A happy and optimistic bunch of Shels supporters met at Dublin Airport at 1pm for our Crossair flight to Zurich. We were joined by Club President Mrs. Teresa Donnelly and her daughter and also by Andy Byrne the kitman. Also on tow were seven large steel flight cases of gear plus numerous other bags, boxes and packages needed for the team's stay in Switzerland. Shels were determined to avoid the problems with gear which affected Neuchâtel Xamax's trip to Dublin the previous week. (Apparently, their gear was delayed and only arrived three hours before the game).

After a pleasant flight we touched down in Zurich and had some fun packing all the gear plus our own luggage into a coach for the two-hour trip to Neuchâtel. Our coach driver apologised that he had little English, and that "our roads are very bad". This was due to roadworks, which reduced the traffic to one lane - but we made good progress and admired the distant Alps while we went. After just over two hours we reached the outskirts of Neuchâtel, and what was to be the players' hotel, where we dropped off Andy and the Donnelly's plus all the gear.

Ten minutes later we reached the picturesque town of Neuchâtel nestled between the Jura Mountains and huge Lake Neuchâtel

The buildings, old and modern alike, were all built from local butter-coloured stone and the houses had a typical Swiss appearance, with sloping tiled roofs. On the main road into the town we passed "La Maladière" - Xamax FC's stadium, situated next-door to a huge bright red coloured cathedral which was closed for renovations. Now that we all knew where the stadium was, we turned our attention to the town, and hoped our hotel was convenient to everything.

Indeed it was! Just a short drive down from the stadium, a right turn up the hill, and another right and we had arrived at the Eurotel hotel. After checking in and relaxing for a while in our rooms, we met up in the small bar at the reception area. There was a little bragging by those with rooms at the front of the hotel. The front rooms were massive, with table and chairs, a separate sofa and armchairs with a coffee table, and a balcony with a view over the lake. In contrast, rooms at the back were smaller and looked over the car-park and two large satellite dishes on a wall behind the hotel!

We soon learned that the Eurotel was run as a training centre for hotel management students, and that most of the staff were studying this course. It did not take long for us to make ourselves at home - especially when we saw several large "Guinness welcomes you" banners on the walls. Yes, the hotel had specially ordered in Guinness and Kilkenny for their Irish visitors. And the lager drinkers were pleasantly surprised at the price of the local brew - a mere 4SFr (£2) per pint! The bar man Marcelles had extremely good English, and provided tasty snacks on the tables - crisps, peanuts, slices of a tasty banana flan and some lovely apple pastries. John Phelan asked Marcelles if it was OK to hang our flag on the wall, and he replied "no problem". So, John produced a huge flag with printed letters : Shelbourne on Tour, and this remained on the wall in the hotel bar for the duration of our stay.

After several drinks we realised the time was about 10.30pm and some of us were quite hungry. While some prefered to remain in the bar, more of us decided to go for a walk to see if we could find somewhere to eat. Most places seemed to be closing up, but then we spotted a McDonalds sign in the distance. Not exactly local fare, but we didn't mind - so we proceeded in, only to be told that they were also closed. John Phelan pointed to the service area where there was still several items remaining unsold. "Look", he said "you've some left, can we have them? We're starving, we've just arrived from Ireland". But the Asian man behind the counter was adamant: "No, I'm sorry, it is not allowed....we cannot...we are closed...sorry". John continued to plead "we are here for the football on Sunday. Shelbourne and Xamax - look....", and he produced Shelbourne keyrings and badges and gave the man some. The man smiled: "Ah, the football...", and then he sighed and said :"Ok, but this is not allowed. Do not come back if there is a problem, this is not allowed..." and he handed John three BigMac's and two apple pies!

So, we left happy, munching McDonalds and began to walk around exploring the town. Before long we reached the lake-side where there was a pretty harbour with large passenger boats, yachts, small motor boats and paddle boats of every size and shape. Walking past the harbour we heard some music in the distance, broken occasionally by the sound of crowds cheering. "That sounds like a concert", said Frank Duffy, so we headed in that direction to investigate.

