Football Maddness in Vienna!!

Jen Turner and I hopped a train from Salzburg to Vienna on the day of the EuroCup semi-final match between Spain and Russia.  We arrived in town with enough time to check into our hotel and find a map.  We needed to get across town to the stadium and find ourselves two tickets to the sold out event.  Over the years, I have learned nothing is ever sold out.  I have found my way to sold out venues at the winter and summer Olympics, Wimbledon, World Cup Football, Baseball playoff games, concerts and even a Broadway show. 

We took the metro and followed the crowd of people towards the stadium.  We were warned from my friend who lives in Vienna that tickets were going for five times over the face value.  Within five minutes, we had acquired two tickets for a few Euros over face value.  Mission Accomplished.  The spirit and atmosphere of championship level football is better than anything I have been to in the States.  The closest thing for me has been the Final Four.  I have never been to the Superbowl but I assume that would be the only thing better.  Since I am waiting for the Lions to get there, I assume that WorldCup and EuroCup Football will be the best sporting events that I will see in my lifetime.  Both Jen and I decided to root for the underdog, Russian team and they weren't able to put a game together. The game was a blowout with Russia losing 3-0.

Pictured: Jen Turner and Sam Singh at EuroCup Semifinal match.

You will note that I am drinking a beer in the picture above.  What I didn't know was that Austria was so afraid of trouble at the stadium, that they made all the beers at the venue alcohol free.  Of course, it was in the paper prior to the tournament but I normally don't read Vienna's "Die Presse" when I am in Scotland! I actually told Jen at one point that I thought the Carlsburg I was drinking was watered down.  Little did I know!

Jen and I did the typical tourist things in Vienna until the day of the Championship game.  We weren't able to find a hotel for that night and my friends, Jamie and Greg Turner opened their house to us.  Greg had tickets for the game with his work colleagues so Jamie joined us to watch the match. 

Pictured; Jamie Turner, Jen Turner and Sam Singh at the Vienna Fan Zone.

We decided to watch the match in the fan zone.  The match was Germany vs. Spain.  The streets were filled with fans and the fan zone was packed to the gills.  It was an exciting place to watch the match.  Many of the Austrians were rooting for Spain because of their history with Germany over the years.  Since I was heading to Spain soon, I decided to root for them as well.  It was a thrilling match with Spain being the victor.

Spain Scores!!                                                         The Agony of Defeat.

The next day, as the city picked itself up from a great tournament, Jen took off to the states.  Since I was still waiting for my Russian visa, I stayed with Jamie and Greg.  It was nice to be in someone's home and not in a hotel for a change.  After a few days of rest and relaxation, I acquired my visa and I was off to Russia for the next adventure.

The Hills Are Alive in Salzburg

I arrived in Salzburg, Austria with one primary agenda and that was to finalize my Russian Visa.  The secondary agenda was to get into the spirit of EuroCup Football before I reached Vienna for the last two matches of the tournament.  Gentle readers of “Singh Around the World” know the outcome of the Russian Visa debacle.  On the other hand, the EuroCup preparations went quite well.

I had half dozen friends from the States that talked about making the trip out for the EuroCup but one by one they began to drop like flies.  I was pleasantly surprised when my friend, Jen Turner, told me she was coming to Europe and would meet me after seeing friends in Munich.  She wasn’t a football fan but was looking forward to seeing her first match.  The EuroCup is an incredible place to see your first match.  Jen is an MSU alum and lived in Hubbard Hall during the same time I was a Resident Assistant there. Since she was at the kickoff party in the Bahamas, she entered the ranks of the few that have seen me out on the road twice. 

Salzburg is a wonderful town made “more” famous by the movie, Sound of Music.  As you explore the town, you have to be careful not to be run over by the hordes of over enthusiastic Sound of Music fans that are going from one movie site to another. 

I have a history with the movie and mother loves to tell the story of my Sound of Music experience over and over.  I don’t remember it but it was the first movie I saw in a theater when I was a child.  At some point during the movie, I stood up, pointed to the screen and in a very loud voice demanded that my mother turn the channel.  Yes--little Sammy Singh didn’t have any sympathy for the plight of the Von Trapp family.

I don’t know Jen very well so I was fearful that she would want to do the Sound of Music bus tour.  Luckily for me, it wasn’t her thing either.  We ended up doing a walking tour of the city checking out the fort, churches, gardens and the art museum. 

