The "Great Race" in Leverkusen or when it's too late to drink aspirin.
I was "sick" a long time ago… still in school… before I met the fourteenth spring… "Illness" was serious and, as time has shown, long… Every year it progressed exponentially… At first I was "sick" for one club… Then began "Attacks" for the national team… Subsequently, the "relapse" went to the European Cups… I was not put on the dispensary register in the "fan zone", but I had to be under constant control of the disciplinary committee in the person of my beloved wife…
And in October 2013, the "illness" suddenly caused complications… This, of course, was my fault - the consequences of excessive enthusiasm for travel under the "Chords" of tourism did not take long. It happened just on my birthday. In the morning, my beloved, unable to watch my suffering, decided to have surgery - she gave me a ticket from the "Acor Tour"! ! ! ! ! Урррааа! ! ! ! ! I am saved! ! ! !!
I'm going to Europe! ! ! !!
To football! ! ! ! ! Champions League! ! ! ! ! Who plays? ! ! "Miner"? But at least FC "Fingers"! ! ! ! ! After reading the "recipe" I felt an incredible relief - such powerful "drugs" as tours of Wroclaw, Krakow and Cologne were sure to save me! Well… You can't waste a minute! ! ! ! ! For the whole "rehabilitation" period, I first needed good company and a bit of "orange" ammunition (after all, I am a "patient" not of the Donetsk "clinic"). At first, I called my friends with me so that they could share with me all the charms of the upcoming trip. I didn't say much (the bus is not rubber) - 8 people gathered with me. Armed with Donetsk scarves and "mivina" from Nestle, on October 20.2013 we left our native penates.
Our way was not close: having used at 14-00 in Nikolaev services «Ukrzalizitsa», in the course of passing we could get acquainted with sights of such stations as Smila (them.
Shevchenko), Bila Tserkva, Vinnytsia, Zhmerynka, Khmelnytsky, Ternopil and sightseeing tour. on the dining car.
Day one. Until 8-0.21. 10.13 we arrived at the starting point of our trip - the railway station of Lviv. After a promenade along the station square, we gathered near our future ark number 886, where the role of Noah was played by Yuri Patsula. Gathering "each creature in pairs", our group went on a tour of the "Streets of Old Lviv". Here I was a little behind her, because personal issues had to be resolved, and I met with friends in a few hours in the Market Square.
I will say at once - for tourists who first visited Lviv, this tour is a must: you have the opportunity in a few hours to see the main sights of the old city, taste the most delicious chocolate in the "Chocolate Workshop" and enjoy the aroma of Lviv coffee. Lviv is a holiday of life!
But we will not waste time on lyrical digressions and return to our "fans". Exactly at the appointed time (14-00) we went on our difficult, "painfully pleasant" journey. Just leaving the city we had a technical stop at the international bus terminal, where we were given the opportunity to have lunch (cafe), buy in the store (prices are higher than in city stores) and recover (bathrooms are still free).
It took us two to cross the Polish border.
5 hours and getting to the European Union we rushed to the first hotel to spend the night in a horizontal position. The first "race" in our country was 410 km. Along the way, our accompanying guide Yura told about the upcoming route, the basic rules of conduct on the bus and the European Union, as well as scrolled a few tapes from the reserves of the film fund. We spent the night at the Hotel Silesian 3 * in Katowice.
Outside, the fourteen-story building looked modest, more like a panel house in a residential area, but inside it turned out to be a solid "four" - clean, shining, crunchy, shiny and even a kettle with tea set and Wi-Fi in the rooms.
Day two. In the morning, having breakfast (very, very decent), our way for 200 km. passed to the city of Wroclaw (former German city of Breslau). The city greeted us with sunny weather and a guide.
After spending a few hours in her company, we were able to get acquainted with the main attractions of one of the greenest cities in Poland. We walked through the ancient streets of the Old Town, visited the church of St.
Elizabeth, saw the hotel "Monopoly", where in the 30s of last century, Hitler performed from a specially built balcony for him, and in 2012 at the EuroChem stopped the Czech national team… City Hall and Shame Pillar… "Meat" street and the oldest in Europe beer cellar… And everywhere we were watched by local gnomes, whose bronze figures were found at every turn. After the inspection, part of our group went to the add. excursion to the island of Tumski (right in the center of Wroclaw), and our company, after a photo shoot, decided to taste local beer in the basement, which is over 700 years old.
