ICTFC v FC Astra Giurgiu // Travel + Build up

[Guest]

The home leg is first up on 16th July as far as I'm aware with the away leg following on the 23rd.

[MatthewZ]

Looks like flight to Bucharest then bus/train to Giurgiu. No cheap flights to Bucharest from Scotland I think. I wonder if the club will charter a plane ?

[Renegade]

I looked up trains between Giurgiu to Bucharest there and it seems there's none back after the game.  Probably could do it on the way there though.

What's the best plan of action by the way?  Stay in Bucharest and travel there and back?

[+DoofersDad]

I would have thought the best plan of action was to wait and see what the specialist travel agents which the club is consulting come up with.

[Scotty]

Looks like flight to Bucharest then bus/train to Giurgiu. No cheap flights to Bucharest from Scotland I think. I wonder if the club will charter a plane ?

Use http://google.co.uk/flights and go to the map view to see where you might get cheap flights. then when you select a starting airport use the calendar to see if its cheapest to fly back on the friday/saturday etc. I looked for fun and found Stansted to Bucharest for £171 and Aberdeen to Bucharest with an overnight in Paris on the way out and Amsterdam on the way back (a nice little jaunt) for around £200 too 

[Scotty]

Official Press Release

 

Inverness Caledonian Thistle FC
www.ictfc.com : twitter.com/ictfc : facebook.com/ictfc

 

Support Your City : Support Caley Thistle 

 

 

EUROPEAN DRAW

 

Following today’s Europa League round 2 qualifying draw in Nyon, we are delighted to have been drawn against FC AstraGiurgiu from the Romanian Liga 1.

 

Kenny Cameron Club Chairman said “Astra have been in the Europa League qualifiers in both 2013/14 and 2014/15 so they have a slight advantage in terms of European experience  but I am sure John Hughes and the boys will be ready to meet the challenge as they take to the field on Thursday 16th July.

 

Astra played against Celtic last season holding them to a 1-1 draw in Giurgiu with Celtic winning the reverse fixture 2-1 so they have experience of playing in Scotland. No doubt John will be speaking with his close friend and Celtic Assistant Manager John Collins to get the low down on them as we prepare for the game. This is a totally new experience for our club as we make our first ever appearance in European competition but an experience that we all look forward to and will relish the challenge.

 

It is a big advantage that we now know who we play and are not waiting on the results from the first round games to find out who our opponents are. We hope to issue information on Tuesday 23^rd June regarding the ticket prices for the home leg on the 16th of July. It is our intention, subject to UEFA confirmation tomorrow, that tickets will be on sale on Wednesday 24^th June to our usual priority groups.

 

The best way to ensure you get your tickets for that match is to get your season ticket for the coming season. For the away leg travel/match tickets will also be allocated on a priority basis for the first few days of sales so don’t miss out.

 

We look forward to welcoming FC Astra Giurgiu and a bumper crowd here to the stadium on the 16th to cheer the boys on in our first competitive game since our historic trip to Hampden and the resultant William Hill Scottish Cup win. We are positive that Astra will receive a very warm Highland welcome both on and off the park and we look forward to an exciting game on the evening of the 16^th July, another historic night for our club and the City ofInverness.”

 

Support Your City : Support Caley Thistle

#togetherNess

[Renegade]

That seems to suggest that there will be ICT fan travel then.

[The Mantis]

Somebody mentioned that some tims said that Giurgiu had no decent bars or restaurants. In a town of 60000?

Maybe they were looking for the equivalent of the Springfield Vaults? It's right on the Danube and the hotels I looked at all seem to have airport shuttles available.

However it seems too good a chance not to see some of Bucharest I must admit. I'd be tempted to have 1or 2 nights there and the last night in Giurgiu, getting there early on match day for a decent libation.

[Scotty]

Looks like flight to Bucharest then bus/train to Giurgiu. No cheap flights to Bucharest from Scotland I think. I wonder if the club will charter a plane ?

Use http://google.co.uk/flights and go to the map view to see where you might get cheap flights. then when you select a starting airport use the calendar to see if its cheapest to fly back on the friday/saturday etc. I looked for fun and found Stansted to Bucharest for £171 and Aberdeen to Bucharest with an overnight in Paris on the way out and Amsterdam on the way back (a nice little jaunt) for around £200 too 

Kayak.com/explore also offers same functionality. My search here comes up in CDN $ but looking in UK £ will likely be decent

http://www.kayak.com/flights/ABZ,nearby-BUH,nearby/2015-07-22-flexible-1day-before/2015-07-25-flexible-1day

 

[The Mantis]

Somebody mentioned that some tims said that Giurgiu had no decent bars or restaurants. In a town of 60000?

