Getting ready for the World Cup

Orange at Ruk en Pluk, originally uploaded by CharlesFred.

Well, in fact, Ruk en Pluk just stayed orange from Koninginnedag right through to the World Cup. All one colour, one oranje-gevoel. Last night Holland beat Cameroon 1-0 in a warm-up match. Seemed silly to watch with the real thing coming up soon, but it appears that 40,000 people have bought tickets to see a Brazilian training session.

I am planning a trip to Germany next month, despite the failed trip to Cologne earlier this year. The idea is to take the bike on the train and find a campsite in one of the three Ruhr-Gebiet cities in which games are being held and take in the atmosphere of the World Cup, watching the games on a big screen in one of the squares.

Was thinking of the week 19-23 June, where I could see teams such as Brazil, Japan, France, Togo, Switzerland, Portugal, Mexico, Sweden AND England! But, it is the same week as Royal Ascot, the highlight of the flat racing year, to take place at the new Ascot course, which opened yesterday and looks fantastic, although there are no trees around the paddock, which was as predictable as disappointing. Anyway, we'll see.

It has stopped raining for a day and after a cycle ride, we go off to see The Da Vinci Code in Tuschinsky with Chanelli.