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German celebration
June 24th, 2006
Welcome back to On The Spot after a rest day. I have to begin with a bit
of housekeeping.
I'm starting to receive a lot of emails from readers. I really appreciate
them and, by all means, keep them coming (especially if you feel inclined
to offer me match tickets).
I have read each one and I'd like to reply to them all as well.
Unfortunately I don't have much time. I normally type my diary entry on my
laptop computer late every night, save it, and then email it from an
internet café the next morning. Because I've had some rotten luck with
wireless internet (some of my settings are probably wrong), the only time
I see my emails is when I'm at those cafés. I may have little or no time
to reply to them because, as you've surely noticed, I am doing a lot of
travelling. If I had a euro for every kilometre I've covered in Germany,
South Africa 2010 would already be paid for. So please don't be offended
if your email isn't answered quickly.
A couple of readers have also said that my diary is a little too focussed
on Australia. You need to bear in mind that I'm not a professional
journalist/columnist/writer and that I'm at the World Cup (primarily) as a
fan who's supporting his country - as most other fans do.
I know we're all top writers here at Planet World Cup and it must be easy
for you to believe that we make a living writing about football. But this
is a labour of love folks. I earn my salary doing something else.
If you´d like to pay me plenty of money to write about football, that's
fine. I'll follow Liechtenstein's national team or club football in
Vanuatu. Whatever you want.
Nevertheless, I have covered a lot of things unrelated to Australia. I
have attended five World Cup matches that didn't include my country and I
have done my best to give you an idea of what it's like here: the
atmosphere, the organisation, the ticket scrambling, the travel, the fans,
etc. I have tickets to all of Australia's games so, on the days I attend
them, I'm going to be talking about them.
It was impossible for me to write a diary entry yesterday. After Australia
v Croatia, I returned to my hotel room in Frankfurt after 3.00 am. I then
didn't sleep because my girlfriend was scheduled to arrive on a plane from
Australia at 5.40 am and my father was arriving on a different plane 45
minutes later.
My father is here to watch some matches in the knockout phase and I gave
him his rail pass so that he could board a train to Munich where he'll be
based for a few days. My girlfriend is on her way to Lithuania where she
has some family. She will be studying there for a few weeks.
She and I went on an organised Frankfurt tour yesterday afternoon. That
may seem an odd thing to do given that I've spent two weeks here but it
still touched a few areas I haven't seen much of. One of the nicest parts
of the city is the Sachsenhausen area which is an old quarter on the side
of the river opposite the city centre.
Today we went to Heidelberg and then had a short cruise on the Rhine River
(it's a tough life).
A few Australians on the tour joked that they'd come all the way to
Germany to see Heidelberg. That's because there's a suburb in Melbourne
called Heidelberg and most Aussie fans know it because it used to have a
team in our old National Soccer League.
Heidelberg is a must-see city in Germany. It avoided wartime damage and
it's beautifully situated on the Neckar River (which flows into the
Rhine). Tourists are drawn by its wonderful city centre surrounded by
stunning tree-covered hills.
The city's main attraction is Heidelberg Castle which houses more than 600
years of history. It also houses the biggest wine vat I've ever seen. This
vat has a capacity of 221,726 litres. They might need it if Jürgen
Klinsmann's mannschaft continues on its winning way.
A Rhine River cruise is another thing I'd recommend. Mine was fairly short
but it still took me past castles, vineyards, and even more tree-covered
hills.
I want to finish today's entry by talking about the way Germany is
celebrating.
Every victory seems to be met with even greater celebration and emotion.
Confidence is rising; German flags and colours seem to be growing
exponentially; and this country, with its reputation for reserved
behaviour and cold efficiency, is tearing its old stereotypes to shreds.
If only you could see them.
Sure, you've probably watched the pictures of Germans partying on
television but if there is just one thing I wish I could put you in the
middle of, it's the elation that is engulfing this country.
On the tournament's first day, Peter Goldstein said that we're all Germans
now. I find it impossible to disagree. There is joy on the pitch and there
is joy off it. I apologise in advance to our Pierre Boisrond, but I'll be
cheering with the locals when their team plays his beloved Argentina. This
country has made me and so many other people feel so welcome that to do
anything else would almost be a slap in its face.
Tomorrow I'm finally leaving Frankfurt. Having the same room for two weeks
has been handy - no packing and repacking in all that time - and I
probably could have stayed for a few more days.
But it's time to move on. Australia plays Italy in fabulous Kaiserslautern
on Monday and, although I couldn't find a room there, I managed to get one
in a city nearby.
So tomorrow's entry will be coming from ..... nah, I'll tell you then.
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