For our family the date 15^th to the 23^rd August was dominated by one thing - the 2009 IAAF world track and field championships in Berlin, Germany.  Fortunately for us we have a close family friend who lives slap bang in the centre of Berlin.

How could we not visit the Championships when we would be there, particularly after our son, Evan, had just joined Biggleswade Athletics Club to try his hand at the Javelin and the Hammer?

Sat outside in the garden in Charlottenburg having only just arrived in Berlin, a glass of wine in hand and the television on, we rudely sat and watched the evening's sport with the cheers and screams emanating from the stadium three tube stops away.  We couldn't wait to be there.

I could write a millions words and nothing could accurately describe the excitement, as a family, we were feeling.  We had just arrived at the stadium and had pre-ordered our tickets to collect from the distribution centre under the Olympic sign.

The sound of 'God Save the Queen' wasn't played for myself having got to the front of the queue for our tickets after twenty anxious minutes, or the husband and our host knocking back their first drink at the beer tent, or even the children having been served Bratwurst and Chips, it was the medal ceremony for Jessica Ennis who had won Gold in the Heptathlon the previous night! You won't often see me running, but I was first to my seat slightly miffed the ceremony had started early!

Olympiastadion Berlin

The Olympiastadion was built for the Olympic Games in 1936 to designs by the architect Werner March.  Its capacity was 110,000 spectators including a VIP stand for Adolf Hitler and his associates.  Starting in August of 2000 the Olympiastadion was renovated and modernised to meet the standards of international sports associations.  The modernisation was completed in summer of 2004 and the stadium can now entertain 74,064 spectators, expandable to a total of 74,244. 

The most noticeable thing about the stadium was the blue running track.  May be it's quite a common colour but I hadn't seen it before.  The availability of beer, wine, various snacks and bar meals were as cheap as the takeaways outside.  We never felt we had overpaid as in many venues we have visited over the years.

Hammer thrower Primoz Kozmus (SLO)

We watched the male Hammer final, womens Pole vault final, womens Triple Jump final, womens 100 metre final, 10,000 metre final for the men and the female 3000 metre Steeplechase in amongst many semi finals and heats.  The sheer speed the 10,000m men run at is hard to describe unless you have seen it for yourself.  We now appreciate why they get a standing ovation on the last lap - even the guy who comes in last.  We watched as Jenny Meadows ran a stonking race though beaten into third place behind Caster Semenya and Janeth Jepkosgei Busienei.  We watched Usain Bolt get his 100m gold medal which was a big treat for the kids and we joined in singing 'Happy Birthday' to celebrate the man of the moment.

Usain Bolt 100m Medal Ceremony (9.58secs)

The camaraderie between us spectators was great.  We found ourselves cheering (if the British weren't in it) for Germany and to be honest anyone who was doing well.  Every so often when us Brits had a good try people would turn and look at us and give us a smile and a clap.  There was no animosity or bad behavior and the beer was flowing like you wouldn't believe!

The World Championships will undoubtedly be remembered not only by us British for having the most successful team to represent us on the world circuit; Jessica Ennis, Philip Odowu, Lisa Dobriskey, Jenny Meadows but for the likes of Usain Bolt breaking two world records and Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia in the 5000m, absolute stars in their field and a pleasure to watch. 

Berlino the Bear

I cannot forget to mention Berlino, the most loveable mascot ever.  Berlino may not have been popular initially, but due to his hard work he kept us entertained from the beginning to the end.  In fact, by the end of the games he was so popular that they had sold out of Berlino Bears (we'd already bought ours).  Considering he or she was hidden in a bear suit in 30 degrees plus weather, did constant cartwheels, encouraged Mexican waves and non- stop dancing, he deserves recognition for his work ethic.  He ran the penultimate lap of the 10,000 metres and enviously, got numerous photographs taken with Usain Bolt.  He encouraged us to clap, sing and dance with him.  I apologise to Berlino if he isn't a 'he' but he did seem pretty strong (he piggy backed Melanie Walker after her victory in the 400m hurdles).  Though, if the 2009 World Championships overall has taught us anything, it's to not make assumptions about peoples gender!