Around 600 Blues are off to Germany for Friday’s friendly against Fortuna Düsseldorf, Tim Edwards from the Supporters Club has written a fans’ guide to the various games taking place and the city.
Fortuna Düsseldorf v Town: Paul-Janes-Stadion, Flinger Broich, kick off: 6.30pm (local time).
Fans’ Match, kick off: 4pm, on artificial turf at Flinger Broich — supporters welcome!
Fans v Legends match: 5pm, on the main pitch ahead of the first team game — supporters welcome!
If you still need match or fan party tickets
Fortuna have advised that match tickets for the Ipswich end will be available from a ticket office being set up at the Paul-Janes-Stadion pre-match.
Fan party tickets will be available from the Fanshop at the Flinger Broich complex, which will be open from early afternoon until the end of the match.
Souvenir shopping
A special match T-shirt and scarf are being produced, and will be on sale from the Fanshop at Flinger Broich on matchday.
Quick guide to Düsseldorf
It’s a major city, but the parts you are likely to spend time in are concentrated in a manageable area, with — as you would expect in Germany — excellent public transport links, both within the city and connecting to the outside world.
The main area for social activity — OK, beer and food — is the old town, or Altstadt, a self-contained paradise of bars and restaurants, but right next to the main shopping area.
Germany generally is not that expensive these days, and Düsseldorf is famous for its shopping, so some Town fans are bound to be hitting the stores with credit card at the ready. When you run out of cash, there are bank machines all over the town.
It’s about a 20-minute stroll from the main railway station (Hauptbahnhof) to the Altstadt. Most Town fans will be staying in hotels between those two locations.
"Bars"
I might be biased, but after Munich and perhaps Bamberg, Düsseldorf is my favourite German city for drinking. The reason is their unique Altbier, available pretty much everywhere.
It’s a lot closer to English ales (in colour, style and brewing method) than the lager beer that most tourists associate with Germany. You’ll find that too, but not everywhere. The Düsseldorfers are rightly proud of their own beer!
So, how do you get to try the local beer? It just needs a quickstep around the Altstadt, of course. You are bound to find your own favourite bar amongst the hundreds, but here are a few thoughts for starters, making sure you cover the main local breweries.
Opening times tend to be from 10am to midnight (1am or later Friday and Saturday): Zum Schlussel, on Bolkerstrasse, (open 10am — midnight Sun — Thurs, 10am — 1am Fri and Sat), Uerige, on Berger Strasse, Zum Fuchschen, on Ratinger Strasse, Kurzer, on Kurzer Strasse.
Schumacher, the brewery tap is on Oststrasse, between the station and the Altstadt, but there’s also a pub (the Goldener Kessel) right opposite the Zum Schlussel."
Many Town fans have been asking ‘Where are we meeting?. With 600 of us in town, the best answer is ‘Everywhere’. On matchday afternoon, the obvious meeting place, though, is the club’s own bar, called Bar 95, at the stadium, open from 2.30pm (see directions, below).
"Food
Fantastic for lovers of sausages, of pork, of meat generally. Portions tend to be towards the very generous too, which is great for mopping up the beer, but can get in the way of the next few pints.
Local wines are also available most places, and are extremely drinkable (German wine might be unfashionable in the UK, but that’s our loss). If even pub grub is too gourmet for you, then the street vendors will satisfy your sausage urge — but don’t spill the curry sauce on your new Town shirt — it stains indelibly in a nanosecond.
Germany is not so great for vegetarians, though it is nowhere near as bad as it’s made out to be. Almost everywhere will have a couple of veggie options, as well as inevitable salads. Though you might get the kind of look normally reserved for tourists who ask for a pint of Stella in the Zum Schlussel.
Travelling around
Travelling around is very easy by tram, bus, train and underground, with full info on fares, tickets, a map, and timetable all in English here.
Better still, if you’re staying in one of a long list of hotels, you get all your local travel free — the list is here.
How to get to the game
The Paul-Janes-Stadion is a little bit out of town, but easy to get to. Assuming you’re starting in the Altstadt, for example somewhere near the Zum Schlussel (which isn’t a bad assumption), then take the underground, line U75, from the nearby Henr-Heine Allee station to Ronsdorfer Strasse (6 stops).
It’s then a 15-minute walk up Ronsdorfer Strasse to the ground. To avoid the walk, get off at the central station (Hauptbahnhof) and get the bus per below. If you prefer to take the tram, then stroll up to Henr-Heine Strasse underground station and jump instead on a 703, 712 or 713 tram to Engerstrasse (7 stops), and then a 15-minute walk down Bruchstrasse to the ground.
If you are up near the station, the easiest way to the match is by bus, from the stop across the road, take the 725 or 738 to Fortuna Platz. You’ll see the stadium - walk into the Flinger Broich lane, go past the ground and you will see Bar 95 on your right."
How to get to the after-match party
The fans’ party is at a converted steelworks, imaginatively called the Stahlwerk. It is on Ronsdorferstrasse. As you leave the ground, walk down Ronsdorferstrasse for about 15 minutes, past the tube station, and the Stahlwerk is shortly afterwards, on the left. Or just follow everyone else, given that we’re pretty much all heading that way.
Stadium tour"
If you are doing the stadium tour on Saturday, it is easily accessible by tube, the U78 from the main station (and various stations through the city including Henr-Heine Strasse) straight through to Esprit Arena/Messe Nord, taking around 20-30 minutes. This note will be updated with the meeting point as soon as we know!
Safety and security
There are no special safety issues other than those you might expect in a major city, so just be a bit careful, especially late at night when you might be a bit 'confused', and in the immediate area around the central station.
English football fans are generally very, very welcome in Germany, and police / doorstaff tend to be quite tolerant compared with back home — there’s a "but” coming of course - BUT, if you overstep the mark, don’t expect to be treated like an honoured guest.
It’s useful to have a European Health Card (EHC), which provides some basic medical care in event of problems (free, online). Whether or not you have one, some form of travel insurance is a good idea too.
Finally
Have a brilliant, fabulous, wonderful time, and make sure you leave enough time, and have enough money left, to get to the airport for your flight home!
If you have any questions or comments on this guide, or want to suggest any amendments or additions, then please send a PM to Official_ITSC via the TWTD website and we’ll update it periodically.
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