I’ve never been out of Hamburg... or the longest bus ride in the entire world!

Since neither of us was for sure that he could take of at work for three days it was written in the stars whether we could join the match in Turin or not. But after we fell down on our knees in front of our bosses we got permission to go. The trip to Italy was booked!

Then, one day it was Monday, September 17th 2001, 3pm a bunch of fans met at St. Pauli’s meeting place. The bus was 15 minutes late, (what else is new) but then we started this never ending (well, how should we call it?!) sight-seeing-tour to Italy. We sat in the back row and our survival pack was filled with 26 cans of beer, sandwiches and an empty bottle, just in case!

We were supposed to be in Turin at 8am, but as the bus driver chose the way to the Autobahn through Hamburg’s biggest shopping street we decided that this would be a very exciting trip and the arrival time just a dream.

In Dortmund we were right on time but you gotta know that it is not too easy for Mr. Busdriver to follow the signs to the train station, where some other guys waited for the bus. In Pforzheim waited even more people for the bus and we didn’t get there until 3am. Most of those who waited were pretty pissed - I wonder why?! -!

On the way to Pforzheim the bus driver got in panic and jelled into the microphone to light off the joints and to empty the ash trades. The drug dogs at the border of Switzerland would find everything and take apart the whole bus including the passengers.

We fell asleep and woke up at the border. But that wasn’t the border of Switzerland though. It was Austria - what the hell is that guy behind the steering wheel doing?

Still trusting him we fell asleep the second time and the time we woke up again the bus just left Austria and we were finally in Switzerland. That was 7am and we didn’t see anything that was even similar to a dog. Just a little nightmare we guess. At this time knew that Mr. Busdriver was a little nuts.

After a while we stopped at a restaurant where we got something to eat. (2 coffee, 2 rolls, 2 orange juices and a boiled egg =30DM What a gift!!! =)) Thank God we had the opportunity to have a second breakfast on the bus ‘cause the beer wasn’t even going to be empty. After 2 cans Reiner started to bawl songs of the 50es. What a pain!

As we looked out of the window we had this strange little feeling that we got lost again. Nobody knew that a bus could take slopes like that and 180 degrease curves. We guess that the bus driver wasn’t even sure that his bus could make that through and soon it smelled like a burning clutch.

Fortunately nothing happened and at 11am Mr. B finally found the border of Italy. Good for him!

Just a little reminder: We were supposed to arrive in Turin at 8am!

Mr.B saw a difference between Turin and Turino so it was our job to show him the way from that point on.

„May the Lord preserve us!" Well, he did and we got off the bus in Turin!

„Oh great- there’s a restaurant!" Five noodles, rice, a tiny Schnitzel unsalted potatoes and that for way too much money. After we got the tickets we had to recognized that they were for the Juventus-Fighters-Block. Damn it!!! Oh well, we’ll see!

We decided to look for a bar. And since we were so very welcome at the first bar we passed, we stayed there and tried to order some beer with our friends from Pforzheim. With no success as we learned later on!

Next to us sat a greenish-white-guy who fell without any advanced warning off his plastic chair right on his face. E didn’t seem to care and actually he got up and finished his beer. Jesus., he was pretty much gone!

After we waited a long, long time for the beer without getting anything we decided to go. With handshakes, kisses, hugs etc. we left the Celtics at this place!

We met some guys of the bus we came with and decided to visit a place were the Celtics threw the party. But where did they get the beer from? Some of them had gigantic bottles and they showed us this tiny vegetable shop. Last aid, ‘cause the italian cops ordered: "No beer after 4pm!"

Another evidence, that the Celtics are able to empty the alcohol supplies of a whole city completely. (remember ’96 in Hamburg?) Anyway - going to endless trouble we got hold of one beer for each of us!

Now we wanted to meet some other Celtics to take some pictures with them and our banner, which the Scottish cheered for a lot! It was unbelievable and I’ve never heard: „God bless you, boy!" that often in a row.

