A friend of mine is turning 40 and I'm taking him on a surprise trip to Zürich. He's always wanted to see an NLA game so it should be a thrill.
We have our flights booked for week 8 so we'll have a chance to see the game between ZSC and Geneve on saturday the 25th. It would be fantastic to get some information concerning hockey in Zürich.
* It seems the tickets will be available via http://zsclions.showare.ch a month before the game. Is it true? It also seems buing tickets online and printing them beforehand works easilly as usual.
* Is it possible to get autographs from the home/visiting teams before/after the game at the arena? Is there a specific part outside the arena where players get out?
* Are there usually any famous players (former Swiss national team guys, scouts for instance) watching the game at some certain section? Getting some autographs from them would be nice too.
* Are there any stores selling old/new Swiss hockey cards in Zürich?
* All other kinds of pieces of information and suggestions are highly welcome.
* It seems the tickets will be available via http://zsclions.showare.ch a month before the game. Is it true? It also seems buing tickets online and printing them beforehand works easilly as usual.
Correct. I assume you speak a little german, otherwise, as we do have winter holidays in zurich at that time, tickets are 50% off for all sectors.
Quote:
Originally Posted by krookus
* Is it possible to get autographs from the home/visiting teams before/after the game at the arena? Is there a specific part outside the arena where players get out?
I think this could be pretty tricky. You might probably get some at the player entrance, but i never bothered for autographs, so i might be wrong.
Quote:
Originally Posted by krookus
* Are there usually any famous players (former Swiss national team guys, scouts for instance) watching the game at some certain section? Getting some autographs from them would be nice too.
Again, i never bothered. Some might be in the crowd or VIP area but probably hard to find (if the cameras wont help you).
Quote:
Originally Posted by krookus
* Are there any stores selling old/new Swiss hockey cards in Zürich?
What do you exactly mean with hockey cards? There are some fanshops and a sports museum (which is actually in Basel afaik, that would be smth like 45min train/car ride).
Quote:
Originally Posted by krookus
* All other kinds of pieces of information and suggestions are highly welcome.
Well first of all, go out, there's a wide array of different musicbars/concerts/parties to discover, even on weeknights (and bc its pretty small you can travel fast between the hotspots).
If you want some panorama, i'd suggest to go to the lake for a walk (great view on the alps) or some bars/pubs, but you probably get there alone if you check out the old part of the city. Good spot for that would also be the Üetliberg, a small mountain at the outskirts. awesome view on a sunny day with some (quite expensive) restaurant at the top (you can hike up or take the lift).
lots of museums incase you are interested, and bc they usually reside in old buildings or near univercities, most of them are easily accessible within the old city.
oh and buy a tram/train ticket (you can get some at the airport for instance) for the zurich area and you can really go anywhere with it without bothering anymore for charges. incase you speak a little german (most ppl speak a little english too, incase you have to ask for directions/stations) there's actually no need to rent a car or cab (which are probably the most expensive ones on this planet, especially at the airport).
damn i really dont know anything about our hockey team. guess i should visit more "away" games from my team and not only go for concerts to the arena
What do you exactly mean with hockey cards? There are some fanshops and a sports museum (which is actually in Basel afaik, that would be smth like 45min train/car ride).
By hockey cards I mean collectible trading cards (why not stickers as well) originating from North America. Swiss ones have been produced at least from the early/mid 90s. Here's an example photo of some NHL cards: http://images04.olx.com/ui/1/50/08/3254208_1.jpg
I'm really looking forward to see the game between the Lions and Geneve. The quality of the league here in Finland is good, but the "Stimmung" in the audience is pretty much, well, nonexistent. Some years ago I saw a game of the Austrian league (Villach) and was almost shocked because of the singing and chanting, and this time I'm expecting for something even better.
Thanks for the cultural tips. I'm sure we'll delve into the night life as much as we can. Approximately how much do pints of beer cost in regular bars and restaurants? What about beer cans/bottles in supermarkets? I hope the weather will be decent in the end of February.
By hockey cards I mean collectible trading cards (why not stickers as well) originating from North America. Swiss ones have been produced at least from the early/mid 90s.
i collected the panini cards for the soccer world cups, but i didnt know that there are some for swiss hockey as well. but if they were produced, im pretty sure that they are still available (maybe only on order, but still).
Quote:
Originally Posted by krookus
I'm really looking forward to see the game between the Lions and Geneve. The quality of the league here in Finland is good, but the "Stimmung" in the audience is pretty much, well, nonexistent. Some years ago I saw a game of the Austrian league (Villach) and was almost shocked because of the singing and chanting, and this time I'm expecting for something even better.
good choice for that! geneva is right now on the 9th place, 7 points shy of a playoff spot. zurich sits on the 7th place (9 points in front), so this is gonna be a 6 points game for both teams.
Quote:
Originally Posted by krookus
Approximately how much do pints of beer cost in regular bars and restaurants? What about beer cans/bottles in supermarkets? I hope the weather will be decent in the end of February.