Sure enough, after a 10 or 15-minute walk we reached an open-air concert by the lakeside. There were crowds coming and going - there didn't seem to be a cover charge, but by the time we got there it looked to be finishing up. Adjacent to the concert there was a tented area with various promotions, including a free-internet access area. We brought up ShelsWeb and pointed out the photos of the Shelbourne v Neuchâtel game to several passers by. This generated some interest, and John Phelan handed out a few more badges and keyrings.

"Where to now" one of us asked, and we decided to take a walk and look at Xamax FC's stadium. Leaving the concert area we spotted a police car. John Phelan, never the one to suffer from embarrassment, approached the car. "Hello" he said in a cheery voice "we're looking for the stadium". The two police stared back with blank faces "Parlez-vous francais?" one of them said. "We're here for the football on Sunday" said John, but it was clear the policeman had no idea of what he was saying. So John produced the badges and keyrings again, and gave them one each. The policemen smiled - they understood! John shook hands with both of them, and then pointed to the roof of the police car. "Put on your blue flashing lights" he said, and the police man was happy to oblige, to the amazement of the local onlookers. We all laughed, and the police car drove away - no doubt baffled by the behaviour of these mad Irish people!

We realised that the stadium was only a short walk away, and four of us decided to take a walk down, the others returning to the hotel. When we reached the stadium, their bar was still open so we went in and bought a drink. John started chatting in pigeon English to a group of six women in the corner, several of whom we learned work in the Xamax souvenir shop. When he handed them out the badges and keyrings, one of them got up and disappeared out for several minutes. She returned with a free badge, sticker and cap for each of us.

Walking back to the hotel, John commented on how well things had gone the first night in Neuchâtel. "We've had free McDonalds, a free concert, chatted the local police, and now free Xamax souvenirs! What more could we want...", he said. Back at the hotel, the bar was still in full swing. We learnt that someone had asked Marcelles "What time does the bar close", and he replied "whenever you want". Perhaps he regretted that statement the next morning, as there were still some hardy souls there at 5am!

Day Two - Friday June 25^th 1999:

When we awoke it was already hot outside. From the bedroom balcony we could see that the sky was clear with not a cloud in sight, and the lake was a rich blue colour. We could tell it was going to be a scorcher - so we took out the shorts, which we had packed more in hope than in anticipation.

Breakfast was a buffet of hot and cold foods ranging from scrambled egg, meats, fruit, cheese, bread and cereals, as well as fruit juices and tea/coffee. There was something for everyone. When we had had our fill, we went back to our rooms to apply our sun-cream and dig out the sunglasses before going off to explore the town. All, that was, except Pat Connors who had hired a car and taken himself and his son Matthew off to Geneva for the day.

We walked down by the harbour, which was full of activity this morning with boats coming and going, and lakeside cafes serving food and drink. After a walk down to La Maladière again, we returned and sat by the lake for a drink. We got so comfortable there in the baking sunshine that we decided to order lunch. The menu was superb, the helpings large and the prices reasonable. While we ate, buskers came around playing music whilst an assistant collected money from anyone who wished to donate.

At 1.35pm five of us decided to go out on a boat trip on the lake. The boats run like a bus service, stopping at various locations down the coast of the lake, with people getting on and off along the way. We bought a return ticket to Estavayer-le-Lac at the other side of the lake, a round trip of about 25 miles, which took three hours. The boats were comfortable and sold food, drink and ice-cream. We sat on-deck at the back, enjoying the sunshine and the breeze out on the lake. It was only when we stopped that we realised just how hot the sun was - we estimated it must have been 30-32oC.

