Aussies vs Brazil

Sunday 18 June was a day that many had been looking forward to for a long time - the big game between Australia and Brazil. As it was a 6pm game we didn't have to get up too early, and probably around 11:30ish we headed to the Englischergarten to try to find the rest of the Aussies who were meeting there. However the Englischergarten is massive and contains 4 beer gardens and we couldn't find them, so we made our way to Marienplatz which was where we had to catch the train to the stadium.

Marienplatz was buzzing, lots of Brazilians there with their drums etc creating a really cool atmosphere. We descended the steps to the subway to catch the train. Fortunately we got on the first train that arrived which just happened to be full of Aussies. It was quite warm on board and already crowded after we got on, but still more people got on at every stop! It wasn't long before the singing started, first "Waltzing Matilda" and then the even bigger Australian hit, Bon Jovi´s "Livin' On A Prayer" !?!?!

We got to the ground and we wished it had been dark because the stadium lights up in the team colours. And when I say lights up I don´t mean a couple of lights, I mean the entire stadium.

Now on to the game......

You saw it, I saw it, the rest of the world saw it. It will go down as one of the worst displays of refereeing that the World Cup has ever seen. (Sorry England, hand of god was only one bad decision). The ref took the Dukes out of the match with what can only be called `questionable´ decisions.

So the Brazillians won 2-0, not a fair scoreline if you ask me but that´s the way it will stand. That night was very quiet in town. Most Aussies headed back to the campsite and around 11.00 it started to pour down to make the evening just perfect.

Tschüs for now

PS: Mr Paparella and the ladies.

For those of you that know Steve he is a complex individual whose mild mannered nature impresses the ladies. HOWEVER, get a couple of €1,00 beers into him and he´s a different person. This includes going up to girls who are clearly chatting to someone else and when that person has gone to the loo, taking the girl and headed off into the sunset. Well done Steve, hats off to ya!!!! Good to see you found your way back to the campsie as well and as a true gentlemen not telling us anything!!

Munich

The trip from Bad Dürkheim to Munich was a long one, with us leaving at 9am and not arriving in Munich until well after 3:30. On the way our driver took out one of his side mirrors while trying to get to the petrol pump which caused further delays and summed up the day really! Eventually we reached The Tent which was to be our home for the next 9 nights. For those who are familiar with The Tent, it is a massive tent which holds about 400 people which is put up every summer in Munich until the end of the Oktoberfest. Luckily for us we were staying in the same tents as we were in Bad Dürkheim, not the big one! Putting up the tents was a shambles, eventually we got away and jumped on the tram to find a pub to watch the Germany v Poland game. When we were nearly at our stop, a ticket inspector got on and since we didn´t have tickets, we legged it. We ended up watching the game at a pub and then went to Marienplatz which is where all the Germans were celebrating their win, and we met people from various different countries.

The next day was the big Biergarten crawl, we went to Hirschgarten, Park Cafe, Augustiner. Then a bunch of us went to the Englischergarten where we met some Irish lads who are also staying at The Tent and they offered to give us accommodation if we go to Ireland!

The following day we did a day trip to Salzburg which is in Austria. Stunning scenery, nice old buildings, Mozart, and The Sound Of Music. And all the bottled water has bubbles in it (just like in Germany).

Yesterday we went to Dachau which is a concentration camp, which was quite interesting. The rest of the day was spent relaxing and preparing for the big Samba party that evening. In the end it was a bit of false advertising, there were only a handful of Brazilians there. However the Footy Show guys (Sam Newman, Garry Lyon, Matthew Johns) were there and they even got Colin Hay (Men At Work) in to sing the Aussie anthem "Down Under"!

Will update you on the big game and Steve Paparella#s performance with the ladies on the next blog.

Tschüs!

Kaiserslautern

Well 32 years in the making and finally it is here. The Aussies are back on the world stage and ready to stick it up all those who think we are only there to make up the numbers.

