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I'm from Sofia, Bulgaria. Last August I was doing an 18-day Interrail trip across Europe. Hamburg was one of the stops.

I bought a ticket for HSV vs Hertha Berlin. 2. Bundesliga. Matchday 2. €68. Volksparkstadion was completely full. 55,000 people for the second matchday of the season in the second division.

I've been to Old Trafford. I've been to Premier League grounds. The atmosphere at Volksparkstadion that night was heavier than all of them.

HSV fans clearly haven't forgotten what this club should be. You could feel it in every single chant.

I didn't expect a 2. Bundesliga match to be the highlight of my trip. It was.

What other German grounds should I visit next?

I'm from Sofia, Bulgaria. I flew to England twice. Watched two Championship matches.

Watford vs Stoke City — €25 at Vicarage Road (2024) Charlton vs Hull City — €38 at The Valley (2026)

I enjoyed both matches a lot. But Charlton's atmosphere was something else. That was the moment I felt the real vibe of English football. Less corporate. Cheaper beer. Fans who actually live near the ground.

Here's what surprised me most: the Charlton ticket cost €38. The West Ham vs Everton ticket I bought 2 days later cost €41.

Three euros between a Championship and Premier League match. The real price gap isn't between leagues. It's between Big Six clubs and everyone else.

Honest take: the Championship matches stuck with me longer than the Premier League ones did.

Which Championship grounds should I target next?

Оne week ago I posted here about my England trip — 3 matches in 4 days, €726. Some of you liked it. Here's the bigger one I did before that.

August 2024. I got tax money back from a work and travel program in the US. No plan for it. Then I thought — I want to see Man Utd at Old Trafford. But one match felt like a waste of a trip. So I got an Interrail pass and built the whole route around football.

The route: Sofia → Budapest → Vienna → Brno (just an afternoon) → Krakow → Hamburg → Munich → Paris → Manchester → Liverpool (day trip) → London → Sofia

The 5 matches:

Match	League	Cost
Ferencváros vs Kecskeméti TE	Hungarian NB I	€20
Rapid Wien vs Sturm Graz	Austrian Bundesliga	€36
HSV vs Hertha Berlin	2. Bundesliga	€68
Man Utd vs Fulham	Premier League	€55
Watford vs Stoke City	Championship	€21
Total		€200

5 matches. 4 countries. 4 leagues. €229.

What I spent on everything:

What	Cost
Interrail pass (2nd class)	€335
Seat reservations	€50
Flights (Sofia to Budapest, London to Sofia)	€70
Hostels (16 nights, all dorms)	€392
Match tickets	€229
Stadium tours (Allianz, Old Trafford, Anfield, Emirates)	€100
Auschwitz + Salt Mine	€55
Food and the rest (~€75/day)	€1,275
Total	€2499

Munich was free. Stayed at a friend's place.

Best moments:

Old Trafford. I'm from Bulgaria. Been a Man Utd fan my whole life. Walking into that ground for the first time is something I still think about.

HSV vs Hertha Berlin caught me off guard. Full stadium. 55,000 people. Second division. The noise was bigger than most top flight grounds I've been to.

The pub crawl in Krakow. Little Havana hostel. €40 for 2 nights. Met people from 8 countries in one night.

Auschwitz:

Went in curious. Came out angry and sad. Hard to put into words. Just go.

Worst part:

Paris hostel. No AC. August. Barely slept for 2 nights.

What surprised me:

I did the whole thing alone. First time traveling solo this long. It worked. More than worked.

One thing I learned:

Most people plan the route first, then look for football. I did it the other way. I looked at the fixtures first, then built the route around them. Budapest to Vienna is 2.5 hours by train. London has 8+ clubs playing on any given weekend. The matches are the map. Everything else follows.

What I'd change:

Plan earlier. If I started 2-3 weeks sooner I could have fit 2-3 more matches into the same trip. The fixtures were there. I just found them too late.

Book Hamburg sooner. Left it late, paid more, ended up far from the ground.

And more Eastern European matches. The €20 Ferencváros ticket — real ultras, real noise — was the best pure football of the whole trip.

For anyone who's done something like this — what's the best atmosphere you've found outside the top 5 leagues? I want to find more grounds like Ferencváros and Rapid Wien.

I got some money back from US taxes after a work and travel program in 2023. Didn't know what to do with it. Then I thought — I want to finally watch Manchester United at Old Trafford. But one match felt like not enough, so I built an entire Interrail trip around it.

I waited until June-July when the football schedules came out, found the matches I wanted, and planned the route around them. Simple as that.

The route: Sofia → Budapest → Vienna → Brno → Krakow → Hamburg → Munich → Paris → Manchester → Liverpool → London → Sofia

The full cost:

Category	Cost
Interrail Pass (2nd class)	€335
Seat reservations	€50
Flights (both)	€70
Accommodation (16 nights, dorms)	€392
5 match tickets	€200
4 stadium tours	€100
Auschwitz + Salt Mine	€55
Food/drinks/misc	€1,275
Total	€2,506

The 5 matches: Ferencváros €20 → Rapid Wien €36 → HSV €68 → Man Utd €55 → Watford €21. Total: €200 for 5 matches across 4 countries.

The best moment: My first ever Man Utd match at Old Trafford. I'm from Bulgaria, been a supporter my whole life. Walking in there for the first time was something else. Also the pub crawl in Krakow — met people from 8 countries in one night.

Auschwitz: I went in curious. Came out angry and sad. Can't really explain it better than that. Just go.

The worst part: Paris hostel. No AC in August. Couldn't sleep properly for 2 nights. Everything else was worth it.

What surprised me most: I did the whole thing alone. Never traveled solo for this long before. Turns out it's fine. Better than fine actually.

One thing I'd tell anyone thinking about a similar trip: If you want to go somewhere, just go by yourself. Don't wait for someone else to be ready.

Happy to answer anything — the route, the matches, the hostels, Interrail pass types, whatever.