Bears vs Raiders in London Oct 6th

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Boris13c
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NFL has released the International Games schedule :

www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000001026723/article/nfl-unveils-dates-times-for-2019-international-games

and the one that matters to us : Chicago Bears vs. Oakland Raiders, Sunday, Oct. 6, 1 p.m. ET, at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
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G08
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Never been to London... might go with the wifey and some buddies!
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malk
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G08 wrote:Never been to London... might go with the wifey and some buddies!
London is an awesome city. If anyone is going and has any questions just hit me up. I'll be at the game too assuming there isn't a ticket catastrophe so it'd be cool to meet up with folks from on here.
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GSH
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Im also from North London ( been in the states 7 years but go back on the regs ) and can give any pointers as needed.

That Tottenham stadium is brand new and will likely be a better vibe for nfl than wembley has been in previous years. Wont seem so empty.
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Our youngest is almost 2 1/2. Had said if Bears go London 2020 or later we should all go since he'd be better for travel Had one night layover there coming back from Germany and loved it even though I didn't see much of the city. Very tempted and wife who's a Vikes fan seems good with idea of just us going so going to be interesting couple of months.
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G08
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BearsFanInMN wrote:Our youngest is almost 2 1/2. Had said if Bears go London 2020 or later we should all go since he'd be better for travel Had one night layover there coming back from Germany and loved it even though I didn't see much of the city. Very tempted and wife who's a Vikes fan seems good with idea of just us going so going to be interesting couple of months.
Where were you in Germany? I was just up there with buddies for Oktoberfest (Munich) and Berlin (depressed the fuck out of me).
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Looks like I’ll be there for the game...I’ve never been to the UK. Leaving Thursday the 3rd and staying for 10 days. We’re gonna spend 3 nights in London, 3 in Paris...any other recommendations? Any recommendations on where to stay or places to go?
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cblaz11 wrote:Looks like I’ll be there for the game...I’ve never been to the UK. Leaving Thursday the 3rd and staying for 10 days. We’re gonna spend 3 nights in London, 3 in Paris...any other recommendations? Any recommendations on where to stay or places to go?
Oktoberfest in Germany runs from September 21 through October 6 .. maybe a side trip to Munich on Oct 4th to celebrate the wonders of beer?
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GSH
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cblaz11 wrote:Looks like I’ll be there for the game...I’ve never been to the UK. Leaving Thursday the 3rd and staying for 10 days. We’re gonna spend 3 nights in London, 3 in Paris...any other recommendations? Any recommendations on where to stay or places to go?
Amsterdam is amazing. Highly recommend.

Edinburgh in Scotland is easily reachable by train / plane from London too.
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cblaz11 wrote:Looks like I’ll be there for the game...I’ve never been to the UK. Leaving Thursday the 3rd and staying for 10 days. We’re gonna spend 3 nights in London, 3 in Paris...any other recommendations? Any recommendations on where to stay or places to go?
Who are you going with and what kinds of things are you interested in when you're on a city break? You thinking hotel, apartment, AirBnB? Budget if that isn't too personal?

Do you want to hit up the tourist sites or more local flavour type spots?

Edinburgh is a good shout for another visit, you've the option of an overnight train too which is another experience and maximises time https://www.seat61.com/CaledonianSleepers.htm and takes you from central London to central Edinburgh.

That said, Amsterdam is even better and the train there is a great way to travel too, much better than flying in my experience. https://www.seat61.com/trains-and-routes/direct-eurostar-london-to-amsterdam.htm

Another option is if you can stay over in Iceland on the way back. I got married over there and it's an amazing country and very doable on a short break. Hit up the Blue Lagoon on the way in or out, stay in Reykjavík and take in a Golden Circle tour if that's your bag (or hire a car and go to Geysir, Gullfoss and Pingvellir yourself).

