After a week with the lads I was long overdue some downtime. 8 days of drinking had taken its toll. The purity of the German Beer means it is all too easy to go again and that’s exactly what we were doing. Looking at the map for somewhere to relax, I saw smack bang in between Frankfurt and Cologne was Koblenz, from there a small town up the river sounded just the ticket. Lahnstein it was then.
I jumped on the train alongside the River Rhine, the sun was nowhere to be seen but the river views and occasional castle made for a lovely journey as I pulled into Lahnstein station. A town nicknamed the ‘pot shitters’ due to their penchant for emptying their waste directly into the river, a tradition long gone now thankfully.
I settled in to my new place and barring a mandatory trip to Lidl, I didn’t leave the room for 2 days. Day 3 I popped out for a stroll in the sunshine. My injured foot restricted the distance so I dropped in to Maximillians for an incredible German meal of Haxenauflauf, bloody wonderful, washed down with a couple of their beers brewed on site.
The Perfect Afternoon
This place was one of those examples of Germany doing things so well, great food and beer brewed on site and a collection of Beach Volleyball courts keeping plenty of kids entertained.
A little sunbathe by the river and I was ready for my last beer of the day. That was until I got chatting to Franco, a really cool guy who I ended up sharing a few more beers with, a pleasant way to spend the afternoon and one of the joys of travelling alone.
Enough chilling out, there was only one reason I was still in Germany, back to the football. England vs Slovenia. Due to the expense of accommodation in Cologne the night before the game I opted to arrive on the day. My main mission of the afternoon was to catch up with my friends Barney and Andy and enjoy the vibes.
A problem for later
Job one was to drop the luggage at the station as I had no accommodation for that evening either, more on that later. With that sorted it was on to the centre to join the festivities. Always a great feeling catching up with old friends while hearing the England fans in full voice, sun shining down on us and most important of all, the beer was flowing.
Several hours on we headed into the stadium, details are a little patchy by this point, the perils of a 9 O’Clock kick off but spirits were very high and we were ready for a revitalised England to blow Slovenia away…well, there were plenty of calls for changes from Gareth after an underwhelming start to the tournament and his response was Conor Gallagher for Trent, this did little to inspire his doubters but let’s see.
The setting for the evening’s entertainment was the Rhein Ernergie Stadion, home of FC Köln who unfortunately had just suffered relegation to Bundesliga 2 meaning this division accounts for 5 of the 10 stadiums represented at Euro 2024.
Even worse than normal
A dour game ensued where my abiding memory will be the pain in my hands caused by what seemed like 30 minutes of clapping while singing the Great Escape, the only solution when things aren’t clicking on the pitch, get behind the lads regardless.
The XG of 0.9 to 0.22 says all you need to know about a drab 0-0. Not a great spectacle but other results went our way and we topped the group, something that Italy, Croatia, France, Netherlands and Belgium failed to achieve, yet the response from a few mindless England fans was to boo and throw cups at one of the greatest managers in our history. Thankfully most were just disappointed and clapped them off but in terms of connection we were a long way from the tears and emotions of 2018 in Russia.
Despite the result, the vibes were positive, the late finish meant there wasn’t time for much more than yet another delightful kebab and a couple more beers. As everyone else drifted back to their respective hotels it was time to address the lack of accommodation.
What to do?
One friend had left a tent out but this was by the stadium and I didn’t fancy the hour and a half walk back at 3am. So, off I went back to the riverfront where I recalled some grassy areas…..this’ll do. I’d seen earlier that the temperatures didn’t drop too low so there I was in my shorts and England shirt ready to bed down on the grass where it seemed a few others had a similar idea but better prepared in sleeping bags.
That idea was instantly scrapped as the ground had a little dew on it so I headed over to a comfy looking metal bench. Arms folded, eyes closed and off I popped. Well, that was for about half an hour until I woke up to a man stood over me, let’s just say he was behaving inappropriately to keep it palatable.
I declined his advances and needless to say I was unable to get back to sleep so drifted on through the peaceful empty streets towards the station passing the odd England fan straggling home. I made my way to the airport and snuck in 3 or 4 hours sleep on the floor while waiting for my bus, all part of the fun right.
The next morning, or same morning I guess, I headed down to meet a friend in the picturesque city of Würzburg, situated in the north of Bavaria. Seemingly the thing to do in this gorgeous little town centre is to drink wine on the Alte Mainbrücke, a stunning bridge spanning the Main River where construction had begun in the 15th century. And I can highly recommend this experience, at least while the weather holds out.
The perfect interlude
I took the chance of an aerial view of the city with a stroll up to Marienberg castle and later did the same on the other side of the city to enjoy a picnic in the vineyards with some of the local produce. Another perfect break from the football but duty calls and it was back on the bus to Cologne where the Kölsch was waiting for me to catch up with some friends.
Always a pleasure meeting up with Thiago who was tirelessly travelling up and down the country covering the tournament as a journalist, scooting around we passed some beautiful spots with everyone enjoying the open green spaces and also sampling another form of grass that had recently been made legal in Germany. Overall a really vibrant and happy place to spend an evening.