The Germany/Turkey match was being played in Switzerland so we planned on watching it in the Salzburg Fan Zone.  Each city that hosted a match during the tournament created fan zones for people with out tickets to watch the games for free.  The outdoor venues consisted of huge screen TVs, food vendors and beer stands.  Our fan zone experience was washed out by a freaky thunderstorm that came out of nowhere.  Though we were soaked, we found solace in an Irish pub that was showing the match. I was hoping for another Turkey come from behind victory but the better team won.  I went over to congratulate the group of rowdy German fans in the back of the pub only to find out that they were a group of recent American high school graduates wearing German jerseys.  Oh, the horror!

How the Bar, Crunchy's, Helped Me Get My Visa to Russia

Alternate titles: The Travel Gods Looked Down and Smiled
                          You Can't Stop Sam Singh- You Can Only Hope to Contain Him   

Dear Gentle Reader,

The saga of the Russian visa has come to a successful ending. Just like it was planned.  Well, maybe not like it was planned but successful nonetheless. For those who have been sending me well wishes over e-mail, I appreciate it.  It was the first time during the six months of this journey that I was actually worried that something might not work out.  I don't know why I ever doubted Rule #1 of Singh Around the World- "Everything Works Out in the End" because it does work out in the end. 

To catch people up, I was invited to be the date of a friend who is attending a wedding in Moscow.  I met the groom briefly in the past so I jumped on the opportunity.  When will I ever be invited to a wedding in Russia again? 

Russia, like many other countries, has a process for visiting their country that requires an individual to acquire a visa prior to entering the country.   Unlike other countries, their process is fairly complicated. First, you are required to get a formal invitation from a Russian company. Most tourists will get their formal invitation through a tour agency.  After receiving your invitation letter, you need to make your hotel bookings.   Each hotel then submits you a letter confirming your stay and those letters must be submitted with your visa paperwork.  Of course, each hotel requires that you pay upfront which makes it more difficult to back out even if your visa is denied by the Russian Embassy.  The last part is to book your flight and then send all that information with the completed application and passport photo to the Russian Embassy.

Many people utilize a private visa processing company because they know all of the rules and regulations and often can cut through the red tape better than you can on your own.  The process usually takes a few weeks. Since most people are at home and not traveling, this process works out quite well and it did for my three friends that are going to the wedding.

My problem was that I needed my passport and that I wasn't going to be in the US for an extended period of time to get it processed.  I was in LA for a few days in early May but we were still finalizing the hotel arrangements and I was there to acquire my visa for China so I could go to the Olympics in August.  I would need to get my visa in Europe.  I talked with a visa processing company and they told me that I could easily get my visa in any major European city that had a Russian Embassy or Consulate. My first mistake was believing them.  Over a three week time frame in June, I tried to get my visa in Barcelona, Edinburgh and Salzburg.  Both Barcelona and Salzburg wouldn't process my paperwork because I didn't have a work or living permit for their country.  Edinburgh would process the paperwork but it would take ten days and it would mean that I would miss the EuroCup Semifinals and Final in Vienna.  I love football (soccer to the American readers) and so that wasn't option.

The last ditch effort was made on Tuesday, June 23.  It was the Hail Mary pass at the end of the game.  Everything had to work out or I was screwed. I contacted a Russian visa processing company in Washington, DC.  I sent my paperwork and passport to them in DC by DHL which could only guarantee two day turnaround.  It arrived on Thursday, June 25.  The Russian Embassy needed to approve on Friday or it would not arrive in time for my flight.  The Embassy did approve it on Friday though I was required to pay a $200 emergency turnaround fee.  It was then sent Fed EX to Vienna because I was flying from there to Moscow.

I couldn't travel because I didn't have a passport so I was going to be stuck in Vienna. The travel gods were looking down at me because I received an e-mail from a friend in Chicago that mentioned that our friend, Jamie Turner, had moved to Vienna.  I hadn't realized that Jamie and her husband, Greg, had moved because last I knew they were in Berlin.  Jamie and Greg have been great. They have opened their house to me for the past three days.  Jamie told me to send the passport to her office because they have a receptionist at all times that could sign for the package.  I went with Jamie this morning to her office because the Fed Ex web tracking system stated it was signed for and delivered.  We had a tiny scare when no one could find the package.  The person who had signed for it wasn't in the office and the mail people said we had to wait till the afternoon. Jamie was understandably upset while I was just glad that it was in the same city as me. 

Jamie told me that we would go to the cafeteria and wait because she had a plan.  She talked with her supervisor's secretary and she was on the case.  It is funny it doesn't matter what country you are in, the people with the most power and resourcefulness are the secretaries.  We had a call in five minutes that the package was mysteriously found and the secretary was bringing it up for us.  I now had my visa and passport and I had twenty-two hours to spare!

Oh, you are probably wondering about the title of the post.   Well--I first met Jamie Turner when she was Jamie Paszek.  She was a waitress at Crunchy's in East Lansing while she was finishing up her degree at MSU.  Small World, huh?