Figured I'd leave a quick review from the Frankfurt match yesterday, as I sit on an early train out of the city, should anyone look at this thread down the road.
The stadium is just outside of downtown Frankfurt. We made our way to the main Frankfurt train station a few hours before kickoff. A friendly police officer in riot gear rerouted me from walking into a swarm of Monchengladbach supporters who had amassed at the O'Reillys Irish pub opposite the train station. A couple minutes later we were on the S Bahn and after two short stops exited at the Stadion stop. The stadium is in its own a little area so there's very few actual bars or buildings right around. That was, however, no impediment to scene. The long walkway leading to the stadium was lined with food and beer stands and even some entrepreneurial folks who tossed a few cases of Bitburger into a shopping cart to sell to the fans. We settled on a stand just outside the gates where we happily enjoyed a few Pilsners for the low price of €3.50, the first of a few stark differences we noted from the typical American sporting event.
We made our way in to the stadium with beers in hand, yes you are able to bring a beer in to the stadium provided it is in a plastic cup, where we each received a very thorough frisking. From there, we needed to secure what they call a JustPay card. All transactions at the concession stands are cashless. Roaming all over the stadium are JustPay employees who issue a RFID enabled card which you load with cash. The cards cost a refundable €2.
The atmosphere in the stadium was great. I've done an English Championship match as well as a couple USMNT matches and neither compared to this. We roamed around the stadium until about 30 minutes prior to kickoff at which point we decided to grab a few beers and be in our seats. Back at the concession stand I was handed 2 sturdy plastic mugs of Pilsner. Of note, there is no 2 beer limit that I have become accustomed to at sporting events back home. We both commented on the general fanciness of the cups that even sported a handle. I'd learn more about these mugs as the game progressed. A near miss on what should have been a goal 15 seconds in to the match for Frankfurt was just the beginning of cheers and chants from the supporters section that rang throughout the stadium. At about the 38 minute mark, Michelle made her way to the concourse to beat the bathroom rush and get in line for some halftime beers. As soon as the whistle blew I made a beeline for the bathroom. That's when I learned that it's not just BMW and Mercedes that showcase the feats of German engineering. Those beer mugs with the handle also doubled as hooks, where a row of guys lined up against the trough with beer mugs hooked in to their front pocket. Back in line for more beer we ran in to a snag. I was short on funds to buy the beers I wanted. As I stood there confused, doing my math on how many €4,30 beers I had purchased the lady explained to me that each beer comes with a €2 surcharge for the mugs. She also explained that there was a return station just around the corner where you could turn in empty mugs and have that €2 placed back on your JustPay card. after some hustling around we were back in our seats for the 2nd half kickoff. I don't know if it's expressly allowed or just not enforced but the guy next to me proceeded to practically chain smoke cigarettes for the majority of the half. Frankfurt controlled much of the ball but couldn't find the back of the net. Even a late penalty in the box saw the Monchengladbach keeper come up with a penalty save to his right. We quickly made our way up and out when the final whistle blew hoping to beat the rush to the train.
Once outside we realized the party was still continuing as the same beer stands were still steadily pumping out Pilsners. We decided to hang out for bit longer. One thing I learned from the match is that it's seems to be socially acceptable to just pee wherever you are should the need arise. You see a tree you like, pee on it. Fancy that bush in the corner, pee on it. We both noted that we had to be sure not to be seen as staring at what we both had trouble mentally processing. Then we figured, when in Rome..... and officially joined the party. We grabbed one more beer and packed ourselves in to the train for the quick jaunt back to the city.
We had an absolute blast at the game and all that led up to and followed it. I'd highly recommend it to anyone who found themselves in the city. Even if not a soccer fan, I'd be hard pressed to imagine that one wouldn't enjoy the experience. I hope to be able to go back again someday.