Hey, all.
I'm in Florence, Italy right now at our awesome hostel. We were in Rome the past two days and Florence and Pisa today. Andreu, Dev, and I will be heading to Venice tomorrow then Milan on Friday.
It's been a fun trip thus far. I'll be sure to update afterwards, but I have to go now since my internet time is almost up.
Until next time, Alles Gute.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
When it struck me that I've been waiting since birth to find a love that would look and sound like a movie...
I hope you all know that I am posting this with the legitimate threat of death if I wake Dev (my roommate) up. It's not my fault that my hands type with the speed of the Road Runner and the loud thunder of Thor. But anyway, you're welcome.
So, London part two.
I left my tale of London with failing asleep on Saturday. Sunday morning, I awoke around 8:45 a.m., hurriedly put on pants for breakfast, and just beat the end of continental breakfast. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't eat my cereal (corn flakes) slowly in hopes that Emma, the aforementioned Irish girl, would come down and chat. Sadly, I think she had already checked out. Drat. It was pretty interesting to hear the Australians that ran our hostel rant about the English kids that have stayed there. I'm just glad it hasn't been Americans giving them trouble.
Around 11ish, I think, Jason, David, Zach, Steve, and I headed out towards London Bridge. We crossed the bridge (not much to write home about), took a few pictures, and then headed towards the Tower of London. We stopped by "The Monument", a Wren era monolith, as well as the original Roman trail towards the original London Bridge over the Thames. We then grabbed a bite to eat at a Wetherspoon pub near the Tower of London. My roast was absolutely delicious as well as the ale that I had.
After the pub, we walked around the outside of London Tower, a merchant sailor monument, and finally London Bridge. Luckily, we grabbed a few pics before it started to rain. Booooooo. Set in my ways, I was determined to go to the Prime Meridian in Greenwich, so I convinced the others to head out there. Sadly, we once again had no idea where we were going (maybe Brittney was right with me having a hobby of getting lost). It did provide some good as we saw the former Royal Navy Academy that we otherwise wouldn't have seen. Of course, it started to pour down rain as we walked up the large hill to the Meridian, and of course, I wasn't wearing my jacket and had only a t-shirt on. Needless to say, I was freezing. I did get to hop between the Western and Eastern Hemispheres, though, as I had hoped. Whheeeeeee!!!
We walked back to the DLR station to head back to our hostel. I took a shower and then Zach, Steve, and I headed to Piccadilly Circus. We saw the lights of the Circus, and I attempted to take pictures. Too bad that none really turned out that well. Having never been to Times Square in NYC, I will still compare Piccadilly to it and say that Piccadilly was a miniature Times Square. The three of us, from here on out referred to as the Three Musketeers, walked around, got asked by bums for money numerous times, walked through Chinatown, and ended up at O'Neil's Irish Pub. The pub had a live band playing and was quite awesome, indeed. Perhaps even better than 9 Irish Brothers in West Lafayette, but I'm not sure I'm ready to go that far. The Three Musketeers (ok, this is stupid. I recant calling us the Three Musketeers.) headed to another club, Sound, after being offered free admission to the typical seven pound cover bar. Nevermind the fact that we followed a guy that worked there down a semi-sketchy alleyway to get there. The place was lame, so we left and caught a bus back to the hostel and slept.
Monday morning, we checked out of the hostel. David and Adam headed to the Tower of London to tour the inside. Zach, Steve, Jason, and I went to go up the London Eye. All of us grabbed lunch at McDonald's which had the most amazing hand dryers invented by the human race. The Dyson Airblade, check it out.
We then walked along much of the same path as Saturday past Trafalgar Square, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, and Parliament. I got my picture with the Abraham Lincoln statue near Westminster Abbey. It was neat considering that I am (distantly) related to Abe and because my father (miss you, Dad) was really big into our genealogy and our relationship with the sixteenth President.
