First discussed at Solihull Steve's big birthday party in September 2024, when the mooted destination was Stuttgart, we eventually settled on Düsseldorf owing to more flight and accommodation options, and Macleod (M) sorted these last October; I had my heart set on tickets for the VfL Bochum vs Holstein Kiel game on Sunday (as we'd already been to Fortuna Düsseldorf's ground, albeit to see Bayer Leverkusen play Werder Bremen, on my stag do in 2009), so was delighted when some in the away end went on general sale in the days leading up to our departure, and I was awake at 4am – like a kid on Christmas morn – ahead of my Dad giving the Macleods and me a lift to Heathrow T5
Rye River's Brogue Irish Red Ale for Macleod (M), Cervecería Malteza's Session IPA for me, and a pint of the black stuff for Macleod (C) in Wetherspoons, with Teddy Sheringham for company, before a short flight – it took us almost as long to get from the Flughafen to the Hauptbahnhof as from LHR to DUS! Fortunately, the Ibis was right next to the station, with a door from the concourse straight into the hotel reception, and the renowned Brauerei Schumacher just ten minutes' walk away
In glorious sunshine, we strolled past Shawarma City (one of the rare times there wasn't a lengthy queue snaking around the block) and Graf-Adolf-Platz, up Königsallee (with one expensive electric car after another being charged on the street) and along Benrather Straße, through Carlsplatz Markt (where I'd been with my wife and both sets of parents back in 2012) to the Rheinuferpromenade; drinks outside Im Goldenen Ring on Burgplatz, with a view of a noisy but seemingly peaceful rally in support of Reza Pahlavi
Down to Bilk on the U-Bahn, then a short walk to Tigges, where Kev would join us in the beer garden; Stadion an der Feuerbachstraße – home of TuRU Düsseldorf – was a 15-minute walk along the street of the same name, with the Düssel running alongside
Absolute shock at the quality of the football – I think we were all anticipating the level of this Landesliga Niederrhein, Gruppe 1 fixture (TuRU vs SC Velbert) to resemble Maidenhead Nomads Reserves (no disrespect intended, obvs.), but we were in for a pleasant surprise: no hoofs, barely a misplaced pass (as Die Tauben – The Doves – ran out 4-1 winners against their mid-table opponents), and some genuinely tidy players (not least the home side's number six); the ground also reminded me, in a good way, of 80s-era York Road – crumbling terraces, rows of wooden seats in the stand, and trains rattling past with regularity
Yawns becoming increasingly frequent after a long day, we stopped off at the hotel for a quick freshen-up, then headed to the Altstadt; to a packed Fatty's, where we'd practically lived during my stag weekend – and which, not coincidentally, has a Maidenhead United scarf among hundreds on the ceiling – joining others in cheering Bournemouth's equaliser on TV … Macleod (M) retired to bed, while the rest of us went on to another Irish bar (Sutton's) and then for a Chinese, after struggling to locate the place where Willie T. had memorably sung karaoke all those years ago
Station McDonald's for breakfast before mistakenly catching a slow train to Oberhausen (the journey took over an hour, i.e. about four times as long as I believe it could've); we then missed the bus to the football ground by seconds, after struggling to find the correct platform, so decided to walk … the sun was shining after all
After trekking past a historic water tower and under the Middlesbrough-Brücken, and enjoying a couple of rounds sat outside Schloss Gastronomie Kaisergarten, we made our way over the Rhein-Herne-Kanal on the Slinky Springs to Fame and entered Niederrheinstadion; four Currywurst mit Pommes – I enjoyed the thinly sliced sausage, although I found it odd that the chips were on top rather than underneath – washed down with four beers, and then we took our seats (EUR 18 each) for the first half of Rot-Weiß Oberhausen (Die Kleeblätter – The Clovers) vs SC Wiedenbrück in Regionalliga West
Two-one the final score, with the bottom-of-the-table visitors scoring a late consolation against their hosts (2nd, six points off the top) in a game as low on quality as the previous night's had been unexpectedly high; we spent much of the second half standing in the shade on the opposite side of the ground, I went behind the goal with the flag- and scarf-waving ultras for some photos, while Kev and Macleod (C) were sat with beers outside Fankneipe by Hoti's (Hoti's Fan Bar) before the final whistle had even sounded!
Unquestionably, for me, our time spent in Hoti's – both outside in the sunshine and indoors, watching Soccer Samstag on TV and a long queue of female admirers waiting to chat with Capo Sebastian (with an RWO club badge prominently tattooed on his exposed left leg), all surrounded by framed shirts and other football memorabilia on the walls – was the highlight of the entire trip; and helped by news that Dillon De Silva had put the Magpies ahead at York Road, Marc White had received his marching orders at half-time, and a trademark Liam Dulson thunderbolt had sealed a 2-0 win against league leaders Dorking Wanderers ("UP THE MAGS!")
