FIFA Weltmeisterschaft 2006 : Dont Cry for me Argentina

And so it is. Germany will face Italy in the semi final on 4th July at Dortmund. The 2 quarter finals were a stark contrast in themselves. While the Azzuris had no trouble keeping Shevchenko and his side at bay and score some brilliant goals, the Germans and the Argentinians had a tough fight - a battle so intensely fought that it had to end on penalty deciders. At the end Lehmann held his post and the trust Klinsmann had put in him. Almost the whole of 72,000 supporters in the Olympiastadion at Berlin were backing Deutschland and chanting "Deutschland, Deutschland", after the match the phrase of "Dont Cry for me Argentina" was seen all over the press and match reports. Without doubt Argentina were one of the best teams in this tournament so far, its a pity that they had to bow out at this stage. Now only Brazil remains the sole representative of South America or else its an all European affair from here on.

Italy meet the host nation Germany in the semifinals, a tie which is quite ambivious for me to take sides. Both the nations have been my favourites. Having stayed in Germany for over 3 years and see them revive under Klinsmann after that disasterous Euro-2004, my heart surely backs Ballack und gruppe. But the Azzuris and their charismatic play so far overcoming the ghosts of match scandals of Italia Serie dont let you remain apethetic to the pulse of the nation you are living in at the moment. Either way its a win-win for me. The evening on the 4th July holds the answer to it.

FIFA World Cup - Fussball-Weltmeisterschaft 2006

With about 9 days to go for one of the biggest events in sports to kick-off, FIFA World Cup is the flavor of the season everywhere you go. When the tournament was last held in Japan/South Korea in 2002, I was preparing to leave for Germany for my MSc.

The performance of Germany was not very great, except for the miraculous hands of Oliver Kahn. My all time favourites Brazil displayed some amazing performances in the tourney. My personal favourite was the one against China, when all the 4 R´s (Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Roberto Carlos, Ronaldinho) showed their skills and the one against England when Ronaldinho´s free kick showed his true talent which was raw then. Now after an amazing season with Barcelona, he is back to create some Samba magic again. Clearly, he is one of the players to watch out for in this tournament. There are some others as well, who will keep you excited with their game. The legendary Zidane is probably playing in his last World Cup, then you have Ronaldo (though he has not shown any great form, but you can expect him to strike form soon). Rooney is said to be in the squad for England, he was a great talent in the Euro-2004 in Portugal. Christian Ronaldo is also a player to watch out for. Among some senior legs, Nilsteroy, Beckham will be a great sight. Ibrahimovich had shown some magical skills in Euro-2004, I hope he carries the same form in this tournament as well.

Well, the tournament is missing some good teams and players like Turkey and Eto´o (Cameroon striker) who could not qualify. But among the less glamourous teams, Iran is supposed to be a dark horse. The team is ranked 24th in the FIFA rankings, much higher than other Aisan entries (Korea and Saudi Arabia). In the Iran line-up, there are 4 players who play for various clubs in the Bundesliga and are sure to make use of their "home advantage".

My personal favourites (in order of preference) this year are Brazil (naturally), Italy, Germany (biased because of living here), France (Zizou for sure), Argentina, Portugal, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Sweden, Iran. I would love to see a final between Brazil - Italy with Ronaldinho bagging the golden boot award.

Travelogue : The Castle of Neuschwanstein

On this Easter weekend along with some of my friends in Munich, I had gone to the Castles of Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau. The weather was not very sunny though, it was the regular grey day, with brief patches of sunshine now and then. We took a RegionalBahn from München Hbf, and the tourist crowd in the train set the right momentum from the word go.

Both the castles of Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau are located in close proximity to each other in the German village of Schwangau near the town of Füssen, in southwestern Bavaria, very close to the border with Austria. This region has a large number of Swans and hence the architecture of the castles, the legends of the past, emblems etc are heavily influenced by this bird.

The Neuschwanstein castle was constructed by King Ludwig II of Bavaria. It was named after the Swan Knight, Lohengrin, of Wagner's opera, and was designed by Christian Jank. The interior tapestries of the castle and wall paintings depict scenes from the operas of Richard Wagner, who was a close friend of the king. Ludwig II had a large number of hobbies during his youth, art and architecture were one of them and had made several friends in the artistic circles. The castle sits at the top of a hill, some 200 to 300 feet above the village. It is heated by a forced air, coal fired furnace in the basement. The bed in the King's bedroom features ornate carving that woodcarvers worked on for 3 years. The castle is fed with fresh water supply that is situated at a much higher altitude. It took about 17 years to build this castle and unfortunately the king lived there for about only 170 days, as he died an abrupt and mysterious death at the Starnberg See on the outskirts of München. Many of the interior rooms remain undecorated to this date; only 14 rooms were finished before Ludwig's death. The nearby Marienbrücke (Marie's Bridge), named after Marie of Prussia, provides a beautiful side view of Neuschwanstein.

This castle is claimed to be the inspiration for the Walt-Disney logo. This castle also featured in the Hollywood adaptation (starring Clint Eastwood) of the Alistair McLean´s novel "Where Eagles Dare".

Schloss Hohenschwangau (Castle of the High Swan County) was the childhood residence of King Ludwig II and was built by his father, King Maximilian II of Bavaria. Hohenschwangau was the official summer and hunting residence of Maximilian, his wife Marie of Prussia and their two sons.

for more information and photos check out

http://www.neuschwanstein.de/english/index.htm

My Diary : Second Home coming ....

We have an Easter break in the University, so I had come to Germany for a couple of days. Apart from meeting old friends I had to complete some administrative work which I had left in a hurry before leaving.

I travelled in a car along with some friends from Trento to Munich. All of us were going to different places in Germany, for different holidays. The route from Trento-Bolzano-Innsbruck-Munich is one of the best rides to take. We took a circuitous route between the Alps, across the tunnels, through the valleys and finally reached the plateaus of Bavaria. The Alpine valley of Innsbruck is a great visual treat. The autobahn runs across the diameter of the valley. Once you are on the other end of the valley, the autobahn ascends a steep climb. The view from that altitude is just amazing. I am told that the airport in Innsbruck is the toughest to navigate for the pilots, because the valley is surrounded by steep cliffs.

While entering Munich, the familiar skyline etched with the spires of the Frauenkirche, gave me a very nostalgic feeling. It was as if I was returning back home. Its strange feeling, to be so attached to the place where you have spent just almost an year of your life. I guess thats human psyche to get attached to places and things, out of no special reason.

Well at the moment I am having a good time with old friends, there are lots of stories being shared from either side, having pleasant meals. I must be blessed to have such great friends who are not only good at heart/character but are also too good at cooking. I am sure to put on some extra pounds owing to the delicacies of Asian and Mughalai cuisines.

On the Easter sale, I got a good offer for Canon EOS 350D. So at the moment its just - Click ! Click! Click!

Here are some specifications. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canon_EOS-350D.