There aren't a lot of bars or restaurants that sell pints actually, its not really common here. but a glass (33cl or 50cl) usually is around 4-8, depending on the beer and the location. in supermarkets you'll get a six pack of half litre cans for ~10. or a 10 pack of 33cl bottles for 12 (my choice is called "Quöllfrisch"). that's the standard stuff tough, if you like dark beer or special flavours (like the german Weizenbier) it might get a little more expensive. there's cheaper beer available, but these are usually quite awful (well.. cheap beer ).
oh wait i didnt realize that your coming in february (should've known that tough bc of the holidays). the game could get really awesome, bc its the last one of the regular season (afaik), and incase these two teams will still battle for a playoff spot, well, you'll get a loud ambiance and some heat on the ice for sure.
First of all you can get new player cards and old player cards in Ochsner Hockey in Embrach. Its about 20 mins by car from the city, you could reach it by bus/train, but its not that easy to find. http://ochsnerhockey.ch/de/proshop/embrach/index.php
And you can easily meet the players and get autographs, you just have to be patient
because the dont have there real dress room in the hallenstadion, because its not their own stadium. so they have to pack there bags and get back to there "Home" dressing room. It takes you 4 Mins by foot from the hallenstadion. It's next to Hockey Rink "Neudorf". (It's at the Siewerdtstrasse).
As others already said, the hockey experience in Zurich isn't really great. The stadium is quite famous (probably the most famous indoor venue in Switzerland), but it's not suited for hockey. If you have the chance, go and watch a game in Kloten (suburb of Zurich) or even better in Zug. It's probably a 35 minute train ride away from the stadium in Zug.
You can find tickets for here: http://ticketportal2.showare.ch/even...LA-201112-2929
Thank you all for the comments. Also thanks to Lassse for the card shop info, we could actually check out that place.
Also, is it possible to get autographs both from the home and visiting teams in Zürich or just the home team? In some countries the way to the away team's bus is very restricted.
We already have tickets for the Zürich game so "unfotunately" that'll be our choice. But I'm sure I'll be back in Suisse some day to see other teams play as well.
One more question - is there a specific place for the pre-game "drinking party" in Zürich? Some specific bars or other places where fans gather and start to get in the mood?
Thanks a lot for your help, people. We had a great weekend and my friend got some nice birthday surprises.
It's true the hockey experience in Zürich was not exactly what I expected - the Stimmung was good from a Finnish point of view, but I was expecting the whole crowd go crazy or at least a lot of singing and chanting. There were a lot of empty seats in the arena, and the arena itself was a little strange due to the fact that there's a big space between the rink and the lowest seats. Next time to Berne, Kloten or some other location then. We did meet some Zürich players after the game and got some cards signed. Especially my old favourite Ari Sulander was great, he chatted with us for a long time after the game.
Zürich as a city was pretty nice, very easy to navigate and clean. I was surprised there were not that many bars in the centre, at least we only found some in the old town as well as on Langstrasse. I preferred the 0,45 franc supermarket beer over the 8 franc bar one. Food was great as well, I had for instance some raclette rösti, delicious. On sunday we also visited Zug for a few hours - very quiet but also very nice. Great sceneries. My friends visited Uetliberg twice, unfortunately I didn't make it but they loved it.
The people were friendly and helpful - although directions in Swiss German were a little hard to comprehend with my school-learn German. The ladies were beautiful and stylish. Obviously there's a lot of money in the country and it shows.
I took home some chocolate and apple liquor - but I skipped the 45000 franc watches.
did u happen have a chat with bob hartley too? looks like he found the right switch just in time.
and as we are exchanging beer prices.. i'm heading for the nordkapp this summer with some friends, the place is actually in norway but i thought maybe u have some tips how to prevent that ridicoulous alcohol taxation (smth legal ofc)? last time we bought a lot of stuff on the ferry (in international waters), but this time we're on our motor bikes so that wont be so easy.
We didn't meet any of the coaches, unfortunately. Would've been nice to see Jacques Cloutier as I had a big pile of cards of the man.
I don't know if there's any easy to way to get away with good beer prices in Norway. I've heard some Norwegians who live near the borders get over to Sweden or Finland to get their beer, which is pretty funny from my point of view as the tax is very high in these countries as well. Still cheaper than in Norway. For the record cheapest domestic beers in Finland cost around 1,10-1,50 eur (for a 0,33 l can), I can imagine the prices in Norway are top-notch. In case you happen to cross the border to Sweden to buy alcohol, keep in mind that normal markets only sell beer that's around 2,7 % strong, the normal 4,7 % stuff and everything that's stronger is only available at government-run alcohol stores called "Systembolaget".
Good luck with finding cheap beer in Scandinavia - you'll need it.
I'm every year in finland for a couple weeks, last time i looked for a hockey-shop (with finnish jersey, fan stuff, and hockey equipment) but I didn't know where i can find one in helsinki. Do you have a clue where there could be a shop like this?
Tons of used sports equipment, not just hockey stuff. They at least used to carry a selection of fan jerseys too, both older and newer stuff.
The opening times may vary in the summertime or the stores might be completely closed at some point. I asked about more stores on a Finnish forum, I'll add them here if some more stores come up.
http://www.hockeycorner.net/eshop/
Mannerheimintie 39, 00250 Helsinki (around 10 minutes from the centre by bus/tram)
open mon-fri 10-18, sat 10-14
Haven't been there in years, but at least they used to have a pretty big selection of equipment & fan stuff.
I went there last year, they only had some Blues stuff. The guy told me that IFK and Jokerit had their own fan shops, and they didn't have anything from other teams.
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