At 1At 4.45pm we returned to Neuchâtel, and despite plenty of sun-cream, we knew we had got burnt. I had bright red patches on my neck and shoulders, Noel had very sore ears and Gavin's thighs were starting to glow also. It was much the same for the others who had remained on-shore for the day. Sunburn was the order of the day! Some of them had travelled up the mountain on a tram-like carriage called the Funiculaire. Tosh and Brian had gone to Bern on the train where they saw the famous "bear-pits", and Tosh, ever the animal-lover, was very concerned that one of the bears was just walking in circles around the pit and looked very distressed. Brian said "Yes, it was the pits alright…!!!"

The evening was spent relaxing in the hotel bar, where there was a different student on-duty tonight. Scarlett was from Hong Kong, and along with her husband, was training in hotel-management in order to open their own hotel. We also met Vincent from Kenya - a cheery man in his last few months of the course, who seemed to enjoy the Irish "craic" even more than all the others.

We took a break later on for a trip downtown for some food. We found a lovely restaurant, which had a massive variety of foods, from steaks to fish, pizza to pasta. There was a rowdy stag party ongoing at one end of the room, and we pitied a group of eight women who later came in for a quiet meal! Back at the hotel, Pat Connors had just returned from Geneva and described it as being the "most beautiful city he has ever been to". He didn't escape the sunburn either - his left arm was burnt red from being out the car-window during the driving, whilst his right-arm was still white!

About 20 more supporters arrived from Dublin this evening. They had flown to Zurich along with the team, and travelled by coach to Neuchâtel. Unfortunately there hadn't been enough seats on the coach, so Ollie Byrne and a young supporter - Neil from Donaghmede - had travelled by train. Drinking in the hotel bar did not go on as long tonight - Scarlett had probably heard about Marcelles' experience yesterday, and at 2am she announced that she was serving last drinks and closing the bar. Of course, some people stocked up on the drink and stayed up until 4am, but Scarlett was gone as she was on breakfast duty in the morning!

It was a bright morning, and so after breakfast John Phelan asked who would like to come with him and visit a local vineyard. About twenty people were interested, so we all paraded down the road after him. "Where are we going?", someone asked, and John replied "we need to get to the tram station, and it's about 10 minutes on the tram". We all kept walking, though there was no sign of the tram station.

The sky had clouded over, and we felt a few drops. Shay Malone went back for a raincoat whilst John went into the tourist office to ask for directions. A few minutes later he emerged: "This way", he said, pointing to the right. As we continued walking, the rain got heavier and we decided to shelter at a roadside café, which had a canopy over the street. Within moments, a bright-eyed waiter emerged with a pad and pen ready to take a massive order - coffee for twenty?? "No, we have to go", said John, and we all paraded after him again.

By now it was lashing rain, and we were soaked to the skin as most of us had just t-shirts and light clothing on. We decided to quit and return to the hotel. We must have looked a sight - twenty-odd bedraggled souls running up the main street of Neuchâtel. When we reached the hotel, Aidan Lynch was in the foyer with his camcorder, and got the whole lot of us on tape, to the amusement of the others sitting inside nice and dry! We never did get to see the vineyard - though John later admitted that the tourist office told him to turn left, and he doesn't know why he turned right!

The difference between continental Europe and Ireland is that when it rains, it doesn't necessarily mean it's down for the day. By the time we had dried off and changed our clothes, the sun was shining, although it was still mainly cloudy. Ten of us decided to venture up the mountain on the "Funicular". This is a single tram-like carriage, which runs on rails and a strong cable. It travels at an angle of 46^o to a height of 1087 metres where it is said the view will "take your breath away". There was a group rate for 10 people, and we were the only ones in that particular trip up the mountains. The driver had no English, but he was friendly and invited some of us to sit on his seat and pretend we were driving! We were in high spirits, and were joking and pointing at the view as we travelled up the mountain - and the driver was highly amused at our antics. The driver then pointed into the forest where we saw a fox calmly watching us pass him.

