TARTAN Army troops have been astounded by strangers’ generosity once more, even after they had already enjoyed first-rate hospitality in Germany.

Gordon Bonnes was graciously given detailed instructions by his Airbnb host on how to get to the stadium from their doorstep while staying in Cologne with friends ahead of Wednesday’s Scotland vs. Switzerland match.

After the game, the Motherwell supporter was even more surprised by the hospitality shown to them when they returned home and discovered a stranger had left two complimentary drinks at their door.

The beers arrived with a kind message saying that they were from a stranger who saw Gordon’s social media post praising the Airbnb host and assumed the guys were staying close.

In addition to thanking the host for the printed directions, Gordon included a photo with his post that showed where he was staying.

Both Germans and Scots were warmed by the post, and a generous local decided to extend the boys a hearty welcome.

Gordon later shared a follow-up photo of the two

beers by the Airbnb along with a letter with a small Scotland flag written on it.

“I live about five minutes away, so I figured I could bring you a beer or two,” the letter says, in reference to your earlier tweet. Salutations, buddy.

Gordon, who was deeply moved by the gesture, posted the photo on social media yesterday and wrote: “Further development about last

People moved by the German’s generosity left more than 120 comments and over 18,000 likes on the post.

In response to Gordon’s article, the kind stranger who initiated the gesture wrote, “I didn’t know how [many] you guys were (sic) but glad you enjoyed it!”

Great, another user commented. Germans are incredibly polite and amiable.

“I won’t lie, the Germans fell in love with you Scots,” a third person said. You are always welcome.

“The people of Cologne are well known for being nice and friendly,” a second person retorted.

“Cologne is an amazing place with great people,” remarked the fifth person.

In anticipation of Scotland’s run in Euro 2024, a tourism director has referred to the Tartan Army as “fantastic ambassadors for Scotland” and expressed optimism that more tourists from host country Germany will travel to Scotland.

During Scotland’s participation in the tournament, over 200,000 Scottish supporters came to Germany to support their national side. VisitScotland, the nation’s tourism organisation, reported an 83% increase in website views from German users during this period.

14,925 German users were active on visitscotland.com between June 13 and June 23, up from 8,147 during the same period the previous year.

Pics of people wearing tartan Scotland fans cheering on their team in its first international competition since 1998 garnered international notice and were named the greatest supporters at this year’s tournament in a recent survey conducted by German media source RTL.

Malcolm Roughead, chief executive of VisitScotland, stated: “We firmly believe that the Tartan Army has served as outstanding representatives for Scotland and a tremendous source of support for our national side.

“Watching the scenes of Scotland supporters giving that iconic Scottish greeting and seeing such appreciation from the German supporters has been amazing.

We’ve seen a spike in German visitors to our website since the beginning of Euro 24, with visits nearly doubling over this time last year.

One of our most important international markets is Germany, where we spent £247 million and had 343,000 visits last year. According to our research, German tourists are drawn to Scotland because of its people, history, and landscapes—with Scotland supporters serving as a prime illustration of this.

“We’ll keep fostering this interest through our marketing initiatives, such as our most recent campaign, which focuses on important west German cities with high visitor demand and good access to Scotland.”

Over the course of the tournament, up to two million people are anticipated to view the mobile digital advertising campaign, which attempts to market Scotland as the ideal retreat for those looking to replace the football drama with breathtaking landscape.

Tartan Army honours Scotland’s unfortunate supporter during the Switzerland match

After coming to Germany to watch Scotland’s Euro 2020 matches, Colin King,57, was discovered dead in his hotel room. Fans honoured him during the Switzerland encounter.

During last night’s Scotland vs. Switzerland event, tributes were shown to fan Colin King.

Sadly, the 57-year-old Blantyre, South Lanarkshire resident died in his sleep while travelling to Germany to cheer for Scotland in the European Championship. He was discovered dead in his bed after a day of sightseeing in Dusseldorf. He was remembered as a “wonderful guy”.

On Wednesday, June 19, fans in the Cologne Stadium marked the father’s passing with a moving standing ovation.

The Scotland National Team X account tweeted: “A tremendous ovation in the stadium from the Scotland fans to remember Colin King, who sadly passed away last week. Our thoughts are with Colin’s loved ones right now.” Colin’s grieving family asked the Tartan Army to stand together in celebration of the dad.

Since his nephew Christopher O’Rourke posted the news of Colin’s passing on Facebook, tributes to the man have flowed in.

He posted the following on The Tartan Army Group: “Now that the opening match tragedy has passed and the dream of qualification has become a reality, everything seems so insignificant!

“I am reporting the passing of our fellow Tartan Army foot soldier Colin King with heavy heart and tears in my eyes. He was at the game on Friday, caught up with us in Dusseldorf on Saturday, enjoyed the city on Sunday, went to bed early on Monday, and sadly never woke up on Tuesday.

“To many, he was a father, a husband, a brother, a friend, a coworker, and a boss, but to me, he was simply Uncle Colin, the one who was always getting things done.

“He enjoyed taking travels with Scotland, and I was fortunate to go on a couple of them with him. Sadly, this was his last trip. Everyone will remember this vacation, but for very different reasons.”

Scotland’s Euro 2024 campaign received a much-needed boost with a tense 1-1 draw against Switzerland.

After Germany defeated Scotland 5-1 in Group A on Friday, Steve Clarke and the Tartan Army were hoping for more, and the first half certainly showed signs of improvement when midfielder Scott McTominay’s drive was deflected in by Swiss defender Fabian Schar in the 13th minute.

But happiness was short-lived as, in the 26th minute, Xherdan Shaqiri, back from injury, levelled the score with a brilliant finish after Anthony Ralston erred.

Although the offside flag kept Scotland from conceding twice, they still had to work hard to stop Murat Yakin’s team. In the second half, Scotland came dangerously close to taking the lead when defender Grant Hanley struck the post.