The moment when a fan jumped into the field. Match Spain vs. Germany, World Cup 2010.

This was the moment when the fan jumped into the field:



It´s so corious, but the players of both teams just watched him! :D

In some news are saying that it was Jimmy Jump... but I don´t think so...

The octopus Paul already predicted Spain will win the World Cup 2010!

Here the precious moment:



Paul is a very brave octopus, he had done the prediction even after receiving threats like the following one: (ALERT! The following video contains images, which can hurt sensibilities).



So! Spanish! We can start to prepare the celebration!! :D :D :D

That´s how Spain got into the final! Match Spain - Germany, World Cup 2010

Several "versions" of the match Spain vs. Germany, World Cup 2010. (As usual, I´m puting them in order of my preference, being the last ones the best ones for me).





That´s how Canal+ of Spain commented it:




Here the resume done by ESPN, including the image of Sara Carbonero celebrating the goal:

Spanish players making a conga while Shweinsteiger was giving his impresions.

No comments! :D

The Queen congratulating the players. World Cup 2010, Spain vs. Germany.

YEEESSS!!! We won to Germany! Spain is at the final!

Here some videos as celebration.

Fans of both teams before the match:



That´s how people at Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, celebrated the goal:



Here in Plaza de España in Ferrol:



Here the Queen at the moment of the goal:



Spanish people watching the match at the streets:



at the beach:

Villa saying: "this is to make history"



Del Bosque, finally emotionated ;P



Spain is celebrating:

In Albacete:





In Barcelona:

In Madrid:





Tres Cantos:



Sara and Iker in the field (in the game against Paraguay):

In the moment I find more interesting videos I´ll include them, maybe in this same post.

The German Octopus Oracle already said Spain will win!

I wouldn´t ever think Germans could belive in this kind of things... but! I won´t be the one telling them not to! ;P ;P ;P

Paul already said Spain will win:



Here Paul´s prediction in the match Germany - England:



Here his prediction in the match Germany - Argentina:



So! Germans! I´m afraid you have nothing to do! ;P

Best moments of the game Germany - Australia, World Cup 2010.

Enjoy it!

Dusseldorf Airport almost empty at its first semi normal day after the ashes crisis.

I´m already at home! :D But I should say I was having a good time in Germany… but you see, with the uncertainty of whether yes or no and for how long have to wait plus bothering people in their normal working life if I had to go to the airport, as well as being aware that we talk about an event with negative consequences quite an impact in many sectors, it wasn´t the best for enjoying a few extra days in Germany.

I got a seat at Iberia´s flight of 19.10 from Dusseldorf. I was in Dortmund and going to Dusseldorf Airport with time enough for doing the check in (check in online wasn´t available), cross the control and be on time at the respective door meant to leave the place I was no later than at 15.30.

I´d call several times to Iberia but they insisted that they really can´t give me warranties, that the first flight of the day was cancelled, the second one was delayed 2 hours, but it was due the plain going out from Madrid was delayed. The last time I´d called I explained my situation to the girl at the phone (btw: of all who attended the phone these days just had a nasty girl, everyone else, very kind and giving their best for giving me the best possible recommendations) checked and told me that actually the best for knowing if, from Iberia´s part, the flight would be ok or not, would be to check around 16.00 if the flight going from Madrid to Dusseldorf went on time, but anyway due the ashes problem, could be the airport the one that closes. For me to wait half of hour for knowing almost for sure if all was ok with the flight could meant to not to be on time and actually would be a terrible joke to lose the flight!

I decided to take the risk of going. I went by train because, I insist, it wasn´t a nice plan to bother a friend and not to fly finally. I also had already decided to follow my own recommendation and if the case was that this flight didn´t gone, to ask for a new seat in a weekend flight. I had the good luck of find an ICE train that goes straight to the airport (well, straight in this case means without having to move to another train, but this train does several stops in different cities).

Luckily I decided to go with more time, because since it was the first time I went by train to the airport, which had not foreseen is that from where I left the train to the respective terminal had to take the Sky train, something that actually I would have liked, of course, but I had the bad luck that was out of service and then had to go on normal bus, which found a stretch of traffic and this took a while to get to the terminal, besides that passed first to the parking. So, if I would go just in time, in a normal day that would cost me to be at the airport once the flight would be closed.

Other interesting place at the airport that I didn´t knew even after being there at least 5 times, is that in the part where you leave the train there is an observatory where you can see a panoramic view of the airport and departure and arrival of aircraft. Entry costs 2.50 Euros. And yes, I really was tempted about going to the observatory even just 10 minutes, but I didn´t want to risk.

