Herr Mike in Deutschland

In England and Germany there were some important cup games in the last couple of days and both Blackburn and Nuremberg won through. Rovers beat Arsenal 1-0 at Ewood Park with an unbelievable Benni McCarthy strike to head into the FA Cup quarter final against Man City.
Meanwhile, FCN beat Hannover on penalties to reach the semi final of the German Pokal (Cup).

To have a look at Benni's wondergoal please click on the link below:

http://www.youtube.com/Rovers FA Cup Super Strike

Following a fleeting visit home for my Grandad's funeral I am now back in Erlangen and back in the office. It was good to see my family briefly, especially those from Scotland and London who I see very rarely, it's just a shame that it was under such circumstances.

The funeral was a really nice tribute to a great man and who we will all miss terribly.

I was strolling along Wichernstrasse the other day when I saw two squirrels playfully scampering around, chasing each other up and down the trunks of the silver birch trees which line the paths.
What really caught my attention though was they weren't the usual grey variety you usuallly see in England but the rarer red varietys.
And funnily, when I got into my building and put on the radio (over the internet) the discussion was about red squirrels, or rather the lack of them due to squirrel pox and the evil grey squirrels taking their habitat. The DJ then asked for listeners to get in touch and let him know if you'd seen a red squirrel to find out where they were hanging around.

I wasn't going to spend a quid texting the bloke but for his information (and yours) you can find red squirrels in Erlangen and probably elsewhere in Germany. I'm not sure about squirrel pox, I think the little guys just wanted some decent beer.

After going to the museum (see post below) we took the short walk over to the Franken Stadion (which I had just learnt was formerly the show ground for the Hitler youth) to watch the in-form FCN take on Energie Cottbus from East Germany. It was a game FCN were expected to win and they could have been 4-0 up at half time, were it not for some atrocious finishing and the crossbar.

Der Club continued to dominate in the second half and again could have had the lead several times, with Saenko guilty of missing with an empty goal at his mercy. Cottbus had a man sent off for two yellow cards with about 20 minutes left and it was just the boost Nuremberg needed. Finally they got the crucial goal, defender Michael Beuchamp bundling the ball over the line after a goalmouth melee.


It was a scrappy game but the 3 points are all that matters, taking FCN to within a point of their rivals Bayern Munich who sit in fourth place.

Labels: FCN

As Sunday's football was an evening kick-off we used the time beforehand to do something we had been meaning to do for a while - visit the DokumentationsZentrum. It is a museum documenting the rise and fall of Hitler, focusing on the role Nuremberg played in the rise of the Nazi movement.

Nuremberg was somewhat of a Nazi capital and the party's annual rallies were held there every year. Much of the museum's exhibitions focus on 'Die Reichsparteigelände' - The rally grounds of the Reich. The remnants of these are still clearly visible around Nuremberg and the musuem itself is situated in the 'Kongresshalle' an ampitheatre-like building which Hitler never quite finished. It's huge (see pic).


Not far away is the huge expanse that was the Zeppelin landing field which was used for the massive parades. At the end of the field (now football pitches) the bulk of what was the grandstand from which Hitler addresses the assembled hoardes still remains. You are able to climb up the remnants and stand at the very spot where Hitler made his speeches. It's a sobering experience. The pictures show the very place both then and now



It is the first time I have ever actually really linked the Germany I live in with the Germany against whom we fought in the war: it was a sudden realisation. It is crazy to see what Hitler was trying to build, the enormity and the scale of the nazi machine in its heyday.

You can find out more about the rally grounds by clicking on the following link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_party_rally_grounds

Dear All,

Unfotunately some very sad news. As some of you will be aware my Grandad passed away this week. I just wanted to say a heartfelt thank you to all who sent me their condolences. He was a funny, kind and generous person and we will miss him very much.

Again, thanks for your messages, they really helped and I will pass your sympathies on to the rest of the family.

Forgive the lack of posts next weekend as I will be at home for the funeral.

Today saw huge progress in my quest to master the art of swimming.

I have been spurred on to my recent progress by a bit of competition from a girl in the class who is vying for the much coveted position of 'person who learns quickest'.
Her swim attire seems to be getting skimpier by the week, surely an attempt to distract me but it is to no avail! My goggled eyes keep their eyes on the prize.

