The FCK games are a loud and crazy event! If you've never been to a professional soccer match you need to add it to your list of things to do before you die! It is really an awesome and unique experience.
Unfortunately for us our tickets we bought on base were in the NOT crazy/wild section. They only sell so many of each section and this "fun" section closest to season ticket holders was sold out. Our seats were across the stadium so we did get a unique perspective of the astronomically large flags, the scarves held up and signs people display which we wouldn't have seen if we were sitting behind or next to them.
There are people beating drums, cheering and chanting constantly. Every time the home team Kaiserslautern (FCK) scored a goal the stadium would abrupt in load roars and they celebrate for a few minutes after. It was easy to join in on the chants or traditions of the team even if it's your first time or you're not a big soccer fan.
As far as the stadium goes, it's much nicer than I expected. Not sure what I was expecting since I had never been to a soccer stadium before. Regardless, it was a big beautiful stadium. It was mainly covered where the seats are and then open in the center of the dome shaped top. It was a chilly day but it was tolerable with only half the sky's air exposed or feeling like it could get in.
They serve food all over the stadium and depending on where your seats are you may have to climb a large amount of stairs to get to and from the concessions. There is a card you must purchase before hand and load euro on to purchase any food or drinks. The card is really cool and sits in a tray where it can be reloaded or charged! No swiping or typing in a pin it's just a lay it down in the tray and grab it up after the cashier does his/her thang. I was super excited about paying for our beers and brat. I thought it was the newest coolest thing, I've never seen this anywhere. Anyway they had a spicy brat that was quite tasty. Not too spicy at all. A nice hint of spice kind of like a medium leveled hot link. They offered regular brats also, and other items like curry wurst, and fries. They had several different vendors when we first walked in so I believe they have different food concessions. There was also clothing vendors with FCK scarves, hats and souvenirs for sale. Inside the stadium no outside food or drinks, pretty common for stadiums. So after walking through the metal detectors and getting my bag searched I was asked to go back and throw out my opened bottle. No biggy. I got a new drink inside. Side note: Beer is cheaper than water in Germany.
So just hanging out with some friends, enjoying a bite to eat and cheering it up for the hometown team is something I'd encourage everyone to try! They have games through several seasons so you can enjoy a game in the summer rather than the winter. The tickets we purchased included free round trip train transportation, I'm not sure if all tickets do but I'd assume so. Ticket price was about $25/pp. There is a train station right by the stadium. The walk after that would be just up the hill to get inside its a quick walk. I can't wait to go back in the summer time!
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