Red and white gear? Check.

Within the first day spent across the border we'd had a great chance to see something of what makes Croatia tick - and it's the same thing that makes a lot of Europe get out of bed each morning and pull on their pants: football.

We'd managed to time our visit at either one of the best or one of the worst times, depending on your outlook. While not an avid follower of the round-ball game, I've certainly come to appreciate the passion it arouses in people all over the world - from horn-honking competitions in the streets of Lyon to celebrate their Olympique's topping of Ligue 1, to virtual rioting in the boulevards of a victory-mad Buenos Aires during the World Cup, to pubs erupting all over Australia when we finally qualified - without exception, there is nothing which engenders passionately emotional outbursts quite so consistently around the world as the beautiful game.