Suddenly they heard the front door close and they jumped apart, startled by the sound. They looked at each other a bit awkward before they went back to enjoying the fireworks. They stayed downstairs for a little while before going to bed.
The next day they had a nice breakfast together. Zoë's brother came by as well. In the afternoon Zoë and Callen went to the city center where an ice skating ring was set up. They rented some skates and stepped onto the ice.
"Don't you have natural ice here? I get why we have an ice skating ring in LA during Christmas but why here?"
"The winters are not always cold enough here. There is some ice on the water but it's not thick enough to skate on so they put up an ice skating ring so people can at least skate."
They spend some time on the ice before sitting down in the bar for a drink. Zoë brought back two small bowls of soup as well.
"What kind of soup is this?" Callen asked as stirred his spoon around in the thick soup.
"It's pea soup, or as they say here: 'Snert'. It's a typical Dutch soup that is often eaten in winter at ice skating rings."
"But why the sausages in the soup?"
"It's Dutch."
"Holland has some pretty weird food."
They finished their food and went back to the house. They packed up their stuff and got back on the road. Zoë drove them back to Amsterdam. Zoë got off at the exit for Oudekerk aan de Amstel and Duivendrecht and took a right on Burgemeester Stramanweg. She followed the road and it took them straight to the Amsterdam Arena.
"That's the Ajax stadium?" Callen asked.
"Yep it is. Ajax is my favorite Dutch club."
"You can drive underneath it?"
"Yep they built it higher so there's a road underneath it and the stadium is higher cus there is a parking structure underneath the stadium."
Zoë took the first right and turned around and drove back underneath the Amsterdam Arena.
"It's pretty big," Callen remarked.
"Yeah, it's the biggest stadium in Holland."
Zoë got back on the A2 and drove to Schiphol. She parked the car and returned the keys to the car rental desk before checking in for their flight to Liverpool. It was just past 6pm now. Their flight would leave around 9.30pm. They hung around the airport and had a bite to eat before getting on the plane. About an hour later they were in Liverpool, but it was an hour earlier here than in Holland so it was just after 9.30pm here. They took a bus towards Liverpool South Parkway station after collecting their bags. From Liverpool South Parkway station they took the train to Liverpool Lime street. From Lime Street station they walked to their hotel. They were staying in the Novotel Liverpool Centre. They checked in and went up to their room. They had a room with two single beds. They put their stuff away and got ready for bed.
The next day they went to explore Liverpool before it was time for the match. They went to Albert Dock and walked along the Mersey. They also visited the Nautical museum at Albert Dock. They went to the Liverpool One shopping center. They went to grab some lunch at Las Iguanas. After lunch they went to the shopping center and stopped by the Liverpool fan shop. Zoë bought a Liverpool FC scarf for Callen and one for herself. She also bought other souvenirs. Via Mathew Street they walked to the Queen Square bus station. Mathew street was a street with a lot of music pubs and Beatles fan things. From Queen Square they took a bus to Anfield Road, Liverpool FC's stadium. They went to the entrance for the stadium tour.
"So this is Anfield?" Callen asked.
"Yep."
"Looks small compared to the stadiums we have in US."
"Yeah but it can still house a lot of people."
They showed their tickets for the stadium tour and they got audio devices to enjoy the tour. They took the elevator up to start the stadium tour. First they got an introduction video by the head coach of Liverpool FC before they could explore the stadium. They followed the signs for the stadium tour. Inside where a lot of posters of Liverpool's greatest football stars and the rich history that the club had. They came to a part of the stands they could explore. It was right above the camera stands.
"Wow, this is pretty impressive," Callen remarked.
"Just wait until the stadium is full tonight and you hear all the fans sing you'll never walk alone. That's really goosebumps."
They walked further and looked out the window in the far corner.
"Is that another soccer stadium?" Callen asked.
"Yep, it's Everton."
"It's pretty close by."
"Yep it is. Only Stanley Park separates them."
They went down the stairs and walked through some of the lounges before coming in the main hall where the players would walk through when they came into Anfield. They walked into the halls leading up to the dressing room and press area. Just as you walked into Anfield there were these words on the wall: This is Anfield. We are Liverpool. After going to the press areas they walked into the away team dressing room. The home team dressing room was off limits since the match was tonight. The shirts of the Liverpool players hung above the seats, just like in their dressing room. At the entrance for the pitch where all their cups they won on the wall. Above the walkway to the stadium was the famous "this is Anfield" sign.
