Fan's guide: Pre-season tour
With the Swans on a pre-season trip to Germany and Austria, we bring you a fan’s guide to the places they are visiting.
The Swans play two 60-minute games on Saturday, July 21, against Genoa and hosts Magdeburg, and then take on Eibar (July 24) and Freiburg (July 27) before returning to Wales.
Tickets for all the matches will be available on the day at the respective venues.
Saturday, July 21, 2018 Genoa (1pm UK time) FC Magdeburg (2.15pm UK time)
Address: MDCC Arena, Heinz-Krügel-Platz 1, 39114 Magdeburg, Germany
Telephone: 00 49 391 593450 Website: https://1.fc-magdeburg.de/start
What’s it like? The MDCC Arena (commonly referred to as Stadion Magdeburg) was built in 2006 and is in the east of Magdeburg on the east bank of the river Elbe, around 1.5 miles from the city centre (30-minute walk) and 2 miles from the main train station (40-minute walk).
Visiting Magdeburg The closest airport is Leipzig. Hanover or even Berlin could also be an option. Ryanair fly to Leipzig from Stansted. Prices (at time of writing) are £222 going on Thursday, July 19 and coming back on the Saturday night (hand luggage only). City centre hotels include Hotel Ratswaage, City Hotel Magdeburg and InterCityHotel Magdeburg. The tourism website (in English) is at https://www.magdeburg-tourist.de/index.php?La=2.
Eating and Drinking There are two supermarkets (Aldi and Rewe) across the road (Friedrich-Ebert-Straße) from the stadium. Often in Germany, fans buy beers at supermarkets and meet up on the streets or in the parks with a few bottles (take a bottle opener). The nearest bar is Kelly’s Sportsbar at Berliner Chaussee 41, 39114. Pints are €3.30, chips are €3 and burger and chips start at €7.70. It’s website is https://kellys-sportsbar.de/ They are open three hours before kick-off.
Parking There is parking in the streets nearby the stadium and at Kelly’s Sportsbar.
Tram Tram line six goes from the main railway station or city centre in the direction of Herrenkrug. Get off at stop Berliner Chaussee/Arenen. The journey is less than 10 minutes. The public transport website (in German) is http://www.marego-verbund-netzplan.de/index.php/de/netzplan-region
SD Eibar Tuesday, July 24, 2018 (6pm UK time)
Address: SK Jenbach, Innstraße 3, 6200 Jenbach, Austria
Web-site: http://www.sk-jenbach.at/
What’s it like? Stadion Jenbach is a 2,000-capacity stadium which is centrally located.
Visiting Jenbach Jenbach is a small town with a population of around 7,000. It is 18 miles from Innsbruck. Flybe go to Innsbruck from Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds-Bradford and Edinburgh. Easyjet go from Gatwick and British Airways go from Heathrow. Some hotels in the town centre are Hotel Jenbacherhof, Landhaus Mayr and Camping Inntal (but it’s a hotel, not camping). Not far away is Lake Achensee. This is an alpine lake and very popular for water sports and swimming. Being an alpine lake, the temperature can be described as bracing to say the least. The tourism website is https://www.tyrol.tl/en/tyrol/achensee-and-karwendel/jenbach/
Eating and Drinking There’s the U30 bar at Schalserstraße 27 (1,227.02 km) 6200 Jenbach. Also a Chinese restaurant, Wu Han China Restaurant at Kirchgasse 9, Jenbach 6200 and Pizzeria Sandro at Schiessstandstrasse 6, Jenbach 6200.
Directions and Train Jenbach is well served by the rail network. The rail website (in English) is http://www.oebb.at/en/
SC Freiburg Friday, July 27, 2018 (4pm UK time)
Address: Velly Arena Imst Tirol, Am Raun 25, 6460 Gemeinde Imst, Austria
Telephone: 00 43 699 16216748 Website: https://www.scimst.at/
What’s it like? The Velly Arena’s location is amazing. With rolling mountains right down to pitch level, you couldn’t ask for a more picturesque location. Entry is €12 and €8 for children and concessions.
Visiting Imst Imst is a town on the River Inn in western Tyrol, 31 miles west of Innsbruck and at an altitude of 2,717 feet above sea level. It has a population of around 10,000. The activities in Imst and very outdoor orientated with mountain biking, rock-climbing, horse riding and wake boarding available. Hotels in the town include Hotel Zum Hirschen, Hotel Eggerbräu, and Hotel Stern. The English language tourism website is https://www.imst.at/en
Eating and Drinking A few bars in Imst are Pool Hall Alex, Schustergasse 4, 6460 Imst also Downtown, Kramergasse 4, 6460 Imst and IT EIS PRA, Schustergasse 4, 6460 Gemeinde Imst
Directions and Train The stadium is very close to the town centre. Travel options are good into the town with train transportation http://www.oebb.at/en/ along with Flixbus. https://www.flixbus.co.uk/
