Saturday, January 01, 2000

World Cup

June 10 - July 10

Our match schedule was:

12 Jun - USA vs. Czech Republic in Gelsenkirchen
17 Jun - USA vs. Italy in Kaiserslautern
22 Jun - USA vs. Ggana in Nuremberg
26 Jun - ITA vs. Australia in Kaiserslautern
30 Jun - Italy vs. Ukraine in Hamburg
04 Jul - Italy vs. Germany in Dortmund
09 Jul - Italy vs. France in Berlin

Mike's parents, sister, and brother-in-law came out from the 11th to the 23rd. We had a rental car that entire time and took a side trips to Amsterdam, Koln, and Salzburg. After we dropped the parents in Munich, the OC made for Vienna. We stayed with Beth S.'s family in K-town before heading up with her, Kevin B., and Leo R. to Copenhagen. Katya S. flew out for the weekend of the Hamburg match and we hooked up with Carl U. and others in Dusseldorf before Dortmund. Before Berlin, we made an expedition to Amsterdam where we picked up Falk U. and returned with him to the capital where we stayed with his parents and were joined by Troy. The OC parted company the day after the final.

Day by day:
  • Sat June 10 - arrive in munich for about 14:00, change trains and grab some euros and sandwiches, long but comfortable ride to dusseldorf in the company of england fans, get a train on to the airport and check into hotel sheraton
  • Sun June 11 - up a bit late, sushi lunch in airport, pick up keys to rental car and meet parents, drive to hotel in essen, big lunch at hotel, others sleep while derek and mike stay up to watch a few matches and chat and drink beer and soda (derek is off the sauce)
  • Mon June 12 - most up for breakfast, jason arrives around 13:00, have lunch at hotel, a bit of a nap, head out for game at 16:00, parking problems, make it into the stadium almost just in time for the kickoff, watch the US get plastered 3 to 0 in a terrible match (for us), run into kevin b. in the stadium then run into cynthia g and jason w outside, give the latter 2 a ride back to essen, walk to local town center to get some turkish grub, back to hotel to sleep
  • Tue June 13 - mike up around 09:00 for quickie breakfast, hang with mom a bit in the beer garden reading about cologne (the city), got everybody on their feet, leave the hotel for about noon and drive to cologne city center, park, walk up pedestrian avenue to cathedral, up the river on bicycle taxis and take cable car across river, hang out in park for a bit, walk back down to cathedral on other side of river, cross at rail bridge, back through shopping area to the car, drive to dusseldorf, find a place on the water to watch the france vs. switzerland match and have a bit of dinner, back in the car and drive to essen in time to watch brazil and croatia in the beer garden, do some internet research and updates before falling asleep
  • Wed June 14 - up at 07:00, shower and shave and breakfast, call sixt to confirm that car can be taken out of germany, gather the troops, drive to amsterdam, park just near rijksmuseum (sp?), walk around museum square a bit and stop into cafe-ish restaurant for lunch, derek and jenny hit the museums while rest go on a walking tour into downtown, shop and watch some soccer and drink tea and such to avoid the intermittent rain, meet back up at the car around 18:30 and head back to essen, jason and mike head to put to watch germany vs. poland, others go to greek place to eat, in bed for about 23:30
  • Thu June 15 - up around 08:00, breakfast, jenny and mom and derek and mike head into town for some errands but most things are closed apparently due to a holiday, pack up and drive to mainz, arrive at hotel konigshof right next to main train station, mom and dad and jason and mike walk down to the waterfront to have a bit of lunch and to watch a soccer match, return to hotel and watch another match in tapas place across the way, pasta dinner at very nearby italian and to bed
  • Fri June 16 - up early enough for breakfast, travel to rhine by train, take a long boat ride up the river to koblenz, catch a train back, back at hotel for around 23:00, family has a late pizza dinner
  • Sat June 17 - up late, jason sick again (derek's fault, apparently), mike and jen out to buy game supplies, meet helpful tunisian guy, leave in car around 13:30, park in distant lot and catch bus into town, sit in beer garden listening to a band and futzing around for a bit, stop in park to get all gussied up, long and slow walk to stadium, watch a dramatic one/one tie with 3 ejections, crowded bus back to parking area, derek drives home as mike is fairly drunk, arrive around 01:00 and straight to bed
  • Sun June 18 - up late-ish, walk to near mainz cathedral for late lunch, mike and jason go to beer garden to watch games, others go to hotel to rest, meet back at hotel around 20:30, watch last match of the day in tapas place, retire
  • Mon June 19 - up early for breakfast, pack the car and head out, dad travels by train on his own, others stop in rothenburg for lunch and a shop, reassemble at minotel brunner hotel in amberg, mike and jen and mom out for a look around the city while dad and derek rest and jason watches a match, reunite for dinner (excepting derek), retire to hotel rooms to watch TV and sleep
  • Tue June 20 - up early, leave at 08:30 for salzburg, lunch with a view, mom and mike sit at cafe and shop while others are off to see fortress, split up again - mike and jason watch germany vs. ecuador on big screen next to cathedral while others shop and see sights, leave for amberg around 18:30, out for a doner dinner then to bed
