Weizengras

Fri 16 Jun

Last night's game was still fresh in my mind when I woke up. What a night!!!

General mucking around took place for the morning - reading, listening to music etc. - before we had a lovely family lunch on the Hansen's patio.

After this Aaron and I trained to the city and went for another self-guided tour. We had a look around Alexander Platz and Hackescher Markt. Aaron shouted me my first shot of wheatgrass (weizengras).

After dinner and a couple of lagers, Yonca biked around and Alessa, Aaron and I joined her for a boogie at the Red Saloon.

Our Big Day: Attending A World Cup Game

Thu 15 Jun

I woke up with an amazing sense of anticipation. Today was the day Aaron and I were going to see Sweden play Paraguay. This game was probably going to determine who would be joining England as qualifiers from group B.

Aaron, Jannis and I took the bikes to H&M to get some t-shirts which we were going to get printed for the big game; represent NZ and all that. This turned out to be a bit of a mission, but we got the t-shirts printed and were home about 3:30 which gave us an hour to get ready before we had to catch the train to Olympiastadion (American sprinter Jesse Owens won four gold medals here at the 1936 Olympic Games).


We successfully picked up the tickets (we needed our passports to prove who we were) and wondered if there would be room for us to watch England/Trinidad & Tobago in the bar beside the stadium entrance; there was. Perfecto. We chatted to a couple of Swedish fans and hung out with some English lads over for the game too.

After England won 2-0 we joined the queue to the Stadium. Once in we both went mad. We were so overwelmed; the people in their team's colours, the singing and chanting that had already begun, the sheer size of the stadium. This was going to be incredible. We grabbed some refreshments and found our seats; third row back look diagonally down the ground from behind the goal - the cheap seats, but probably the closest to the action.

We watched the game, desperate to see a goal, but the crowd got a lot of our attention. Seeing 72,000 people doing a Mexican Wave was spectacular - so memorable. Like the German game the night before we had to wait until about the last 5 minutes before we saw a gooooooal. Ljungberg. Brilliant. 1-0 Sverige. Although low-scoring, this was one of the better games I have seen so far this World Cup. Fast-paced and lots of shots on goal.

An unforgettable day.

Deutschland! Deutschland!

Wed 14 Jun

We (Aaron, Alessa and I) met Yonca at her school because she had just finished her final exam; exciting stuff for all concerned. To celebrate we ventured to the beach to join her classmates who were having a few beers in the late-20 degree heat.

Aaron and I rested up at home for a few hours with a couple of beers. I checked my emails and saw there was one from FIFA about the conditional tickets I had ordered before I left New Zealand. I had requested 2 tickets to either Brasil/Croatia or Sweden/Paraguay so if any sponsors returned their tickets they would be allocated to the lucky people on the conditional waiting list. In my haste, I opened the email and saw that we had been allocated TWO TICKETS TO THE SWEDEN GAME! We coudn't believe it - we were going to be attending a game at the biggest sporting event in the world on Thursday.

After dinner we took the train back to the city to watch Germany's clash with Poland at the Fan Mile. It was so busy when we got there that they had closed many of the gates to get in. Once we were in though, we managed to cruise (read push our way) to the front screen at the Gate, about dead centre; a perfect spot to be.

With 5 minutes to go we thought it was going to be another nil-all draw, but a Neuville strike saw to it that we were not left goaless again. Needless to say the crowd went absolutely mental; fireworks, chants, screaming, beer and water in the air, dancing. If this is how crazy a pool game gets, the final is going to be berserk!

živeli

Tue 13 Jun

After a German breakfast (meeting Alessa's mother Claudia, brother Jannis and great-aunt Ingrid) we cruised to Strandbad Wannsee to meet Alessa's good friend Yonca for a swim.

We went back home to get ready for our first night of football at the Fan Mile; the area at the Brandenburg Gate where one can watch all the games live on big screens. It caters for about 300,000 I have heard. Before we got there we took a quick look around the city. It is a bit hard to get an idea of how Berlin usually is as it is Football Football Football everywhere. We walked passed the Dome and around Potsdamer Platz, and took in the Holocaust Monument; the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.

After a currywurst dinner, we parked up at one screen and watched a 0-0 draw between France and Switzerland and a 1-0 victory for Brazil over Croatia. Aaron sparked up a conversation with two Mexican girls who were getting attention from everyone...everyone was taking photos of them and with them - it was a bit weird. We also met some nice guys from Novi Sad, Serbia, who invited us to stay with them while we are on our travels. They were about as typical as you could get...they were great! Boris and Bogdin.

The Mexican girls came with us to see DJ Marky (from Brazil) at the museum and we had a crazy time dancing with loads of other football fanatics.

We have decided to try and learn one specific for each of the countries at the World Cup. We are also going to take photos of hot chicks wearing my 1982 All Whites World Cup Hat. So far we have learned:

Mexico: Ahhhhhhhhhh, Puta. (Done with hands out-stretched, with spirit fingers, to put off the opposition when they take a free-kick or corner)

Serbia: živeli! (Cheers)

Das Fussball

Mon 12 Jun

We gave Ken's place a pretty good clean, packed our bags; I was off to Berlin and Clare was off London-way. After Clare gave my hair a well-needed trim, we farewelled Cathy and headed to the train/bus station to catch our respective transportation.

East Midlands Airport was full of sleeping youths who had been at a local music festival. I found a seat near a tele showing the Czech Republic vs USA game (3-0).

Once in Berlin, Aaron (Myall-balls) and Alessa drove me back to her place where I met her father Günter before a late night drum and bass gig was taken in at the Red Saloon.

So happy to be where the WORLD CUP is based. I hope we can get tickets to a game!