The situation, of course, is interesting, but Baran beer did not impress - the usual pasteurized keg for 8 zlotys (approximate rate of 1 PLN - 2.73 UAH) per glass… belly.
In connection with the time of the compromise was reached - have lunch at the mall! While the waitresses hurried to give us our order, we managed to gallop three floors of the center. Due to our ignorance of the Polish language and the host's ignorance of Russian or English, the choice of dishes in the cafe was in the international language - according to the pictures. The pictures turned out to be beautiful, and the dishes were delicious and served in fairly large portions. Tasted from all eight plates.
After saying goodbye to the hospitable city, we hurried to the bus, because the next "race" of 350 km was waiting for us. to the place of accommodation.
This night the German hotel "Achat Comfort Hotel Messe Chemnitz" 3 * in Chemnitz became our refuge. A small roadside hotel with German cleanliness, a more modest setting and breakfast (compared to a Polish hotel) and a delicious draft beer at the reception (extra charge).
The third day.
Nothing foretold danger that day… Warm autumn morning… Coffee for breakfast… Even nature itself was dressed in Shakhtar's orange colors… We followed her example: decorating the bus and wearing orange scarves, we went to the homeland of German pharmacists. Leverkusen. Who then could have guessed about those bitter pills that pharmacists have already prepared for us… "Peregin" in 510 km. took place in the usual way: Yura talked about Germany, made movies and regularly took us for sanitary walks.
At one of these stops we were able to have lunch at a roadside cafe and get acquainted with the system of German paid toilets: dropping a coin into the machine at the entrance (70 euros) we received a ticket for 50 euros, which immediately in the cafe (shop) could be used as a discount. the specified amount.
We arrived in Leverkusen at about 5 pm.
As the match started at 20-45 and started at the stadium from 19-15, it was decided to spend two free hours in the city. Bay-Arena Stadium is located on the outskirts of this town - a satellite of the Bayer Pharmaceutical Plant. We walked twenty minutes to the nearest public place, the Rathaus Galerie, past the private sector, the park and the train station. Wandering among the burghers and stirring their minds (after all, something betrayed the newcomers - whether Ukrainian flags or Shakhtar's scarves), we got acquainted with the price list in the Bayer fan store.
Prices there were "biting" (fan scarf - 17 euros, club T-shirt - 80 euros), and we found a store with more reasonable prices - grocery (beer at 0.65-1.0 euros). That's where they sold - there is a difference: 0.65 or 80 euros!
But let's move on to our main goal of the trip - a football match.
We didn't go to the away sector right away - there was still enough time before the match and it was decided to cut a circle around the stadium. The atmosphere was quite friendly - German fans greeted us and shouted something (hopefully not offensive), but since in German we were limited (egg, milk, chicken), in response we had to just smile and ask: "There are guerrillas in Leverkusen ? » . We were greeted in the guest sector: a dozen stewards, a 3-meter fence with a "thorn", metal seats… Yeah, you don't go for a walk.
And so the match began… I will not describe - if there are masochists among our readers - let them look on the Internet. I had enough of this spectacle at the stadium. The culmination of this shame was an obscene phrase addressed to us by Rakytskyi, who approached our sector after the game… That's what we didn't expect, we didn't expect… The mood was spoiled.
But the morning was wiser in the evening and we went home without eating salty bread. Our "vosvoyasi" this time was located in Troisdorf, which is 40 km. from Leverkusen. Hotel "Balladins Troisdorf 3 * was the most modest during our trip. Although for the night and taking a soothing "Nemiroff" was quite suitable. Remembering the "good quiet word" "moles", we went into the arms of Morpheus.
The morning was gloomy… As always, the cookies from Nemiroff turned out to be poisoned, and Morpheus snored loudly… And there was nothing for breakfast except butter, cheese and sausage (well, very modest food)… But who is sad, he is not with us ! ! ! ! ! ! The command sounded: “By car! and here we are already absorbing 40 km. separating us from the fourth largest city in Germany - Cologne Landed near the famous Cologne Cathedral.