Red lipstick-wearing brunette, standing behind us at the bus stop, wearing the identical RWO t-shirt ("Wo mein Herz schlägt") I'd picked up for EUR 10 at half-time, confirmed that we were in the right place to catch number 966 to the station; this, it transpired, was Inga, a volunteer Supporter Liaison Officer, who offered on the bus to take us for drinks before our train and, after we accepted, led us to Falstaff (stairs to the toilets decked with enough scaffolding to give a UK Health & Safety Inspector a catastrophic heart attack)
Decidedly quicker return journey on the regional train – thanks, Inga! – preceded a sit-down meal of Turkish pizzas at Urfa Lahmacun & Kebabhaus, then beers at the bar of the Mercure City Center Hotel … with a re-run of Solihull Moors vs Halifax showing on DAZN
A rejuvenated Macleod (M) was up for more hijinks, so while Kev and Macleod (C) headed for their respective rooms, he and I found somewhere open for another round or two: +852 Bar, a "Hong Kong-style" place (which was OK)
Yielding, finally, to tiredness, I was probably fast asleep and snoring loudly almost as soon as my head hit the pillow – it had been another long but thoroughly enjoyable day
Station McDonald's for breakfast (second of three visits in as many days), a regional train to Bochum Hbf, and then a short U-Bahn ride to Ritterburg ("a must-visit for football fans, especially before a VfL Bochum home game"); I knew this place would be good, certainly on a sunny day like it was on Sunday, and it didn't disappoint – pre-match beers within sight of the Ruhrstadion were another highlight of the trip
Unbelievably, Die Störche – The Storks – from Kiel, who we'd seen host Jahn Regensburg almost 11 years ago to the day and who were second from bottom of the 2. Bundesliga at the start of play, led Uwe Rösler's home side three times and ran out winners by the odd goal in five to move away from the relegation zone; as I said to Macleod (M), there would have been absolute scenes in England among the away fans, but this lot were quickly back to flag-waving, seat-stickering, and drumming (stood below pitch level!) after the goals went in … but I'm pleased for them that they won, not least the father and son in Oasis t-shirts, whom I chatted with at half-time
New scarf for Macleod (M) – I said he couldn't buy one before going into the away end! – then back to Ritterburg for more beers; my plan had been to get the U-Bahn to the lively Bermudadreieck part of town, but the trains were running late and absolutely packed when they finally arrived, so Kev ordered us an Uber
Dinner at Bratwursthaus ("the best Currywurst in the world," reportedly), then to the THREE SIXTY sports bar to watch Kepa Arrizabalaga hand Manchester City the League Cup; an unused VfL Bochum vs Holstein Kiel match poster, given as a parting gift by the bar staff, cheered me up … "ein bisschen"
A whole host of unforgettable characters – including a Jimmy Saville lookalike wearing a Kutte – at Hopfendolde ("This is the German Anchor!"), close to the station, before a carryout ("It's a MiXery!") and our train back to Düsseldorf; then more beers, food (kimchi fried rice), and black-and-white group photos in a South Korean bar on Oststraße
Yours truly insisted on visiting Shawarma City for more food (still a queue in the early hours of Monday morning, though shorter than on previous occasions we'd wandered past), which we took back and ate at the hotel (after skirting a phalanx of police vans parked by "Germany's most beautiful traffic island")
Macleod (M) passed on Kev's goodbyes in the morning, as the man from Dumfries had an earlier flight from a different airport; a final Station McDonald's breakfast before we caught the train – the right one this time (S11, not S1) – to DUS
Our return flight was another good'un – 50 minutes in the air – and soon we were munching on meal deals at T5, figuring out how to get home …
Not one, not two, but three bus rides later (Heathrow T5 to Windsor Castle > Windsor Castle to Maidenhead town centre > Maidenhead town centre to Cox Green), Macleod (M) and I were finally back on Highfield Lane (having left Macleod [C] at Frascati Way) – "I wouldn't want to do that journey when in a hurry, but we had time to kill," said Macleod (M) … whereas my wife commented, "Why'd you not get a taxi like normal people?" :-D
Düsseldorf again in October, or next March? For sure – it's much better than the likes of Hamburg and Munich, if you ask me
Agreement that we'd like to stay in the same hotel as well, and an expectation of three more new grounds to visit – hopefully as good as TuRU, RWO and VfL Bochum, although that trio will take some beating, so we might need to change our tactic and let the fixtures dictate the date
You never know – we might even make it to a Borussia Dortmund game one of these days! ;-)