We then headed to the Eye. The wait for tickets was longer than the wait for the Eye, a dramatic turn from the approximately two hour wait for the Eye on Saturday. Going up on the Eye provided a great view of the city. It was so high, in fact, that I got a bit nervous being on it. I have a very slight fear of heights, so I didn't walk around our pod a ton. The only problem with our "flight" on the Eye was that my camera began to die half way up the Eye. I had to ration my battery space the rest of the day, snapping pictures as soon as my camera would turn on.
The rest of the day we did a little more walking around i.e. past Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and Millennium Bridge, took a short nap by Bank Station, saw the Bank of England Museum, tried to see Robin Hood at the cinema, didn't go because it was expensive, and watched the sunset by Parliament. Eventually, we headed to the airport and attempted to sleep there.
We were awoken around 4 a.m. by the shopkeeper of the store that we were sleeping in front of. Grumpy and tired, we stood in line and checked in to our 7 a.m. flight. After waiting around for seemingly the same time as the next Haley's Comet, we boarded the plane and came back to Karlsruhe. I had a more than a slight scare when I couldn't find my passport after boarding the bus. After looking through the airport and my bag (it was stuck in a book), I found my passport and got back on the bus This was, of course, after me freaking out about having to do a ton of paperwork and going to the Munich U.S. Consulate to get another passport. Luckily, I was spared that ordeal.
The rest of Tuesday I slept. Today, I worked on my design project again then went to a restaurant with German GEARE students that just got back and ones that will go to Purdue this coming spring. It was a good time, though I apologize if it hampered my typing. ;)
Anywho, until next time, Alles Gute.
So, London part two.
I left my tale of London with failing asleep on Saturday. Sunday morning, I awoke around 8:45 a.m., hurriedly put on pants for breakfast, and just beat the end of continental breakfast. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't eat my cereal (corn flakes) slowly in hopes that Emma, the aforementioned Irish girl, would come down and chat. Sadly, I think she had already checked out. Drat. It was pretty interesting to hear the Australians that ran our hostel rant about the English kids that have stayed there. I'm just glad it hasn't been Americans giving them trouble.
Around 11ish, I think, Jason, David, Zach, Steve, and I headed out towards London Bridge. We crossed the bridge (not much to write home about), took a few pictures, and then headed towards the Tower of London. We stopped by "The Monument", a Wren era monolith, as well as the original Roman trail towards the original London Bridge over the Thames. We then grabbed a bite to eat at a Wetherspoon pub near the Tower of London. My roast was absolutely delicious as well as the ale that I had.
After the pub, we walked around the outside of London Tower, a merchant sailor monument, and finally London Bridge. Luckily, we grabbed a few pics before it started to rain. Booooooo. Set in my ways, I was determined to go to the Prime Meridian in Greenwich, so I convinced the others to head out there. Sadly, we once again had no idea where we were going (maybe Brittney was right with me having a hobby of getting lost). It did provide some good as we saw the former Royal Navy Academy that we otherwise wouldn't have seen. Of course, it started to pour down rain as we walked up the large hill to the Meridian, and of course, I wasn't wearing my jacket and had only a t-shirt on. Needless to say, I was freezing. I did get to hop between the Western and Eastern Hemispheres, though, as I had hoped. Whheeeeeee!!!
No, I'm not jigging, just hopping from one half of the globe to the other.
We walked back to the DLR station to head back to our hostel. I took a shower and then Zach, Steve, and I headed to Piccadilly Circus. We saw the lights of the Circus, and I attempted to take pictures. Too bad that none really turned out that well. Having never been to Times Square in NYC, I will still compare Piccadilly to it and say that Piccadilly was a miniature Times Square. The three of us, from here on out referred to as the Three Musketeers, walked around, got asked by bums for money numerous times, walked through Chinatown, and ended up at O'Neil's Irish Pub. The pub had a live band playing and was quite awesome, indeed. Perhaps even better than 9 Irish Brothers in West Lafayette, but I'm not sure I'm ready to go that far. The Three Musketeers (ok, this is stupid. I recant calling us the Three Musketeers.) headed to another club, Sound, after being offered free admission to the typical seven pound cover bar. Nevermind the fact that we followed a guy that worked there down a semi-sketchy alleyway to get there. The place was lame, so we left and caught a bus back to the hostel and slept.