When the Celtics heard that we had a 21-hour bus ride just to see this match they started a concert for us („St. Pauli and the Celt’s are here...")

A couple minutes later we took out the banner again to have another shooting with „Green-Whites". Once they recognized our brown-white jerseys they ripped the banner out of our hands and celebrated the „chocolate boys of St. Pauli" again.

The Scottish started to ask for a jersey change but unfortunately we had only the Jack-Daniels-Jersey and the Astra-Jersey with us. As everybody knows: UNCHANGEABLE! For 40DM Flo bought this Bökhunder-jersey and waited for somebody who was willing to switch his Celtic-jersey.

The atmosphere at that place was incredible and not to imagine for somebody who didn’t join the party. We’ve never been welcome with so much loving care before!

The police required us to leave and to take the busses to the stadium. Since there wasn’t any beer left the Celtics started to kill 5l-bottles of vine (just a teeny tiny taste was disgusting, but they didn’t care at all!).

Finally Flo could change his jersey and both sides were satisfied. We promise that we will take caps, changeable jerseys and scarves with us to the return match in Glasgow since some Celtics were pretty disappointed that we couldn’t change sth. with them.

Two guys invited us to take their bus to avoid the crowded Italian public busses. We expressed our thanks with „Freude-schöner-Fussballzauber" und „Auf der Reeperbahn" which the Celtics applauded loudly. Afterwards they started their songs. This one guy, sitting in the very last row was singing really loud, started to puke all over the aisle and 20 seconds later he was singing again. It was hilarious and unbelievable!

At the entrance of the Celtic-block we met some fans from Hamburg who obviously didn’t have such a funny and nice ride to the stadium. Next question was, how we were going to get into the Celtic-Block with the Juventus-tickets!?! That wasn’t much of a problem and we were finally inside of the arena! Yeeeeha!

Between the orange-whit-greenish banners we put on the brown-white one! When other fans from Scotland put their banners on top of ours and they realized that we were from St.Pauli they apologized and put it somewhere else.

I guess everybody read about the game in the papers, saw it on TV or saw it life in Turin! So not too much about it!

After the game we weren’t allowed to leave the stadium, ‘cause of some dumb Italian hooligans who threw a couple of Pepsi-plastic-bottles into the Celtic-Block and the Celtics replied those throws.

About a hour later we got out and had to wait for another hour to catch a bus to the place where our lovely Mr. Busdriver waited to take us back home.

Man, we were freaking hungry but there wasn’t time to get something eatable.

At about 1am we started heading Hamburg (What ever that means to Mr.B) Thank God, he stopped at the first service area, where we finally got something to eat. And most important: They had Beck’s (German beer) and it was COLD! Hmmmmmmm!

Suddenly Mr.B came up and told us to get some water for the toilet on the bus. Ehm... isn’t that his job? At that point we weren’t surprised about anything anymore that had to do with Mr. Busdriver!

This day was so exhausting that we fell asleep immediately. As we were told afterwards, the bus driver headed Venice instead of the Swiss border and in order of that we had to be off of time. Oh well, what else is new! We woke up in Germane and the bus stopped to have a breakfast. Arriving in Pforzheim about 3 hours later than planned the „Pforzheimer" got off the bus and we continued the journey heading ortmund. We got there at 6.30pm.

Just a little reminder: We were supposed to be in Hamburg at 6pm!!!

We thought about staying in Dortmund for the next Champions League match against Liverpool. But since there weren’t enough tickets for sure we decided to stay on the bus!

Anyway, it was an incredible tour and we’ll do it again to anywhere and anytime. The next trip is definitely gonna be Glasgow! YEAH!

Special thanks to:

Chritine who waited at home to pick us up in the middle of the night.

Massimo, the courier and the one who got the tickets for us. Unfortunately we couldn’t thank him personally!

Reiner and Flo

No responsibilities about grammar and spelling mistakes!