There is a little part of Bavaria in the centre of the City of Discovery at the moment but Dundee’s German defender Thomas Konrad has joked he will not be visiting “Oktoberfest” as he has left his lederhosen back home.
The centre-half turned 26 on Thursday but he insists he will only be celebrating tonight if the Dark Blues can secure the right result against Partick Thistle at Dens.
However, even if they do, he will not be raising a stein or two at the big event in the City Square due to the omission of his traditional leather breeches.
Konrad said: “It was my birthday this week but whether I celebrate it or not will depend on the result.
“I have heard there is an Oktoberfest in Dundee but I can’t go because my lederhosen are back home in Germany!
“I have a pair in my house, everyone owns them.
“Oktoberfest is a big thing in Germany, there are ones all over the country and it is very popular.
“You see the Bayern Munich players there every year, but they go to the rich part.”
As well as his birthday, Konrad will achieve another milestone today with the match against the Jags being his 50th since joining Dundee last year.
He admits he has settled in well in Scotland but there are some things he just can’t get used to including bangers for breakfast.
Konrad said: “I can be satisfied with my time in Scotland so far. This weekend is my 50th game for Dundee.
“I feel I have done well and obviously getting into the top six last season was a good achievement.
“This season I think we can do it again and perhaps go even higher because we are only a few points behind fourth place.
“There is a long season ahead so there is plenty still to do.
He added: “The food in Scotland is a bit different so I try to cook German food.
“My girlfriend has been coming over and has been cooking for me as well.
“I find people in Scotland eating sausages for breakfast a bit strange because back home people have muesli.
“But here they will eat sausages and eggs, which I can’t eat.”
However, Konrad cannot wait to get his teeth into the Jags as Dundee look to return to winning ways.
And as a defender, he is also looking for the Dark Blues to show greater appetite for keeping clean sheets.
He said: “Saturday is an important game for us because we want to get back into the top six.
“We want to get back up there again so we need to win before the international break.
“The last few weeks have been frustrating, we should have done better against 10 men.
“But Hamilton and Inverness away from home are hard games.
“We wanted to do better but I prefer to look to the future than back to the past, so we are focused on Partick Thistle now.
“We also want to get more clean sheets and as a defender that’s the first thing I want on the pitch.
“It’s not just the back four, though, it’s the whole team.
“Keeping clean sheets is important because you can’t score two or three in every game, so it helps you pick up points.
“Partick Thistle are a good team, we beat them the last time but they created a lot of chances.
“So we will have to be at our best to get the three points this weekend.”
Meanwhile, Dundee’s Jesse Curran has gone out on a short-term loan until December to injury-hit Montrose.