- 28 May 08, 10:25 AM
I had my last taste of live football on Saturday before heading off to Austria and Switzerland for Euro 2008.
The occasion was the Championship play-off final at Wembley between Hull City and Bristol City, two clubs not normally associated with days like this.
People were dressed as Tigers, behaving as though they would be similarly attired on any given Saturday, while men in red chanted "cider, cider, cider" as if it was some mystical mantra from a lost age.
Every now and again the two sets of fans would find themselves chanting "City, City, City" at each other.
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As I sat in my seat taking this all in and broiling in the unexpected gaze of a piercing sun in the process, I could not help but wonder whether this was good preparation for what lies ahead.
In just over a week's time I will fly out to Basel (Or should that be Basle? Whatever, we'll resolve that issue later!) to cover the European Championships, endeavouring to document the colour, quirks and emotions of the biggest sporting show on Earth - World Cup and Olympics excepted - for the BBC's tournament blog.
I'm not exactly sure what to expect having not had the pleasure of visiting either of the host nations before, although words such as "organisation", "cleanliness", "picturesque" and "expensive" are randomly popping into my head with increasing frequency whenever I think of Austria or Switzerland.
I'd love to know if you have any suggestions of things I really should do or see during the tournament. Trying to out-drink German fans does not count, though attempts to negotiate a bobsleigh course - yep, I know it's summer - will definitely be considered.
As for the football, I hope that flair, technique and excitement are characteristics that will define matters on the pitch.
On Saturday it was a diet of determination, desperation and, all too often, long balls, that was served up as Hull ended their 104-year wait for top flight football.
Still, the sumptuous winning volley from Dean Windass was worthy of any occasion, though I doubt whether I will find myself watching too many 39-year-old former hod-carriers resplendent with beach-blond barnet at the Euros.
My wife celebrated with all the joyous enthusiasm of the casual supporter briefly turned serious by success. It sticks in the throat a little when I think about my own team, Preston North End, and their repeated play-off failures.
A season of gloating and, even worse, pity lies in store for me. Thankfully, there will be none of that during Euro 2008. Caroline will be back in London, tending our allotment, while I will be feasting on the best footballing fare Europe has to offer
I have no doubt, though, that as times ticks on, I will eventually start to yearn for the sight and taste of leeks, marrows, potatoes and broad beans, not to mention the wife herself.
As we left Wembley after watching Hull celebrate their famous victory, we made our way through the growing mountain of bottles, cans, burger wrappers and other assorted detritus that inevitably accompanies the big-match experience.
We then waited 30 minutes for a bus that proceeded to crawl along the roads of west London - here's hoping for a bit of European efficiency in Switzerland and Austria - before heading for a curry via a couple of drinks at our local.
Talk soon turned to my forthcoming trip. With Caroline adopting the label of "footballing widow", I listened abstractedly to her musings while the million and one things I need to sort out prior to departure raced through my mind with disarming regularity.
The clock is ticking, and computer cable adapters, railway timetables and missing hotel bookings are starting to penetrate my dreams
Roll on Switzerland - and don't forget those suggestions.
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My last taste of football was also the play-off final...
Propping up the bar, drinking pints of cider in my local (Irish) pub in Amsterdam :-)
Red Army! Red Army! Red Army!
Sadly, my old local (well, I lived in Ashton for 6 years) team didn't pull it off :-(
As far as the hosts...
Only thing I can remember about Zurich is cheap, very very cheap, booze at the airport :-D
Classy airport it is too :-)
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Hi Paul,
As a fellow Preston lad I always look forward to reading your blogs. Have a good tournament and keep up the good work!
Craig
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I can agree with that.. very cheap alcohol!
Scenery is beautiful.. far from your experiences in London, it a real treat!
As for the football, I dont hold out much hope, any football based in Austria or Switzerland has never been much good. But then again, this is Italy v France, not Rapid Vienna vs Basel
My tip to win it... Russia
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It's Basel, NOT Basle.
Basel is a German-speaking city, and thus should be referred to in the mother-tongue of its natives.
Having lived near Basel last year, it was incredibly irritating when anyone from back home asked me about Baaaaaaaal. The correct pronounciation is Bar-sul.
