O/t German games for the neutral

18YearFreeTrial

18YearFreeTrial

Well-known member
Looking to go to Germany for the first time with a friend before he flies off to Australia, and to do a few days in a city and try take in a bundesliga game whilst out there. Does anybody have any recommendations for games around march from the following list and which would be suitable in terms of flying and getting tickets. I've currently got eyes on Dortmund vs Leipzig but I haven't looked much further.

Any advice Re flights, hotels, cities and matches is appreciated Screenshot_20221227_115258_Chrome.jpgScreenshot_20221227_115308_Chrome.jpg
 
18YearFreeTrial said:
Looking to go to Germany for the first time with a friend before he flies off to Australia, and to do a few days in a city and try take in a bundesliga game whilst out there. Does anybody have any recommendations for games around march from the following list and which would be suitable in terms of flying and getting tickets. I've currently got eyes on Dortmund vs Leipzig but I haven't looked much further.

Any advice Re flights, hotels, cities and matches is appreciated View attachment 13916View attachment 13917
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Go to the Dortmund game but stop in either Cologne or Düsseldorf as they are great party cities.
 
I would agree that Dusseldorf or Cologne are better cities to stay in.

As Dortmund is a Friday night game kicking off at 830 local time, you will need to get away relatively quick after the game to get a train back to either of the above cities. Trains leave Dortmund till around midnight though and take about 60-70 minutes to get to either Dusseldorf or Cologne. Use the Stadtbahn between Dortmund train station and the ground.

If you fancy watching a second game on the weekend, you could go to Borussia Moenchengladbach on the Saturday (30 mins on the train from Dusseldorf, 50 from Cologne) or Bayer Leverkusen on the Sunday (15-30 minutes from both).

Given that your match ticket includes your train transport for either Gladbach or Leverkusen I would rather go to Borussia MG. They have a big area outside the ground which is great for a pre match drink. Theres a very decent atmosphere inside as well, they are averaging around 50,000 at home. Bayer Leverkusen has a neat 30000 stadium but it’s quite corporate compared to all the other grounds in the region.

Update: just looked at the BMG website and it seems only single seats are available for the game on 4 March. Bayer Leverkusens game on the 5th game has some seats left and you can book on the website.
 
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hampshire_exile said:
I would agree that Dusseldorf or Cologne are better cities to stay in.

As Dortmund is a Friday night game kicking off at 830 local time, you will need to get away relatively quick after the game to get a train back to either of the above cities. Trains leave Dortmund till around midnight though and take about 60-70 minutes to get to either Dusseldorf or Cologne. Use the Stadtbahn between Dortmund train station and the ground.

If you fancy watching a second game on the weekend, you could go to Borussia Moenchengladbach on the Saturday (30 mins on the train from Dusseldorf, 50 from Cologne) or Bayer Leverkusen on the Sunday (15-30 minutes from both).

Given that your match ticket includes your train transport for either Gladbach or Leverkusen I would rather go to Borussia MG. They have a big area outside the ground which is great for a pre match drink. Theres a very decent atmosphere inside as well, they are averaging around 50,000 at home. Bayer Leverkusen has a neat 30000 stadium but it’s quite corporate compared to all the other grounds in the region.

Update: just looked at the BMG website and it seems only single seats are available for the game on 4 March. Bayer Leverkusens game on the 5th game has some seats left and you can book on the website.
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Thankyou for the useful insight, going to try put together a little itinerary and will update in the near future.
 
Dusseldorf is a great little place - easy & cheap to get to...easy to get to & from the airport and a tidy little centre to get pi$$ed in! Cologne is a good city too and equally accessible.

Being based in either will give you access to a lot of the teams in the NW of Germany within an hours train or so.

Dortmund - have a look on Leipzigs website and see if you can join up and get tickets in the away/neutral end. Unless you go on black market you may struggle for home end tix. Dortmund isn't a great City and the ground is away from the centre so is a bit of a trek out but nonetheless a great ground.

Gelsenkirchen (Schalke) doesn't offer much for the footy tourist other than the ground itself which is superb.

Cologne - home fans can be a bit prickly if you're in the wrong part of the ground from experience but the City outweighs that.

Bochum - heard it's great, definitely on my "to do" list!

Mainz - see Bochum!

For any that you choose look at joining the "European Football Weekends Helpdesk" group on Facebook - cracking page with loads of help from locals.
 
