If it is Saturday, that must mean football, right?
Or Parkrun. Or both.
And why not add to my growing knowledge of the Rhein-Ruhr conurbation with a wee outing to Essen?
Exactly.
Off I went from Düsseldorf on a Rhein-Ruhr-Express (operated by National Express) to see Rot-Weiss Essen hosting Viktoria Köln 1904 in the German 3.Liga. Regular readers may remember I went to see Viktoria playing Hansa Rostock in September. This time I got the visiting fan’s experience.
In some ways it was similar to being a home fan in Köln. Good, cheap, local beer. Good, cheap Bratwurst. Lots of noise. Good football. A cheap ticket.
In other ways it was very different.
After the final whistle us visiting fans were escorted away from the stadium by police in riot gear. They herded us onto a couple of (free) buses provided by the city, and we were whisked away through the back streets to the main railway station.
We had a police motorcycle in front of us and two police vans following us, all with blue lights flashing. More police in riot gear met us at the station and herded us in the back door.
I am told it was for our own safety.
Viktoria lost 1-2 to a (soft) stoppage time penalty, and as a (reasonably) neutral watcher I thought they deserved a draw.
Great value. Great fun. Great choice of Saturday afternoon cultural immersion.
ⓒ iain taylor, 2024
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