Glory Glory Man United!

I’m writing this note on the bus ride home from Manchester. My intentions for the trip were to see Manchester United play against Arsenal in their FA Cup tie. I left for Manchester from London at 8am on Saturday morning and arrived in Manchester around 2pm. After arriving at my hostel, I dropped off my things and headed to Old Trafford. I got to the stadium with lots of time, which was good because the streets were packed. Imagine 76,000 people walking down a narrow 2 lane road. I purchased an away Man United kit, with Rooney’s name on the back. Rooooooooney! Also, I bought another scarf, which puts my scarf collection at 7. It’ll be 8 after Thursday, when I see Tottenham play Slavia Prague.

Now, I didn’t have the greatest tickets for the fixture, but once I got into the stadium, I realized there really is no bad seat. While I was very high up, I had an excellent vantage point and could really watch the play develop. Being able to see the runs players were making was such a cool experience and made me want to go play football right away. The game was the best I’ve been to yet, as Manchester United won 4-0! Against Arsenal, one of their biggest rivals. The fact that it was also a cup match made the victory even sweeter. Thankfully, I was able to see Rooney play, who was coming off injury. He welcomed me to the stadium by scoring the game winner. I was so excited when he scored, I jumped up off my seat and nearly fell down into the row below me.

My favourite part was when there was more than 30 minutes left to play and Arsenal fans started leaving the stadium. Manchester United fans took the opportunity to tauntingly say goodbye with the cheer: Cheerio! Cheerio! Cheerioooooooooooo! Cheerio! Cheerio! Cheerioooooooooooo! So British, it’s amazing! The only bad part was that I was unable to see Ronaldo or Giggs play, but it’s alright. Being able to watch players like Rooney, Scholes, Ferdinand, Vidic, Nani and so many more made it an unbelievable experience.

When I arrived back at the hostel, I didn’t have any plans and envisioned myself just taking it easy, but thankfully this didn’t happen. Some people arrived in the room I was staying and after quickly making friends, we all went out for dinner and followed it with some Manchester nightlife. As a precursor, remember this link? It is shockingly truthful. We went to three different bars and I had to bite my tongue to prevent laughing out loud at the people. I had one dumb moment when I unzipped my sweater, which revealed my Manchester United jersey underneath. Two minutes later the bouncer motions for me to zip up my sweater. It quickly dawns on me that I’m drinking in a Manchester City bar. Smooth Scott, very smooth. We finally did find a good club, which had some crazy good techno/trance/unknown music.

The next day, we again headed to Old Trafford and were able to take the Stadium tour. It was very cool, as we went all of the places the players are, except for the pitch. Despite repeated warnings not to go on the field, I still almost did it. Alas, in the end, better judgement prevailed. I was able to sit in the chairs the players and Sir Alex Ferguson sit on the sidelines. Very comfortable. I was also able to sit in the team dressing room, notably where Rooney and Hargreaves sit. The dressing room was so normal. It was something that I would get dressed in. The room was surprisingly small, with each wall having a wooden bench and a hook for your jersey above it. Overall, it was very plain, but I guess it’s more important to discuss strategy than to be comfortable.

I had a great time in Manchester and despite rocky first impressions, I can’t wait to go back. I’m sure I will just to see Manchester United play again.

Cheers,
Scott

Bits and Pieces

Just a brief update into what’s new with me and what I’ll be doing in the future. On Monday, I went to another football fixture, this time between Arsenal FC and Blackburn Rovers. This game was at the brand new Emirates Stadium, which was very impressive. Unlike traditional stadiums that have a North/South/East/West stand, the seats at the Emirates blended into one another. The game was great as Arsenal scored twice, and despite some late Blackburn advances, held on for a 2-0 win.

On Wednesday, some bad news at work led to me and my team drinking at a pub at 3pm. There’s some real uncertainty right now, which really kills everyone’s drive and motivation to get work done. My boss noticed this and realized if no one is getting anything done, we might as well call it a day and try again tomorrow. After the pub and a quick power nap, the group of us in London went to a place called Absolute Ice Bar. It’s basically a freezer, where you drink. Appointments for 40 minute blocks are made and after paying 12 quid, and receiving your thermal jacket (with attached gloves), you enter the walk in freezer, grab your ice drink and proceed to photo-op. I had a fun time, but the place is just a novelty, obviously. I couldn’t see myself going back, unless friends from home really wanted to go. However, I would like to go to the Ice Hotel.

