Sunday, June 18, 2006

The Foo Fighters

So it has been a fantastic weekend! I have had an absolute ball.

Tamsin got us tickets to see the Foo Fighters in Hyde Park for my birthday and the concert was last night. It was one of the best presents I have received, she did a fantastic job.

After checking into our hotel we went to Wagamama's near Harvey Nics for lunch and then onto the V&A Museum where we went to the modernism exhibition (it was pretty cool).

We then headed over to Hyde Park to get into the concert. It was absolutely rammed! It took us about forty-five minutes to get through the gates (so we missed the first act).

We found a spot by the fence (we were in the outer loop, rather then the inner loop) and watched Angels and Airwaves (they were alright) and Queens of the Stone Age (fantastic!). Motorhead then came on so we went and grabbed some food and drink and took it easy.

About 10 mins before the Foo Fighters came on we pushed out way through the crowd and found a nice spot on a small hill where we had a pretty good view of the stage. Unfortunately we were close to a bunch of really drunk blokes who were pretty rowdy, but they did quieten down after a while.

The Foo Fighters set was great. They played for over an hour and it was awesome to hear them! I know I have said it before, but it was great!!

After they finished playing we went and grabbed a drink and then headed back to the hotel.

Today we went over to the British Museum to try and see the Michelangelo exhibition, but we could not get tickets until later in the afternoon. So we did a quick tour around the rest of the museum (thanks to the 20 minute guide in the London Timeout book). From there we headed over to Spitalfields Market and met up with my cousin (Paul) and had lunch.

It was nice to see him again, particularly because he has to head back to Oz soon (his visa is almost expired). So we had a chat and a beer, it was nice.

We then jumped on the train and headed back to Southampton. Unfortunately the only blight on the weekend was Australia losing to Brazil in the World Cup. But then I guess I cant have everything.

Click on the photo below to view the whole set!

Foo Fighters

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Munich (The World Cup!)

A few months ago Jules, Peter and myself entered the lottery for world cup tickets. We chose Australia's three group matches and then a couple of other matches to fill the days in between.

We ended up getting none of the Australian matches and just one of our other choices. So I just got back from a couple of days in Munich where we saw Saudi Arabia v Tunisia!

We started yesterday with a look around the city. All the locals seemed to be excited that the world cup was in Germany. We got stopped by so many people who could hardly speak English trying to point out where all the sites were!

So we started in the main drag (Marienplatz) which was a funky square surrounded by old buildings. The Tunisians were out in force, playing music and dancing around. They seemed so happy that their team was playing that afternoon. There were heaps of Aussies about as well. I guess it is because they are playing Brazil in Munich this sunday.

We slowly made out way through the streets to the Residenz, the palace where the rulers of Bavaria lived until the first world war. It was absolutely huge and we spent ages walking around. It was a little disappointing however. Apart from big empty rooms, there was not a great deal to see. Not much information about the various rooms or anything like that.

We then headed over to the English Garden - a huge park in central Munich. It was pretty warm and the park was a nice place to walk around it to try and escape the heat. One interesting thing was the number of naked people around. It turns out that people come into the park during their lunch break, strip off and lay in the sun! There were thousands of people doing it. Perhaps it is something people could start in Hyde Park?

Anyway, we made our way to the Seehaus, a beer garden in the park, for some lunch. There were heaps of people around, so we joined them with our wieners and steins and watched the footy!

We then headed back to the Hauptbahnhof to get our train to the stadium. It was packed. Very much like Sydney was during the Olympics. Security was a lot more visible though. Everyone going in had to go through metal detectors and be patted down.

The stadium was awesome. Apparently there are two local teams that use it as their home ground and the exterior changes colour depending on which of them is playing there!

It was absolutely packed as well. The organisers had sold spare tickets cheaply to locals to ensure full houses. The whole crowd were getting into the game. It was awesome to be there which was a big surprise. In the end the result was a tie, but football was the winner (I had to get that in somewhere!!).

We headed back into the city and went to the Hofbrauhaus for dinner and drinks. I could get use to drinking steins!

Today we decided to head out to the Schloss Nymphenburg. The guide book said it was one of the highlights of Munich. While we were waiting at the tram station to head out there this drunk or high British bloke came up to talk to us. He was absolutely rotten. Anyway Peter and Jules both reckon he was hitting on me - apparently because I looked shiny (whatever that means). I was completely oblivious to it all!

The Schloss was very impressive. It was absolutely huge. But like the Residenz, it was empty. So again, it was a little disappointing. We walked around the gardens and then went to one of the cafes for lunch. We then jumped on a tram again to head back into the city.

At one of the stops about 100 Australian's piled on. It was standing room only (and then there was not much). They were all singing songs ("Stand up if you're the top of the group" and "Super Timmy Cahill") and were having a great time. They even tried to tell me that I lived in a beautiful city in German, but soon stopped when they found out I was Australian. It was a great example of the atmosphere in the city.

We picked our bags up at the train station and headed back out to the airport. Unfortunately it was time to head home. It was a great couple of days. I definitely need to get back to Munich.


Views from Marienplatz.


Views from Marienplatz.


Views from Marienplatz.


The Residenz.


Inside the Residenz.


The English Garden.


The funky stadium.


The match!


At the Hofbrauhaus.


Blogger is playing silly buggers, so you will have to wait for the rest of the photos.