20 Oct, 2024

Bundesliga in Kiel

Report by Hilde Gravelstad and Martin A. Hanseth

Where should one begin this travelogue? That’s the first question. When Kiel got promoted, we said we had to go there. Preferably by boat, but unfortunately, that didn’t happen.

We booked plane tickets to Hamburg as soon as we found out which weekend the match would be. We booked an early Friday flight to Hamburg and took time off work. We sat and waited eagerly for the match to be scheduled. Would it be a Friday match, a Saturday match? No, it ended up being a Sunday match. So, unfortunately, we didn’t have time to take advantage of Color Line’s ferry on our return from Kiel to Oslo. Thus, we booked return flights from Hamburg.

We had booked flights and a hotel. We thought maybe three days in Kiel would be a bit long since it’s not the biggest city in the world. So, we ended up doing some intensive Google searches. That’s when we discovered that THW Kiel was playing against Potsdam. Hilde has played a fair bit of handball before and enjoys the sport. So, we were very happy to learn this and booked handball tickets. The atmosphere and the match were impeccable, and it was a lot of fun.

But now to the actual reason we were in Kiel – namely Holstein Kiel vs. Union Berlin. Sunday, 20.10.2024 was the day Union was finally going to face Holstein Kiel away in Bundesliga. We woke up, ready for the match, and got in touch with our friends Sergey and Michi. We met at a pub we had visited the day before – there they were with some Holstein Kiel friends. We then moved on to a cozy beer garden to have a few more beers.

After the beers, we walked towards the stadium – it was quite a long walk. So, I recommend taking a shuttle bus for those going to the stadium next time. Once we arrived at the stadium, after saying goodbye to our new Kiel friends, we headed towards the away section. Here we were met by a long queue that moved relatively quickly, and Kiel had kindly set up toilets outside the entrance. Inside the stadium, we were greeted by a wall of Union stickers, even though it wasn’t allowed to bring them in – along with a very long beer queue. So, we decided to find our seats. We had seats for 58 euros, which we thought was a rip-off considering the small stadium, but we were surprised at how good these seats were. We had to go through a gate to show our tickets to get in. Inside, there was a separate area for food, beer, and toilets, and we could watch the entire match without interruptions.

Before the match started, we were confirmed once again how friendly the supporters of Holstein Kiel are. They have a tradition of playing the opposing team's song as well, so to great excitement Nina Hagen echoed throughout the stadium before the match started.

What’s worth mentioning atmosphere-wise is that there were three capos for 1800 people. Additionally, they had spread the ultras across three sections, and we eventually understood why they did this. It was purely for the atmosphere. Several songs were sung in a round. First, one capo would start and the supporters he was facing, then the next, and finally us. This was an atmosphere and coordination I had never seen before. Union played good football, as they have done all season under Bo Svensson, and won 2-0 in the end.

All in all, this was a fantastic day, with many experiences and friendly home supporters. Hopefully, Kiel will manage to stay up. If they do, I recommend everyone to take a trip there.