I’ve finally finished all of my travel bookings. I thought I was finished, but after putting my expenses together, I have realized that I have enough for another trip, while still leaving myself very comfortable for next term. The final list is as follows:

Feb 23-24: Renting a car to travel around South-east England (Cliffs of Dover, Brighton, Portsmouth, Southampton)
Mar 1-2: Belfast, Northern Ireland
Mar 8-9: BUFFER
Mar 15-16: Dublin, Ireland for St. Patty’s Day
Mar 21-24: Milan and Venice, Italy for the Easter Long Weekend
Mar 29-30: BUFFER
Apr 5-6: Munich, Germany
Apr 12-13: Krakow, Poland
Apr 19-20: Paris, France
Apr 26-28: BUFFER
May 3: Fly Home :D

Lots of traveling, but all within reason, I believe. I knocked out Turkey and Spain, in replace of Northern Ireland and Poland. I had such a good time in Scotland, I wanted to see the rest of the British Isles. As well, on one of my buffer weekends, I plan on hoping on a bus and heading to Cardiff, Wales. It’s only a 3 hour bus and apparently the city has cleaned up really nicely. For some reason, I don’t have a strong desire to go to Spain. I’m sure I’ll go one day and have a blast, but I didn’t want to go when I wasn’t excited to be there, as it could ruin a great country to visit. Definitely going there next time I’m back.

Anyways, I’m almost at Manchester, as I’m writing this post on the bus. The 6:30am wakeup call this morning was well worth it, as I’ll be at Old Trafford for the fixture today between Manchester United and Arsenal. I am sooooo excited and can’t believe that I actually am going. Photos to follow!

Cheers,
Scott

Trifecta Netherlands

It took me a bit longer to put this travel report up, but the constant travel and adventures I was having finally caught up with me. The past week, it seems as though i have been doing something every night, which is fun, but can become a bit tiring. However, when I found out I was coming to England, I had no intentions of staying home every night and not taking advantage of the opportunity.

Friday, February 8^th, I took a half day off work (for some reason) and hopped on a plane for a short trip to Amsterdam, Netherlands. I’ll admit, it was a bit strange landing in a foreign country during the day, as opposed to the night. A train and tram ride and we were at our hostel. Unfortunately, despite rave reviews, the hostel let a bit to be desired. First night, the hostel had some bad luck when a water pipe burst sending water into the bar and eliminated any chance of a shower the next day. One complimentary beer made me quickly forget about it. Second, the fact that our room was on the ground floor and that the Amsterdam transit authorities were building new subway stations, lead to one thing: Rats (Actually Mice, as I was quickly told by the barkeep). Luckily, I was the only one to see one and it was only for a brief instance as it stopped sniffing around my bag and darted for it’s home. Many beers made me quickly forget about it.

Three things exist in the Netherlands: Pot, Sex and Cheese & Clogs. The city tends to have a nice blanket of smoke over it and you don’t have to walk far to smell it. I did find it strange though that all coffee shops closed at 11pm-ish. I must say that Amsterdam cops are hilarious. Unintentionally hilarious. The fact that I could ask them openly about drugs and sex made for a completely difference experience with cops. After finding the Red Light District, thanks to the aforementioned cop, I walked around the area to see the sights. To be honest, it’s pretty tame. Sure, girls are in the window and you know what’s going on once their window’s curtains are closed, but it’s a pretty surreal environment. All the girls are completely covered and the streets are packed with men and women of all ages taking it in. The next day, I walked through the district again to see how different it is between night and day. Sure enough, girls were still in windows, curtains were still drawn, but this time local dutch folk walked past the area, as if it was nothing. After arriving home, I saw a newstory talking about how the Dutch parliament wants to reduce the size of the district. So, maybe I caught a dying act.

On the Saturday, we rented bikes and quickly joined in a culture that lives to bike. It’s incredible that nearly every single street has a dedicated bike lane. Everyone rides bikes, whether its families running errands, or businessmen, dressed in suits, on their way to work. The funniest thing about the bikes is the manner in which they “honk” at one another. Every bike has a small bell on it. When a biker wants to pass someone or tell pedestrians to get the hell out of the way, they ring their bell. We saw one case, where this was taken to the extreme. Biker A gets slowed down by biker B and C. To get them to move out of his way, A rings his bell. Startled, B and C make enough room for A to pass. However, B and C don’t like the manner in which he rang his bell and quickly catch up to A. Do they start hollering at him and shoving tire irons in his bike spokes? Of course not, it’s Amsterdam. B and C start ringing their bells incessantly at A. That’ll show him.

On my last day in Amsterdam, we travelled to a small town called Zaanse Schans. The town is famous for its windmills and sure enough, they had 6 of them. They were pretty cool to see, but at the same time, they’re just windmills. It reminded me of seeing 6 water towers, but a little more easy on the eyes. However, at this place, I finally crossed off the third part of my list, Cheese & Clogs. I sampled a number of delicious cheeses, saw how a clog is made, tried on a few pairs and found the coolest thing ever. A giant freaking clog. I want one of these in my front yard, when I’m older. A solid 15 minutes was spent taking pictures on this piece of awesomeness.