We all met in a square in the middle of Kaiserslautern (about 3,000 Aussies) and we took over the town.

Beer was flowing for most of the morning and hats off to the German Police who just sat back and let us do what ever we want. There was a CD with all the Aussie hits which meant the 20 Japanese supporters near us moved on as they didn't know what was going on.

Then it was off to the big game. All the Japanese supporters were sitting in the expensive seats and true to form all us Aussies and token Aussies were behild the goal. The noise was deafening and the Aussies started the game in top gear.

I won't give a running commentary on the game as I am sure you have all seen it but sufficed to say Timmy Cahill - Champion, Johnny Aloisi - Champion, Harry Kewell - Disappointing.

After the game it was back to the square where we celebrated well into the night and we're looking forward to the Brazil game.

Tschüs!

Bad Dürkheim

We managed to get onto the bus from London to Frankfurt which was sweet! There were several hundred Aussies waiting to get onto the bus so the 3:30 departure time was a bit ambitious! Eventually we left and before long we hit the White Cliffs of Dover (not literally) and jumped on the ferry to Calais. From there it was a long bus trip with a stop in Antwerp and another somewhere in Germany, before we arrived at the Frankfurt airport to collect our tickets and merchandise and were then driven to our campsite just outside the town of Bad Durkheim.

Our guide who called himself mini me (a clear foot shorter than Davey) who has been doing these tours for a while now so we were confident all would go well.... stay tuned to see if this was the case!

Campsite was nice and about 550 Aussies there pretty much rinning the campsite. Beer was cheap, food was greasy and the weather was hot. Spent the first night getting to now a lot of people of which we remember about 3 names. We'll just call everyone maaate and be done with it.

Tschüs!

London

We arrived in London yesterday around lunchtime after a pleasant 1 hour or so train journey. Our hotel was in Hyde Park, only a stone's throw from Paddington Station. We were pleased to find that it had a lift, TV, bathroom AND full English breakfast thrown in! After checking in and dumping our bags we hopped on the tube for a whirlwind sightseeing tour.

We saw the Houses of Parliament ('Big Ben' which is actually the bell inside not the tower!!), Westminster Abbey, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, London Bridge (really disappointing - we thought it would be something spectacular but it's just an ordinary bridge!), Buckingham Palace and the London Eye. We stopped off at a couple of pubs along the way, at one of them we watched Germany beat Costa Rica. Then it was back to the hotel briefly before heading out to Earl's Court in the hope of finding a good meal and a pub to watch the Poland v Ecuador game. We found a pub, watched the game and then had an Italian meal.

Today we went to Lord's which was obviously a highlight for me (Jane) except for the annoying people who kept walking on the oval even after they were told not to! Right now we are waiting for the bus to Frankfurt but Davey thinks we might not be booked on it in which case we will have to find accommodation for the night and work out how we are going to get from Hahn airport (about 110km from Frankfurt) to Frankfurt airport, then into town and then to our campsite! So fingers crossed for us getting on the bus - will update you when we get to Germany!

Cheers

Portsmouth

Well after quite a few days on the go it was time to kick back and enjoy the seaside tome of Portsmouth, well Cowplain actually but no-one knows where that is.

Met up with some family here and enjoyed checking out the local pubs and the surrounding attractions.... bushes, toilet bowls etc.

We did manage to climb an attraction called the Spinnaker Tower which had a really spectacular view from the top, and on the first level there was a glass floor where you could stand and look down 100m which was really cool! Well for some. Others like Davey with his hatred of anything high (must be a short man complex thingy) wasn't as excited. That was pretty much all we did the first day except to go to another couple of pubs, meet more rellies and have a whale of a time.

Day 2 started early. We got up and decided to join one of our cousins on a trip to Salisbury (people in this country actually go out of there way to go there, unlike Adelaide), Stonehenge and Bath.