Finally, I arrived at the terminal and was surprised to see the airport near empty. Even the queues at the counters of Iberia, with people, but far less than I expected. I could say that we were just the ones going to take some airplane. On the screen you could see that in general everything was normal, except for some Lufthansa flights canceled. Yes, I also was tempted about taking videos of the terminal near empty, but still believed that I will find crowdy lines at the control point, it wasn´t possible for me to give a look to it before going because it was one that is upstairs in Terminal B.
Once at the control point… it was empty! Well, I passed it and started to walk looking for the gate of my flight… it was like a ghost airport! See it by your own!



There were some plains taking off and arriving, but not so many actually.



In general the atmosphere was extremely rare.

I gave a look at different stores (I was with enough time to), I can say that in most stores I was the only one that entered. Took the opportunity to chat a bit with the staff of some shops and ask them how they had experienced the situation, they told me that in the preceding days they had been told not to go. I insisted on at least if they had been told to be aware to see if they had to go in the afternoon or something, they said no, that it was not going the whole day and until further notice. This puzzled me much, because in some way meant or that they knew the airport would not open the whole day (even if they were saying on the news that would open at 2 am, then at 2 pm, then at 6 pm ...) or even it it get open, passengers were not going to be able to eat and/or a drink at the airport and they haven´t reported that.

In the corridor I had the feeling that we were not many passengers, but when the plane was already in flight I got up to see the occupation of it ... there were many empty seats! I noted a few in this photo, but there were more.

I must say that I expected some comment from the captain at the microphone ... something like "Iberia laments the setbacks for the problem caused by volcano Eyjafjall ashes..." but no, not a word of this.

We arrived at Barajas, and yes, the T4 was quite empty. I mentioned it to the taxi driver and he agreed with me that there were few people.

About Dusseldorf I thought it was due being the first day semi normal and maybe just few people wanted to risk to do a booking without knowing for sure if they will really be able to fly, but about the T4 I really don´t know what to say.

I really hope the airports go back to real normal life asap and that someone gives economic help to those who had to pay expenses not foreseen due this situation.

Info for the travelers loosing flights due the volcano ashes problem.

Well, yes… I´m one of the thousands of people that can´t flight due the volcano ashes.

I think maybe the worst part of this all is the lack of information about how to proceed, that´s why I decided to write this post.

If you are in the same situation, this is for you:

Each airline will resolve the problem by they own rules. Iberia in Germany is doing this way:

You should call (there´s no other way) and ask for a new booking in the next aviable flight. Iberia phone numbers in Germany are:

069-7166322

069-7166178

069-7166320

069-7166172

069-7166358
069-7166364

069-7166356

It´s really hard to finally have someone at the other side, but you should insist. My recommendation: remember the person at the other side of the line is not responsible of what´s going on so, it´s not the right person for you to be mad with, this person is there for helping you as far as it´s possible.

What´s the problem with this system?

As far as nobody knows 100% sure when the planes will really go out, they give you a new flight with the info they have. So, you even should be taken care about the info provided by the airports and once you know the airport will be closed again so it won´t be possible for you new flight to go out, you should call again for asking about a new flight. My recommendation: if you already know that you have no problem about staying a bit more, better if you ask at once for a flight during the weekend, which seems to be the real moment when the flights will be really normal. With this you avoid to be calling day by day and you also help other passengers with more urgency.

NOBODY IS PAYING HOTEL NIGHTS NEITHER FOOD till the moment, no airlines, nor governments, no one. It´s being saying they will in different media, but actually the truth is nobody is doing so. Then, don´t take decisions thinking they will give you the money back, especially because I think if finally they will give helps, it will be as low as possible.
If you are in a hurry for being at your destination, instead of paying a lot to a taxi driver, it´s better if you search people that would like to share a rented car with you. For example, National Atesa, allows you to take a car in one country and to turn it back in a different want with very good prices. The price will be even better if you book it with the travel agency Halcon Viajes, their web: http://coches.halconviajes.com/

Right now this is all I can tell, in case I get more info, I´ll place it here.

Good luck!

Walking in… Dortmund, Germany: Xmas Market.

Dortmund just continues wondering me!

I had the chance of meeting the Xmas Market in Dortmund. It´s a different concept of the ones I knew before, because instead of being placed in one specific square or a determinate space for it, it is actually all over the city center, mixed with the normal stores, churches and pedestrian streets. So, it becomes in some kind of the whole city center market! :D

I was also hallucinating with the things they sell… a lot of wood handcrafts, ceramic, candles, interesting xma´s lights, glass bombs hand painted… And if we talk about food… mmmmm!!! Great healthy options with fruits and vegetables, a lot of great bread (I love German bread!) :D and also street places for drinking something… but all, and I mean ALL with quite great taste!