Monday morning, we checked out of the hostel. David and Adam headed to the Tower of London to tour the inside. Zach, Steve, Jason, and I went to go up the London Eye. All of us grabbed lunch at McDonald's which had the most amazing hand dryers invented by the human race. The Dyson Airblade, check it out.
We then walked along much of the same path as Saturday past Trafalgar Square, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, and Parliament. I got my picture with the Abraham Lincoln statue near Westminster Abbey. It was neat considering that I am (distantly) related to Abe and because my father (miss you, Dad) was really big into our genealogy and our relationship with the sixteenth President.
We then headed to the Eye. The wait for tickets was longer than the wait for the Eye, a dramatic turn from the approximately two hour wait for the Eye on Saturday. Going up on the Eye provided a great view of the city. It was so high, in fact, that I got a bit nervous being on it. I have a very slight fear of heights, so I didn't walk around our pod a ton. The only problem with our "flight" on the Eye was that my camera began to die half way up the Eye. I had to ration my battery space the rest of the day, snapping pictures as soon as my camera would turn on.
The rest of the day we did a little more walking around i.e. past Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and Millennium Bridge, took a short nap by Bank Station, saw the Bank of England Museum, tried to see Robin Hood at the cinema, didn't go because it was expensive, and watched the sunset by Parliament. Eventually, we headed to the airport and attempted to sleep there.
We were awoken around 4 a.m. by the shopkeeper of the store that we were sleeping in front of. Grumpy and tired, we stood in line and checked in to our 7 a.m. flight. After waiting around for seemingly the same time as the next Haley's Comet, we boarded the plane and came back to Karlsruhe. I had a more than a slight scare when I couldn't find my passport after boarding the bus. After looking through the airport and my bag (it was stuck in a book), I found my passport and got back on the bus This was, of course, after me freaking out about having to do a ton of paperwork and going to the Munich U.S. Consulate to get another passport. Luckily, I was spared that ordeal.
The rest of Tuesday I slept. Today, I worked on my design project again then went to a restaurant with German GEARE students that just got back and ones that will go to Purdue this coming spring. It was a good time, though I apologize if it hampered my typing. ;)
Anywho, until next time, Alles Gute.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
I was waiting for a crosstown train in the London Underground
'ello, chaps and chappettes.
I'm back from London, and after my five hour nap, I'm ready to talk about the excursion of Steve, Zach, Adam, David, and me.
This weekend's trip began with catching a tram from Karlsruhe to Baden-Baden. All six of us, except Jason who was still in the shower, left the ID to catch our 5:27 p.m. tram at about 5:20 p.m. We were more than a little surprised when we saw our tram pulling into the stop at 5:21 with us being a block and a half away. One frantic sprint later, we were on the tram to Baden-Baden...or so we thought. About halfway to Karlsruhe Hauptbahnhof, Zach realized that he didn't have his boarding pass. He got off at the next stop and headed back to the ID. At least Jason would have someone to go with to Baden-Baden.
Well, we would have went on different trains if the one we were on didn't have to be serviced at the bahnhof. It turns out that the tram we ran so frantically after wasn't the one we wanted to get on since this one was stopping before Baden-Baden. Ours was actually running a bit late since Jason and Zach were still able to catch it near the ID at about 5:30 p.m. The other four of us hopped on at the bahnhof.
Finally arriving in Baden-Baden, we went and got our bus to the Baden Airpark which was a ways away. The bus took us on a nice little tour of Baden-Baden which seemed like a fairly nice town, though there wasn't anything special about it. We did like it so much though that we saw it twice. Disregard the fact that the reason we saw the town twice was because we took the bus in the wrong direction. Sigh.
