UEFA Europa Conference League - Alkmaar, Legia and Zrinjski

[BlackCountryVilla]

1 ticket left right now - be quick!!

[rjp]

Website is all over the place.  After 4 attempts I managed to get a ticket.

[frankmosswasmyuncle]

1 ticket left right now - be quick!!

9 when I just looked!

[Brazilian Villain]

Hopefully all those on here that wanted a ticket got one. Should be a good trip.

[AV82EC]

Just been on and 3 left. Wonder if they’ll do a window for Claret Members

[Ads]

Wad saying sold out, but 6 more back on sale. Edit now gone.

This is going to be a cracking trip. I met my first H&Ver in Prague. He was dancing on a phone box. Feel free to buy me a pint chaps.

[olaftab]

Great post Small Rodent, really good of you.

Agreed. Not going myself, but a quick summary like this covering the important bits is great when you're not familiar with a city.

Yes excellent info SR, thank you.

[Bent Neilsens Screamer]

Wad saying sold out, but 6 more back on sale. Edit now gone.

This is going to be a cracking trip. I met my first H&Ver in Prague. He was dancing on a phone box. Feel free to buy me a pint chaps.

Who was that then, I remember someone on top of a phone box?

[Rory]

Wad saying sold out, but 6 more back on sale. Edit now gone.

This is going to be a cracking trip. I met my first H&Ver in Prague. He was dancing on a phone box. Feel free to buy me a pint chaps.

Who was that then, I remember someone on top of a phone box?

Dave W trying to get his change.

[Bent Neilsens Screamer]

Said before, Madrid in 98 and Hamburg in 08 aside, by and large we've never taken big numbers anywhere in Europe.

True, but the demand for away tickets in general is way higher these days, than then. So I’d expect our numbers to be higher now.

As an example, Boro away in April 04 (Crouch scored a late winner), we decided to go the night before and paid on the day as we hadn’t sold our allocation. Unthinkable now, and we were chasing top 4 at the time.

I was there. Keeper saved a De La Cruz shot from memory, keeper's save falls to Crouch and the away go mental.

Correct. Then my mate got arrested for hugging Crouch in the celebrations! The Boro police were wankers. They nicked a few Villa fans (for celebrating a goal next to the pitch, not on it) then released them once the last train back to Brum had left.

Must have been the same trip we went on. Mini bus from Water Orton, our mate got arrested for falling over the barrier at the front. Let out after the last train had left, we stopped in Leeds on the way back to wait for him, when he turned up the rozzers had confiscated his shoes and in there place he was wearing some plimsolls like he was about to do gym class in junior school.

[olaftab]

Yes ! Kept refreshing and got 2 - upper tier row 7 ! See you in another country again Olaftab !

Honestly I am not stalking you😂

[Pat McMahon]

I've also posted this in the Away section, but thought I might as well put it here too:

Here are a few things I know about Warsaw from my minimal knowledge.

Personally, I am very lucky as I have a sister-in-law and niece that in school term time live in the Old Town. My knowledge is mainly of that area and a few things further afield. But, this will be my base of operations.

Travel

If you fly to Chopin Airport, you are basically on the edge of the city and there will be numerous busses etc. to get where you are going.

I fly to Modlin Airport and take the shuttle bus from the airport to the Modlin train station.  From there, trains to Warszawa Centralna are frequent. Ticket machines in the airport are easy to use and English language can be selected.  Depending upon where you are staying, it is a hub for many bus routes and there are loads of cabs available. If it’s nice and not laden with luggage you can walk to Old Town in 30 minutes.

The Metro system is very simple. Nearest Metro to the Central station is Centrum (about 5 minutes’ walk from the front of the station).  The nearest station to Old Town is Ratusz Arsenal followed by a 10 minute walk.

The Metro station Swietokrzyska is basically where the North-South and East-West Metro lines cross.

Food, Drink etc.

Food - you’re basically spoiled for choice! I’ve never had anything bad to eat and you will have no problem finding somewhere to suit your tastes. I have had one of the best Pasta Arabiattas outside of Italy in Warsaw.