Morning meant gate-crashing a Scottish tour party. My TUFC teammate Conor was over with his pals so I joined them for some beers in the fanzone as we watched Switzerland outplay Italy before the place filled with Germans ahead of their second round game against Denmark. Not quite an electric atmosphere but the locals were happy to see their hosts advance after a rain delay despite a valiant effort from the Danes.
The rain also hit us in Cologne with an impressive lightning show which brought an earlier than planned end to proceedings, this time I took no chances and headed back to the hostel for a nice warm comfy bed with a drunken scooter ride home, maybe not the safest but a refreshing experience.
Game day
Next up was game day, I made my way to the station and jumped on the train back to the delightful Gelsenkirchen. With every station the train continued to fill with England fans. The main chat was again about the style of play and how we needed to step it up and mix up the line-up. Kobbie Mainoo coming in for Gallagher was a nice improvement on the previous game.
While my good pal Barney had gone home after the Slovenia game, his brother had taken his place so I was once again in good Casswell company. We met up at the Fankneipe Auf Schalke, a very authentic, traditional fan bar where the Schalke fans would gather before and after matches, a great spot that would make a visit back to Gelsenkirchen to see the local team a very worthwhile experience. We sunk a few beers and headed on to the stadium with a tram ride made all the more enjoyable with plenty of England songs.
Arena Auf Schalke or the Veltins Arena as it is also known was the home of today’s match, appropriately named given the sheer volume of Veltins we had got through in our earlier visit to the city. The 54,000 seater stadium was built in 2001 just ahead of the centenary of the club and is another that hosts Bundesliga 2 football after Schalke’s relegation in 22/23.
Let’s do this
We had perfect seats right behind the goal and right next to the bar, brilliant. The fans were in fine voice and was the best environment I’d seen inside the concourse. Everyone was ready for the big game but the players once again didn’t really respond. It wasn’t without warning when Slovakia’s star man Ivan Schranz put the underdogs ahead and that’s how it stayed until half time.
At the break, we bumped into some familiar faces including Big John who I’d crossed paths with at 2 previous World Cups, always an entertaining character. As we were still going over the poor first half and topping up our pint glasses we heard the roar and turned to the screens to see Phil Foden had put the ball passed the Martin Dubravka. Our delayed celebrations we’re stopped before they got going as the inevitable VAR check ruled it out, but at least we realised the game was back on.
As the second half progressed England didn’t ever seem to be overwhelming the Slovaks. Not too many clear cut chances and a seeming lack of urgency, continued frustration in the stands and at times vitriol aimed at our leader. As we stood in the aisles doing what we could to encourage even I was getting impatient with Gareth’s lack of desire to make changes but eventually substitutions were made.
Iceland vibes
A lovely Palace fan I’d met on the train earlier had said ‘I’m nervous, this has Iceland vibes about it today’. And by God after 94 and a half minutes with just 86 seconds on the clock it was hard to argue. It sure felt like it was going to be one of those awful days that we have suffered several times over the years.
BUT NO…… Not this time, this is a team of stars and world class players, full of grit and determination and a never say die spirit. And in one split second Jude Belligham combined all of those qualities to score a goal that will go down in England history. Who else!! Without even realising who had scored, my instant reaction was the Belligham arms wide celebration. Relief, euphoria, a huge combination of emotions that only sport can bring, one second later I was about 9 rows further down the stairs swimming amongst a sea of bodies, pure elation.
An incredible moment that will live with us forever. On the final whistle it was back to the concourse for a swift beer and a chance to let off some steam. We got carried away with our giddiness and lost track of time again, and shamefully I must admit that when another huge roar went up to signify Harry Kane scoring we were still just outside.
Oh well
But who cares, we were winning, an incredible 10 minutes left us singing our hearts out until the final whistle. Slovakia threw the kitchen sink at us and there were a couple of narrow escapes but England stood firm and held out for what will go down as an epic day in our history. As the great song goes, ‘How do we get there I don’t know, how do we get there I don’t care, all I know is England’s on their way’.
Oh how we’d have loved a simple, textbook 2-0 win but my God did that single moment make all the lacklustre football worth it. In 20 years no one will care or remember the performance, merely the joy and emotion that those moments bring.
We sang our hearts out all the way to the station via a stop for a couple of beers back at the Fankneipe Auf schalke before jumping on the train back to Cologne and letting it all sink in at what had just happened.
The cheapest flight home was via Dusseldorf so I spent an evening there watching France dispatch Belgium and back in the hostel I sat and observed the Ronaldo meltdown after his penalty miss amongst some lovely company. I hadn’t spent much time in hostels this trip but one interaction with an England fan reminded me how great they can be.
An inspiring reminder
We spoke for a couple of hours about the joys of travel, after some adversity he’d turned his life around and had been to over 100 countries and follows England everywhere in all sports, essentially an incredible inspiration for the life I’d like to lead. Sadly I was needed back at work and quite simply neither my pockets nor my body could afford another couple of weeks like the last three so the 6:45 flight home bought another tournament of watching my beloved team to a close…..well that was plan at least.