One amusing thing to be found in Switzerland is the name of the stadium in Bern - makes me chuckle every time!
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You've got to swim down the river in bern. randomn but a good experience.
oh yeah gotta love the Wankdorf...hehe
I lived in Bern for 5 years and all I can comment is that your summing up "organisation", "cleanliness",
"picturesque" is spot on!
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living in vienna, i cannot offer to much in the way of advise for things to do in "die schweiz" but you probably will never be too far from a yodeling course! i remember basel being a crazy place when Ireland played (badly) there twice. the airport has 3 exits - one for germany, one for france and one for the town.
having been to most of the host cities however, and with all due respect to them, vienna will steal the show. it is simply beautiful and your "O.C.P" summary will be seen no where more than here. the calm alpine states are beginning to realise that it is about to kick off - up to now the excitment has been muted. the best advise i can offer is plan the month (organisation) and get to see as many host cities as you can. enjoy the free trains and other public transport or morning walks before the fans wake up (cleanliness - i mean really really clean) and enjoy the foothills of the alps (picturesque) while travelling from die schweiz nach österreich.
apart from that:
yodeling
eating sausages
beer and wine
BRING the sun tan lotion (very hot)
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Eyup, mate...not seen you for a while? You want to have a word with the character who's comp-ed you into that Photoshop mess...I'll give him some design lessons.
Have to catch up with you after the Euros. I won't be (unlike yourself) feigning interest. Having a Dutch housemate, and appreciating (almost) everything Amsterdam, I may watch a couple of their games.
The real interest, as we both know, is in who's coming to North End? Nicholson looks a good 'un...makes me laugh that the Lashers' reject, Keigan Parker, reckons we wanted him but he opted for the Terriers. Don't make me laugh. Can't wait for Larry Grayson to take the Leicester job, Blackpool will be staring oblivion in the face next season.
Enjoy your jolly in the sun, mate. And to think you're getting paid for it, too? Scandalous...
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"Caroline", Fletch? Your wife isn't BBC Sport's own Cheesy... is it?
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I am currently living and working In Basel.
Just to add, the Language in Basel is mainly Swiss ( virtually the same spelling as German but it sounds totally different ) In fact you can ask a questions in German and not understand the response ( even native Germans will tell you this ! )
The Alchohol is not expensive in the supermarkets but the bars are a little ( mostly due to the weak pound )
The country is beautiful and the interesting thing about Basel is that you can virtually drive from France through Switzerland and into Germany in about 10 minuites.
Anyone coming here will enjoy !
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Live just over the German Border and a lot of fans are booking hotels/camp sites in Southern Germany and then travelling into Switzerland for the games - cheaper to live.
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Hi Fletch!
Having visited both those countries here's a couple of things you may want to do (or not!).
Swizterland: - Marvel at the fabulously coloured bank notes that put Monopoly money to shame.
- Play "spot the millionaire" it's supposed to have more per square mile than anywhere else in the world.
- Play giant chess (did this outside a youth hostel in Zurich once)
Austria: - go on a Sound of Music tour, by all accounts worth it if you're into singing nuns.
- visit Mozart's house
- drink Mozart liqueur
- eat Mozart chocolates (spot a theme here?!)
Anyways, have fun you jammy dodger.
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I'm in Basel right now, (everyone speaks Swiss-German and so pronounce it "Bazel".
Watch out for the really pretty women with flimsy handbags, Gucci shoes and designer dresses, yet tugging along monstrous snarling dogs which look like the things long outlawed in the UK. They're everwhere!
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"Bazel" sounds more like English than Swiss German. OneDaveBamber got it right "Bar-sul".
Well Fletch here is what I can tell you. Switzerland is cheaper than London.
Public transport is excellent and runs all night in and around Zurich on Fridays and Saturdays (probably it will be 7x24 nationwide during Euro2008)
Strongly recommend people to get either a General Abonnement or a half tax abonnement for train/tram/bus/boat if they are out here for a while (www.sbb.ch). Laze a day away on a boat trip on one of the lakes.