You can give a look to it here:



As far as youtube says it´s blocked in some countries, here the version with youtube music: (the other one was with Enya… btw: great versions for Xmas music!)



Here the second part, with the world´s biggest Xmas tree:



Some videos talking about:

The tree:



And also the market:



Merry Xmas!!

Walking in... Dortmund, Germany - Football World Championship 2006

This time I´m sharing with you how the streets of Dortmund looked like on June 30th. before the match of Germany vrs. Argentina. This match wasn´t played in Dortmund, but there was a fan´s space in the center of Dortmund, with a big screen and beer stands for watching it.





They even prepared a place, very close to the train station, where you felt like going inside a football camp at the middle of a match. The entrance was like the one for the players… here you can see:



Yeap! It was a great experience! :D

At least I can say… I´ve lived!!! (Final Part)

On March 25th. 2003 started the V [´ju:nien]. . The Lords have done special t-shirts with our own version of the image of Iwo Jima´s flag raising. The Lords started playing Quake, that´s why the name of the klan, so, the image was with different characters of the different Quake games, including some of RTWC as well. The inscription… I loved it!!! :D “We already fragged your father” like letting the others know: yes, we know, we are old… but good! ;P





The [´ju:nien] was in a Mercure hotel, at the conventions room, 600 people there, mostly men, I´m not sure about quantities, but I remember we were just few females there. The organization was great and was really impressive how ordered and well set was everything, it looked like if it would be a professional convention instead of a LAN party (but again I´m comparing with what I have seen on t.v. and pics about Spanish LANs).



On Friday night and after a long journey, Curro arrived at the [´ju:nien] as well. The QLs received him as if he would be also part of the klan, even with a T-shirt for him :D

We had been playing hours and hours, almost without sleeping at all, (MPower, Stryker and Eagle didn´t slept at all). Was really funny to watch them (their gestures, movements, expressions…) while playing… the part you always miss of the other person when is at the other side of a screen! It´s a pity that I haven´t took videos! :D

Some klan wars took place, but I´m afraid we didn´t win any prize… but at least I did!!! The longer distance journey for arriving to the LAN one!! Ok, ok, they gave it to Curro and me actually, but anyway, that was the first QLs´ prize! ;P



Here a video I have done with my pics that resume that travel:



Curro went back home on Sunday afternoon, immediately after the LAN party was over. I still had that afternoon and Monday´s morning to do a bit of tourism, Voni and MadDoc were my guides, they even had patience enough to go shopping with me!! (That´s what friends are for…) ;P Part of the route was to go to a beer factory where I bought a couple of “big beers” (2 litters one), actually due I loved the bottle, and I mean it! I don´t drink beer! (Yeap, they almost killed me when I told them that and tried really hard to make me to try it, come on! How can I be in Germany without trying the beer?... well, I´m sorry! I don´t like beer!).



In 2003 another girl had join the QLs, this time a German one, Ana Morph, and Dagonet, a guy from Denmark that actually had been playing hand to hand with us almost at the same time I started to play at that server… the klan was a really multicultural one!! ;P



In 2004 another [´ju:nien] came and yes! I had been there as well! I had been trying so hard to convince Dagonet to join us as well… but it wasn´t possible for him, a real pity! This time Curro can´t go. We were more QLs and we won a prize playing and again my longer journey one! :D






I really don´t remember when it was, but we started to play Enemy Territory instead of RTCW, that was quite similar. Problem was when the Lords get bored of that one as well, they started with new games that I didn´t like, I´m afraid. Today, few of the Lords still play together, but WOW. I don´t like it. :( And I can´t convinced them to play Scrabble in Spanish with me! ;PP But time to time I go to Dortmund, to visit my good friend Voni and usually we do a QL´s dinner when I go. It´s always nice to met them again and I still feel a QL even if I don´t play with them anymore.

When Playstation placed the add “double life”, it went straight to my heart… reminding me the great moments I had lived fighting hand by hand with my QLs… do you remember it?



Here's a transscript:

For years, I've lived a double life.
In the day, I do my job
I ride the bus, roll up my sleeves with the hoi polloi.
But at night, I live a life of exhilaration,
of missed heartbeats and adrenalin.
And, if the truth be known, a life of dubious virtue.
I won'€™t deny it I've been engaged in violence, even indulged in it.
I've maimed and killed adversaries€“ and not merely in self-defence.
I've exhibited disregard for life, limb and property,
and savoured every moment.
You may not think it, to look at me,
but I have commanded armies and conquered worlds.
And though in achieving these things I've set morality aside,
I have no regrets.
For though I've led a double life, at least I can say:
I've lived.