Happy to chat if you pm me

Düsseldorf flights were great from Manchester but seem to have stopped

As Seaside One says go for Cologne or Düsseldorf as your base

The Rhineland is their equivalent of the NW so loads of games

Also look at Bundesliga 2
 
TwelveAngryMen said:
Happy to chat if you pm me

Düsseldorf flights were great from Manchester but seem to have stopped

As Seaside One says go for Cologne or Düsseldorf as your base

The Rhineland is their equivalent of the NW so loads of games

Also look at Bundesliga 2
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Sorry to go off topic but is there a podcast tonight?
 
I think you'll find that the other forum is for O/T stuff.

Am I actually bothered where you post? No, I've got a cold and I'm sinking fast.
 
TwelveAngryMen said:
Happy to chat if you pm me

Düsseldorf flights were great from Manchester but seem to have stopped

As Seaside One says go for Cologne or Düsseldorf as your base

The Rhineland is their equivalent of the NW so loads of games

Also look at Bundesliga 2
Click to expand...
Eurowings back in business for Man - DUS flights albeit late departure fro Manchester 👍
 
Been to Schalke a couple of times, great stadium, great atmosphere but a pain in the arse to get away from.
Enjoyed a couple of games at Leverkusen too but it’s nothing like as big a club as others in the area.
Favourite has been Moenchengladbach without doubt, as mentioned by Hampshire, great fan zone, atmosphere, top day out. Seem to remember having to pay for the train there though? We stayed in Cologne for that trip and I’m sure that put us outside the free travel zone you get with your match ticket.
Not seen a game at Dortmund yet but have done the stadium tour, which is good, as is the National Football Museum in Dortmund too.
Can‘t go wrong staying in Düsseldorf or Cologne both great, top of Rhine Tower a great spot in Düsseldorf for a beer 👍🏻
 
TwelveAngryMen said:
Happy to chat if you pm me

Düsseldorf flights were great from Manchester but seem to have stopped

As Seaside One says go for Cologne or Düsseldorf as your base

The Rhineland is their equivalent of the NW so loads of games

Also look at Bundesliga 2
Click to expand...
Schalke_FY4 said:
Dusseldorf is a great little place - easy & cheap to get to...easy to get to & from the airport and a tidy little centre to get pi$$ed in! Cologne is a good city too and equally accessible.

Being based in either will give you access to a lot of the teams in the NW of Germany within an hours train or so.

Dortmund - have a look on Leipzigs website and see if you can join up and get tickets in the away/neutral end. Unless you go on black market you may struggle for home end tix. Dortmund isn't a great City and the ground is away from the centre so is a bit of a trek out but nonetheless a great ground.

Gelsenkirchen (Schalke) doesn't offer much for the footy tourist other than the ground itself which is superb.

Cologne - home fans can be a bit prickly if you're in the wrong part of the ground from experience but the City outweighs that.

Bochum - heard it's great, definitely on my "to do" list!

Mainz - see Bochum!

For any that you choose look at joining the "European Football Weekends Helpdesk" group on Facebook - cracking page with loads of help from locals.
Click to expand...

Hi guys.

So we have booked our flights which take us late on the 1st of March and we come back early on the 5th. We are staying in Cologne. We have gotten tickets for borrusia Monchengladbach on the Saturday, and are aware these tickets might include rail travel to the stadium for free? Do you know how close we have to be for these tickets to cover our train fare as I seem to recall reading these tickets only cover travel within the region so it would be ideal if we knew which station we can buy a rail fare to before the tickets become valid means of a fare.

if anyone has advice RE dortmund tickets it would be ideal, we haven't been able to source any tickets and as mentioned there is only tickets available via the black market ie viagogo, do you think its worth taking the risk buying from here or have you had bad experiences with these places before?
 
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Cologne a good choice - must better beer there

I'd go viagogo on your tickets and ideally an instant download

Not expensive in the scheme of things

BTW Section 84 is part of ' the yellow wall ' - albeit on the edge Bargain price in relative terms for there

www.viagogo.co.uk

Borussia Dortmund Tickets

Borussia Dortmund tickets - Buy and sell Borussia Dortmund tickets at viagogo
www.viagogo.co.uk
 
TwelveAngryMen said:
Cologne a good choice - must better beer there

I'd go viagogo on your tickets and ideally an instant download

Not expensive in the scheme of things

BTW Section 84 is part of ' the yellow wall ' - albeit on the edge Bargain price in relative terms for there

www.viagogo.co.uk

Borussia Dortmund Tickets

Borussia Dortmund tickets - Buy and sell Borussia Dortmund tickets at viagogo
www.viagogo.co.uk
Click to expand...

