All of these trips have been great in their own way: Manchester for atmosphere; Amsterdam for the sheer experience; Oporto for the day as a whole; London for the sightseeing and Vigo for the fact that we were through to the last 16 of the UEFA Cup!
But I can honestly say that nothing compares to the most recent trip which I went on, to Stuttgart in Germany last week. From the minute we boarded the plane on Thursday morning, till the minute we landed back in Glasgow ealry on Friday, every second was a laugh!
We arrived in Stuttgart city centre at around 11.30 am, after a singsong on the bus transfer from the airport. From there on we purchased a crate of German lager from the nearby supermarket and headed for the main square in Stuttgart. From there on it was a mass of green and white! There were Celtic flags hanging from trees and statues, and every person you seen had some sort of Celtic garment on.
The Stuttgart fans and locals were absoloutley brilliant. They were really nice people and their friendly welcome for us mirrored the greeting they got in Glasgow last week.
It was an all day sing along, until someone mentionwed that famous Celtic band Charlie and the Bhoys were playing nearby. We arrived at the Club Proton to see the band, and from then till around 5.30 we listened to their top quality singing.
Then, it was off to the game. I can honestly say that I have never felt a bus shake before in my life until I boarded Cambuslang Travel Bus B to the Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion.
When we arrived at the stadium, we got a few Frankfurters and a bit of banter with the Stuttgart fans before we took our seats. The stadium was impressive, and the German fans made sure of this with their massive flags and banners.
Everywhere you looked in the ground there was green and white. It was clear that Celtic fans had purchased tickets for the Stuttgart end without any hassle. A rousing version of 'You'll never Walk Alone' before the game set up the party that was about to happen!
Alan Thompson's goal from the back post sent the Celtic fans wild. We could not believe it, after falling behins to a shaky start. One of the biggest roars I have ever heard at a football match took place when the ball hit the net for that first goal.
When Chris Sutton put in the second, 2 minutes later, it was utter mayhem in the Celtic end. A mixture of joy and disbelief was in the air and Celtic fans were seen lying on the floor of the Stuttgart stands, as well as hanging from the roofs of the fences at the front of the stand.
From then on it was party time. Alot of people claimed it was a nerve-wracking finish but I did not see it that way. I believe that if Celtic had to go and get another goal they could have got it.
We thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Germany, and are looking forward to a repeat success in Liverpool soon!