Advice required regarding the availability of Bundesliga tickets

After a very disappointing trip to watch Barcelona (no atmosphere) last season I fancy taking a mate of mine to a game in Germany. Although I have traditionally watched Gladbach occasionally I fancy visiting another groundi for a change - and preferably one which is not a million miles away from an Easjyjet/Ryanair airport and where there is a bit to see in the city.
I would fancy Hertha Berlin but the Olympic Stadium is not the sort of traditional football ground where the fans are adjacent to the pitch. Dortmund would be good but how easy is it to obtain tickets?
Any recommendations where the craic would be good, the location easily reached by a cheap flight and where tickets would be available?

I've been to the Dortmund vs Schalke game and I think we bought off touts if I remember right.
I was quite disappointed if I'm honest given all the fuss about Dortmund fans etc.

It was their big derby and I expected more. It had a bit of a tourist feel about it similar to El Classico.

We also went to watch Eintracht Frankfurt vs Gladbach and I preferred that much more. Felt more authentic.

I recommend Turkey though. Off the scale

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Originally Posted by thehumblegringo

I've been to the Dortmund vs Schalke game and I think we bought off touts if I remember right.
I was quite disappointed if I'm honest given all the fuss about Dortmund fans etc.

It was their big derby and I expected more. It had a bit of a tourist feel about it similar to El Classico.

We also went to watch Eintracht Frankfurt vs Gladbach and I preferred that much more. Felt more authentic.

I recommend Turkey though. Off the scale

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How easy is it to get tickets for games in Istanbul?

I went to a Besiktas game and it was easy, I just walked up to the booth and bought tickets for about £15. They were playing Athletico Madrid in the Europa league. (Loudest game I've ever been to by a country mile)

I went to Fernebahce vs Galatasaray and it was bit more tricky. I bought them of students for £120 each. Well worth it though.

You can get them off the usual ticket sites mind and there were no problems like showing your passport like there is in Italy for example.

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Originally Posted by thehumblegringo

I went to a Besiktas game and it was easy, I just walked up to the booth and bought tickets for about £15. They were playing Athletico Madrid in the Europa league. (Loudest game I've ever been to by a country mile)

I went to Fernebahce vs Galatasaray and it was bit more tricky. I bought them of students for £120 each. Well worth it though.

You can get them off the usual ticket sites mind and there were no problems like showing your passport like there is in Italy for example.

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Cheers. But why is showing your passport a problem?

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Originally Posted by Taunton Blue Genie

After a very disappointing trip to watch Barcelona (no atmosphere) last season I fancy taking a mate of mine to a game in Germany. Although I have traditionally watched Gladbach occasionally I fancy visiting another groundi for a change - and preferably one which is not a million miles away from an Easjyjet/Ryanair airport and where there is a bit to see in the city.
I would fancy Hertha Berlin but the Olympic Stadium is not the sort of traditional football ground where the fans are adjacent to the pitch. Dortmund would be good but how easy is it to obtain tickets?
Any recommendations where the craic would be good, the location easily reached by a cheap flight and where tickets would be available?

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If you get to Dortmund check out Arminia Bielefeld (100kms away) in Budesliga2. Bielefeld is about the same size as Cardiff , Stadium is similar as ours too. Fanatical support.
Check out online

I once stayed in Frankfurt and went down to Hoffenheim for a game. I enjoyed it and the tickets were easy to get but it's in the middle of nowhere.

Dusseldorf have just been promoted to the Bundesliga and that's a nice town to visit, quite cheap to get to and stay in. They've got a 50k seat stadium so tickets might be easier to come by. Quite fancy that myself at some point.

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Originally Posted by Taunton Blue Genie

Cheers. But why is showing your passport a problem?

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Cos you'd have to get tickets from an official outlet in Italy and the name on the ticket would have to match your passport

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Originally Posted by Taunton Blue Genie

After a very disappointing trip to watch Barcelona (no atmosphere) last season I fancy taking a mate of mine to a game in Germany. Although I have traditionally watched Gladbach occasionally I fancy visiting another groundi for a change - and preferably one which is not a million miles away from an Easjyjet/Ryanair airport and where there is a bit to see in the city.
I would fancy Hertha Berlin but the Olympic Stadium is not the sort of traditional football ground where the fans are adjacent to the pitch. Dortmund would be good but how easy is it to obtain tickets?
Any recommendations where the craic would be good, the location easily reached by a cheap flight and where tickets would be available?

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As an alternative in Berlin, FC Union in Bundesliga 2 is apparently very good. My boss used to have a season ticket and would never stop saying how good it was there. According to their Wiki page it's largely all standing too - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1._FC_Union_Berlin

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Originally Posted by Earnie's bench seat

As an alternative in Berlin, FC Union in Bundesliga 2 is apparently very good. My boss used to have a season ticket and would never stop saying how good it was there. According to their Wiki page it's largely all standing too - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1._FC_Union_Berlin

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This ^^ We went to see FC Union 2 years ago, against Eintracht Braunschweig, and it was fantastic! "Classic" 4 sided stadium, and noisy fans. I've seen Hertha too at the Olympic Stadium, they beat Eintracht Frankfurt 6-1 on the opening day of the season in 2013, which was crazy. The Olympic Stadium is impressive but I would choose Union every time, for the overall experience . A friend in Berlin sorted the Union tickets for us, but I don't think they're difficult to get hold of.

Thanks for all the responses. Considering that matches can be moved around for TV in many countries and mess up flights booked a long time in advance (and the fact that acquiring tickets for any particular game can be problematic) I think I will drive to Dover and take the ferry to N. France/Belgium and spend a long weekend dipping in and out of Belgium/Netherlands and the Gladbach area of Germany, where I have many friends. We should be able to attend several matches at different levels and possibly in three different countries. A certain City fan lives in Belgium too....

We saw Gladbach a few years ago, which was also great. We stayed in Düsseldorf and took the train to Gladbach. Düsseldorf was fantastic, we just happened to arrive during the carnival which was completely mental, so much fun, and completely unexpected. Gladbach however reminded me of Slough!

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Originally Posted by CopenhagenBlue

We saw Gladbach a few years ago, which was also great. We stayed in Düsseldorf and took the train to Gladbach. Düsseldorf was fantastic, we just happened to arrive during the carnival which was completely mental, so much fun, and completely unexpected. Gladbach however reminded me of Slough!

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I've seen Gladbach a few times over the years but never had any reason to look around the town. I used to live a bit further north and the first time I saw them play was against Bayern Munich in 1976. On the pitch that day were Bonhof, Stielike, Simonsen, Beckenbauer, Gerd Mueller, Rumenigge, Hoeness and Sepp Maier!

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Originally Posted by Earnie's bench seat

As an alternative in Berlin, FC Union in Bundesliga 2 is apparently very good. My boss used to have a season ticket and would never stop saying how good it was there. According to their Wiki page it's largely all standing too - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1._FC_Union_Berlin

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Hamburg v St Pauli in Bundesliga 2 would be a great one if you could get tickets.