World Cup Fever and partying with Wild Bill

Heidelberg, Germany, is a lot nicer than Heidelberg, Melbourne. No bogans, no deros, no neo-nazi gunslingers like the bloke that held up my mate Jim when he was doorknocking for charity one time. None of that jive. The German Heidelberg is a classy, classy affair, a pinnacle German town with all the trimmings, and our new destintation to frequent in style for this one fine evening...

Car gang and holiday road

Up bright and early in the Ciarus, we took full advantage of the complimentary buffet breakfast, taking on the army of small children in the process. The Ciarus was a nice joint, well known in town for putting up countless officials and big knobs affiliated with the European Union, which i believe is based to some degree in Strasbourg. Somehow, we loaded our kisters and 4 hulking backpacks into the boot of a very cosy little green Citroen, the green machine that would take us through Germany's Autobahns until we got to Munich in a couple of days. To the tune of Will Bill's funk-soul megamix and National Lampoon's 'Holiday Road', we joined the morning snarl of traffic heading the same way into Germany, our first indication of total World Cup madness. I'd been in the US for the 1994 World Cup, and though i was a little whipper snapper back then, my steel trap memory retains the feeling of that trip well, and i was keen to revisit the vibe the only a World Cup type event generates within a country. Through picturesque, lush green Germanic landscape and thick, green rolling hills, our Citroen burned along ultra-smooth German Autobahns, as souped up Mercs and BMWs zoomed past in the fast lane at the speed of sound. Allman Brothers and the Doors provided our soundtrack, and at around 1 in the arvo, he arrived in the gorgeous town of Heidelberg.

I sure am

Coming across a very lavish, plush hotel called the 'Hof Hollander' we decided it would be in our best interests to splurge a little for the sake of comfort and convenience considering how booked up the rest of town was, a fine move that allowed us to walk just minutes to the main Marketplatz and cobblestoned main drag. We toasted our coalition with some French wine in our hotel room, and laughed at an episode of the Simpsons with German voices. Homer sounded a lot like Seargeant Shultz from Hogan's Heroes. World Cup fever was bustling in Heidelberg, with a rich mix of citizens from all nations traipsing the town streets, buying up big on national merchandise, showing their colours and getting right into the spirit of it. We ate buffet asian at a place called 'Dong Dong's', then waslked the main street with the rest of the mid-arvo revellers, sinking cold beers and absorbing the energy. We eventually got talking to a German woman named Haiko, a cool lady who used to work as a Stewardess for Lufthansa, who gave us the lowdown for where to go and what to see in Heidelberg. Sunk a few German-sized 'man pints' as the glorious sunny afternoon engulfed us completely. It was a fine day to be alive.

Soccer crowd at uni square

Through the sheer luck of chatting woth Haiko, we discovered that the USA versus Italy match was being played on a huge screen TV down by the University square. We'd initially intended to head to the nearby town of Kaiserslauten, but opted to stay here, a fine move that meant we would be able to drink more, and pretty much roll home when needed. A thick crowd rolled in to the uni courtyard as the game started, and the two Euro pints of draught and cheap, fat Bratwursts put me in happyland for the hours to come. Watched the soccer, and the subsequent metamorphosis of Ryan and Catie as they transformed into maniacal American sports fans, joining the significant number of fellow yanks in chants of 'USA..USA'. I've been a staunch critic of all things American for a number of years now, and i wont lie that it was a tad uncomfortable being affiliated with these fervent chants, yet i felt a great allegiance to my mates. Though minor, it was still a fairly compromising situation. The general vibe towards US fans on the World Cup inundated streets of Germany would be an interesting thing to monitor over the coming days.

the coalition with Haiko the German

Stupidly, Wild Bill offered me some of his chewing tobacco at one point, and it nearly put me arse over tit, packing the punch of half a pack of smokes in one hit, and leaving me with a case of the 'sideways', where i couldnt help but conduct a perpetual rocking motion from left to right for the hour to come. Never again. As the game ended with a draw, Ryan and Catie hit the hay, leaving Bill and myself to our vices in the Heidelberg mightlife. Somehow coming across the busyest bar in town, we got talking to a couple of random German chicks, and rocked out to an eclectic playlist of German rock, World Cup anthems, and ACDC. One wasted German dude, hearing my Australian accent, bought me a beer when 'You Shook me All Night Long' came on the stereo, possibly as a token of thanks for what our nation has contributed to the world of rock music. But by the early hours, i'd ventured back into that all too familiar state of demolished social capacity, deciding to leave Wild Bill with the ladies and trundling drunkely back to the plush confines of our hotel room.

wild bill and meself