We arrived at the airport about two hours before our flight and killed time until we could check-in. After seeing that Ryanair uses the same people for both the check-in desk and the boarding gate at Karlsruhe-Baden, I kind of see why the flight was so cheap. I'm kind of surprised the two ladies at the gate didn't fly the plane as well.
The flight went well, though our landing was a bit rougher than one would like. We went through passport control and made our way to the airport shuttle ticket office. At the desk, David apparently forgot that we didn't need to speak in German since he paused and thought about what to say at the desk. After about an eight second pause, he realized that, well, London isn't in Germany and that he could speak English. The shuttle took us to Liverpool Street Station in Central London. From there, we had to take two Tube (subway) trains to our hostel. Thankfully, our shuttle wasn't late because we caught the last two trains that we could have. We checked-in at the hostel, grabbed some food at McDonalds, some chat with the staff in the common room/pub, and attempted to sleep in the fairly hot room.
Awakened by the burning hot sun coming directly into my bunk from the eastern window of the room, I ate some breakfast and got ready for Saturday's shenanigans. We started out at Trafalgar Square, which gave some nice pictures.
Big Ben isn't really that big
We continued walking around, possibly being followed by the aforementioned old English guy (we saw him everywhere). Near the London Eye, there were a lot of street performers. There were two awesome groups. One was a group of guys that, from their looks and accents, I'll venture to guess were from Africa. They did everything from juggling to acrobatics to being super flexible. One guy was able to wrap both legs around the back of his head and walk around on his hands. After numerous little kids failed at doing so, I got the chance to punt a soccer ball at another one of the performers. He caught it on a stick he was holding in his mouth. Very cool. The other awesome group of performers were break dancers including one guy who could do the robot better than Johnny 5.
After heading back to the hostel for a bit, Jason and I went to a pub, ate, had a couple of nice English brews, and watched the FA Cup. The pub was just how I hoped it would be with fans from both teams cheering and jeering and the food being great (my giant cheeseburger was absolutely delicious). In another location, Steve and Zach watched as they lost their 10 pound bets on Portsmouth winning. Tough luck, guys.
We then attempted to go to a museum which ended up being closed and met up with Adam's fellow Purdue cheerleader, Liz. Liz and several other Purdue management students are in London right now for Maymester. We hung out at their flat for a while then walked around looking for a pub. After walking around for a long time, we finally found one. Too bad that it closed within fifteen minutes. We then walked around for a bit longer, took Liz back to her flat, and took a taxi back to the hostel. I may have peed a little on the taxi ride considering all the weaves, turns, and close calls we had. A drink at the hostel's pub, a conversation with a lovely Irish girl by the name of Emma, and a poor night of sleep due to a group of rowdy, punk English teens ended my Saturday in London.
Tomorrow, I'll try to update on the events of Sunday, Monday, and early today.
Until then, Alles Gute.
I'm back from London, and after my five hour nap, I'm ready to talk about the excursion of Steve, Zach, Adam, David, and me.
This weekend's trip began with catching a tram from Karlsruhe to Baden-Baden. All six of us, except Jason who was still in the shower, left the ID to catch our 5:27 p.m. tram at about 5:20 p.m. We were more than a little surprised when we saw our tram pulling into the stop at 5:21 with us being a block and a half away. One frantic sprint later, we were on the tram to Baden-Baden...or so we thought. About halfway to Karlsruhe Hauptbahnhof, Zach realized that he didn't have his boarding pass. He got off at the next stop and headed back to the ID. At least Jason would have someone to go with to Baden-Baden.
Well, we would have went on different trains if the one we were on didn't have to be serviced at the bahnhof. It turns out that the tram we ran so frantically after wasn't the one we wanted to get on since this one was stopping before Baden-Baden. Ours was actually running a bit late since Jason and Zach were still able to catch it near the ID at about 5:30 p.m. The other four of us hopped on at the bahnhof.