  • Wed June 21 - up early, mike and mom breakfast than sort of repair the panels on the rental van that got damaged in yesterday's minor collision, mom and mike do some wedding outfit shopping, mike out for haircut, all (minus derek) assemble at hotel, out to city square for a simple lunch, mom and jenny off to shop, boys back to hotel to do this and that before the 16:00 match, jason and mike and mom out to local joint to watch a game, return to hotel to collect others, walk back to same place to eat and watch the evening game, mike and mom retire early, others hang on a bit to watch end of game and have dessert
  • Thu June 22 - up early, pack the car and head out to nurnberg, park car in plenty of time for US vs. Ghana, head over to "nazi documentation center" then sit in beer garden to have sausage lunch and a beer, split up to watch the US lose, meet back up at the call and drive down to munich, find the hotel after some outfit - 4 miles from airport, mike and derek drive back to return rental car and come back via bus, mom and dad and mike and jason have supper in underground hotel pub, sleep
  • Fri June 23 - up early, simple breakfast in hotel, take shuttle to airport, check in and have a snack and a coffee outside, say goodbye to astles and crouchers, take train to munich central station, change for train to salzburg, chat with an austrian businessman and trainspotter for a bit, make a quick connect to train for vienna, read and blog and such along the way, meet karoline and sonja at vienna west station, drive to near tulln and have a light dinner and some wine in a garden, have a quick look at a nearby village before heading to tulln, sit on karoline's balcony and drink wine well into the night
  • Sat June 24 - up early, breakfast at karoline's with her sister charlotte, charlotte takes the OC on a tour of vienna, see the sights and do some shopping and rest a bit in a park, drive back to karoline's to get ready for the party, kill some time in a beer garden next to the danube, charlotte drops OC off at party, help set things up by hanging printed photos, stand around and drink a bit and congratulate yashi and nina, leave in karoline's car early - maybe around 00:00
  • Sun June 25 - up at 06:00, karoline drives us to tulln train station to catch a ride to vienna west station, connect on the u-bahn, board train around 08:20 and sleep most of the way, inquire about tickets in munich and have a burger king lunch, make contact with elizabeth s. who promises a place to sleep in k-town, board train for k-town via heidelburg at 13:30 or so, rest and blog aboard, meet elizabeth and wolf and colette at the station, they take us to their place in a nearby village, dinner there and watch portugal beat holland in a match with four sending offs, to bed
  • Mon June 26 - up around 09:30, colette makes a very nice fried breakfast, catch the train into town with elizabeth in tow, exchange voucher very easily for rest of match tickets, meet kevin b. and leo r., settle down in beer garden for a good bit and listen to a somewhat cheesy band, walk up to the stadium to see italy beat australia at the last moment with a penalty kick, hang around town eating slowly served sushi, make it back to the house for about midnight, decide to head to copenhagen the next day, all four boys now crash on colettes floors and couches
  • Tue June 27 - up around 08:00, colette makes dutch pancakes for all and we spend the morning chatting about this or that, pack up and head out, train to mainz, drop bags there and watch brazil beat ghana in a local beer garden, make a friend of a scotsman who happens to be sharing our table, beat feet back to train station to catch ride on to koln, then switch to sleeper train, all five of us pack into a couchette cabin and watch pulp fiction on a laptop before bed
  • Wed June 28 - up around 09:00, arrive in copenhagen main station for 11:00, arrange a hotel room through tourist info center, drop bags and head out, elizabeth and mike split up from the group and head out to hippie village to listen to music and wander about, others take in some more conventional sights (palaces and forts and museums and such), meet back up on the street on the way back to hotel, mike and elizabeth stop at station to arrange tickets to hamburg the next day, wash up and take care of a few bits and pieces before going to wagamama for dinner, from there carry on to a small concert venue to watch boss hoss - a german band that does country covers of popular radio songs, head to a club afterwards on foot, mike and liz split before entering, all end up crashed in our hotel room made for 5
  • Thu June 29 - up at 08:30, mike heads down to blog and breakfast while others snooze, carry bags over to train station to store in lockers, head to national museum to learn about danish history, split up after, mike and liz go shopping for a gift for coco, jason and kevin enjoy the tivoli gardens, not sure about leo but he ends up with some chocolate, reassemble at train station and board our ride back to hamburg, train drives onto a boat to cross the water, buy much booze on the boat and get a bit sauced on the remainder of the voyage, talk a bit with fellow passengers and exchange jokes, arrive at hamburg, mike and liz take a hotel room across from the train station, others go to meet leo at guesthouse in st. pauli
  • Fri June 30 - mike and liz meet kevin and leo ro. at the train station, reservations are made, walk up pedestrian street and have a falafel lunch, long walk along lake to a museum hosting a football exhibit, mike walks liz back to station to put her on her way back to kaiserslautern, meet back up at fan fast but it is full, take train up to near stadium, watch first half of early match on a small tv at a kebab stand, watch rest inside across the way from the statdium, go in and watch italy beat the snot out of the ukraine, kevin and leo ro. head back to train station and take off for switzerland, leo r. and jason head back to st. pauli, mike goes to the east of town to meet katya who has just flown in from milan
