LAST Wednesday morning my alarm sounded at 1.30am, I jumped from the bedroom chamber and rushed to grab my passport before heading to meet with my two comrades as we made the journey to Dublin ahead of our flight to Frankfurt.
After the gubbing that Celtic received at home just seven days prior, we flew to Germany knowing that hopes of winning the tie were all but gone. So we went to celebrate in a collective atmosphere and one with no toxic reminder of the ongoing troubles that still remain at Parkhead.
Soaking up the German sun, enjoying their famously strong beer, all while enjoying the company of like-minded Celtic supporters, make European away days worth every penny you part with.
As I sat in a German fan zone prior to heading to the stadium, one glance around the Schlossgarten Biergarten showed harmonious fans of every age, including many who were there during the teams' previous meeting, and some like myself who were barely old enough. But I still had that famous yellow away jersey plastered on me that I wore as I sat beside my old man and watched Henrik Larsson and co overcome the German giants in 2003.
But the feeling inside Celtic recently, as I referred to last week in my article, has been disconnection.
Now, it may have been the strong German beer, it may have been the currywurst and bratwurst on the menu, it may even have been the rare heatwave in March which saw 18C and 19C sunny spells, or it could have been just the thought of celebrating Celtic in Europe, but all the home hostility was left behind.
When Luke McCowan expertly stroked the ball into the back of the net with just 100 seconds on the clock, I can categorically tell you the hugs and kisses between grown men were on a par with Christmas at an elderly relative's.
I've been to many many Celtic games in my life and I've seen some huge results in domestic and European action. But standing shoulder to shoulder with men donning every form of Celtic pride – from the old-school Bumblebee to the Centenary strip – I've never enjoyed anything more. The mood was raucous and heavenly despite Celtic exiting the competition.
Winning the league at Parkhead in 2017/18 after thumping Rangers 5-0 to do so is no doubt my favourite memory watching the Hoops. Famous results against RB Leipzig, Lazio and last November in Rotterdam were all so special and cherished, so how can I still rank Celtic's victory in a dead rubber on German soil as the best? Simply because it was Celtic and their fans were collectively earning their stripes once more as one of Europe's and the world's most magnificent fanbases.
These memories you don't get inside Celtic Park these days. Those famous European nights in Glasgow seem a long way away, and even the most staunch supporter recognises the dull nature of walking down London Road in 2026 as you glance towards the director's box and see the smug overlords looking down at their loyal customers.
Simply put, that is the difference these days.
I want to pass on my thorough appreciation to the town of Stuttgart for welcoming so many Hoops fans with open arms and joining them to sing their anthems. But that's enough German glazing for now, back to the football we go.
The victory in Stuttgart was one that in the grand scheme of things meant little, but it did provide Celtic with some much-needed confidence ahead of the trip to Ibrox, where any loss would surely have ended the hopes of Martin O'Neill's side.
When Youssef Chermiti found the net on the eighth minute with a staggering overhead kick, the Parkhead faithful feared the worst yet again, as Ibrox has not been kind to the Bhoys in recent seasons.
Calamitous defending just moments later from Dane Murray saw him slice the ball into the path of the Portuguese striker and with a bit of tidy close control he managed to nick the ball past Julian Araujo and prod it cleverly past the despairing Viljami Sinisalo to claim a double with two very different but excellent goals.
Celtic fans feared the absolute worst – a potential scudding of the magnitude that Martin O'Neill experienced on his first derby at Ibrox in 2000, when Celtic were thrashed 5-1.
But as ever when the chips are down O'Neill waves that magic wand and comes to the fore with the solution.
Off went the still sluggish Alex Oxlade Chamberlain and the hard-working but ineffective Junior Adamu at halftime, and the return of the real Reo Hatate and Sebastian Tounekti gave Celtic the urgency and guile they so desperately needed ahead of a save-the-season rally.
Hatate has been criticised heavily recently, and rightly so, with his form taking a nose-dive since O'Neill's departure to make way for the hapless Wilfried Nancy.
But the Japanese midfielder took to the Ibrox pitch like the Reo of old and began to dictate the tempo as Celtic grabbed the game by the throat.
Benjamin Nygren's chipped ball to the back post was perfect for Kieran Tierney, who placed an emphatic downward header beyond Jack Butland.
As the 90-minute mark approached, Daizen Maeda's goalbound header after superb wingwork by James Forrest on the right looked to have been miraculously saved by Butland. But the all-seeing eye of VAR revealed that Dujon Sterling's flailing arm had turned the ball on to Butland's face.
Referee John Beaton carefully and slowly watched a heap of replays, although what took so long is not entirely clear.
Up stepped that man Hatate in the absence of Arnie Engels and, superb and all as his second-half display had been, a suppressed groan went up amidst the Celtic fans at Ibrox and in bars across the land as the clock ticked into injury time. The Japanese playmaker's effort was firm and accurate, but Butland not only produced a cracking save, he sprang up to deny Hatate again on the rebound. But the ball fell kindly for the Hoops and Hatate won a race with Maeda to prod the ball home as the Rangers defenders arrived too slowly and too late.
So yet another late piece of Martin O'Neill magic, in a week when the Derry man celebrated his 74th birthday by pulling players apart in the emotional on-pitch melée which greeted the final whistle.
The Hoops now look to Wednesday and Aberdeen, a must-win game if they are to close the gap to within five points of Hearts and leapfrog Rangers in the process.
The league is still on, but will the confidence of that pulsating second half and a rescued point give the Parkhead club the edge when the teams return to Ibrox again on Sunday? Or will draw specialists Rangers finally manage to put together a convincing 90 minutes?
Only time will tell.
