Germany v England
Olympic Stadium, Berlin
Berlin, Germany
26 Mar 2016
England have never lost a match in Berlin and prior to this match we had won 3 and drawn 2, so the pressure was on to keep that record intact against the current world champions.
The first match at the Olympic Stadium Berlin was played in 1938 and ended in a 6:3 victory to England. The match caused controversy because the England national team gave the Nazi salute during the anthems.
The away end in the Olympic Stadium is huge so there was no real problem getting tickets. The official allocation was somewhere around 4000, but many Ex Pats and non members had got hold of tickets for the home end and a fair few managed to climb into the English end, with the stewards hot on their tails. The Daily Mail estimated the England contingent as approx 8000, not sure if this is right though.
Pano taken from the Marathon Gate
Hertha Berlin are the team that plays in the Olympic Stadium and are Berlin's only representative in the Bundesliga. The club is a bit of a yo yo club because they have struggled to match the financial clout of the big boys in German football, never less they currently occupy third place in the league.
We alight at the Olympiastadion S Bahn stop
and exit to the Olympic Stadium.
and exit to the Olympic Stadium.
English fans in force at the local Sports Club
just outside the station.
just outside the station.
In the Preussiches Landwursthaus (country sausage house)
with 3 English lads who are based in Gutersloh.
with 3 English lads who are based in Gutersloh.
The Marmite song:
"Don't take me home, please don't take me home.
"Don't take me home, please don't take me home.
I just don't want to go to work.
I want to stay here, drinking all your beer,
so please don't , please don't,
take me home".
After Kroos scores a gigantic shirt is
hoisted up by the Germans.
hoisted up by the Germans.
'Pauli' the German mascot gets the crowd going!
The match ends in a 3:2 win for England which is what we deserved. England were 2 goals down against the run of play after Muller and Kroos scored. The come back was brilliant with a great opener from Harry Kane which included a Cruyff turn. The second was a thing of beauty, a high speed counter attack which saw Varney score with a back heel flick to Neuer's near post. In the dying minutes Dyer rose to thunder in a great header from a corner. The English end went wild and a lot of beer was thrown about (strange behaviour).
"Always look on the bright side of life".
Day 1 - FA ticket collection, Friday 25 March in
Ku'damm, West Berlin.
Ku'damm, West Berlin.
Berlin: Home of the Currywurst.
Kaiser Wilhelm memorial church
Day 2 - Match Day
Waking up at the Winters Hotel @ Checkpoint Charlie
Waking up at the Winters Hotel @ Checkpoint Charlie
Trabi in the garden
We paid extra for the view
Trabi Zentrum
DDR border post at Checkpoint Charlie.
Hardrock cafe, Ku'damm
Ampleman: The DDR traffic light system is still in operation on East Berlin streets.
The Landwehrkanal in Tiergarten
Siegessaule (victory column)
Soviet memorial at Tiergarten
T32 at Russian memorial
Quadriga (1794)
The Brandenburg Gate (1791)
Official DFB car outside the famous Hotel Adlon
on Unter den Linden
on Unter den Linden
Frederick the Great's Statue
England fans taking advantage
of the Berlin Beer Bike tour
of the Berlin Beer Bike tour
Match day beer at the Nuss Baum at Nikolaiviertal
Nikolaiviertal
Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn Sportpark,
the home of Dynamo Berlin.
the home of Dynamo Berlin.
Soviet style floodlights, are so befitting
for the former club of the Stasi.
for the former club of the Stasi.
The gates are locked but the graffiti is interesting
The stadium backs onto a surviving section of the
Berlin wall in Mauer Park.
Berlin wall in Mauer Park.
Having another pre match beer at the Eberswalde Strasse UBahn Station on the U2 line.
Day 3 - East Side Gallery, Treptow Park, Olympic Stadium and Alexanderplatz
Pink Floyd's 'The Wall'
The Mercedes Benz Arena, home to
Eisbaren Berlin Ice Hockey team
and ALBA Berlin Basketball Club
Eisbaren Berlin Ice Hockey team
and ALBA Berlin Basketball Club
I iz in Berlin, check me
The Oberbaum Brücke is a bridge over the River Spree which connects Friedrichshain (East Berlin) and Kreuzberg (West Berlin). During the Cold War (1963-89) it was a border crossing point for West Berliners. East Berliners could not cross over.
The main Russian war memorial is at Treptow Park in the South East of the city.
The site where Vladimir Putin laid a wreath
to commemorate the 80,000 Soviets
to commemorate the 80,000 Soviets
who died during the Battle for Berlin.
12m tall statue of a Soviet soldier holding a German child over a broken swastika.
The memorial is lined with 16 sarcophagi which represent the
16 Soviet Republics. The area is resting place for some 5000 Soviet soldiers
Stadium tour of the Olympic Stadium, Berlin
S Bahn
The Olympic Stadium
The Ostkurve (Hertha end)
Grandstand
Marathon Gate (England end was to the left)
Best seats in the house
The Jesse Owens' suite
Under the Main Stand a reminder that Hertha play here too
The England changing room
Inside - carnage
The clock tower (Glockenturm) to the right
The Colosseum
The Bell which once resided in the Glockenturm behind
Main entrance at the East Gate
Olympic Gate
Liar's Tree
Hertha BSC really are here to stay
Fernsehturm (TV Tower) on Alexanderplatz
Dinner at 2100 hrs with Mrs H
Tisch 24
Prost
Last drink in Berlin
Well nearly the last
Day 4 - Journey Home
The good thing about early starts -
no bloody tourists at Checkpoint Charlie
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