StrollOn supports Euro 2008

Who are StrollOn supporting in Euro 2008?

Clearly this is the question that you're all wanting answered, in the embarrassing absence of a home nation in this years European Football Finals. So, you'll be pleased to read that we have taken our time, done our research and formulated some solid conclusions.

So what conclusions did we reach?

Well, as we are now firmly into the British summer (a fact, whether you like it or not), we have kept one eye on the football and one eye on the Pound, with a view to making the latter go the furthest when on holiday on the continent. Back on 27th May, the London Paper ran an article in their travel section called "zone out the exchange rates". In the article Poorna Shetty acknowledged that, with the pound getting a thrashing at the moment, there was a need to look outside of the Eurozone. And we have taken her advice and done exactly that. The non-eurozone european nations are at present:

Sweden
Denmark
England
Scotland
Wales
Hungary
The Czech Republic
Slovakia
Poland
Russia
Turkey and
Croatia

Of these teams 6 are represented this summer in Austria and Switzerland, being: Sweden, The Czech Republic, Poland, Russia, Turkey and Croatia. And, as you may have noticed, we have bided our time, waiting for the first round of matches to be played. The result is that we have now had a chance to eye up all of the non-eurozone challengers, the countries that offer the British the best deals abroad.

Only Sweden, The Czech Republic and Croatia managed a win in the first round ties, so we thought it best to stick with those that have gained first mover advantage. But what do these countries offer in terms of city attractions to the traveling Brit?

Sweden

Sweden, my personal favourite for a variety of reasons, offers the ever popular Stockholm, the vibrant and youthful Malmo and, on its western border, the culturally attractive Gothenburg.

The Czech Republic

The Czechs offer the visitor their Medieval citadel of Prague, which is the weekender's dream and the native's cultural, economic and political heartbeat.

Croatia

Croatia offers the first time visitor some incredibly beautiful spots, from the UNESCO World Heritage sites of Split and Dubrovnik on the Mediterranean coast to the capital, Zagreb.

Which means that StrollOn is supporting...

...Croatia, you would have thought. They have recent history on their side, performing well in the last few internaitonal tournaments; they have a confidence imbued into them by their young and ambitious manager, Slaven Bilic; they had a poor first outing against Austria and are therefore nowhere near peaking prematurely; they have not lost any key players in the immediate build up to or during the early stages of the tournament and they have a good, settled blend of youth and experience.

However, I reiterate "you would have thought".

Because we at StrollOn would actually rather the Cup go back with Karel Bruckner and his team to the Czech Republic. Our motives are selfish and not one borne out of logic, insider information or inclination. We hope that the winning team are the Czechs because, by the end of July we are hoping to release our Prague audiotours and guides and think that, on the back of the national team's success in Vienna on June 29th, Prague will be a fantastic place to visit for sometime thenafter.

Couple this with the strong pound (£10 can buy you 317 koruny) and I'm sure that you want to agree with us. So come on the Czech Republic,come on you reds, make it a summer for us all to remember - at least those that choose to visit Prague with a StrollOn walking tour!