Finally arriving in Baden-Baden, we went and got our bus to the Baden Airpark which was a ways away. The bus took us on a nice little tour of Baden-Baden which seemed like a fairly nice town, though there wasn't anything special about it. We did like it so much though that we saw it twice. Disregard the fact that the reason we saw the town twice was because we took the bus in the wrong direction. Sigh.
We arrived at the airport about two hours before our flight and killed time until we could check-in. After seeing that Ryanair uses the same people for both the check-in desk and the boarding gate at Karlsruhe-Baden, I kind of see why the flight was so cheap. I'm kind of surprised the two ladies at the gate didn't fly the plane as well.
The flight went well, though our landing was a bit rougher than one would like. We went through passport control and made our way to the airport shuttle ticket office. At the desk, David apparently forgot that we didn't need to speak in German since he paused and thought about what to say at the desk. After about an eight second pause, he realized that, well, London isn't in Germany and that he could speak English. The shuttle took us to Liverpool Street Station in Central London. From there, we had to take two Tube (subway) trains to our hostel. Thankfully, our shuttle wasn't late because we caught the last two trains that we could have. We checked-in at the hostel, grabbed some food at McDonalds, some chat with the staff in the common room/pub, and attempted to sleep in the fairly hot room.
Awakened by the burning hot sun coming directly into my bunk from the eastern window of the room, I ate some breakfast and got ready for Saturday's shenanigans. We started out at Trafalgar Square, which gave some nice pictures.
Jason and I snapping pictures at each other in Trafalgar Square
Towards Big Ben from Trafalgar Square
We then went to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. It's too bad that we, apparently, stood on the wrong side since we could barely see anything. Oh well. After some wandering through London, talking to some old English guy about American soldiers, and plenty of picture taking, we headed towards Parliament and Big Ben.
Big Ben isn't really that big
We continued walking around, possibly being followed by the aforementioned old English guy (we saw him everywhere). Near the London Eye, there were a lot of street performers. There were two awesome groups. One was a group of guys that, from their looks and accents, I'll venture to guess were from Africa. They did everything from juggling to acrobatics to being super flexible. One guy was able to wrap both legs around the back of his head and walk around on his hands. After numerous little kids failed at doing so, I got the chance to punt a soccer ball at another one of the performers. He caught it on a stick he was holding in his mouth. Very cool. The other awesome group of performers were break dancers including one guy who could do the robot better than Johnny 5.
After heading back to the hostel for a bit, Jason and I went to a pub, ate, had a couple of nice English brews, and watched the FA Cup. The pub was just how I hoped it would be with fans from both teams cheering and jeering and the food being great (my giant cheeseburger was absolutely delicious). In another location, Steve and Zach watched as they lost their 10 pound bets on Portsmouth winning. Tough luck, guys.
We then attempted to go to a museum which ended up being closed and met up with Adam's fellow Purdue cheerleader, Liz. Liz and several other Purdue management students are in London right now for Maymester. We hung out at their flat for a while then walked around looking for a pub. After walking around for a long time, we finally found one. Too bad that it closed within fifteen minutes. We then walked around for a bit longer, took Liz back to her flat, and took a taxi back to the hostel. I may have peed a little on the taxi ride considering all the weaves, turns, and close calls we had. A drink at the hostel's pub, a conversation with a lovely Irish girl by the name of Emma, and a poor night of sleep due to a group of rowdy, punk English teens ended my Saturday in London.
Tomorrow, I'll try to update on the events of Sunday, Monday, and early today.
Until then, Alles Gute.
Friday, May 14, 2010
London Calling
Leaving for London in T-minus 8 hours. I can't remember if I mentioned this in an earlier post, but the tickets cost 22 euro round-trip. Yes, that is awesome.