Salisbury was a quiet town which rates highly due to their cheap beers and nice bakeries. We saw the Magna Carta in the main cathedral then it was off to Stonehenge. Basically a lot of rocks in the middle of a field, how did the get there? who knows and most impotantly who cares!! Haha, no it was quite good and we got some excellent photos.

Bath was the pick for me (Davey). Really cool place with nice houses and of course the Roman Baths. Didn't get a lot of time there as it was closing (the Baths, not the city) so then it was back to sunny Portsmouth.

Everyday we have been here it has been 22-25 degrees and sunny as, great drinking weather! Rest of the time here (another 2 days) involved shopping and just relaxing with family. London next then off for Germany!!!!!!! Go the Aussies!!

C ya!

Amsterdam

Well hi again, this is a belated post for Amsterdam. We caught the Eurolines bus from Brussels to Amsterdam which was a shorter trip than the previous one. From the bus terminal we managed to find our way to the correct train, then from there we found the right bus stop to wait at and call our hostel for a pickup - it was like one of those adventure computer games, only in Dutch! The shuttle didn't take long to come and it was only a 7 minute ride to the hostel. Immediately we knew this was something different, it was really a caravan park, situated on a picturesque lake. The accommodation was cosy, with communal bathroom and a large communal tent complete with fridge, Bob Marley music and several lounges for chilling out! Due to the lateness of our arrival and the distance from town we decided to stay in for the night and dined on the best toasted cheese sandwiches you could possibly imagine! (OK maybe not the best but we were hungry and they did the trick!).

The following day we got the first shuttle to the station to make the most of our only full day in Amsterdam. Amsterdam was full of Aussies as Australia was playing Holland in Rotterdam which wasn't far from there. We had breakfast (poffertjes which are traditional Dutch pancakes - mmmmm!), did a canal tour which was nice, then hit one of the "coffeeshops" which was showing the game. We stayed there for the duration of the game, Australia drew 1-1 which was a great result (I think Aussies actually outnumbered Dutch at the bar we were at) then grabbed some snacks and headed back to the hostel. We spent a few hours in the communal tent with some Americans and even a few Aussies all comparing notes as to what kind of weed they were smoking! Pretty laid back place Amsterdam! The next day we left early for our flight to England which will be the subject of our next post!

Brussels

Well after leaving the wonders and weather of Paris behind us we took a short 4 hour bus ride to Brussels. This is more my (Davey's) kind of town. Plenty of pubs, bars and watering holes to quench your thirst.

Once again the hotel was nice (they all are soo much better than the first one) and we get breakfast with this one as well.

After a bit of souvenir shopping be went to check out the Grand Place which is a big square with old buildings... and did I mention pubs? Then after a brief nap it was off to check out the Manekin - Pis which is a little statue of a boy taking a wizz over the city. Classy! Well with this many pubs around I'm sure the sculpture had more than enough models to base this on.

Now we are off to Amsterdam (this was only a brief stop so we weren't travelling for 8 hours on a bus) and hopefully we can go to a pub and watch Australia vs Holland which is this Sunday.

Cheers for now

Paris

Well we've come to the country famous for the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe and of course those Fromage eating surrender monkeys. Yes that's right we are in France.

The flight was a bit of a saga, well more the shuttle from the airport. They somehow didn't get our reservation and we were left stranded some 80kms out of Paris. We had to arrange a special shuttle for ourselves which cost us €60 (about $110..... ouch!) We got to the hotel about 12.30am so it was straight to bed.

We awoke to find that our hotel, which wasn't too bad for a 1 star hotel, was only a 5 min walk from the Louvre and our day tour started from just around the corner. So after scoffing a very large baguette each we headed out to the Louvre and jumped on the tour bus.