Old School

Sun 11 Jun

Feeling surpirsingly chipper we mucked around in the afternoon hanging out with Cathy and Andy. Clare made a fantastic roast vege pasta for dinner and we watched 'Old School' on DVD as no one (bar me) had seen it before.

Tomorrow...Berlin!!!

English BBQs

Sat 10 Jun

We stayed at Ken's last night and all our gear was at Rachel's, so we had to walk to Rachel's before the 2pm kick-off between England and Paraguay. We got to Rachel's but she wasn't at home so we walked back and headed to the Oak Tree for Andy's proper 30th party in our scummy last night's clothes. By we I mean Clare and I; my partner in all crime.

The previous night had left the team in a bit of a state, but the first beer solved all that ailed and we were in party mood especially after a 4th minute goal to England. This was about the only highlight in what was a pretty boring 1-0 victory to England.

We got hold of Rachel, picked up our bags, readied ourselves and cruised from Ken's to the party next door at Cahy and Andy's. We arrived just in time for me to man the BBQs (I was the most experienced you see, being Kiwi and all). These 'BBQs' were merely foil tubs with charcoal in them, covered by a metal tray. Seven of them! About 2 quids worth from Tescos. Despite the lack of BBQing equipment a successful feast was had.

More beers, and the guitar was out again (no Weasel though) and the singing and dancing went well into the morning. Oh, we saw Rooney the friendly fox again on the walk home. He loves me.

Dirtier Thirty

Fri 9 Jun

I farewelled Meg and her lovely flatmate Susan, packed my shiz up and meandered to the train station for another substandard coffee (why do I bother???). Trouble free trip to Birmingham reading 'American Psycho', getting excited that the World Cup starts TODAY!

I met Clare by chance in Birmingham (she had been in Coventry), arriving in Nottingham in time for the 5pm kick-off between Germany and Costa-Rica (4-2) which we watched in the pub across the road from the train station.

We dropped our gear off at Rachel's, grabbed a bite at the Hood before picking up some lagers to aid in the celebration of Andy's 30th birthday.

Earlier that day he had been charged with burying a dead magpie he and Cathy found, but had instead turned the burial shoebox into a shrine to Wayne Rooney - The Schrooney - armed with insense and come cash offerings.

After celebratory Champagne, the team (Cathy, Andy, Clare, Claire, Ken and I) left to a local beer garden as we waited for the hillbilly band 'Wholesome Fish' to start their set at the neighbouring Maze. Some sambuca fuelled 'dancing' entertained the crowd for most of the show and we headed home exhausted from our exercise.

Andy showed us he is no mug on the guitar with a seven verse rendition of 'Joey The Weasel'. At least I think it was Joey. Another sighting of the fox (who is now named Rooney) was our reward for a 4am walk home. England vs Paraguay tomorrow!

Professional Rower

Thu 8 Jun

I started the day with a op-shop crawl to the city centre (I bought Bret Easton Ellis' 'American Psycho' for 60p) before meeting Meg at 11am to commence our road trip. She borrowed a car from a colleague and we drove north-west-ish to Gretna, Scotland. I've been to Scotland now. Gretna is right on the border and is famous for conducting Vegas-style weddings. over 100,000 at last count. Also, Gretna Football Club (who won the Scottish second division this year) qualified for the next UEFA Cup so there will be some big name teams visiting little ole Gretna next season.

Next stop was Cumbria's lake district, Keswick to be precise. We lunched in the sun before deciding to take a row boat for a spin on Lake Derwent. One observant member of the public asked if I rowed for Oxford. More honest.

Fish and chips (fush and chups) was our dinner and then we met Meg's friend for a drink at the Lemon Lounge and I checks Fatts out again to see if it was throbbing like Tuesday, but it was dead so I wents to bed instead.

Roman Forts

Wed 7 Jun

I was up and atom and caught the AD122 bus to tour Hadrian's Wall. My first stop was Housesteads a Roman fort which was built in the second century. It is the most intact fort in Britain. I hadn't seen anything like this before and spent a few hours walking around the ruins trying to picture the soldiers in their day-to-day life back then. My second stop was at a Mithras Temple; which turned out to be a replica which was a sham(e).

I waited with a couple for the bus, which never came, so they gave me a lift to Vindolanda - another Roman fort. Terribly kind of them it was. This fort is a little bit different to Housesteads as there is excavation still being done as there have been some discoveries recently. They are finding more and more artifacts everyday which helps them unravel what happened there when it was occupied. Vindolanda is most famous for its

Once I got back, Meg and I cooked a quick dinner and then wandered up the road to watch 'The Da Vinci Code'. We had both read the book and were looking forward to it despite all the warnings we had received that it was slow and dragged on a bit. It wasn't a classic film, but I thought that it was quite well adapted. Definitely worth seeing.

Coffee Letdown

Tue 6 Jun

I woke up and made a few calls home to NZ. It was really nice to chat to everyone, a nice change from emails.

I walked to Carlisle to a cafe where I was told serves the best coffee in town. If this is the case then there is a hellava lot of improvements required until I drink coffee in Carlizzle again!

After this I found out that I was too late to go to Hadrian's Wall, so I visited the Carlisle Cathedral (had a lovely lunch on the grass outside) and the Castle instead. The cathedral was very pleasant, but the castle was a bit of a let down. Learning about the 'Bonnie' Prince and Queen Mary Of Scots were the highlights though.

We heard rumours that a bar called Fatts was quite fun, so we had a pre-dinner beer and a post-dinner beer there. Bloody busy for a Tuesday night that's for sure.

Lazy Daze

Mon 5 Jun

I spent most of the day hanging out with Meg at her office. Nice to see her set-up and what is she does. A beer and a Pimms at a local cafe (Cafe Solo) was enjoyed, but we didn't kick on as Meg had a church related thing on in the evening so watched 'Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind' got a much needed early night.