A spectacle that is usually fascinating… The guide who met us told many interesting stories from the life of the city, spent in the quiet German streets, allowed to admire the embankment of the high-speed Rhine. This was probably the most interesting sightseeing tour during the trip. But you will not be fed up with stories - we had to seek refuge in local cafes to meet gastronomic needs. Our choice fell on the cafe "Frü h" (on the advice of the same guide, near the cathedral).
Having found in the menu the word "sewing" familiar from the childhood, we ordered a pork wheel (one on two) and "kelsh" non stop (local beer which is served in glasses on 0.2 l. ). For fans of statistics, I would like to inform you: the price of a knuckle is 14 euros (served with a side dish of potatoes and a portion of vegetable salad), and a glass of beer is 2.4 euros. Satiated, we immersed ourselves in the atmosphere of the Middle Ages, walking inside the cathedral, and then bought German souvenirs in nearby shops.
At 3 pm we left the hospitable Cologne and headed to the place of the next night, which was located in Krasny Dolny (Poland). This was our longest "race" - 720 km. We arrived at the hotel at about 24 o'clock. This time we were hosted by the roadside motel “Picaro Kraś nik Dolny” 3 *. I will not talk in detail about the hotel - everything was good - the situation, furniture, food. I strongly recommend (if someone passes by - do not drive - all the conditions for rest).
Day five. The penultimate morning of our trip was remembered by the incident with a tourist on a nearby bus. After tasting the excessively intoxicating air of the European Union, the girl said that she liked it here (whether in Poland or in a motel) and she would not go anywhere. She locked herself in the room and stopped communicating.
Watching this picture from the side, we could only sympathize with the neighboring tourists, because due to the above-mentioned concert, their bus was delayed indefinitely, which led to a violation of the schedule and as a result the opportunity to miss the planned tours. So far we have absorbed 370 km. , which separated us from Krakow, our accompanying guide said that the end of this story is quite trivial: the police and ambulance arrived, the tourist was taken to hospital, relatives were called from Ukraine and after paying bills for concern special. tourist services will be deported from the European Union.
As they say in the famous proverb: "In a family not without a tourist« ". Meanwhile, we reached Krakow safely. Traditionally, we were already waiting for a guide and we went to the "Royal Way" - the path that for many centuries passed the Polish kings, a place of intertwining legends… (author of "Chord Tour").
We were photographed near the "Barbican" - a mini-fortress at the entrance to the old part of town (who watched the "Great Race" - he will remember the 10th stage, where participants made puzzles).
We walked through the Market Square (the oldest part of the city), immediately visited the shopping malls Sukennica, where they bought Polish souvenirs, listened to the trumpet player at the town hall, went up to the Royal Castle and went down to the Vistula embankment. and still… Krakow enchanted… After the sightseeing tour, our group split up: four went to the add. excursion to the salt mines of Wieliczka, and I, with the remaining friends, went for a walk through the same fabulous streets. Well, tours - tours, and lunch on schedule! Going down to the basement of the local cafe, located just opposite the opera house, we tasted the colorful soup "Zurek", which was served to us in bread.
After us we wanted live beer and on the advice of the waitress we relocated to the brewery "SK Brovar" - a great place with delicious beer and traditional pork. We focused on the map of the city, which was given to us in advance by our guide. By 21:00 we met with our "salt miners" and sent them on the route we have already laid out for dinner. By the way, they were delighted with the "salt copies". So I have to visit Poland again to visit the oldest saltworks. At 22-00 we left Krakow and in a couple of hours we were met in Tarnow by the last hotel on our route "Hotel Tarnovia" 3 *. The hotel is cool - located in the city center, large spacious rooms, modern interior. I strongly recommend.
Day six. It was our last (I will not say the last, because I really want to return) morning on Polish soil.
Well supported (good breakfast at the hotel met all our expectations), we made our last leap towards the homeland. This time the customs "gave the go-ahead" and we crossed the border in 30 minutes, and by 4 pm we were safely moored near the Lviv railway station. Thus ended our "mining watch" on German-Polish soil. It remains only to thank the organizers of the trip for a difficult but exciting route. Well, give Shakhtar players one last chance to rehabilitate in the return match. Good luck to all!