At the top of the mountain - a place called Chaumont - the view was indeed superb. For 1SFr (50p) we walked up a gangway to a viewing tower which provided a panoramic view of the whole area. Although it was a dull day, we could see for miles across Lake Neuchâtel, and the nearby smaller lakes Morat and Bienne. Faintly in the distance we could see the snow-capped Alps - apparently on a clear day it is possible to see Mont-Blanc. We also picked out Xamax FC's stadium by the lakeshore beneath. After staying for refreshments in the restaurant on the mountaintop, we descended the mountain. This time Francis McHugh was the driver, and he enjoyed beeping the horn loudly!

At this stage, hunger had descended, so we went in search of some food. We found a lovely little Creperie, which had a massive selection of sweet and savoury crepes. For a reasonable price we were served a large pancake filled with our selection of fillings, cheese, ham, mushroom, spinach and some even tried a fried egg. The food definitely gets ten out of ten here! As we were eating, we noticed some of the guys from "Independent Reds" passing by. We knocked on the window and they came in to say hello. They told us they were staying just outside the town, and a tram service brought them right in. Their hotel was lovely, they said, and they had their Shels flag hanging up there. Five of them travelled to Switzerland - two had gone to see FC Basel in the other Intertoto Cup game, the others were having a look around the town. They left us, we finished our meal and returned to our hotel.

	At 5.30pm we were invited to "La Maladière" for the teams training session. About 30 of us went along and sat in the stand as the lads did their runs and stretches. Then they had a ten-a-side match, with assistant manager Alan Matthews and Club Chairman Gary Brown taking part. After the training, one of the Xamax directors - Terry - brought us in to show us their trophy room, which included the Molly Malone ornament they received from Shelbourne for the first leg last week. "La Maladière" also incorporates the club bar and a restaurant. After the training session, some of our group ordered food, and more of us sat outside enjoying a drink and a chat.
	(At the end of the main stand, outside the club bar is a covered concrete patio with tables and chairs where you can enjoy a drink.) Yet more supporters arrived later on this evening. Five came by train from Zurich after a flight direct from Dublin, and four more had flown to Paris and driven from there to Neuchâtel. Most of them were determined to enjoy their short stay, and headed out to find the bars and night-clubs (which in Switzerland stay open until 4am). Today, Pat Connors had decided to drive to Interlaken in the Alps - and returned back later in the evening to tell us that: "my son was standing in two foot of snow earlier today - amazing".
	Four others and myself went for a lovely meal in a restaurant near the main square. We sampled the local wine, and two of us had fresh fish from Lake Neuchâtel. Delicious! The selection of deserts was just fantastic also, and the bill was no more than we would pay for the same in Dublin. Then we returned to the hotel for more fun, chat and wishful thinking for what would happen in tomorrow's game.

Day Four - Sunday June 28^th 1999:

Match day, and the nerves started building from the time we got up for breakfast. It was a beautiful day outside - though some of the revellers from last night probably missed the forenoon. At breakfast, Aidan Lynch had great pleasure in showing off the 4am antics of some of these revellers, which he caught on video. The tape included Niall Fitzmaurice telling the very sad story of his dog who had died, and later attempting to play "Great Balls of Fire" on the piano in the hotel lobby.

Being a Sunday morning, there was some of the group who wanted to find a church to pray for victory that evening. The big red cathedral beside the stadium was indeed a Catholic church, but as it was closed for renovations, the mass was held in a nearby Protestant chapel! Those who went said that the priest was a Gerry Adams look-a-like, and Francis McHugh insisted on getting a photograph with him afterwards.

Most people were taking things easy today, and we decided to sit down by the lake and have a drink and some lunch. As we were all wearing our Shelbourne jerseys we attracted much attention, and several people came to talk to us, and ask us if we were from Ireland. It was very pleasant sitting in the sunshine, and every now and then, buskers would come along, play for a while and then walk around collecting money. When it came to ordering lunch, those of us with a few words of French were left to translate the menu as best we could, find out what everyone wanted and then get the message across to the waiter. Chrissie managed quite well to ask for a large beer by saying "BEER", and spreading her hands to gesture something very large!

