Bier, Bratwurst, BVB

Words: Euan McKechnie

Images: Euan McKechnie

Borussia Dortmund is a special football club. Despite being based in only the ninth largest city in Germany it boasts the stadium with the largest capacity.

Eighty one thousand three hundred and sixty five.

It is on just about every football fans bucket list, and if it isn’t, have a word.

It is up there with the Bernabeu, Camp Nou and San Siro, but there's something different about Borussia Dortmund and the Westfalenstadion.

It is difficult to think of a single stand in world football that is as renowned as the südtribüne of Dortmund's ground.

The famous 'yellow wall'. Housing over 24,000 fans it's the largest standing terrace in Europe.

That wall, those colours and the culture around German football makes it a must.

Wegbiers, the German tradition of having a beer for the journey, is as much a part of the matchday experience as the whistle at kick off.

©Euan McKechnie/ Terrace Edition. Borussia Dortmund kutte.

(You'll have to forgive me, as a supporter of Scottish football there is nothing more satisfying to me than turning up at a stadium and being trusted, as a grown man, to purchase and consume a pint.)

The numerous beer gardens surrounding the ground selling pints and bratwurst, that is where you really feel the atmosphere go up a notch.

However, nothing quite compares to that feeling when you're bleeped through the turnstile and ascend the steps for your first glimpse of the pitch and the terraces.

I genuinely believe I spent more time gazing around the four stands of black and yellow than I did at the match itself.

A 4-0 win against Wolfsburg amidst a great run of form that sees BVB surge towards Champions League qualification felt like a sideshow compared to the atmosphere in the stands.

Bier. Bratwurst. Borussia Dortmund. Dreaming in neon.

©Euan McKechnie/ Terrace Edition. Borussia Dortmund vs VfL Wolfsburg.

©Euan McKechnie/ Terrace Edition. Borussia Dortmund vs VfL Wolfsburg.

©Euan McKechnie/ Terrace Edition. Borussia Dortmund vs VfL Wolfsburg.

©Euan McKechnie/ Terrace Edition. Borussia Dortmund vs VfL Wolfsburg.

©Euan McKechnie/ Terrace Edition. Borussia Dortmund vs VfL Wolfsburg.

©Euan McKechnie/ Terrace Edition. Borussia Dortmund vs VfL Wolfsburg.

©Euan McKechnie/ Terrace Edition. Borussia Dortmund vs VfL Wolfsburg.

©Euan McKechnie/ Terrace Edition. Borussia Dortmund vs VfL Wolfsburg.

©Euan McKechnie/ Terrace Edition. Borussia Dortmund vs VfL Wolfsburg.

©Euan McKechnie/ Terrace Edition. Borussia Dortmund vs VfL Wolfsburg.

©Euan McKechnie/ Terrace Edition. Borussia Dortmund vs VfL Wolfsburg.

Euan is on Instagram: @35mmck.euan.