Like most good ideas, the thought behind this trip began in the pub. After a freezing cold January night and a couple of beers and I decided to start looking into cheap flights across to Germany for the upcoming European tour event in Hildesheim near Hannover. Having used up most of my holiday days earlier in the year I only had half a day of holiday to play with, so this trip was sure to be a quick one but I was determined to find a way to do it. There’s something about the European tour that I love, a simple, short format and players from all over the world competing makes for a great competition and provides inexperienced players the chance to play in front of a noisy crowd and TV cameras.

After a bit of searching about I came across flights that suited me perfectly, granted the arrival airport was nearly 200 miles away from my destination but I was adamant I was going to give it a try. After booking trains, darts tickets (with some help from PDC Europe) and flights on my lunch break at work I was set for a hop across to Germany for the Saturday sessions of the European Tour Event 1 in Hildesheim.

I left work on the Friday lunchtime and arrived at Leeds Bradford in plenty of time for my flight and, after the obligatory airport Guinness, I was heading to Düsseldorf for a Friday night stay before completing the final leg of my journey to Hildesheim the next day.

The journey from Düsseldorf airport to the centre of town is a bit of a weird one, first you take a 5 minute SkyTrain monorail to the airport train station, then you change to get on a 10 minute overground train to Düsseldorf Hbf (Hbf, I came to learn, just means central train station.) I never did work out whether I was meant to pay for the SkyTrain but the overground train at about €2.60 was pretty reasonable and surely the cheapest way to get about.

On the plane I was told that Düsseldorf was likely to be lively that weekend due to it being a carnival weekend but I definitely wasn’t expecting the site that greeted me at main station. The scene was as though I’d already arrived at the darts and the fancy dresses ranged from ludicrous to disturbing as Germans of all ages were dressed up, clearly ready for a night on the town. Once I’d managed to manoeuvre my way through the throng of colourful fancy dress it was time to check in at my hotel and find a bar for a quiet night before my early start the next day.

Whilst it was pretty hard to find a “quiet” bar in the Alstadt of Düsseldorf I was pretty unadventurous and settled on o’reilly’s, a decent Irish bar with cricket on the TV and friendly staff who kept me entertained for longer than I’d initially planned to stay. A few German ales later it was time to get some kip before the day of travelling and darts planned for the next day.

Luckily the German beer didn’t give me too much grief the next morning and after a quick breakfast I was headed to Hannover on the train. It was a good job I’d taken it steady the night before though as I had to sit on my bag or stand for the majority of the journey! That said German trains are really well maintained, warm and, if you can find a seat, pretty comfortable.

After a quick change in Hannover and a further 20 minute train journey I had arrived in Hildesheim. The city was quite busy with shoppers, clearly a world away from the heaving metropolis of Düsseldorf but seemed pleasant all the same and I soon found my hotel at the top of the town near an impressive historic building and, oddly enough, an ice rink.

After checking in at my hotel I quickly got changed and ready and set off (in probably the poshest taxi I’ve ever been in) to Halle 39 for the arrows!

The games had started for the afternoon session when I arrived and the German crowds were in full voice. German darts crowds are some of the best I’ve sat amongst, always singing and applauding, whilst for the most part remaining respectful towards the players. I heard very few whistles and shouts when players were on doubles which is a disturbing trend amongst English crowds, particularly the Premier League events.

I won’t go in to the details and scores of the match but the standard was consistently high and 180s and high finishes were flying in to rapturous applause. Probably my favourite part of the German crowds was their “Hello upstairs” followed by “Hello downstairs”, a far cry from the endless “boring boring tables” you witness at events across the UK.

The setup was pretty much as you’d expect from a PDC event, drinks weren’t too much though and the food they put on was awesome. From currywursts to pretzels the food was great, something I really feel needs working on at big events in the UK. Not just in darts but other events too, the Rollover hotdog and pie in a packet doesn’t hold a candle to the variety of food put on by our European counterparts.

The atmosphere and organisation was great and the PDC really know how to put on an event. One thing I will say though is if you’re planning on attending a full day, make sure you bring a coat, in between the sessions we stood outside while the venue was checked and cleaned. I’d had enough beer to not feel the cold so much but we were queuing for quite a while and it was definitely a good job it wasn’t raining!

The only other gripe I had was the travel arrangements, Germans really don’t queue for taxis and with Halle 39 being a fair way out of town this was pretty much the only option. I managed to flag one down relatively quickly but I’ll bet some people were there a while waiting for a taxi. Putting a few shuttle buses in to town might’ve been a good touch here for sure.

Having got back in to my hotel it was definitely time for sleep. I considered going to a few bars but having steadily drunk from about 1 until 11pm and with a flight and train journey to look forward to in the morning I decided against it. The way I felt in the morning was a good barometer for how that was a good idea too. Let’s just say I was glad the check out time was 12 noon and not any earlier…

The next day was a pretty long one owing to the three legs of journeys I had to make. Then again I managed to find a seat on the train and my car actually started first time when I got back on British soil so I can’t complain too bitterly! I had a few hours to kill in Düsseldorf and really experienced the full carnival, a massive parade of fancy dress making its way down a closed off street. It looked like it was a lot of massively alcohol-fuelled fun!

I was pretty happy to see my bed the next day but I’d definitely do that kind of weekend trip again, with just half a day off work I’d been to a different country and watched the darts, what more could you want?! After a few events in the UK my next Euro trip is to Munich with my brother in April , although I have a little extra time booked for that! I definitely recommend getting to one of these tour events though and they’re selling out fast so make sure you give them a shot while you can!