Heading back into the city, I wandered the streets for the rest of the afternoon. The weather was gorgeous and everyone was sitting on the cafe patio’s. Canals are everywhere and are truly a sight to see. Walking through the alleyways, I finally found my way to spend the rest of the afternoon, a Dutch pub showing the Manchester United game. Brilliant.

Looking back on the trip, I had a pretty good time. I had a tough time with this one, as upon first glance, I didn’t have the best time. However, looking back, the good times were more subtle, but still there. Amsterdam is a beautiful city and the people are great. Current ordering of best to least best: Scotland, Czech Republic/Netherlands (Tie).

Beautiful/Sketchy Czech Republic

On Friday, I took the day off work to go see a place, which I expected to be far different from anywhere else I had ever been. While I was correct in some aspects, the Czech Republic was surprisingly western and I felt very safe. We arrived in Prague at 10am, headed over to the hostel and quickly found ourselves in our first Czech restaurant. For the low low price of 90 Czech Koruna, which is about 5 CAD, I was able to have a big plate of Goulash, with a large pint of beer. Great start to the adventure as our stomaches were filled and we were off to hit the town.

The first day was spent seeing Prague Castle, Charles Bridge and the Old Town Square. The castle was pretty impressive, as it used to be where all of the Czech rulers lived. As well, the view from the castle looked out over the entire city, which made for quite the sight. The main touristy sights didn't really leave that big of an impact on me. I was more interested in all of the sculptures and detailing on seemingly every building.

Since England is not known for hockey, it has been near impossible to see any. We were even joking (maybe half-joking) about going to an English Elite League hockey game. However, our wishes were granted when we found out that one of the best Czech teams, HC Slavia Praha, was playing. We headed over to the stadium, which was quite the sight. The stadium has a capacity of 18,000, is brand new and will be hosting the New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightening next season. The game was pretty fast paced, but not quite as skillful as the NHL. Also, there was not a lot of hitting, which made it a bit boring near the end. Nonetheless, my hockey fix for the time being was satisfied.

Flying into the Czech Republic, I knew zero Czech - I couldn't even say hello! (Ahoy, for your knowledge) My struggles learning their language came to the surface at the hockey game when I went to order some food from the concession. As I queued, I noticed that the food options were 'hot dog' and 'kielbasa'. I chuckled to myself and thought `no problem, this should be easy`. When I got to the front, I simply said `Hot Dog` and motioned 1 with my hand. The pained, confused expression on the girl's face was not what I was hoping for. I repeated my request and she began looking around nervously for another cashier who spoke English. Finally, I put on my best Eastern European accent and said `Huut Duug`. She smiled and happily brought me a hot dog. Unbelievable.

That night, with the recommendations of the awesome hostel staff, we went to this club nearby called Mecca. Despite hearing everything is cheap in Prague, we were shocked to hear that a drink cost as much as it does in London and the cover charge was a staggering £10. Only later did we find out that the club was trying to be as American as possible. Their interpretation of American means gouge the customers as much as possible. This place was the exception though and we had no other problems at other clubs. Everywhere else had pints of beer for £0.75 and I even had a big liter of beer for £1.25.

After the club, I was introduced to a bit of the sketchiness which is Prague. Two of us decided that food was a must and went to hop on the tram to head to the downtown core, where the only restaurants were open. While waiting for a tram, a young Czech guy came up to us and started telling us this small party that was happening and how we should come. He lovingly described it as being able to see `A True Czech Underground Experience`. Considering there was about a 1% chance of this party not being a death trap, we politely declined.

Saturday was spent on a day trip to a place east of Prague called Kutna Hora. This place is famous for its bone church. Basically, this church was a memorial type thing and had the bones of 40,000 people. Some artist comes in and decides bone art would be a pretty cool medium. After carefully crafting a chandelier and Czech coat of arms, while aligning the walls with bones, his work was complete. The experience was in a word Creepy. It felt like death inside the church walls. Just looking at the chandelier made you shutter. If you'll look closely, you'll notice that the base of the structure is connected to the ceiling with jaw bones. Eerie...

Sunday was a relaxing day, as we had seen most of the touristy parts of Prague. The last thing on our list was to climb Petrin Tower, the highest point in the city to see the sun set. As we started walking towards the tower, we began to realize how far away and high it really is. By the time, we reached the top, we were getting pretty beat. However, the view was even better than that from Prague Castle, and was extraordinary since the sky was crystal clear. On the way down, we did a bit of unintentional mountain climbing as we went off the beaten path and settled into a nice Czech restaurant for our last meal. A quick taxi to the airport and we were back to London for another work week, only to repeat the process in a few days with Amsterdam.Na zdraví