Thanks TAM, I've taken the plunge and bought the tickets. The prices were actually in euros and £69 when converted, with booking fees and VAT its come to £167 all in all. Cheers for your prompt advice!
 
Its easy to base yourself in Dusseldorf (fantastic night on Alstadt - best in Ruhr / Rhine area). Easy train access to Monchengladbach / Gelsenkirchen (Schalke - the best place to go by a mile); Dortmund; Bochum; Leverkusen and Koln and to the south Frankfurt and Mainz. You will find tickets for some games such as Dortmund hard to get and the derby against Schalke very challenging unless you are a member. Nord Kurve at Schalke is the best in Germany.
 
Schalke_FY4 said:
If you're in Dortmund early can recommend "Wenkers" bar. It's dortmund fan bar but not big so you have to arrive early to get in. Viel spass!
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In Wenkers bar now, brilliant establishment. Loads of footy shirts from England on the walls, Cheltenham, Ipswich , Millwall, Swindon, Bristol rovers , lots of villa and all the big teams, no Blackpool though
 
hampshire_exile said:
I would agree that Dusseldorf or Cologne are better cities to stay in.

As Dortmund is a Friday night game kicking off at 830 local time, you will need to get away relatively quick after the game to get a train back to either of the above cities. Trains leave Dortmund till around midnight though and take about 60-70 minutes to get to either Dusseldorf or Cologne. Use the Stadtbahn between Dortmund train station and the ground.

If you fancy watching a second game on the weekend, you could go to Borussia Moenchengladbach on the Saturday (30 mins on the train from Dusseldorf, 50 from Cologne) or Bayer Leverkusen on the Sunday (15-30 minutes from both).

Given that your match ticket includes your train transport for either Gladbach or Leverkusen I would rather go to Borussia MG. They have a big area outside the ground which is great for a pre match drink. Theres a very decent atmosphere inside as well, they are averaging around 50,000 at home. Bayer Leverkusen has a neat 30000 stadium but it’s quite corporate compared to all the other grounds in the region.

Update: just looked at the BMG website and it seems only single seats are available for the game on 4 March. Bayer Leverkusens game on the 5th game has some seats left and you can book on the website.
Click to expand...

In the Gladbach fanzone now, thanks for your tip, like a stepped up armfield club, it's really good in here. Just needs a blackpool scarf for the walls
 
TwelveAngryMen said:
Hope you have had a great experience
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Absolutely fantastic.

To summarise:

Dortmund was incredible, non stop passion and I've never heard such a loud stadium before, but be wary of being english in the yellow wall with a few funny looks but mostly okay, travel was a pain to dortmund with the underground on strike, the city was really nice and the volume and passion blew expectations, nonstop for 90.

Munchengladbach was much more in the sticks, having to use a shuttle bus service to the ground which was packed. The fanzone at Gladbach probably edged Dortunds for me. The fans were still impressive as were Freiburgs but never hit the levels we saw at Dortmund and the game felt like low end prem standard compared to the Dortmunds fast exhilarating end to end action.

Trains in Germany are shocking, never on time, you can probabaly get away without buying a ticket as we didnt get checked once and they change platforms without any indication and we were lucky to make the train home after Dortmund.

Cologne is a really lovely city and thouroughly enjoyed it.

Thankyou all for your help, it has proven invaluable.
 
18YearFreeTrial said:
Absolutely fantastic.

To summarise:

Dortmund was incredible, non stop passion and I've never heard such a loud stadium before, but be wary of being english in the yellow wall with a few funny looks but mostly okay, travel was a pain to dortmund with the underground on strike, the city was really nice and the volume and passion blew expectations, nonstop for 90.

Munchengladbach was much more in the sticks, having to use a shuttle bus service to the ground which was packed. The fanzone at Gladbach probably edged Dortunds for me. The fans were still impressive as were Freiburgs but never hit the levels we saw at Dortmund and the game felt like low end prem standard compared to the Dortmunds fast exhilarating end to end action.

Trains in Germany are shocking, never on time, you can probabaly get away without buying a ticket as we didnt get checked once and they change platforms without any indication and we were lucky to make the train home after Dortmund.

Cologne is a really lovely city and thouroughly enjoyed it.

Thankyou all for your help, it has proven invaluable.
Click to expand...
If you are using the frequent regional trains from Düsseldorf to Gelsenkichen; Dortmund; Bochum or Monchen your match ticket gives you free travel.
 
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