europa league: sparta praha vs. athletic club @ generali arena...
Last Thursday my dad and I drove to Prague to see Athletic's Europa League match against Sparta Praha.
I had planned this for quite a while because Prague is only 4 hours away from where I live and it's been 9 years since my last visit, so I really wanted to go there again. I had emailed my dad and sent him information about ticket sales so he could forward them to his cousin who lives about an hour away from Prague. My dad forwarded the information, but he never heard back. Last weekend, my grandma called her brother-in-law to ask whether they got the e-mail. They had, but the whole family had been ill a while so they didn't check their e-mails! Since time had progressed quite a bit and no tickets were available in Pilsen, the nearest city to where my dad's cousin lives, he decided to drive to Prague to buy the tickets there, and he also got us metro tickets. Mind you, my dad didn't tell me any of this until Wednesday night - talk about short notice! ;) Also, he didn't tell me until Thursday morning, when he picked me up, that we weren't in fact going to stay overnight so I had brought my pyjama and toothbrush and stuff for nothing. But I wasn't complaining - I was going to Prague!!
On the way, we stopped in Regensburg to buy some presents for my dad's uncle's family, and I had also brought them some FC Bayern merchandise because my dad's uncle is a big fan. Around lunchtime we arrived at their house where we were received with open arms. My dad's aunt had cooked an incredibly yummy lunch consisting of rabbit stew (my dad's uncle breeds rabbits) and Bohemian dumplings, and then served coffee and cake. It was so delicious that I ate way too much. XD
We parked at a Park & Ride outside the city centre which was also the final stop of the yellow metro line. On the metro to Můstek, where we had to switch lines, my dad and I got lost because the doors closed too quickly and he didn't manage to get on the train! He had the match tickets, I had everything else, so that was quite annoying. Thankfully we met again at Můstek and took the green line to Hradčanská. From there it was only a short walk to the Generali Arena.
I was pretty disappointed when nobody shouted "THIS IS SPARTAAAA!" at kick-off. ;)
From the stadium, you could see the castle of Prague!
Until then it had been a really hot day, but when we sat down on a bench near the stadium, it suddenly started raining. Fortunately the gates opened after a while and we got in. We didn't manage to get tickets in the away fans' area because it was sold out, but we were right next to the away block.
This is where I should have been sitting! ;)
When we entered the stadium, there was hardly anyone there yet, and once we found our seats, it REALLY started raining. In the home fans' area the stadium employees had put sheets of coloured aluminium foil on every seat, but most of it had been blown away by the gale when the match started.
After a while, the teams entered the pitch for the pre-match warm-up.
Sparta's mascot is probably supposed to be a Spartan but it looks a lot more like a Roman.
It was quite funny though!
Sparta fans singing the club's anthem before kick-off. The lyrics were shown on the big screen!
The least said about the match itself, the better. *rolls eyes* The only thing worth mentioning is that right behind us, there was a rather loud Sparta fan who kept insulting the ball, and every time he did, the ball refused to enter Athletic's goal. Haha! Also, he called the referee an asshole several times (and he wasn't even wrong with that - the referee and linesmen were awful!), and I had to grin because I understood the Czech insult without my dad translating for me. XDD
After the match, quite a lot of Sparta fans approached me and asked me for my scarf or my shirt, but I declined every time. Unfortunately I don't live in Bilbao and can't get Athletic merchandise where I live, so my stuff was just too precious to give away. But it has to be said that the Sparta fans were very friendly and respectful, and I enjoyed being among them.
So despite the result, and despite having to drive back home the same night, it was a fantastic trip and I'm infinitely grateful to my dad for having made this possible! :)
AUPA ATHLETIC!
I had planned this for quite a while because Prague is only 4 hours away from where I live and it's been 9 years since my last visit, so I really wanted to go there again. I had emailed my dad and sent him information about ticket sales so he could forward them to his cousin who lives about an hour away from Prague. My dad forwarded the information, but he never heard back. Last weekend, my grandma called her brother-in-law to ask whether they got the e-mail. They had, but the whole family had been ill a while so they didn't check their e-mails! Since time had progressed quite a bit and no tickets were available in Pilsen, the nearest city to where my dad's cousin lives, he decided to drive to Prague to buy the tickets there, and he also got us metro tickets. Mind you, my dad didn't tell me any of this until Wednesday night - talk about short notice! ;) Also, he didn't tell me until Thursday morning, when he picked me up, that we weren't in fact going to stay overnight so I had brought my pyjama and toothbrush and stuff for nothing. But I wasn't complaining - I was going to Prague!!
On the way, we stopped in Regensburg to buy some presents for my dad's uncle's family, and I had also brought them some FC Bayern merchandise because my dad's uncle is a big fan. Around lunchtime we arrived at their house where we were received with open arms. My dad's aunt had cooked an incredibly yummy lunch consisting of rabbit stew (my dad's uncle breeds rabbits) and Bohemian dumplings, and then served coffee and cake. It was so delicious that I ate way too much. XD
We parked at a Park & Ride outside the city centre which was also the final stop of the yellow metro line. On the metro to Můstek, where we had to switch lines, my dad and I got lost because the doors closed too quickly and he didn't manage to get on the train! He had the match tickets, I had everything else, so that was quite annoying. Thankfully we met again at Můstek and took the green line to Hradčanská. From there it was only a short walk to the Generali Arena.
I was pretty disappointed when nobody shouted "THIS IS SPARTAAAA!" at kick-off. ;)
From the stadium, you could see the castle of Prague!
Until then it had been a really hot day, but when we sat down on a bench near the stadium, it suddenly started raining. Fortunately the gates opened after a while and we got in. We didn't manage to get tickets in the away fans' area because it was sold out, but we were right next to the away block.
This is where I should have been sitting! ;)
When we entered the stadium, there was hardly anyone there yet, and once we found our seats, it REALLY started raining. In the home fans' area the stadium employees had put sheets of coloured aluminium foil on every seat, but most of it had been blown away by the gale when the match started.
After a while, the teams entered the pitch for the pre-match warm-up.
Sparta's mascot is probably supposed to be a Spartan but it looks a lot more like a Roman.
It was quite funny though!
Sparta fans singing the club's anthem before kick-off. The lyrics were shown on the big screen!
The least said about the match itself, the better. *rolls eyes* The only thing worth mentioning is that right behind us, there was a rather loud Sparta fan who kept insulting the ball, and every time he did, the ball refused to enter Athletic's goal. Haha! Also, he called the referee an asshole several times (and he wasn't even wrong with that - the referee and linesmen were awful!), and I had to grin because I understood the Czech insult without my dad translating for me. XDD
After the match, quite a lot of Sparta fans approached me and asked me for my scarf or my shirt, but I declined every time. Unfortunately I don't live in Bilbao and can't get Athletic merchandise where I live, so my stuff was just too precious to give away. But it has to be said that the Sparta fans were very friendly and respectful, and I enjoyed being among them.
So despite the result, and despite having to drive back home the same night, it was a fantastic trip and I'm infinitely grateful to my dad for having made this possible! :)
AUPA ATHLETIC!