We took in most of the usual sights and climbed to the first floor of the Eiffel Tower. Weather was a bit poor as it rained on and off but that didn't dampen our spirits. The tour bus had 4 different routes. The main one took in all the usual attractions, another went to Bastille (which isn't there anymore so what was the point????). The third went to Montmartre where we climbed the steps of the Sacre Coeur (basically a big church with an awesome view of paris.... when it isn't raining). The last went to Montparnasse which again we did but didn't really have a lot to offer.

Over the two days we took a heap of photos and yes once again we have an internet connection with no access to put photos onto it. We promise by this time next week we will have a photo on here for each day.

While in Paris we also took in the White McDonald's arch on the Champs Elysees. Supposedly it is the only McDonalds in the world where the archs are white. Possibly the best thing I've seen so far :)

Food wise we had baguettes, crepes, creme brulees and croissants. No frog legs or snails, we weren't that game.

A Bientot

Florence

Well much has happened since we last wrote. We spent another day or so in Rome where we continued on the Hop On Hop Off bus tour, seeing the St Peters Basilica up close and personal in the Vatican, but being a Sunday we had NO chance of getting in - took some photos though which we will hopefully publish soon! We also saw the Spanish Steps which we had heard all about so we thought we'd better go and climb them!

Then it was onto the Eurostar train to Florence, it was a most pleasant journey, enjoying the delightful Tuscan countryside and before we knew it we arrived at Santa Maria Novella Station. The guesthouse (Il Ghiro, tell your friends!!) was only a 2 minute walk from the station and after we had climbed the 3 flights of stairs we were shown to our room complete with bathroom, towels and TV!

That night we enjoyed an authentic Italian meal at a place nearby as well as a drink at a not-so-authentic Irish pub!!

Yesterday we decided to visit the Duomo which is the main cathedral and is HUGE! Instead of joining the massive queue (which is becoming a recurring theme here) we decided to climb the 463 steps to the top where we got a panoramic view of Florence - photos to follow! In the afternoon it was another scenic Tuscan drive to Pisa where we saw all the sights.

Gypsies everywhere trying to flog off their crusty merchandise. Everytime you say no they keep coming back. Wouldn't mind heading back there with the lads to ruffle a few feathers.

Today we are leaving beautiful Florence and heading to Paris via Rome. Get in very late so wont have time to do anything other than check in and sleep. Hopefully the next internet cafe will have a facility to download photos so we can add them

Ciao for now!!

Rome

We arrived in Rome yesterday after a 12 hour flight from Singapore. The flight went pretty quickly again (doubt it will be like that on the way back). Got to our hotel which is a 2 star establishment... let's just say it hasn't been graded in a while and leave it at that! At least it is close to everything we need.

Went in an illuminated tour of Rome which was spectacularrrrr. Saw all the usual tourist things and saw a few good hotels in a different location for next time.

Today we started off with a visit to the Vatican. It opens at 8.45 and we got their with out tour about 8am. Line up was mamouth, almost Heaven esque (That's Heaven the original, not Heaven II Bradz).

Once again very overwhelming to see so much stuff in the one place and did I metion it was huge!! Everything is here. Even the monuments to different historical figures, seems they all tried to out do themselves when they created them.

Well enough for now, coloseum tomorrow as well as the Spanish Steps then off to Florence.

Ciao for now!
Davey & Jane

Singapore

Helloooo to all from Singapore,

We arrived at 6pm local time and our flight to Rome boards at midnight. The thought of spending 6 hours wandering around an airport didn't sound too appealing however this place is huge!! We've been here just over 4 hours and we still haven't managed to check out all the shops.

First stop off was the 'Oasis' where we enjoyed a masage and free internet. Can't believe how many Aussies are here. Couldn't really tell you were in Asia at all.

The flight here went really quickly all apart from the idiot woman in front of me moving her seat all the way back without checking to see if I was finished eating...... luckily for her I was :)

When we get to a computer with an accessible USB cable we'll add some photos.

Catch ya!

Australia Day 2006

Getting ready for a big afternoon... 7.30am