And today huge progress was made as Mike 'the eel' stuart entered the big pool for the first time.
Leaving the others in the 'training' pool Valeri the teacher gave me a nudge and told me to swim in the direction of the deep end. Valeri is an intimidating dude so I obliged.
And swim I did, and swim, and swim. I felt quite safe with Valeri watching me but as I passed the 'No non-swimmers past this point' sign I became a little nervous and when the 3.5m mark was reached I broke into a little sweat.

But I did it! I swam a full length of a pool for the first time in my life and am most proud of it. I returned to the warm pool with my fellow classmates chest puffed out and head high, most smug. It was then when I tried to repeat the graceful aquatics from the big pool for them that I inhaled a huge nose-full of water and came up coughing and spluttering.
A nice reminder not to get complacent; there's still a long way to go.

This weekend is 'Fasching' (Carnival) in Germany and to celebrate people go out dressed up in crazy outfits, wear crazy hats and parade. This is especially the case in the areas around Cologne where it's a huge deal. The traditional emblem of fashing is the court jester style dude pictured on the left.

The Mike had an awesome weekend in Austria on the slopes both on the piste and getting piste. Have some more pics and a proper post as soon as I get a chance!!

Mike is a busy dude this week and so has had very little time to put up a post!

Swimming on Tuesday was good, some progress being made. My frog legs are now perfectly amphibian in style though my arm work leaves a little to be desired.

Wednesday we went bowling and then watched the end of the dismal England friendly and tonight I went go-karting with some guys from work and Helen and Matt. I will be suing Helen for whiplash after she persistently ran into the back of me, shouting get out of the way Grandma. Hmm, probably a fair evaluation of my 'defensive' driving.

I now need to pack as tomorrow I head to Austria for a weekend of skiing! I've never skiied before and don't intend to hurl myself off any giant peaks but should be a good laugh.

If I survive I'll tell you all about it next week.

After the high of FCN's win over Munich the weekend was relaxed but cool.

On Saturday I tidied my hovel of a room and found a good €5 of loose change. In the evening we went out for Laura's birthday, first to a Greek restaraunt and then onto a few bars. Laura requested we all wear different hats for the evening and we gladly obliged, the indian headdress being my particular favourite.

The biggest game of the season for FC Nuremberg is their derby clash with fierce rivals Bayern Munich.
It's Bayern vs Frankonia, European giants vs minnows and the tension is immense.
My boss Andy managed to get tickets through a mate of his so I went with some of the guys from work. When we arrived at the ground a policeman mate of Andy's told us they'd already had some trouble with the travelling Bayern fans and that the 'Muncheners' were in aggressive mood.

This was a huge game, particularly for Munich not just as they have slipped down the table of late but as it was the first game back in charge for Ottmar Hitzfeld who surprisingly replaced Felix Magath as coach this week. Hitzfeld is a hero in Munich, having previously steered the club to the Champions league trophy in the 1990s.

There was not a single spare seat and the 47,000 capacity stadium sizzled as the game got underway. And from the offset FCN were straight in and never looked back. With 13 minutes gone Ivan Saenko latched on to a through ball and took it around the formidable figure of Bayern 'keeper Oliver Kahn. Though driven wide, Saenko managed to squeeze the ball inside the post to make it 1-0 and the Nuremberg faithful raised the roof.

Nuremberg deservedly went in at half time in the lead with Bayern offering very little and never looking like scoring a goal. As the second half got underway the FCN fans were understandably in good voice but all knew that with a team of international stars Bayern Munich were far from out of the contest. But still 'der Club' bossed the game with Bayern hardly having a sniff. A rare chance came for the away team when Raphael Schaefer made a good safe from an Owen Hargreaves free-kick. It was the England international's first appearance in the Bayern first team after breaking his leg in September and he was one of the few players not to disgrace himself for Munich, running himself into the ground as he did for England in the world cup.

But it was always going to be a Nuremberg win when the second goal came after 71 minutes, and what a goal it was. The ball was played wide to Vratislav Gresko who dashed down the left flank before curling in a peach of a cross which was met by the diving header of Markus Schroth. Special scenes followed as the FCN finally knew their first derby win in eight years was within reach. I'm still sore from the bear hugs I got from strangers. It was amazing.

The icing on the cake came when Robert Vittek made a mockery of the Bayern defence and slotted home to make for an incredible scoreline. FCN fans wait years for moments like this and I'm made up I was there to witness it. It really hit home what this meant to the Frankonian fans as I saw tears of joy flowing from the faces of big German men. Only a game?...I think not.

Labels: FCN