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Published: August 4th 2006
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Football Fever
even the urinals get in on the action.. FRANKFURT
Our flight to Germany went well & as we stepped of the plane we both felt very happy to be there. We cruised through customs & made our way to the town centre by train. From there it was only a short bus ride to our hostel. They split Di & I up which was rank but everyone else was in the same boat - no mixed dorms. The hostel was on the river & the fanfest big screens had been erected in the water. One facing each side of the bank & newly erected stands would provide for ample seating. Although still a number of days out from the official start date, the world cup buzz was definitely everywhere & very contagious. We found it very easy to start up a conversation with any random, just talk football.
I was very pleased to find that hidden behind our hostel, amongst a maze of streets, was a number of pubs & restaurants. It didn't take us long to settle in & to sample our first European beverage. I ordered a massive lager & Di a warm apple cider - needless to say that was the last one that
European Beer
Kurt enjoys his first European Beer... I saw her drink...... It was pretty chilly & we had to rug up. My beanie was once again proving to be my most valuable piece of clothing.
We really enjoyed our time in Frankfurt but it was time to move on.
COLOGNE
From Frankfurt we caught a boat up the Rhine river to Koblenz. The scenary was great & included a number of villages & castles. It was very cold & most of the locals stayed in the warmth of the lower deck. We toughed it out for a few hours before wisely joining them.
In Koblenz we stopped for some lunch at a street cafe. The menu was in German & the locals didn't speak much English. It was time for Di to put her 5 yrs of German studies to the test! With the aid of her translation book she successfully ordered sausages & beers for both of us. There was much giggling with the waiter but all in all he was impressed with her efforts. I though it was time to learn some of the lingo too. The most important seemed to be - yes, no, how much, beer & how to
European Beer
Di enjoying a rather large beer count. Once I had mastered that I was set, Di could handle the tougher stuff.......
After a few hours on the train we arrived in Cologne. The scene that hit us as we made our way out of the station was the biggest Dom (Cathedral) I had ever seen. It just sat there like a huge mountain. We made our way through the streets & found our Hostel.
Cologne was a great place to wander around & we rented bikes on one day to make it a little easier on the legs. The river & parks were the most popular but we also saw our fair share of other landmarks. One that stood out was the Lindt chocolate factory. Di was in heaven.
The Hostel was a good place to chill out, enjoy a few beers, & get to know our fellow travellers. We shared stories & I taught one yankee the rules of cricket. He seemed genuinely interested, maybe just taking the piss... A few of the mexican boys were also good value.
It was time to meet Di's rellies & we jumped on a train to Bielefeld.
BIELEFELD
Di's Dad & her
Frankfurt
Kurt at a statue....! Uncle Fritz met us at the train. It felt funny to be in a car !!! It was great to see Gerry.
When we arrived at the house I was introduced to Aunty Elvira (Gerry's older sister), her son, his wife & their two daughters. It was great to be in the company of family & they made us feel very at home. We had a very enjoyable stay there but I must admit to putting on a few kilos. Elvira's cooking was superb & we ate massive amounts daily. The odd walk, bike ride & game of badmington was no match......
The world cup also started whislt we were there & I joined Gerry on the couch for 3 games a day - what a life !! We also enjoyed our fair share of Bitburgers (local lager) as Fritz made many trips down to the cellar to keep us hydrated.
The weather had turned perfect by this stage & we spent a lot of time in the garden. I have never seen such a blue, cloudless sky or maybe it's because I've never taken the time to look before.....it helped that they had a fantastic garden
to enjoy it in, and we lazed out in the sun in deckchairs for a few hours every day....
All too suddenly, our stay at Bielefeld came to an end, we were headed further north with Di's Aunty Trudy, then her Uncle Ernest and Aunty Karin for a few days.....we said sad farewells to Gerry, Fritz and Elvira and were off.
WALSRODE, BREMEN AND MORE
After a 2 hour drive, we arrived at Aunty Trudy's home in Walsrode, a quiet little village in the north of Germany. She kept our couple of sightseeing days packed with visits to the biggest bird park in Europe, and a toy museum the next day. We had never seen so many birds and toys in our life!!
We were soon off to spend a couple of days with my Aunty Karin and Uncle Ernest, who lived about an hour from Bremen. Though they spoke little english, and we even less German, we made good use of our German dictionary, and before long, we were chatting with no problems at all! We spent the first day touring through Bremen, which was a beautiful historic old city. We took a boat up
the river, had afternoon tea on an old pirate ship amongst other things. That night, we got treated to a big dinner at a local restaurant. The next morning, despite our protests that we could catch a train, they insisted on driving us to Hamburg, our next destination, and a couple of hours drive away. It was the most comfortable journey we've had so far in their brand new car with GPS tracking - Kurt looked like a kid in a candy store! We got to Hamburg despite the rain and bad traffic, and said goodbye......
HAMBURG
We spend 2 nights in Hamburg, and it goes far too quickly.....we stay in our biggest dorm room yet - at least 30 people, and the prices are still huge due to the World Cup.
We check out the local sites, then head to check out the World Cup Fanfest....it is absolutely huge, and there is standing room only. The place is packed with bars and eateries too, one from every nation competing in the cup......Australia's is a beer and BBQ stand of course!
BERLIN
We catch a train to Berlin, and arrive just in time to catch
the last half of the Australian V Brazil game at the Berlin Fanfest.....if we thought the Hamburg site was huge, this one is just massive......unfortunately, Brazil win the game, and we are treated to much singing and dancing by the Brazillian fans, of which were are outnumbered by about a thousand to one.
We head to find a bar to drown our sorrows, and find an outdoor bar which is packed to the rafters with patriotic aussies doing the same thing. It is a pretty late one by the time we finally make our way back to the hostel.
The hostel is the best we have been to yet.... nice & clean & very central. Once again Di is stuck with all the stinky boys... she is the only female in a room of 8.
Despite the hangover we hit the pavement & see the sights. The checkpoint charlie museum was very interesting. Reading about all the different escape stories was amazing. My favouite was about the family in a hot air balloon, which has been made into a movie. We also paid a visit to the old Gestapo site & saw the remains of the Wall.
The Rhine River
a village along the river.... Our two night stay is way too short (same as Hamburg) but we must say goodbye to Germany & say hello to Poland.
Our impression of Germany was very good. We had a great time. We always felt safe & the public transport systems never let us down. The people were all very friendly. Definitely a place to visit again !
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Roger
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Looks like you're havin' fun...
Wassup Di!?? How're you and Kurt going? Looks like you're having fun ;)