Zoë went to stand under it and touched it with her hand as Callen took a picture. It was a special thing players did when they walked onto the pitch, to touch the sign for good luck. They went through the walkway and entered the pitch. A small part in front of the dug-out was available for them. Zoë and Callen sat down on the Liverpool's bench and someone took a picture of them. The last stop on the tour was the famous Kop. This was the stand of the stadium where the die-hard fans sat. They exited the stadium and walked the grounds towards the museum. The came past the Bill Shankly statue, who was one of the best coaches the Reds ever had, and the Paisley gateway. Bob Paisley was another Liverpool legend. They walked through the museum to witness the great history Liverpool had and the most famous players. They also came across a part dedicated to the Hillsborough disaster.
"What's this remember the ninety-six?" Callen asked.
"It's for the ninety-six people who lost their lives at the Hillsborough disaster. It happened during a match of Liverpool. The stands where too crowded, there were way more people than allowed. A panic started and a lot of people were trampled of squashed. It's the worst disaster in the English football history. After that match all the gates in the stadiums were banned so the people wouldn't get tramped and squashed again."
"But isn't it so easy then to go onto the pitch then?"
"Yes it is. But nobody in England does that cus they have very strict laws against that. If you step onto the picth you are forbidden from ever stepping foot inside a stadium anywhere forever, so nobody does that."
After visiting the museum they walked the grounds and stopped by the Hillsborough memorial which was pretty impressive to see. All the names of the people who lost their lives where carved into the stone.
"This one," Zoë spoke as she pointed to a name. "Is the cousin of Liverpool player Steven Gerrard. He was one of the youngest victims. Just went for a nice match with his father only to never return."
"Yeah it's so tragic what happened."
After visiting the memorial they went up to the Board room sports café with was part of Anfield too. At the stars leading up to the café was the Hillsborough memorial mosaic with all the names of the victims underneath Liverpool FC jerseys. They entered the café and got a booth with a private TV.
"Welcome to the board room," a friendly waitress greeted them. "Would you like to have the menu for dinner?"
"Yes please," Zoë responded.
The waitress handed them two menus. "Can I get you something to drink?"
"A bear for me," Zoë responded.
"A bear for me too," Callen added.
"What kind of bear to you want?"
Zoë looked at the drinks menu. "We'll take an Erdinger."
"Perfect, I'll be right back."
They looked through the menu deciding on what to eat. At the TV screen was another football match playing. A little later the waitress came back with their drinks and took their order. Zoë ordered nachos as starter and chicken burger as main course. Callen had the nachos as well as starter and had the beef burger as main course. They enjoyed their dinner before going to the stadium around 7pm. The match would start at 7.45pm. They just chatted before the match would start. Around 7.40pm the players came out of the tunnel and walked onto the pitch. After the line up the speakers started with the music and the audience chimed in.
"When you walk…..," Zoë sang along. "You'll neeever walk alone," the song ended.
"You were right, goose bumps," Callen said once the song ended.
"Yeah. This stadium is the best with the supporters. They will always stand behind their team."
"So which one is Gerrard?"
"The captain, with number eight. He's the best. He's a local lad, never played for another team than Liverpool."
The match started.
"Why is he stopping?" Callen asked after the player stopped chasing the ball after the referee had blown his whistle.
"He was offside," Zoë explained. "It's when he's behind the last player at the moment the ball is passed."
"But the goalie is still there."
"Yeah but the rule is that there has to be at least two player in between him and goal when the ball is passed."
"Ah okay."
Callen was enjoying himself very much. It was really different then the soccer in US. In the end Liverpool one with 3-0 with Luis Suarez being a key player with two goals and an assist. They exited the stadium and walked to the bus stand.
"And what did you think of it?" Zoë asked.
"It was pretty exciting. They really go crazy for soccer here."
"Oh yes, they breathe and live football over here. I grew up with football when I lived in Holland and I totally fell in love with it."
"I can see the appeal but nothing beats American football."
"Yeah but with this football you know how long the match takes. It's around ninety minutes, when is knock out perhaps with thirty minutes extra time and perhaps penalties. But it won't take up to five hours."
They waited for the bus to take them back to the city center and from there they walked to their hotel.
"Thank you for taking me here I had a really great time," Callen spoke as they walked back into their hotel.
"You're welcome and thank you for coming along. I had a great time as well."
"It was also nice to see your home country and where you grew up."
"Yeah it was nice to be back there again."
They stood there in front of the beds close together, like they had experienced more during this trip. Zoë felt that this trip had brought them closer together and was started to feel things for Callen, feelings she never had before and she wasn't sure what they meant.
Callen stood there in front of Zoë, looking into her eyes. Here they were again. Callen felt himself drawn to Zoë. This trip had definitely brought them closer together. He saw Zoë in a totally different way. He was started to feel something, something else then her just being a good friend. He didn't know what it was and what he should do about it. He had never felt this way before. Callen looked into Zoë's beautiful eyes as she looked into his. They stood there to what seemed like ages before Callen moved. He moved a little closer to Zoë and was surprised when she didn't back away. He moved closer till their faces where almost against each other. Zoë moved her head up a little and their lips touched.