(Adopted) Debut goal for Thorpe

Since touching down back in Munich from Verona two weeks ago my life has been pretty much non-stop. It's also been a fortnight of firsts - my first bonus at work, my first football match and my first german friend! I have seen James Bond (auf Deutsch) and I have also been to 3 gigs in three days.

So, to the most important thing, the football. After a lacklustre debut last week where I was unable to assert myself due to the class of the team I took to the field day today treating the match as my 'adopted' debut. The first thing I have to mention about playing football in Germany is the hilarious level of seriousness involved - it's champions league level. Before the match can begin both teams must run out onto the pitch behind the referee, line up in the middle of the pitch and wave to the crowd, usually numbering around 10 people in total. After a quick round of handshakes the match can finally get underway. It takes approximately half a minute until the first opponent has theatrically thrown themselves on the ground, grasping their face as if they've just been shot. Miraculously, after a quick glance to see if the free kick has been given they're absolutely fine again. It's ridiculous.
My adopted debut was a local derby against FC Fürstenried, the team we share a training field with. It was also an important 6 pointer in the fight to stave off relegation. Any sort of worries or concerns we may have had though were quickly sorted out when we realised just how terrible the opponents were - our keeper was not tested once and he even managed an assist! 6-0 at half time and the game was over, we just needed to keep our heads and try to keep a clean sheet. The second half started in much the same fashion and after a bit of lax defending yours truly was bearing down on goal just the keeper to beat. Having not scored for a year and a half I was a bit rusty and got my angles slightly wrong, my shot rebounding off the post. Luckily it landed at the feet of our striker Vinny who selflessly squared it, allowing me my first goal in a Rovers shirt! Hardly the most important I'll score but it felt good all the same! The game wound down from here, ending at 7-0 and after we had all showered we relaxed with a beer and watched the first team playing against the Italians. Sundays are great.


Earlier in the week I attended my 2nd concert since being in Munich, Dry the River at Atomic Cafe. I then attended my 3rd (Beach House) and then my fourth(Purity Ring)! I won't go into too much detail as I wrote reviews for the first 2 gigs here: http://thegoodreview.co.uk/2012/11/dry-the-river-munich/ and here:http://thegoodreview.co.uk/2012/11/beach-house-hansa-39-munich-2/. It also allowed me to make a german friend! Arguably the most important thing of the week.

Unfortunately though, it hasn't been all gravy this week, as I found out from my landlord that I wouldn't be able to move out until at least the middle of January which is highly, highly frustrating, especially as I'd already found a nice place to move into on December 1st. The annoying thing is that he's not in the country at the moment, so I can't discuss anything with him until he returns at the start of December. Every other aspect of my life though is currently giving me hope that I can enjoy my time here, and with the arrival of the Christmas markets next weekend (criminally early) long may the festivities continue!

In fair Verona, where we lay our scene

After 2 months of hard grafting (ish) it was about time I gave myself a well deserved rest and that is what I did last weekend, when I took the trip by plane to see Hannah in Verona. All Saints Day (not named after the famous nineties girl group or the clothes shop) is celebrated in Germany with a public holiday, giving me the perfect chance to extend my trip to last from Thursday to Monday. 

Thursday + Friday -  Sun, Sights and Swimwear

Arriving at around 2pm, I got off the bus from the airport to see a beaming Hannah waiting for me wrapped up in her winter warmth (even thought Verona feels tropical in comparison to Munich). Thursday was spent relaxing and talking as we’d both had rather heavy nights the night before! Dinner out at a typically Italian restaurant overlooking the Amphitheatre and then we got an early night. Friday was forecasted sunshine so we headed out into the city. After taking in the rather underwhelming sight of Juliet’s famous balcony, we decided to look for higher ground in order to get a great view of the city. We headed up to where the old city walls can still be seen and got a fantastic panoramic of the city and surrounding areas, whilst taking in the last of the Indian summer.

A quick change and we were out to an all-inclusive pool party just outside of town. I assumed this would be a scummy affair, with middle aged men stood waist deep in lukewarm water, leering at any girl who went anywhere near. As such I didn’t bother to take swimwear with me – who wants to be carrying around wet clothes in a club? Instead it turned out that this was an ACTUAL pool with a bar and DJ booth. Swimwear was listed as optional so was the split about 50-50? No. We were virtually the only people there not in swimwear. The night never really picked up from here and we ended up waiting around outside for a bus for about 2 hours.

Saturday was a slow day with one particular highlight – ice cream. A smorgasbord of flavours was available on every street corner but Hannah took me to a particular favourite where the ice cream had bits in. Not just small bits, but full hazelnuts and wafers! Truly great.

Sunday - Oh Sun, Sun! Wherefore art thou Sun?

Sunday saw the rain arrive but we didn’t let it dampen our spirits. Giardino Giusti is a beautiful, classically Italian garden in the heart of Verona. Hidden behind huge walls, the garden is designed in tiers so that a more of the city can be seen the further up you travel – very clever. I wanted to do one last bit of sightseeing before I left so we made our way to the Amphitheatre. What we hadn’t realised was that it only costs 1€ every first Sunday of the month – which it was! I had a highly enjoyable time pretending I was a fighter, a punter and also doing the classic thumbs down pose as Caesar. 

A thoroughly enjoyable weekend all-round until my 4am Monday morning journey to the airport by a very overpriced taxi followed by a full day at work. It’s going to take rather a while to fit back into the Munich lifestyle again.