Bern and Zurich are superb. If you're in Bern on a sunny day hang out at Bärenplatz during the day. Plenty of good bars including cellar bars in the old town. Zurich - Niederdorf is really lively as is Langstrasse. Don't really know a great deal about Basel and Geneva.
I can recommend taking a trip up some of the local bumps. You can either do it the lazy way with a chairlift/cablecar, but it's more enjoyable to hike it. There's nearly always a restaurant at the top with a great panoramic view. Or take a journey up a big bump to see some snow.
Other recommendations - practically anywhere in Switzerland and the places just over the border in Germany/Austria/France/Italy(Como) are worth a visit.
For those who want cheap booze, supermarket booze is dirt cheap.
Have fun!
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ste the local wine.
Visit (free) the UN European HQ and see how big money is squandered on a permanent basis
Basle:
Take the ferry across the Rhine, powered by the current.
If you're an art buff, visit the Kunstmuseum, one of the best around.
Zürich:
Enjoy a spliff in the one the Niederdorf's cannabis cafés
Walk down the Bahnhofstrasse and experience what's it's like to be seriously rich.
Berne: The world's prettiest capital city. The locals are famous for being slow witted. Joke: What's this? Boom! (one minute pause) Boom! (one minute pause) Boom! (one minute pause). Answer: a Bernese machine gun.
Also, take a train to be reminded of how a real railway system should be run.
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The first part of my post disappeared!
Sorry to be pedantic but it's spelt BASLE in English.
Things to do in Switzerland:
Geneva: Swim in the lake at the Bains des Paquis in the centre. Cheap, good food and lots of crumpet
Open a numbered bank account (5-6 figure sum required)
Take the cablecar to the Mont Saleve and see the Alps (not for the fainthearted)
Taste the local wine.
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Many thanks for all the suggestions and information.
A couple, I dare suggest, would result in an immediate termination of my contract.
All the ones suggesting that I swim in various lakes or rivers - let us just say that trying out those may well result in the blog coming to a very premature end.
And as for Basel or Basle.......I'm going to ask a few of the locals when I get there what they think.
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Am I alone in being struck by absolute apathy about the forthcoming Euros? Much as I love my footy, a tournament without England just doesn’t cut the mustard for me. The last time we weren’t involved was 1984 in France and this then 14 year old lad didn’t watch a single match, perhaps to my detriment considering the heroics of the man who was to become head honcho at UEFA!
Then we had the World Cup in 94 but somehow World Cups are different, undeniably watchable regardless of who is and isn’t there.
But Euros? I’m not so sure.
I appreciate that this is old hat now but I am actually glad that we didn’t qualify for if we did we’d still have Steve McLaren at the helm and we’d be papering over the chasms rather than having Capello Inc in to do our rendering.
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Hello Friends from UK,
I am a real Swiss Man (well half real, to be honest) living in Lausanne and can't wait for the Euro 2008 to start. I'm sad not to see England here but I will consolate myself with Switzerland and France...
Just a few words about your comments regarding Basel... As you might know, Switzerland is divided in 3 main regions based on there language :
- French part :
Geneva, Lausanne, Fribourg, etc..
- German part (well it'sSwiss german - awfull sickness that I've contracted since my years at the college...)
Bern, Basel, Zürich, Luzern, etc..
- Italian part :
Lugano, Locarno, Bellinzona, etc..
So, when you are in Basle (english way of writting it), you pronounce Basel (Ba-zul)
If you are, like me, in Lausanne, you say Bâle (pronounce Bahl )...
If you'de like to stay and enjoy the beautifull lake Geneva side and the Alps view, come to Vevey (home of Nestlé Intl) or hang out in Lausanne to enjoy a booze at the local "Captain Cook" or "The Great Escape" (www.the-great.ch).
For any other comments, feel free to ask...
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Fellow North Ender here Paul, I have often read you in the LEP, but never actually managed to find your blog (until now)!
I personally love and hate the play offs, I think there is only Ipswich that has a worse play off record than us.
I think getting there is brilliant, but losing in the final is the most gut renching thing in football, I'm getting to the point were i would rather miss out all together than lose in the final again.
North End are actually having a traning camp in Austria, so maybe you could give Sir Alan of Irvine so tips when you get back.
I look forward to your blogs, and have a good trip.
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