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| Welcome to ... |
If today proves anything, it’s that a) I like to get value out of interrailing and b) I’m determined. Having failed to get in previously at Holstein Kiel (sold out), I took no risks this time, buying a ticket on their website and arranging to pick up. Going to Kiel, from Dortmund, and doubling back again, was out of my schedule, since deciding against going onwards through Denmark, but I had the bit between my teeth; I was determined to see Anderlecht the next day after another previous failure.
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| Hello sailor! |
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| The view from the Ost tribune. |
It started well though. The lady at the box office complimented me on my shirt choice (a flowery effort, as befits the bloke over 40). However, wrong box office. The Ost Tribune had its own ticket collection point, which I must have passed as I came from that direction. (I’d followed a father and son onto a #11 bus from the railway station. Good job too, as I’d have had no idea where to get off the bus, it being a 10 minute walk through the backstreets). I timed it well though, arriving 15 mins to kick off.
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| The teams come out. |
The steward, sceptical of my satchel, called for his boss. ‘What are you planning to do? Read?’ as he found two large tomes. ‘It’s a long way from Dortmund’ I replied. Anyway, the short of it was that Holstein is one of those places that won’t let you in with a bag, but they provided a man in a lorry, who gave you a bingo ticket in return for your possessions. Fingers crossed my numbers come in…
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| An interesting collection of stands. |
As I said, the stand looked temporary. There’s no internal concourse, or toilets to speak of. Instead, there's a fenced off courtyard behind the stand with a half a dozen beer/bratwurst stalls and portaloos a-plenty. But it was glorious, as only German games in the summer can be. Not wanting to miss the teams come out, I headed straight in. My seat, near the front, had one of those pillars blocking the whole goal. Luckily, there was a swathe of empty seats higher up. Indeed, so high up that I could look down upon the rest of the stadium.
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| Home standing, home sitting, away sitting, away standing. |
The stand to my right was an odd mix; from the far end it had home supporters standing…a no-man’s land…then home fans sitting…then away seating and standing. And well done to the Sandhausen 80. It might be the opening day of a new season, but that still doesn’t change the fact they’d have to get a 5:59am train to have a decent chance of seeing kick-off (presuming no delays)…and getting home at 5:01am the following day. So that’s nearly 24 hours for a match by public transport and doesn’t even involve an overnight stay, for a journey of over 400 miles. (Note: I didn’t see any Sandhausen fans on the 18:38 out of Kiel.) Their support was rewarded though as Sandhausen took an early lead. I hope none of their fans arrived late. They doubled up on the left and the subsequent low cross was swept home. The 80 went mad. Kiel then survived a couple of chances for 0-2, while missing a couple of chances themselves. It was all rather exciting, considering the heat.
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| The Sandhausen 80. |
One man not troubled by the heat was Sandhausen’s goalkeeper. He looked like a man with plenty of time on his hands, judging by how much of it he was wasting. Then, about to take a free kick, he sat down, apparently hurt. Several of us took this as our cue for a beer and bratwurst. And while I was stuck behind the only person more invisible than me in a queue for beer, there was a roar. Let’s hope the keeper had recovered enough to pick the ball out of the net: one-all. Two days and two matches running I'd missed a goal.
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| Milling around the beer and bratwurst stands. |
I returned, never saw another goal…then got ignored for a beer again. How do I get served 3rd when there was only one person in the queue when I got there? Kiel went close to a winner, but I was pulling for the little guys and never more so than when a late Holstein free kick, straight down the middle, cleared the Sandhausen defenders for a late arriving host forward to flick it goalwards…only for it to cannon back off the post. No excuses, shoulda bagged.
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| Yep, I know that feeling. |
Full-time, and all that remained was to pick up a programme someone had left behind, as well as claim the deposit on my plastic beer glass. Then it was off to join the queue for the (S91) bus and the 3 mile journey back to the station and a return to Dortmund. Now, let's just grab some beer for the journey...
The Damage:
€26 ent (+2 for pick up)
€4 beer (’Flensburger’ 400ml x2)
€4 bratwurst
€2.50 badge= €40.50
The Tunes:
Music for the Jilted Generation (Prodigy)
Fabric 84 (Mathew Jonson)
Drone Logic (Daniel Avery)
Music Has The Right To Children (Boards of Canada)
Nowhere (Ride)
Prophesy (Nitin Sawhney)
Polymer (Plaid)
Stayed at: (cost)
A&O Dortmund Hauptbahnhof, £19
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| Holstein stadion panorama. |
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| Back of the main stand. |
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| The home fans greet their heroes. |
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| Dugout action. |
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| Is this the smallest stand in professional football? |
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| Nice! |
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| Best view in the ground. |
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| Hang on, another midgety stand. |
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| Pop-up souvenir shop. |
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