This blog will be in three parts, there's so much to write about I was astounded as the memories came flooding back. Yes, we were silly, yes we took risks, but most of all memorable times were had by us all and its the hope of this blog to tell the story of those 3 days in 2006.
The tickets were obtained from various sources and our only dilemma was how were we to get to the match. After various searches on low cost airlines, we decided that an Easy Jet flight from East Midlands to Prague was the best option, fly in on the evening before the match, hire a car, set off for the match in Germany early the next day.Our first night was to be in the Comfort Inn, on the outskirts of the city, aptly named it was to prove, but a more detailed explanation later. We had booked into a small hotel in Amberg, about a 40 minute train journey from Nuremberg, for our 2nd night and our final night was to be in a city centre hotel of a better quality, back in Prague, which would allow us to take in the various attractions and sights.
The first part of the journey, to Amberg, was scheduled to take about two hours, but the best laid plans of mice and men can go astray.
The whole party thought that as this was most likely to be a once in a lifetime experience, so what the heck, lets go out there for 3 nights and let it rip, take in the match and have a good jaunt around Southern Germany and Prague.
Lets introduce the main players in what was to be an epic encounter with the wilds of the Czech Republic, the World Cup experience and the city of Prague in particular.
Terry Weatherley, the leader, his two sons Ben and Ian and bringing up the rear, and Bill , cousin to Terry and the man who's contacts had secured the all important tickets.
The leader and you can see why !!
The sensitive one.
The special one.
The dangerous one.
THE FIRST NIGHT
Flying into the main city airport that evening was an enjoyable experience. The airport is new and modern and seems well run and efficient.
Picking up our hire car through Eurocar was a breeze, even if our English humour flew straight over the head of the representative, but it was perhaps the end of a long day for him, but some of our quips were very witty and we were excited about the prospects of our trip.
With Ben and Ian shunted into the back of our new Astra and press ganged into being our navigators we attempted to locate our hotel. To be fair to them they guided us, more or less, straight to the hotel.
On first impressions and with the benefit of darkness, the hotel appeared to be o.k. The reception was clean and bright and the staff were helpful and allocated the key to our room quickly.
Now the room was laid out in a strange way, 1 double bed and two singles sited in a strange way. The first thing that anyone does in a strange hotel room is check out if the television works. If it does, what's on . At first glance the entire output was either game shows, or soft porn channels. We opted for the games shows while we settled down for a few hours sleep. The time was 1 o'clock in the morning and an early start did beckon.
The excitement of the impending trip seemed to have sparked up the older members of the party, while the two younger members seemed to crash out immediately. Anyhow, at 4.30 am, I seemed to awake completely refreshed and ready for a little bit of filming. The two boys were less enthusiastic at my actions and the language was shocking. One thing that must be mentioned were the curtains in our room that seemed to have a life of their own. A large window was barely covered by 3 separate curtains and they appeared to be secured by flimsy fittings, but they did a job and provided us with a modicum of privacy. It needed to be as one of our party seemed to have suffered an accident on their side of the bed , thank God we would not be returning to the hotel.
a little accident, but its a normal occurrence for one of our party.
Dawn broke and what a view greeted us, eastern Europe can have its charm, but the back of the hotel certainly looked more like a scene from a Kafka movie set.
The plan was to drive to the border with Germany and continue to Amberg, check in at the hotel and catch the train to Nuremberg to take in the match. At the most a 2 hour drive, mostly on the motorway and trouble free and idiot proof. How wrong this assumption was to turn out, but as always, we met adversity with humour and once more we were rewarded with great times and memories.
After a typical European breakfast, cold meats and bits of bread etc, we set off on our epic journey.
We were aided on our journey by various items, most notably the megaphone. So much fun was to be had with this object during our travels, that to have not had its presence with us would have been a shame. So off we went, let the good times roll.
Megaphone test 7.30 am, come on wake up everyone !!
The driving of the car was to be shared by myself and Bill, both experienced drivers in Europe and much less liable to panic and over react. Ben and Ian were to act as joint navigators and this was where the plan began to unravel.
All smiles at the start from the back seat drivers.
We headed out of Prague quite easily and travelled along the motorway towards the border crossing at Rozvadov. We were making good time when a sign indicating road works appeared. Bill, who was driving, ask " left, or right ", the answer from the back was left. To me as co pilot this seemed wrong, so at the last minute I counter ordered with the words " right". As we veered off to the right it soon became clear that this decision was wrong and that to return to the motorway would take a major detour through the Czech countryside.
Tempers bubbled over and words were exchanged and to be honest parental control, for a few minutes, was lost, but then regained through a mixture of reasoned arguments and threats.
After studying the map intensely, a plan and route was formulated which had, as our goal, the small town of Stod as the focal point. Once we reached this town it was a 2km drive to a motorway access point.
the picturesque town of Stod.
Stod had been annexed in 1938 by the Nazi's as part of the Sudetenland and it was perhaps insensitive for me to use the megaphone to proclaim throughout the countryside that " attention you are now under the protection and control of the Third Reich ", but never mind only a few people seemed to understand English.
Many people we encountered, but none could compare to the two farm labourers riding on the back of a trailer who had an uncanny appearance to the Chuckle Brothers. When asked, over the megaphone, in German, as we slowly drove passed, if they had any condoms, the look on their faces was priceless. Silly and stupid I know, but it was so funny.
At last we reached Stod, the route had been mainly on class b and c roads, but we had seen parts of the Czech Republic that most tourists would never see. It had cost us about 45 minutes, but on reflection all of us confirmed it had been worth it. We rejoined the motorway network after a brief stop at a motorway service area. This allowed for a change of driver, a stock up with refreshments and a quick look at the hard core porn openly on sale in the shop, very liberal!!
Grim faced, jaw set, and hurt by the abuse, Terry resumes control of the situation.
Driving towards the border was a straight forward task and with spirits high and a quite giddy feel to the cars atmosphere we played various football related games and music. The CD blasted out the theme to the Great Escape as we approached the impressive crossing point. No queues were in evidence so I selected a lane and slowed down as a burly border guard, waving his arm in a slightly comic fashion, indicated where he wanted me to pull up. Now let me explain one thing, at that time I owned an automatic car and forgot to dip the clutch to disengage the engine. The consequence was a juddering halt right in front of the shocked border guard who shook his head in disbelief.
Achtung out of the car please !!!!
The guards checked our passports , ran a check on the computer to see if we showed up as football hooligans. Nothing was found and after a cursory car search they waved us through and with a shake of their heads and mutterings of "" stupid Englanders "" they goose-stepped back to their office.
The rolling hills of Southern Germany stretched out in front of us in a wonderful vista.......mmm good tank country was declared as we drove to our 2nd nights accommodation.......Look out Nuremberg the boys are on there way.
In Part 2 .......... the match and one of the prettiest towns in Germany.........
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