For London, I'd probably recommend staying out of the centre (zone 1). The nightlife is better imo, especially after midnight but that does depend on what you like. Plus it's really easy to use the tube to get anywhere and the 24hr lines are really handy and, if it's a consideration, safe (I've been fall down drunk on them alone many times but perhaps that's why I was avoided...).
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G08 wrote:Never been to London... might go with the wifey and some buddies!
I went to the Tampa vs Chicago game at Wembley Stadium and it was an amazing time. They go all out for pre-game events and the stadium is nice, beers were somewhat cheap compared to going to an NFL game in the states. Me and my pal both had a blast we stayed 10 days with 3 of those we took the bullet train to Paris. So much to see and do.

One of our friends was the head cheerleader for the Bucs so we wound up hanging out with the cheerleader squad so that was an added bonus. She's the one that got us the tickets to the game for free 10 rows up 50-yard line lol... Was so close to the Bears sideline I was going nuts.

If you do go you might want to check out bed and breakfast places to stay at instead of chain hotels. They're much nicer and closer to the places we wanted to go and see. Ohh and NEVER ask anyone where's a good place to get traditional fish and chips you'll be disappointed. We did and it was a full cod (scales and all) battered and deep fried. It tasted as bad as it sounds. Was like a crunchy, scaley week old fish that smelled like low tide at 2 pm mid-August.

There's a place down the street from the Trubidore that has THE best Eggs Benedict I've ever had. I forget the name but they're known to be the best just ask anyone near there. My favorite breakfast I've not found any place in the States that comes close to how good they were.

One funny thing you might keep in mind... When we got to London and to our first room they laid out a bunch of tea (like how they do coffee here) so we decided to try a cup before we went out and I shit you not I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth and they were stained black. It took 4-5 brushings to get them to a point where they didn't look like we chewed on the ink sack of a squid.

I loved London and the people there were for the most part real friendly. If you ask someone on the streets anything be prepared to have a 20+ min conversation with them. And if you tip anyone at a bar they treat you like a superstar LOL. We gave one bartender a 20 dollar tip because he was so fun he wound up feeding us drinks all night, gave us a bunch of info of what to see and where not to go ect. Was a blast. He's the one that suggested we stay in bed and breakfasts and he was right on.
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Cannot. Friggin. Wait.

As above, anyone need any UK based tips/advice etc, give me a shout.
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Butkus1970*
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I am a season ticket holder at Tottenham Hotspur so I can answer any questions about the stadium or the local area you may have.
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The stadium is in the borough of Harringey (post/zip code N17 0AP) which is one of the poorest and ethnically diverse areas in London. If you like Turkish/Carribbean food or fried chicken you are in luck. My personal favourite 'take away' is Chick King where you can get double chicken breast and chips (fries) for about $5 - large portion and excellent value. For a sit down I usually go in La Barca and have an English (they are actually Albanian) breakfast.

Beer is around £5 a pint. In the stadium they sell Amstell for £4 a pint and in the first hour after the ground opens they do a pint and a pie deal for £5. I have the Spurs signature pie (minced beef) and it is very good.
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The best way to get to the stadium is on the overground train from London Liverpool Street station to White Hart Lane station (22mins) and it is a 5 min walk from there. If you catch the underground to Seven Sisters (the nearest station) it is a 25 min walk from there. Or you can get a bus from Seven Sisters - usually ones that end in a '9' like the 149. You can also pick up the overground from Seven Sisters to WHL (2 stops).
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Butkus1970*
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Please feel free to ask any questions. I have been attending games at the stadium old and new for 50 years so should be able to assist!
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As a West Ham fan Butkus, I probably shouldn't talk to you.... but as a Bears fan I will gratefully take the tips ;) :)
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skamanfrank wrote:As a West Ham fan Butkus, I probably shouldn't talk to you.... but as a Bears fan I will gratefully take the tips ;) :)
No worries. I might not be talking to you after tomorrow....
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Anyone know how to get tickets?
According to nfl.com and stubhub, they're not available yet.
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when i still lived in London you would register your interest for tickets on the nfl or wembley website and you get email notification when they are available.