And here the German version for my QLs:

At least I can say… I´ve lived!!! (Second Part: Being a Quake Lady)

Once I became into QL – Lady Spain, playing was my very favorite activity. I can remember entire weekends playing, just stopping for eating and for get some sleep. It was funny to try to explain that war game playing passion at work to my female colleagues… and the wondered face of my male colleagues, maybe not even really believing me. (Hehehehehehe!).

At the end of 2002 one of the Lords sent a mail talking about a LAN party that would take place in Hagen, in April 2003, the V [´ju:nien]. Hagen is very close to Dortmund, Essen and Bochum, places where several Lords live. Since I knew about the LAN party, I had clear I should go. At that time Germanwings was offering really cheap prices for going from Madrid to Colonia, I´m afraid they don´t have that route anymore. I also found very good prices at an Ibis hotel in Dortmund, because, of course, going there just for the LAN would be a bit silly, so I took some vacations days to stay a bit more, btw it was my first travel to Germany.


The Lords were really wondered about my decision of going to the LAN, some of them living just some kms. away of Hagen weren´t sure about going there and in my case, I took the decision so fast… even knowing it meant to go there carrying my PC (not a laptop at that moment, but a normal desk PC), they would bring me a screen, but I should bring the rest with me.

Curro decided to join us, but due his work, he should go just for the LAN… and yes, also carrying his stuff! (The first one wondered was myself!). And yes, sure, my family and friends thought I should be crazy for going to Germany, carry on my PC, just for meeting my klan and participate in a LAN party… well… what can I say? For me it´s just a matter of: if I want to do it and I can do it… why not to?

So, as far as the LAN was programmed for the weekend (from Friday night till Sunday midday), I decided to be there from Wednesday night till Monday afternoon. I´d arrived at Colonia´s aiport at 23:45, Voni and MadDoc went to picked me up. They made a banner for me to recognize them! :D



On Thursday morning I went alone to meet Dortmund, a city that I really like a lot. Yes! I think I should do a post about Dortmund some day! ;)

It was my first contact with Germans in Germany, I should say it wondered me a lot how well educate and how kind they are. Somebody told me that I think that because I can´t understand what they are saying, but I don´t think so. I´m sorry for saying this, but in that moment my point of comparison was Spanish people, I had gone several times to Germany and I confirm it, they are so kind, well educated and warm (that contrast a lot with the coldness image people all over the world have about them). Also was nice and wondering as well to see that foreigners living there are very well integrated, I even saw black people working in high positions, like if they would be just another German one (that from my point of view, they are, just that this is not exactly like that in Spain, that´s why I´m remarking it).

Voni took that afternoon free for being my guide in Dortmund. I had bought a tourist book about the city and already had choose the places that I would like to meet, so, when he asked me where I would like to go, I showed him the places I had selected… point was that of course I didn´t know that all of them were far away from each other, and even being like that, he showed me them all that afternoon! :P :D

Two of my favorite places I met that afternoon are:

The Bodelschwingh Castle



The Rombergpark









That night we had a Quake Lords Dinner. So, there I was! Finally meeting some my battles´ pals in real life! :D Yeap, the communication was a bit problematic due the language thing, but was really nice and exciting for me to share that dine with them. The really funny part was when I wanted to clarify a point of the menu before asking for my food, the menu was just in German and there was a word that I didn´t understood in a dish that at the first sight I liked and I asked them to translate it to me… but they forgot the word in English and started to try to explain me it as best as they could, even with gestures… what a pity not to have a video of that!! Especially when Maddoc tried to explain it was something the vampires were afraid of! Hehehe! The whole restaurant released that they were trying to explain me that word and finally someone of another table said “garlic! It´s garlic in English!” :PP



(To be continued)

At least I can say… I´ve lived!!! (First Part)

As more or less all the females I know, I use to hate video games (in this concetp I included pc games and similar). My husband, Curro, is a video games fan and yes, I also was for several years part of that group of women that usually complain about “him” playing long time and feeling like the video game is some kind of unbeatable rival. So, usually, to watch him in front of the pc with a game made immediately my stomach to start to segregate gastric acid not in a nice way. But I should clarify a point here. Problem was not exactly just due the quantity of hours that he spent (now he plays just a bit), in front of the pc playing instead of giving me some attention, ok, that was bad enough but actually the worst part was about the kind of games he usually plays… monsters, blood, violence, explosives sounds… I mean action 3D games for being precise.