After lunch, four of us decided to hire a small motor boat and go for a spin on the lake. The water was crystal clear, and the surface was as calm as a pond. Francis McHugh didn't seem too keen, however, and hung onto the side of the boat for dear life - no offence to your driving, Captain Frank!

Soon it was time to go to the match. We walked to the stadium, as it wasn't far. We had heard that they were only opening one stand as they didn't expect more than 1,300 supporters, but in the end they had to open the other side of the ground to accommodate a crowd of some 2,500. The Irish and Shelbourne flags were spread out, including a new Independent Reds flag which was hung behind the goal we were attacking each half. It was possible to buy and drink beer in the stand during the game - a fact that amazed and delighted some of the group. It must be a sign of the well-behaved Swiss that there was also a lack of security and police in the stadium for the game.
Despite some efforts and shouting and singing, the Shels fans became more and more anxious as time ticked by. The Swiss made no noise at all, apart from a strange slow hand-clap when their team won a corner or a free kick near the penalty area! However, they became more excited in the second half when their team started to take control, and cheered loudly for both goals. Some of us thought, (and some even prayed) that the game would be stopped during the violent thunderstorm that passed over during the second half. Torrential rain meant we could hardly see the opposite side of the pitch, and fork lightning streaked right overhead.

It was difficult to get dressed up and ready for the post-match function as we were all feeling a little down, and some of the group remained in the bar drowning their sorrows. The team arrived at our hotel at about 9.30pm, and the bar was immediately run off its feet. The hotel had arranged a lovely four-course meal for us, and had printed menu-cards, tablecloths, wineglasses and flowers on the tables. The players and management sat at the top few tables, with some of the supporters, and the rest of us went down the back of the room. All our student friends from the hotel management course looked after us so well - Vincent, Scarlett and her husband - they told us it was the biggest dinner they had ever experienced whilst there. Marcelles was on his day-off, but appeared in the bar later to join us for drinks.

The menu was delicious - Honey-dew melon with cured ham for starters, roast chicken with noodles, french beans and tomato for main course, and a mouth-watering strawberry and kiwi desert served with lemon sherbet. Club chairman Gary Brown stood and spoke for a few moments, thanking the supporters for travelling, thanked Xamax FC for looking after us, and wished them luck in the next round. He also got in a few jibes at Dermot Keely, but Dermot had little to say in return except to remind the players that they would be docked a weeks wages if they didn't report from training at 9.30am in the morning. This deferred a few of the lads from staying out late, and they returned to the team hotel in a coach at 11.30pm.

The rest of us adjourned to the hotel bar for the night. The bar claimed it was their highest ever taking in one night, as they couldn't keep up with the demand for drink. Scarlett was run off her feet serving and collecting glasses - at one point she resorted to topping up glasses as she just couldn't wash them quick enough. Then the beer ran out, and a new keg had to be brought in. As if that wasn't enough hassle, the gas on the beer-tap broke and Marcelles was called upon on his night off to help solve the problem. We reminded Scarlett, however, that things would have been a lot busier if we had won the match. Then, she wouldn't have been able to close the bar and slip off at 2am - no, it would have been a lot worse!

At 2am, Paul McDermott and his wife Ger were anxiously looking at their watches. They were due to drive back to Paris that night in time for a mid-morning flight home. Niall Fitzmaurice and Eoin Ennis, their travelling companions had not yet re-appeared after a few hours' sleep upstairs. They had been suffering the after-effects of the night before, and went up for a rest straight after the meal. After a call, they rose and the four left the hotel at about 2.30am for the all-night drive. No one envied them, we were just as glad to relax, chat, drink and have some fun in the hotel for the rest of the night. Another European adventure was nearly over, and we were planning on making the best of it.

It was a quiet morning in the hotel. Half the group had left at 8.30am to return home, and the rest of us were taking it easy. It was another bright sunny morning, and as we sat outside the front of the hotel after breakfast, we made plans for the day ahead. Tosh and Brian fancied going to Geneva, and some of those who had arrived on Saturday decided that they'd try either the boats or the Funicular trip on the mountain.

