing very loudly. One wonders wether they where going to make the train to the game the nex morning.

Frau Welton

As I train from Luxermbourg to Frankfurt I consider how long this trip has been approaching.

In many ways this trip to Germany has been close to 15 years in the making. Among the most important influences on me and my life has been my German teacher Rosie-Frau Welton. I studied German for four year at high school and despite a gap in year ten it only took one year of German with Rosie for me to study German in years elleven and twelve. That took faith on both my and Rosie´s part, to believe that I could do it after a year of absence and not at the cost of my final high school results.

Rosie was a vibrant character who, over the years of teaching at James Nash State High in Gympie influenced many students´ destinies. She often said about the joy of reading post cards from students who had tripped to Germany inspired by their travel unit assignments.

I count two teachers who have had more impact than all others combined and Rosie is one of them. She, somehow, bought me out of a shell, from a shy person to, at the very least, a shy person who had moments where he felt brave enough top perform to the world. She also opened my eyes to a wider world that was more diverse than I ever imagined.

At the end of year twelve she nominated me for an award for "A wonderful sense of humour", which was typical of her nature and I hope, the impression I had on her. Unfortunatly our school principle felt it innapropriate and I never received such an award at the school presentations. However among my most prized possesions is a draft of that very certificate.

Sadly I will never have the opprtunity to send Rosie that postcard. Less than two years after I finshed high school Rosie lost her battle with cancer.

Rosie Welton-this is your postcard.

Because the travel universe and the inernet connection uiniverse run on differenct time scales I have fallen behind a little in the blogoverse. I am now at the point in my adventures where currency really matters (read: I´m pissed and have creative urges that need to be met). I have a few entries for the rest of my England, France, Belguim time drafted but not finished so please check back before this entrz for those later. They´re worth it as all of the above have made and impression!