What's not awesome is the fact that we have to catch a tram to Baden-Baden at 5:30 p.m. Germany seems to have a thing for saying that an airport is in one city (in this case, Karlsruhe-Baden Airport) when it is really about an hour away in another city (Baden-Baden). Luckily, the Karlsruhe tramlines go to Baden-Baden, so it's free since the wonderful city of Karlsruhe gave me a one semester KVV tram pass.
We're staying in the Journeys London Bridge hostel for three nights and London Stansted Airport the fourth night. The pub in our hostel was actually in a couple of Guy Ritchie films, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. I've only seen the former (watched it last night), but we'll see how closely the pub looks to as it did in 1998.
We plan to do the usual tourist-y things in London like visit Parliament and Big Ben, but for the most part, we don't have things planned. We'll see how it turns out.
I'm not taking my computer with me, so chances are that I won't update until Tuesday or so.
Until then, Alles Gute.
What's not awesome is the fact that we have to catch a tram to Baden-Baden at 5:30 p.m. Germany seems to have a thing for saying that an airport is in one city (in this case, Karlsruhe-Baden Airport) when it is really about an hour away in another city (Baden-Baden). Luckily, the Karlsruhe tramlines go to Baden-Baden, so it's free since the wonderful city of Karlsruhe gave me a one semester KVV tram pass.
We're staying in the Journeys London Bridge hostel for three nights and London Stansted Airport the fourth night. The pub in our hostel was actually in a couple of Guy Ritchie films, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. I've only seen the former (watched it last night), but we'll see how closely the pub looks to as it did in 1998.
We plan to do the usual tourist-y things in London like visit Parliament and Big Ben, but for the most part, we don't have things planned. We'll see how it turns out.
I'm not taking my computer with me, so chances are that I won't update until Tuesday or so.
Until then, Alles Gute.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Stras...Bourg, Bourg!
Yesterday, I made my first foray out of the Fatherland to go to Strasbourg, France. I was originally going to go with Dev and Andreu, whose train left at 8 a.m. I woke up but didn't have time to get in the shower, so I just waited to go with Adam and David.
After taking the slow tram to the train station, we were pressed for time before our 9:30 train and ran to the ticket machine. We struggled a bit trying to figure out the TGV reservations and couldn't book them before the booking window closed, so we were forced to take the slightly later and much slower regional trains. Our one minute lateness in booking the TGV resulted in an hour and 20 minutes lateness for Strasbourg.
The train ride to Strasbourg included two transfers, the second of which wasn't known to us or on our ticket. Luckily, a conductor came on and told everyone to switch trains, so we weren't stuck in Wissembourg, France. As soon as we crossed the border into France, I could almost feel like we were in France, though the signs in French helped that feeling.
After two hours on the train, Adam, David, and I finally arrived in Strasbourg. We searched around the train station for, oh, fifteen minutes before finding a city map. We plotted our journey and began our walk through the city.
Highlights of the day included:
-The amazing architecture and layout of Strasbourg - I took over 100 pictures (check the photo album)
-Having my first truly French quiche Lorraine
-Using my high school French for the first time in three/four years (Thanks, Mrs. Murdock!)
-Visiting two cathedrals, St. Thomas and the Strasbourg Cathedral
-Seeing a Charlie Chaplin mime
-Watching tens of street performers that were awesome
-Walking the canal system
-Taking an hour-long nap in front of the Gare Centrale
The Strasbourg Cathedral was particularly moving with its candles, statues, and sheer immenseness. As of right now, Strasbourg may be my favorite city.
Before ending this post, I'd like to wish my wonderful mother, Carla Lincoln, a happy Mother's Day. I'm sorry that I'm not there this year, but I hope our Skype conversations and pictures will ease your missing of your favorite child...
(in Germany).
Until next time, Alles Gute.
