World Cup #4 Australia vs Brazil 0:2

After our experience at the Brazil/Croatia match, we wanted Alexander and Cameron to have their own experience, but in a more 'controlled' sort of way. The answer to this was to book seats in the Adidas arena, a 10,000 seat mini-stadium set up on the front lawn of the Reichstag,to watch the Australia/Brazil game. 

I went to the arena to get tickets during the week . A bargain at only 3 Euros each - so I got 12 tickets. Interestingly, one of the World Cup sponsors is Mastercard, yet I could only buy tickets with cash! So, with no cash in the wallet, I had the tickets put aside and went for a walk to the nearest ATM - through the Brandenburg Gate onto Unter den Linden!  I made my way back eventully, and collected the tickets for Sunday! 

We had invited the Ramsay's, the McLeish family,(so Meghan,4, could also enjoy it), and some other friends: 'Aussie' Sarah and her French partner, Yann. 

Nicole emailed everyone with the following 'rules' of attendance: 

"Rules for non Aussies. 

1. You MUST cheer for Australia.

2. You cannot wear a Brazil T-shirt (unless your name is Sonia,because each team she has supported so far have lost)

3. If Brazil gets heaps of goals, you must express deep sadness for your fellow Australian friends. You may clap at how great the Brazil team are, but you must remain seated!"

It was another hot and humid day - we met Gordon, Michelle and Meghan at PotsdamerPlatz for lunch, then walked over to the 'Fan Meile', 3 km of road between the Brandenburg Tor and the Siegessaeule. For the big games, the have now restricted the fan mile because they have had over 250,000 people attend the popular matches! It was not so crowded for us, and we got out faces painted for the match.

Face painting.. I am not sure the lady was very impressed with having to do 4 Aussie flags in a row. She likes Polish fans the best. One white stripe and one red stripe!

We walked along the fan mile, to the Platz der Republik - what normally is the large grassy area in front of the Reichstag. It now has a 10,000 seat 'temporary' arena (a miniature of the Olympiastadion) with lots of small 2 x 2 soccer fields, beer gardens and stalls. 

Both the fan mile and the Adidas World of Football have very tight security, which is a good thing, especially taking kids. We met Alan, Sonia & Bradley, and Yann & Sarah at the Arena. 

Our seats were right up the back, but we had a good view of the big screen! We took our seats and watched a great match! 

The Aussies did themselves proud, the Brazilians took their chances (and the Aussies didn't)so it finished up 0:2. 

Australia can still qualify for the next round by getting a draw or better against Croatia. The kids all had a great time, but it showed us that this was about the right level of introduction - taking them to a match or a crowded fan mile to see a game would not really be that much fun for them. 90 minutes was a bit too long for them. 

We walked over to the new Hauptbahnhof, disappointed and we still had a lot of fun.  We caught the train home, baths and dinner and all collapsed into bed!