World Champions Germany, minus new father Lukas Podolski, set off to France punctually at 14:00 CEST on Tuesday. Flight LH 342 will take around an hour and a half and after arrival in Chambéry, the team will travel onwards to their EURO 2016 base in Evian-les-Bains. 31-year-old Podolski didn’t travel with the team after becoming a father on Sunday and being granted an extra day holiday by Joachim Löw.
Previously, the national team’s management said goodbye to DFB colleagues at Schalke’s Commerzbank-Arena. Particularly surprising at the event, which also saw DFB president Reinhard Grindel and general secretary Dr. Friedrich Curtius speak, was the appearance of four EURO 2016 participants. No surprise that World Champions Sami Khedira and Benedikt Höwedes, returnee Mario Gomez and newcomer Leroy Sané also received rapturous applause at the French brunch at the DFB foyer.
Travelling in the "Fanhansa" to France
They then travelled to the airport and then specially chartered Lufthansa plane. It was dubbed the "Fanhansa" because the names of 300 fans, chosen from 65,000 online applicants, decorated the main body of the plane. The DFB squad walked along the red carpet and through a guard of honour formed by the flight attendants. Only mishap: the door didn’t close correctly first time around but shut problem free at the second attempt.
After arriving in France, the team will make the 130km bus trip from Chambéry to Evian-les-Bains, where they’ll be based at the four star Hotel Ermitage for the duration of the tournament. On Tuesday evening (18:30 CEST), the team will take part in an open training session the Stade Camille Fournier. Germany’s quest to secure their fourth European Championship title gets underway on Sunday (21:00 CEST), when they face Ukraine in Lille.
[mmc/kr]
World Champions Germany, minus new father Lukas Podolski, set off to France punctually at 14:00 CEST on Tuesday. Flight LH 342 will take around an hour and a half and after arrival in Chambéry, the team will travel onwards to their EURO 2016 base in Evian-les-Bains. 31-year-old Podolski didn’t travel with the team after becoming a father on Sunday and being granted an extra day holiday by Joachim Löw.
Previously, the national team’s management said goodbye to DFB colleagues at Schalke’s Commerzbank-Arena. Particularly surprising at the event, which also saw DFB president Reinhard Grindel and general secretary Dr. Friedrich Curtius speak, was the appearance of four EURO 2016 participants. No surprise that World Champions Sami Khedira and Benedikt Höwedes, returnee Mario Gomez and newcomer Leroy Sané also received rapturous applause at the French brunch at the DFB foyer.
Travelling in the "Fanhansa" to France
They then travelled to the airport and then specially chartered Lufthansa plane. It was dubbed the "Fanhansa" because the names of 300 fans, chosen from 65,000 online applicants, decorated the main body of the plane. The DFB squad walked along the red carpet and through a guard of honour formed by the flight attendants. Only mishap: the door didn’t close correctly first time around but shut problem free at the second attempt.
After arriving in France, the team will make the 130km bus trip from Chambéry to Evian-les-Bains, where they’ll be based at the four star Hotel Ermitage for the duration of the tournament. On Tuesday evening (18:30 CEST), the team will take part in an open training session the Stade Camille Fournier. Germany’s quest to secure their fourth European Championship title gets underway on Sunday (21:00 CEST), when they face Ukraine in Lille.