My family live a few doors from the WarSaw pub in Old Town. It has a very rowdy cellar (karaoke) and some pool rooms upstairs…not sure about TVs for football but I’ll update before next Thursday as I arrive on Tuesday. I like the chaos of this place, though. There are a couple of nice little craft beer pubs (one is called Same Krafty) opposite each other on Nowomiejska in Old Town.  And a few doors down is a marvellous little antique/junk shop full of Soviet and Nazi era stuff. Some expensive, some just cheap tat, but it’s always worth a browse. The main square in Old Town has loads of café-bars to choose from. For a late night “strange” drink in Old Town I cannot advise further than the Podwale Bar and Books situated on Waski Dunaj (again a few doors from “my gaff”). It is a wood-panelled whiskey bar that allows the smoking of cigars in doors. The bar staff treat customers as though you are in a Mayfair club (or how I imagine one to be). They only sell a couple of beers and they play subtitled Bond movies on a loop (volume down). It is cash only with a cashpoint outside the entrance. Gangsters? Maybe.

Further in town I have been in a few craft beer places, often down little side streets. If that’s your sort of thing, I have often been in “The Taps” (situated on Henryka Sienkiewicza) waiting for my niece to come out of her lessons and it is a pleasant place. Jabeerwocky on Nowogrodzka is also fine.

Warsaw is big and you’ll find somewhere you like. If you like Vodka there is a Vodka museum on the corner of Senatorska and Wierzbowa.

For those with an interest in history

On the bus from Modlin Airport to train station lookout for all the big brick structures, some built into the side of hills. Also on the train as it leaves Modlin look for the big brick buildings as you cross the river. This is Modlin Fort, the biggest in Europe, first built by Napoleon on his march to Moscow. The airport and town of Modlin are within the fort itself.

A neat walking tour is from the statue outside Ibis Hotel Old Town to the Jewish Museum. The statue is dedicated to those deported to the east under communism. A walk along the road named Stawki takes you to the monument to those deported to Treblinka. It is called the Umschlagplatz and it is the site of the marshalling yard collection point before being put on trains. Cross the road and head down Karmelicka and turn left onto Mila brings you to the memorial “Mila 18”. It is the site of the last survivors of the Ghetto Uprising and one of the HQs of the fighters. The bodies were left there as a war grave. Leon Uris wrote a novel called Mila 18. A short walk from here along Ludwika Zamenhofa brings you to POLIN – Museum of the history of Polish Jews. A fascinating building in itself, let alone the story told inside. It costs less than a tenner.

The Ghetto uprising was April 1942 to May 1943. Whilst walking the streets try to imagine that most of the area north of the central station to south of the Ibis Hotel Old Town and east of the main north-south road General Andersa was the Jewish Ghetto. Occasionally you will come across markings along streets and pavements that show the route of the ghetto wall. North east corner of the ghetto is between the Ibis Hotel and Polonia football ground. From May 1943 onwards this whole area would have been rubble. Just south of the Ibis and near the road called Bonifraterska was a mini concentration camp for the remaining Jews in Warsaw kept there for work.

Warsaw Uprising Museum (Muzeum Powstania Warszawskiego) is excellent. Well worth a visit. A short walk from Metro station Rondo Daszynskiego. The Warsaw Uprising monument is very impressive, situated on the corner of Dluga and Miodowa. A short walk will take you into Old Town and it’s churches and museums. This whole area was reduced to rubble too, but unlike the ghetto was rebuilt in its original architecture. All over Warsaw you will see plaques on walls to this period; so if you see “35 Osob” it means 35 people killed here, sometimes part of the fighting, sometimes in reprisals.

General Stuff

Remember to tip! 5 zloty is roughly £1.

A lot of places only do table service.

Always wait for the green man before crossing! You will notice most people follow this rule strictly.

Buy a 3 or 5 day travel pass ticket and keep it safe. It’ll cost you less than £10 and you can use on Metro, tram and bus. Ticket machines are at a lot of stops and easy to use with an English option.

On first use get it stamped buy the machine on the bus or tram. It is then valid for the number of days from that time.

Thanks a million Small Rodent. I’m heading to Krakow on Sunday then Warsaw on Wednesday.

I don’t have a ticket but was hopeful of a mate in Warsaw sorting me out but they are selling packages for all 3 games only at the moment. They on,y launched this info today so their system crashed. You need to have Polish ID or be a member at Legia to purchase. He also says they frequently check ID at the ground so not easy to get in even with a ticket.

[VillaTim]

Good luck anyone going , hope nobody needs to rely on the polish police out there , I found them ridiculously corrupt .

[ADVILLAFAN]

Can't believe the tickets didn't se out before getting to general season ticket holders.

It's a disgrace!

[Ads]

Good luck anyone going , hope nobody needs to rely on the polish police out there , I found them ridiculously corrupt .

Calm down Tim.