Away On Saturday: An away day in Munich...

Bayern Munich 2-0 TSG Hoffenheim
Allianz Arena
Bundesliga
Sunday 31st January 2016

After spending a decade travelling around the United Kingdom watching football matches at dozens of different venues, it had always been a long-harboured intention to go abroad at some point and see what stadiums on the continent had to offer.

With Megabus offering extra-special fares throughout January whereby you could get long-haul trips for as cheap as 50p, I decided I was having some of that and before I knew it, I was booked on a European adventure, whereby I'd visit several places in just under a month and get to see no fewer than seven games on the continent.

One of these games was the reigning German champions, Bayern Munich, against minnows TSG Hoffenheim at the Allianz Arena. Tickets, surprisingly, were simple to obtain thanks to some kind assistance by the ticket office at Bayern Munich.

In the week leading up to the game, I'd visited Cologne, Dortmund and Berlin. The night beforehand, I'd travelled down to southern Germany from the capital city - a journey which took some 10 hours (and cost £1.50 because someone else booked the first bus fare), but I still managed to get just about enough sleep to feel refreshed enough when I arrived at a snowy Munich at 6.30am.

Weather conditions, unfortunately, weren't what I'd hoped for as a snowy morning spent partly in the awe-inspiring Marienplatz, turned into a rainy afternoon - thus meaning at some point I was always going to get soaked to the bone. Especially lovely when I had a coach to catch to Milan later that night as well.

The Allianz Arena itself is a strange affair - located in the north of Munich, quite a distance from the city centre but next to the motorway - meaning it's easy to spot if travelling into the city. To reach the 75,000-capacity stadium by public transport, you have to alight at Fröttmaning on Munich's underground metro system and from there it's a 10-minute walk.

Once inside the stadium, the sheer size of the arena hits you. It's not quite as big as Wembley, but facilities are first class with plenty of legroom between seats, great views, a terrific PA system (which I could have probably heard, had I still been in Berlin) and a very noisy home faithful. I assume this would differ vastly from a TSV 1860 Munich game; the lower division outfit also share the Allianz Arena and average around 20,000 crowds.

As for the game, this would best be described as a typical performance of a side managed by Pep Guardiola. Bayern simply kept the ball, made dozens of passes, whilst their counterparts ran around chasing shadows in an effort to try and keep the score as respectable.

Unsurprisingly, the reigning German champions emerged as comfortable winners, 2-0, thanks to goals either side of half-time by the prolific Robert Lewandowski.

A couple of strange aspects about the Allianz Arena is when the hosts score, the distinctive panels on the exterior of the stadium flash up. Given that the stadium is adjacent to one of the most well-used motorways into Munich, you can only hope there aren't too many drivers who get distracted by this otherwise it's a recipe for chaos.

Another bizarre aspect is catering kiosks in the stadium are cashless and you have to load money into advance onto a special debit card to effectively pay for what you want. Whilst I'm sure this speeds up the service, it's worth noting in advance - especially if you want a beer/coke/pie. Otherwise, it's a case of holding on until you've left the stadium.

Having been soaked to the skin for the second time after the game, it was back to Munich bus station to pick up the rest of my belongings which I'd left in one of the very cheap luggage lockers which are commonplace across Germany, get changed and ready for another night of travelling - and a new country with Milan next on the agenda.