As we were sitting there discussing what to do, we thought that we were hallucinating. Without any warning came a herd of six elephants walking down the hill into the town, each one holding the tail of the one in front in its trunk! It was a circus moving in, and the elephants were followed by a group of horses, vans and trucks.

We all headed our separate ways - I had decided to go to Bern - a 40 minute journey by train - as I didn't want to be sitting on a train for hours on such a nice day. We got a map in the tourist office at the train station when we arrived, and it showed a walking route around the city, marking all the sights. The first thing that hit us was how German everything was! Unlike Neuchâtel, the spoken language was German, the road & shop signs and the restaurant menus were in German. Not having any German, I was understandably totally lost, but I was also amazed at how sudden the Swiss language divide changes!The map was self-explanatory, so we walked about and saw the sights - including numerous fountains all with unique names and the Houses of Parliament (because, of course, Bern is the capital city). The shopping streets are all covered arcades - miles and miles of them along each side of the street. And there is also a huge number of "cellar" shops with stairs leading down from the main footpath underground.

The river Aare runs through the city, and we noticed it is unusually green in colour, and extremely fast flowing for a wide river. In the city centre is the famous Clock Tower, with its huge astronomical clock. Four minutes before the hour, tourists gather beneath to watch the clock "wind up" to announce the hour - we had heard that there were dancing bears, squeaking roosters and jesters drumming, but frankly - when we saw it, it was a bit of an anti-climax.

At the bend of the river Aare, a steep path leads up to the Rose Garden where there is a spectacular view of the city. When we huffed and puffed our way to the top we saw a large group of Japanese tourists happily clicking away with their cameras. We admired the view, left the Japanese with their tripods and zoom lenses, and then descended to see the famous Bear Pits which had upset Tosh so much last Friday.And just as he described, poor Mr. Bear was still walking around in circles - no doubt trying in vain to work out how to get out and frighten all those morons gaping down at him!

There was two other bears lazing in the pit, and two others in a separate pit behind. Then, there was just time to visit a few of the numerous chocolate shops (and how mouth-watering it was to see the colourful displays), and relax with a drink in the sunshine at one of the outdoor cafes. Sheer bliss!

We arrived back in Neuchâtel and it was like returning home, the French seemed like our native language after listening to German all day! We swapped stories with the others - Chrissie and Foxy had gone up on the Funicular again, along with John Phelan who had stretched out on a bench at the top of the mountain and got extremely sunburnt! Tosh and Brian had made it to Geneva on the train. It cost them £32 return, but Tosh had lost his ticket in Geneva and had to buy a single for £20 in order to get back.

Some of the younger members of our group played a game of football on a basketball court across the road - Chrissie admitted to cheering them from the bedroom balcony and they couldn't figure out who was watching them! Dermot Keely and the players had been spotted walking around the town during the day - apart from a few who were enjoying the local brew more than the scenery. We heard that they were forbidden from having another late night due to the upcoming Super Cup in a few days.

We made the best of our last night, though it was much quieter than previous nights, and some people decided to go to bed early because of the early start in the morning. Those of us who did stay up, however, had a good chat with the hotel staff who admitted that they'd miss the fun and "craic" when we were gone. Some of the women had been talking about the self-cleaning toilet in the hotel reception area, and the men would not believe them. Aidan Lynch produced his camcorder and obliged by capturing the famous WC on film, which he then replayed for all the gents who did not want to enter the ladies room. Marcelles behind the hotel bar was speechless with amusement. The final, but perhaps the funniest statement came from Francis McHugh. Tired from a long day and too much beer, he asked Kenyan Vincent (on his night off, but joining us for drinks) if he liked white people! Vincent erupted with laughter and said in a loud voice "What am I doing here then?", and continued by telling Francis: "I'll take you to Kenya, to a place where there's no white people, and leave you there for six months. When I come back you'll be so black from the sun, that you'll look like a Kenyan!".