This entry is split into 2 sections, both happened on the same day. The day started with a trip to Bonn with Iona. Bonn is about a half hour train ride from Cologne and we get to travel there free with our student pass. Bonn has a mountain on one side with a lookout called Königswinter. There is also an old castle on top of the mountain and the view is spectacular. You can see right up and down the Rhine River. Once we climbed down the mountain again we took a walk along the Rhine and then headed home. I ll let the pictures do most of the talking for this one.Once we got home we headed to Heumarkt, a suburb in Cologne that was the center of all the World Cup action for the game between Germany and Costa Rica.
In every city in Germany at the moment they have set up 2 gigantic TV screens. In Cologne they are located in Heumarkt, the Dom (the giant Cathedral) and outside the World Cup stadium. You have to pay a small fee to get but we got back about an hour before kick off so the streets were packed. The atmosphere around town was amazing. German jerseys everywhere, people guzzling beer in the streets and horns going off everywhere (check out the video if you want a sample). Of course, there was also your typical bunch of English soccer hooligans who were antagonizing the Germans (good video).
So to watch the game we headed into an Irish pub where they were showing the game in English and we got to sit down to watch the game. Wasn't a bad game to start the World Cup, 4-2 to Germany. You would have thought the Germans won the World Cup after the way they acted in the streets! I have never seen so many beer bottles in the streets before. The homeless people would be loving this recycling chance. It was even more amazing to think that this wasn't even a city that held the game so I can only imagine what it would have been like in Munich. It put a smile on my face to think that there is 30 days of football madness and I am at the heart of it all. Thanks to Mum and Dad I have a whole load of gear ready to distinguish myself as an Aussie in the crowds.
Getting around in Germany is going to be difficult but I am going to do my best. Needless to say, accommodation in Germany is scarce and a hostel can set you back 60 Euro a night so this is where contacts might come in handy. If there is a way for me to get to Munich on June 18th when Australia play Brazil then I will be there. Ciao. More thumbnails ...
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