  • Sat July 1 - mike and katya head into city center by train, have fancy lunch on canal, walk around and see the sights, end up in st. pauli looking in sex shops for japanese porn, meet jason and leo at fan fest, watch england lose to portugal before watching brazil lose to france, drop by the guesthouse to drop off stuff and have a beer before heading down to the reeperbahn (minus leo) to drink, mike and katya split around 3, jason stays on until 5 or so
  • Sun July 2 - up a bit late, mike and katya check out of hotel and head over to guesthouse to drop bags, grab jason and head out for a vietnamese lunch, down to reeperbahn to shop for a birthday gift for katya's dad, head over to park to relax in the sun, back to guesthouse to gather the goods, jason goes as far as bus station to say goodbye, mike carries on to airport, reassemble just the OC (for the first time in awhile) back at guesthouse, head down to reeperbahn for a pork meal and some beers, things are pretty dead, buy a little present for mignon before heading back to sleep
  • Mon July 3 - up around 10:00, shower and update log and pack up, down to internet cafe to send a fax and read email and such, have lunch at mr. kepab, take the u-bahn down to train station and wait for service to dusseldorf, chat with some old german folks on the way, arrive in the dorf for about 18:30, meet carl at the station, walk over to hotel to check in, meet up in lobby with carl and alex and head out to waterfront for a few giant beers and some seafood eats, head in a bit to the old town for more drinks at an irish place before moving to an arabian-themed joint where we smoke sheeshas and meet mexicans, then around the corner to a dance place called peter pan, a very drunk mike apparently picks a fight with a bunch of gay men, taxi back to hotel to crash
  • Tue July 4 - up around 12:00, mike has a bit of a hangover, get a kepab on the way to the train station, take a long hot ride to dortmund, drink a few beers before going to the stadium, watch italy beat germany with two overtime goals, meet with kevin and leo afterwards, mike goes out on his own, he ends up in hospital for a few hours and reaches the dorf around 05:30 the next morning, jason in a bit earlier after hanging with leo and kevin for a bit
  • Wed July 5 - up around 11:00, say goodbye to carl and joel and vanessa (alex already left for paris by train), stop at pharmacy to get drugs for mike's throat infection, drop bags at train station, eat at nice cafeteria-style joint, mike hangs at internet cafe while jason is off to post, have a tea in a nearby cafe, back to train station to retrieve bags and wait, chill on platform for a bit, get very pimp first class service to amsterdam - sleep almost the entire way, meet mignon (huzzah!) at the station, head over to hers by car, have a few drinks and a dip in the pool, anouk joins for dinner, smoke a spliff with neighbors karen and corentina (sp?), anouk takes off leaving only mike and jason and mignon to hang out in the pool until late, in bed for about 02:00
  • Thu July 6 - up around 11:30 when mignon arrives from alice's to make breakfast, head out to surprisingly fun wax museum, walk up to vondel park and have a tea, mignon goes to a meeting while the OC goes back to hers by tram to relax, alice and corentina show up and order chinese for dinner, close on their heels are wendy and daniella and dora and mignon, most of the group head out by bike to a "beach" near the river, meet mr. falk there, hang out and drink and smoke splif for a few hours, return to mignon's by bike, in bed for 01:00 or so
  • Fri July 7 - up around 08:00 to say goodbye to mignon, properly get out of bed about 10:00, take care of a few computer things, say goodbye to alice who is off to the gym, pack up, then say goodbye to neighbors, out the door and on the tram by 12:30, drop bags at central station and pick up train reservation, argentine steaks for lunch, back to station to get bags and wait on platform, are joined by mr. falk, climb aboard and cross back into germany without incident, arrive at east station around 10, take s-bahn to eastern suburbs, falk's family has dinner ready - "chicken klaus", turn in after a very good meal
  • Sat July 8 - up around 10:00, breakfast on the terrace at noon, troy has arrived, head out to city for some sightseeing, take in the old bit before reaching the brandenburg gate and the path of the wall, see holocaust memorial before having a typical german dinner, over to fan fest to watch germany beat portugal for 3rd place, travel to an old brewery that is now a club complex, leave around 04:00, back at chez unger for about six, falk and mike have a light snack before bed
  • Sun July 9 - up around noon, breakfast on the terrace again, falk and troy head to beach and then on to a barbecue, mike and jason head direct to the stadium, pick up some italian-candians along the way and help them a bit, meet with leo and kevin outside the stadium, hang out a bit, meet andreas and some other overture-era folks inside the stadium, watch italy beat france on penalties (zidane sent off in overtime for a headbutt), straight back to home base, troy and falk reappear after jason and mike are already in bed
  • Mon July 10 - up at 6, shower and pack up, one more nice breakfast on the terrace, momma unger drives mike and jason and pappa unger to the train station, cruise into town, have a bit of sparkling wine to celebrate completion of the mission, both on same train south, jason gets off a fulda, say goodbye on platform
Photo Albums
World Cup

Video Clips
A True Patriot
Boss Hoss

posted by jason at 8:00 AM gmt