Beer in Wembley? thought they stopped selling it in the stadium outside of the VIP bars up top at sporting events.
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GSH wrote:when i still lived in London you would register your interest for tickets on the nfl or wembley website and you get email notification when they are available.

Beer in Wembley? thought they stopped selling it in the stadium outside of the VIP bars up top at sporting events.
nevermind im an idiot and i guess this at the new spurs stadium, not wembley
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The Bears Bucs game was around 10 years ago now so not sure if they changed anything but they were selling beer just like at a US stadium then. The pre-party in the parking lot same thing...

Side note...

Don't buy travelers checks no one accepts them...

When you get there either buy a throwaway phone or get a pay as you go sim card...

Tell your bank you're going there ahead of time or they will freeze your account the first purchase you make...

Don't bring any money back that needs to be exchanged back to US currency no one around me would even the place I exchanged at beforehand only will weigh any coins and give you some change back even though you have coins worth multiple dollars. Such a scam... I had around 50 bucks in coins and they gave me around a buck 85 back.

If you take the bullet train... if you book 2 weeks ahead of time it will be nearly 1/2 the cost as buying it on the day you want to travel.

If you plan on backpacking it like we did a bit of advice... Don't use a military backpack like I did or you'll be detained at every train station or point of entry...
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Knuckles wrote:The Bears Bucs game was around 10 years ago now so not sure if they changed anything but they were selling beer just like at a US stadium then. The pre-party in the parking lot same thing...

Side note...

Don't buy travelers checks no one accepts them...

When you get there either buy a throwaway phone or get a pay as you go sim card...

Tell your bank you're going there ahead of time or they will freeze your account the first purchase you make...

Don't bring any money back that needs to be exchanged back to US currency no one around me would even the place I exchanged at beforehand only will weigh any coins and give you some change back even though you have coins worth multiple dollars. Such a scam... I had around 50 bucks in coins and they gave me around a buck 85 back.

If you take the bullet train... if you book 2 weeks ahead of time it will be nearly 1/2 the cost as buying it on the day you want to travel.

If you plan on backpacking it like we did a bit of advice... Don't use a military backpack like I did or you'll be detained at every train station or point of entry...
What's the Bullet Train? All the trains in the UK are bobbins!
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Tickets for the two White Hart Lane games, of which the Bears vs Raiders is one, go on sale tomorrow at 10am over here in the UK for anyone who is tempted.

Only "season tickets" are on sale tomorrow, not sure when the single game tickets go on sale, but I suspect there will be big demand for the season tickets- there was last year when it all kicked off because Wembley season ticket holders weren't entitled to match the number of Wembley tickets they had when purchasing White Hart Lane tickets.
This year they've stuck it to the loyal/returning ticket holders completely by not offering any advance access or discount on WHL tickets :(
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The view from pretty much every seat in the Tottenham Hotspur (pronounced Tot-num) stadium has an excellent view.
The single tier South Stand holds 17.5k fans and is behind the goal. This is where I have my soccer Season Ticket. The North stand is in 3 tiers while the sideline stands are the East and West.

The top of the South Stand is not advisable for vertigo sufferers.
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It's not looking good :'(

The website is awful (AGAIN!) and I've been in the queue on 3 different machines, on 3 different internet connections for 1.5 hours now... 2 froze and I've had to rejoin the queue. The third has been hanging at ~99% progress for about 20mins and looks like it's probably frozen too :( Maybe I won't be going after all!
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Sold out within 1.5hours :(
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Individual tickets on sale from 27th June I believe.
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Butkus1970*
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And hospitality on the 18th June.
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Visiting fan here. Did anyone get tickets to the game? I am a Panthers fan going to London the week after and would be interested in buying the other half of your package. I did get 2 "season" tickets so I have 2 tickets to the Bears/Raiders game, so also would be willing to trade my Raiders/Bears tickets for your Panthers/Bucs. I've got a load of friends going to the game and we only managed to get 2 out of the whole group.
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