In my case, the pc games I like are the mind games, those ones that make you to think or, in case, pacific games like digger, mah jong, tetrix… that kind.





One day, in 2001, we had a dinner with a friend of mine, it was Saturday and 2 hours before the date time, Curro was playing at the pc and definitely not even thinking about getting ready for going out to that dinner. So, I started to remind him our date. Half of hour later, same scenario, me in a ruder way, I should say, reminding him again about the date. 1 hour before the date time, I was really mad due he was still playing and we would need at least 30 minutes to be at the date place. So, I got close to him as much as I can, telling him that he should stop playing or we´ll have problems. But in that moment I saw the screen and first thing that was amazing for me was that it had no monsters but soldiers “working together” for doing something that at that moment I didn´t got exactly what. At that time he already had explained me that he can´t stop till the end of the round or his team won´t be able to save the gold… that was some kind of mars language for me at that moment, but I was completely captivated about those cartoons running around, shooting to the enemy side and helping each other, medics giving life, lieutenant giving ammo, engineers placing dynamite… he explained me a bit more about the game and about how to manage the character, so I asked him if I could try to play while he got ready… and I should say that we were late at that date due my fault! :$

I asked him to please install that game, Return to Castle Wolfestein, in my pc. Please take into consideration that I had never ever played that kind of games before, so, simple things as just shoot while running, was difficult for me, but I was willing to learn in my own speed and by my own, so, Curro just gave me general instructions and with that I start my journey in different servers learning the game. First of all, was important for me to choose a nickname that made obvious I was a girl but not a teen, not a masculine one neither, and I found it: Lady. It was some kind of custom to put the name of your country after the nick, I was living in Spain and already with Spanish nationality, so I decided to use it, then my nick was Lady Spain.



So, once I had the nick I really liked, I start to travel around different servers. In first place I went to Latin-American ones and the experience was terrible. Taking into account that I was still learning how to move (not even how to play!) ;P it was really not difficult for them to believe that I was a woman… but the sexist commentaries wondered me a lot. I decided to move to Spanish servers: more sexist comments but with worst words. So I tried with American servers… yeap, wondering, also sexist comments, I really didn´t expected that. French servers: same thing. Finally at Italian servers it started to become better, no sexist comments, but the point that wondered me was that Italians were the only ones that, while playing, people of the same team were shooting their own colleagues in order to be the ones to carry on the gold. Then I started to play at Swedish, Norwegian and German servers…. YYYYYYEEEEEEAAAAPPPPP!!! FINALLY!!! They respected me and treated me very well, even taking a bit of time to give me some clues to improve my game. :D



RTCW started to be my new vicious. Well, if you look at me, you wouldn´t ever think I could like to play a shooting game, but at that time I loved to play at Swedish, Norwegian and German servers and it started to took up most of my free time. Ah! And just to mention it! I didn´t like to play as a medic but as engineer or lieutenant. ;D



By chance one day I started to play in a German Server named “Quake Lords” and some guys there even started to talk a bit with me (not just about the game I mean). It became into my favorite server and some weeks later even one of them, Eagle, became into my msn friend and time to time he took time to take me to an empty server to teach me a bit more how to play well. Was really nice to find people my age playing that game! So, more and more I spent my whole playing time at QL´s server and the rest of QL´s and other fans that also played there became into my game friends, with some of them I also had a msn friendship. I had been the only one female playing with them for so many months. It was really funny! Oh! I really enjoyed that! Point is that you really feel like you would be “doing something”, like the team work you have done at the game was in something real, not just inside a pc… yes! I started to understand Curro! :D (But rarely we played together, he liked, of course, to play at Spanish servers and for me all the times that I tried it the experience was terrible, so no reason why to lose my time in that way).



More or less a year after I started to play with them and just by chance, talking with my good friend Voni (one of the QL´s), I really don´t remember who asked whom, but point is he told me QL´s never invited people to belong to the klan so I told him I would love to be part of QL´s but I knew it was just for males and Germans… so he told me it wasn´t true… then I asked if I could be part of the clan! :D



It took more time than usual for them to decide if I could be part of the klan… yeap! First of all because I was a female!! :/ But also the language was a problem because they talked with each other with Team Speak and my German is so, so basic (enough for not to die if I need to eat in a German speaking country or to ask someone if speaks English!) and for them it wouldn´t be so comfortable to talk in English while talking, specially at klan wars… but… wondering! They accepted me!!! :))))))) So I become into QL – Lady Spain :D
Watch this video! (But you really will understand the funny part of it if you know RTCW)



(To be continued)