Maybe they were looking for the equivalent of the Springfield Vaults? It's right on the Danube and the hotels I looked at all seem to have airport shuttles available.

However it seems too good a chance not to see some of Bucharest I must admit. I'd be tempted to have 1or 2 nights there and the last night in Giurgiu, getting there early on match day for a decent libation.

Oops...

Have a look at Giurgiu on GSV and tell me if you can see anything resembling a shopping centre or even a bar.

[Petal]

some travel info from Celtic's away trip there last year:

https://www.gov.uk/government/world-location-news/football-travel-advice-afc-astra-versus-celtic-fc

 

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Well I have gone for broke and booked a return flight from Manchester for £196 and have an apartment in Bucharest Centre for the two nights - Party

According to my Cellic mates Giurgiu is a no mans land and better to go to and from by bus - 1 and a half hour journey. Apparently minibus hire plus a driver is really cheap as well.

What exactly is the craic with the away game tickets ?

[Petal]

I'm also reading that Ruse, across the Danube from Giurgiu and in Bulgaria, is a lovely city and "the next Prague" :)

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

I am also reading that the Mageru Boulevard and the Matesari District in Bucharest is worth a gander.

[Yngwie]

Somebody mentioned that some tims said that Giurgiu had no decent bars or restaurants. In a town of 60000?

Maybe they were looking for the equivalent of the Springfield Vaults? It's right on the Danube and the hotels I looked at all seem to have airport shuttles available.

However it seems too good a chance not to see some of Bucharest I must admit. I'd be tempted to have 1or 2 nights there and the last night in Giurgiu, getting there early on match day for a decent libation.

Oops...

Have a look at Giurgiu on GSV and tell me if you can see anything resembling a shopping centre or even a bar.

I get the impression that nobody goes to Giurgiu unless they have a compelling reason to.  Hopefully the air quality has improved since the communist era even if the architecture hasn't.

I'm pretty sure ICT will be based in or around Bucharest.

[ICTPaisley]

Buses take an hour and a half and are around every hour. Costing five euros. Trains aren't as often and takes 2 and a half hours due to the main line being closed. Apparently taxi's are 50 euros each way and that is them already over charging. Sometimes they hike the price up after you arrive....

[Yngwie]

Just looking at a map, it struck me that an alternative option for someone looking to make a summer holiday (of sorts!) out of this would be to go to a Black Sea resort like Sunny Beach (about £500 for a week all inclusive from Glasgow) and then hire a car for a day or two (4 hour drive to Giurgiu).  Having said that, I wouldn't fancy driving in a place like Bulgaria where horse and cart is still a recognised mode of transport.

[Iain]

One of my friends who was over there watching Celtic, hired an 8 seater minibus for the day including driver for £80 to travel there and back from Bucharest.

[12th Man]

Oh no! I've booked flights to Budapest 

[+DoofersDad]

Tripadvisor only has one entry under "things to do in Giurgiu" and that is to go to the "Bridge of Friendship" which takes you across the Danube and out of the country.  It sounds like a smaller version of Hull.

[Renegade]

Hang on, did we not play a Romanian team once before?  But that was at a training camp in Italy or somewhere?

[ICTPaisley]

Yeah I was thinking of that game in Italy too. Does anyone remember who they were? I seem to recall them being quite dirty.

[Yngwie]

We beat Universitatea Craiova 2-1 in Tuscany, back in July 2007.

 

From this site's match report:

The second match in Italy pitted Caley Thistle with a very physical Romanian side who had a player sent off but then brought a sub on to go back up to 11 players (bizarre !). Youngster Garry Wood scored with a header in the 35th minute and Dean McDonald showed some nice skill just after the break to round the keeper and score his second in two games.

Edited June 22, 2015 by Yngwie

[Guest]

http://www.inverness-courier.co.uk/Sport/Football/Romanians-cut-up-rough-in-ICTs-Italian-tour-friendly-3379.htm

[Renegade]

Should re-sign Dean McDonald and Garry Wood for this game IMHO.  Also, I recollect seeing a photo in the Record of Roy McBain playing in this tie not long after and it must be the only time in our history that we played a match in all red.

Edited June 22, 2015 by Renegade