After taking the slow tram to the train station, we were pressed for time before our 9:30 train and ran to the ticket machine. We struggled a bit trying to figure out the TGV reservations and couldn't book them before the booking window closed, so we were forced to take the slightly later and much slower regional trains. Our one minute lateness in booking the TGV resulted in an hour and 20 minutes lateness for Strasbourg.
The train ride to Strasbourg included two transfers, the second of which wasn't known to us or on our ticket. Luckily, a conductor came on and told everyone to switch trains, so we weren't stuck in Wissembourg, France. As soon as we crossed the border into France, I could almost feel like we were in France, though the signs in French helped that feeling.
After two hours on the train, Adam, David, and I finally arrived in Strasbourg. We searched around the train station for, oh, fifteen minutes before finding a city map. We plotted our journey and began our walk through the city.
Highlights of the day included:
-The amazing architecture and layout of Strasbourg - I took over 100 pictures (check the photo album)
-Having my first truly French quiche Lorraine
-Using my high school French for the first time in three/four years (Thanks, Mrs. Murdock!)
-Visiting two cathedrals, St. Thomas and the Strasbourg Cathedral
-Seeing a Charlie Chaplin mime
-Watching tens of street performers that were awesome
-Walking the canal system
-Taking an hour-long nap in front of the Gare Centrale
The Strasbourg Cathedral was particularly moving with its candles, statues, and sheer immenseness. As of right now, Strasbourg may be my favorite city.
Before ending this post, I'd like to wish my wonderful mother, Carla Lincoln, a happy Mother's Day. I'm sorry that I'm not there this year, but I hope our Skype conversations and pictures will ease your missing of your favorite child...
(in Germany).
Until next time, Alles Gute.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Back to Stuttgart
This past week included playing soccer, watching soccer, hanging out, and having a send off party of sorts for a Spanish friend of mine that was moving back to Valencia. It did not include any work in the slightest. Sure, I went to class, but with my MKL group not meeting this week, I didn't really do anything productive.
After what may have been my laziest week as a college student, we decided to go to Stuttgart to attempt to go to the Stuttgart game versus Mainz yesterday. I apparently slept through/turned off two alarms because Steve and Zach walked into my room at 11, the time we said we were going to leave. I, of course, was still asleep. A few muttered curse words and putting on a pair of pants later, we were on our way to the train station. We missed the train we originally planned on taking, but luckily, there was another train that we didn't know about leaving soon.
After arriving in Stuttgart, we made our way to the stadium. A good tip for someone who is in a new place is to profile people. Now, I'm not saying that this is a good practice for airport security officials, but it's a lot easier to find the right train to the soccer stadium if you follow the people with soccer jerseys. Just sayin'.
We arrived at Mercedes-Benz Arena about two hours before kickoff and went to the ticket booth. Unfortunately, but not unexpectedly, they were sold out. Well, at least they were sold out for "home" fans. The guy working in the ticket booth said that we could try Kasse 5 which was "somewhere in that direction" to try and buy away fan tickets.
A common practice in several European countries is for soccer stadiums to be built in such a way that large groups of home supporters and visiting supporters never come in contact immediately before, during, or after a game. Considering the usual drunken belligerence of some sports fans, this separation is a good idea. The downside is just how out of the way visiting supporters must go to arrive at the stadium. We walked past the west end of the stadium then, per the signs, began verging more and more west and north of the stadium. I suggested that perhaps "Kasse 5" is code for "walking back to Mainz". Luckily, the path twisted more "stadium-ward".
Having made it through Daedulus' labyrinth, slaying the Minotaur, and seeing enough police to feel more than a little nervous, we finally arrived at Kasse 5. The tickets were fairly cheap at 23 euros. The food was also cheap as I had a delicious brat for about 3 bucks. We ate then made our way into the actual stadium. It was the usual security entrance like in the States with a quick pat down and an "On your way". Well, it would have been if I hadn't forgotten that I strapped my camera to my belt like a holster. Since my shirt was covering it, I was a bit confused when the security guard kept patting my side. As you can probably tell by me updating, I was able to assure him that I, in fact, had a camera and not a 9mm.
