Sign in with FacebookSchlesischer Ring 3, Buer, Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, 45894, Germany
2. Pedestrian zone behind the station
1. In the Gelsenkirchen main station
Bicycle route signs (Ge=Gelsenkirchen)
Solar energy near the old Consolidation mine
I just found out my wife and I have tickets to the US vs Czech Republic game on June 12 (don't ask :) ) Now we are scrambling to find a place to stay, as you can imagine. How easy is it to get around Gelsenkirchen? I don't see a mention of a metro system. The reason I ask is because most of the hotels I have seen that have availability is in Bochum. Any one have any insider tips to finding a hotel room in town, where I assume the action will be.
Thanks!
Gelsenkirchen is part of the Ruhr Area, the biggest conurbation in Germany.
Connections from Bochum (or other cities there) are frequent. And free with your match tickets.
more on public transport there during the World Cup
http://www.wir-bringen-sie-hin.de/10.0.html?&L=1
You may check these sites for hotels
http://media.hotel.de/wm2006/soccer-world-cup.htm
http://www3.hrs.de/?client=en__wmgermany
but as Gelsenkirchen is neither a big tourist destination or a big trade fair city, they just don't have that many hotels there.
Gelsenkirchen World Cup site
http://www.fifawm2006.gelsenkirchen.de/
http://www.bochum.de/english/
Thanks for the quick reply and great info!
I receieved a hotel offer from Hotel Blumenhof im Floristikpark which according to Google maps looks like it is located right across the road from the stadium. One concern I have is that it is in the middle of no where. Part of the excitement of going to a World Cup match is gathering with other supporters. Do you know if there is bus\tram access from this area?
http://www.blumenhof-im-floristikpark.de/impressum.htm
Thanks again!
Also in your honest opinion would if I don't take the previous offer, would it be better to stay in Bochum, Essen or Gladbeck for more of an entertainment area?
Staying in Bochum can be a good option. Better restaurants & nightlife.
For local transportations between the 2 cities check www.bogestra.de
You do not need to worry, it will be easy to get from one place to another and you can always ask, young people understand English well.
Remember to try the local excellent beer Fiege pils.
Ah...a beer tip. Thanks a lot, it is the secondary reason for the trip :)
Thank you.
Blumenhof im Floristikpark
The closest tram stop is Veltins-Arena, the stop for the Veltins-Arena Worldcup Stadium. Actually Blumenhof is even slighty closer to the stop (but different direction) than the Veltins-Arena itself.
2 tram stops south is the Gelsenkirchen Fan Fest
http://www.glueckaufkampfbahn2006.de/en/enlageplan.htm
Excellent! Just what I was looking for. Thanks so much
I spent only one evening here, so I do not know much about this place. What I do know that they have a new Stadium for football here, and if everything going as I plan, I will watch few of the 2006 World Cup games here.
Check the city official site at:
www. Gelsenkirchen.de
You must attend a football match at Auf Schalke Arena when Schalke plays - of course if could manage to find a ticket (60,000 of them are pre-sold before Bundesliga starts in August).
You must not miss a Schalke-Borussia Dortmund or Bayern match or a Champions League match (if Schalke makes it to the CL next year)
After coal was discovered in 1840, Gelsenkirchen rapidly changed from a small farming town to a center of coal-mining, coke-production and assorted heavy industry. In the second half of the twentieth century the coal-based economy went into a slow decline as the world economy switched to oil.
The last coke* factory in Gelsenkirchen closed in 1999 and the last coal mine in 2000. About the same time, new factories started producing solar energy panels and heat-exchange pumps for geothermal energy, and the city started pushing the use of renewable energy in public and private buildings of all sorts. Near the old Consolidation Mine there are new housing developments with solar panels on all the houses.
Because of all its mines and heavy industry, Gelsenkirchen used to be called the "City of a Thousand Fires". Now that they can see the sun again, they have decided to become a "Sun City" -- sometimes also known as a "City of a Thousand Suns", which is not very logical but at least reminds people of the old slogan, to point out how much the city has changed in just the last few years.
* For you young folks I should point out that the word coke, with a small c, does not mean the notorious sugary soft drink which is one of the causes of the worldwide obesity epidemic, but rather a sort of fuel made of coal which has been baked in an oven at high temperatures to drive off impurities so it can be used in blast furnaces for iron smelting.
Thanks to VT member JLBG for pointing out that coke "has also a third meaning for youngsters!"
Arena Auf Schalke is the home of the FC Schalke 04, often called "The stadium for the new Millennium". Although Schalke is one of major German sports clubs and has numerous fans, Arena is more used as an event place (for concerts etc) than for football matches.
So, what do you do with grass pitch during such events? No problem for those German engineers - they simply designed a movable field. Although it weights more than 11,000 tonnes it takes no more than 5 minutes to move it outdoors. This way grass is usually outside on the rain and when they need it for the football match they just take it back. Arena aur Schalke was opened in 2001at the cost of 358 million German Marks. It has a capacity of 62,000 visitors that are safe from the rain as the 560-tonnes roof can be totally closed. When the roof is closed (and the grass field is out) Arena is used for concerts and similar events.
Koenigsblau and weiss is what the fans here bleed as they look forward to seeing their team strike down the opposition - especially Bayern Munchen or Borussia Dortmund. FC Schalke 04 has Germany's newest football stadium, the Arena auf Schalke - room for over 60,000, featuring a retractible roof. Learning from the problems of the stadium of Ajax of Holland, the grass is actually moved out of the stadium when there is no game, so that it can grow better than in the not-so sunny confines of the stadia. Luxury boxes and business seats are the rage, as in the US, but the north end is still standing room only for Schalke's most rabid Nordkurve faithful as they sing and chant for the Blue and white. The game this night saw 04 come from behind to beat FC Slovan Liberec of the Czech Republic 2:1. Tickets and clothed in Blue and white.
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Q: Need a place to stay "I just found out my wife and I have tickets to the US vs Czech Republic game on June 12 (don't ask :) ) Now we are scrambling to..."
A: "Gelsenkirchen is part of the Ruhr Area, the biggest conurbation in Germany. Connections from Bochum (or other cities there) are frequent. And free with your match..."
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