Bavarian winter flair and 2nd tier agony

I 08.12.2019
I Daniel Barthold
I SSV Jahn Regensburg vs FC St. Pauli 1-0

THE CITY

Regensburg is a lovely city right on the Danube River and its beautiful medieval town centre is an UNESCO World Heritage Site. What I like about this Bavarian city is that it is beautiful all year long regardless of the season and its relaxed and welcoming atmosphere. In the summer there are plenty of locations to sit outside and enjoy home made food and local beers. In winter, plenty of cosy restaurants offer great winter flair. Needless to say that Regensburg offers a Christmas market during the December months.

THE GAME:

SSV Jahn Regensburg vs FC St. Pauli 1-0

Well, this was one of the games where I did not attend as a neutral. Unfortunately, my beloved St Pauli had been out of form for over two months without winning a single football match so despite having four good chances to score this time, they still lost the game 1-0 which puts them in alarming relegation danger.

It was a packed “Continental Arena” with just over 15,000 supporters attending –roughly 2,500 away fans – however, when your team loses you simply can’t take too much positives from the game.

THE STADIUM

The arena is a fairly new stadium opened in July 2015 which certainly has its charm but these new grounds lack a bit of ambient. Nevertheless, with the stadium being nearly sold-out it was a good day to attend a Jahn Regensburg home match.

Match ticket for a seat (not terrace) was 33 € which is not the cheapest for a Bundesliga 2 fixture but to be fair, it was in a good section with a decent view.

The local food and beverages were fine considering that the catering in stadiums can be a bit dull. The queue management at half-time definitely needs to be improved though, it is tough to make the 2nd half on time with very long queues at one of the smaller food stands.

HOW TO GET THERE

There are direct trains from Munich Airport to Regensburg Central which only takes about 75 minutes and that is very convenient.

There are shuttle buses going from the train station to the stadium on matchdays which does not take longer than 10 minutes. Those shuttle buses are free to use and alternatively, taxis are a little bit faster and the ride should not cost more than 10€.

6/10

Daniel Barthold

Born in 1983 in Hildesheim (Lower Saxony, Germany) and raised in the Hamburg Area. Supporter of FC St. Pauli and since 2010 living and working in London (England) as a sports business consultant. Groundhopping has been a passion since the early days but I am actively counting and ticking off grounds since the Euros 2004. I have been to 500 stadiums in 65 countries so far.