We found our seats about an hour before kickoff. The stadium was still pretty empty. A solo Stuttgart fan braved the odds and sat next to us in the away section. As kickoff drew closer and more people arrived, the atmosphere became electric. About 15 minutes before kickoff, the stadium burst into "You'll Never Walk Alone". I've been in Mackey Arena during big games with an amazing atmosphere, but the supporters of VfB Stuttgart definitely top that.
The game was good and ended in a 2-2 draw. I must say, though, it was a bit awkward to cheer and celebrate goals in the away section as I was more so pulling for Stuttgart. Mainz scored twice at first, so we'd stand up and clap then. We couldn't really do too much of that when Stuttgart scored twice to even things up.
All in all, I had a great time, and the other guys (Zach, Steve, and Andreu) did, too. It's too bad that it's already the end of the season. I'd love to regularly go to games. I think my Boilers will suffice (JJ, please stay!).
Until next time, Alles Gute.
After what may have been my laziest week as a college student, we decided to go to Stuttgart to attempt to go to the Stuttgart game versus Mainz yesterday. I apparently slept through/turned off two alarms because Steve and Zach walked into my room at 11, the time we said we were going to leave. I, of course, was still asleep. A few muttered curse words and putting on a pair of pants later, we were on our way to the train station. We missed the train we originally planned on taking, but luckily, there was another train that we didn't know about leaving soon.
After arriving in Stuttgart, we made our way to the stadium. A good tip for someone who is in a new place is to profile people. Now, I'm not saying that this is a good practice for airport security officials, but it's a lot easier to find the right train to the soccer stadium if you follow the people with soccer jerseys. Just sayin'.
We arrived at Mercedes-Benz Arena about two hours before kickoff and went to the ticket booth. Unfortunately, but not unexpectedly, they were sold out. Well, at least they were sold out for "home" fans. The guy working in the ticket booth said that we could try Kasse 5 which was "somewhere in that direction" to try and buy away fan tickets.
A common practice in several European countries is for soccer stadiums to be built in such a way that large groups of home supporters and visiting supporters never come in contact immediately before, during, or after a game. Considering the usual drunken belligerence of some sports fans, this separation is a good idea. The downside is just how out of the way visiting supporters must go to arrive at the stadium. We walked past the west end of the stadium then, per the signs, began verging more and more west and north of the stadium. I suggested that perhaps "Kasse 5" is code for "walking back to Mainz". Luckily, the path twisted more "stadium-ward".
Having made it through Daedulus' labyrinth, slaying the Minotaur, and seeing enough police to feel more than a little nervous, we finally arrived at Kasse 5. The tickets were fairly cheap at 23 euros. The food was also cheap as I had a delicious brat for about 3 bucks. We ate then made our way into the actual stadium. It was the usual security entrance like in the States with a quick pat down and an "On your way". Well, it would have been if I hadn't forgotten that I strapped my camera to my belt like a holster. Since my shirt was covering it, I was a bit confused when the security guard kept patting my side. As you can probably tell by me updating, I was able to assure him that I, in fact, had a camera and not a 9mm.
We found our seats about an hour before kickoff. The stadium was still pretty empty. A solo Stuttgart fan braved the odds and sat next to us in the away section. As kickoff drew closer and more people arrived, the atmosphere became electric. About 15 minutes before kickoff, the stadium burst into "You'll Never Walk Alone". I've been in Mackey Arena during big games with an amazing atmosphere, but the supporters of VfB Stuttgart definitely top that.
Yes, that is barbwire around the away section
All in all, I had a great time, and the other guys (Zach, Steve, and Andreu) did, too. It's too bad that it's already the end of the season. I'd love to regularly go to games. I think my Boilers will suffice (JJ, please stay!).
Until next time, Alles Gute.
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