Groundhopping24

  Okay, so I’m kind of cheating here seeing as I haven’t seen MŠK Žilina play. I have, however, sampled the wonderful sights and sounds of Žilina, and I have watched a fixture between Slovakia U21s and Northern Ireland U21s at the home of MŠK; the delightful Štadión pod Dubňom (literally translated as the “Stadium under the Dubeň Hill”).   I’d struggled to find any fixtures during this particular week due to the international break, but I’d hit the jackpot with this first Slovakian groundhop. I picked up a ticket online for the equivalent of a fiver and printed it before leaving the UK. This was also to be my furthest ground east – an exciting new benchmark for a nerd like me.   The Trip to Žilina I’d gone back on myself during this particular trip, having started in Brno (with a brief day trip to Vienna), before going north to Olomouc, west to Prague, then back east to Žilina on a 6 hour train. I’d spend a couple of days in Žilina before flying back from the lo...

  Back in March of this year, I decided to head out to Brno in the Czech Republic, due in part to how cheap the flight was, and how much I’d get to see in the vicinity of the city. At the time, I had no idea that I would be getting ready to move there months later, but life moves in strange ways. During the trip, I only really saw a little bit of my future home city, having arrived in the evening and used it as a base for a day trip to Vienna. I left Brno on the third day of the trip for Olomouc, as Sigma were one of many teams I’d grown fond of via Football Manager. They were at home to Slovan Liberec. Needless to say, I'll have future blogs on some of the Brno based teams very soon.   Getting to Olomouc I arrived into Olomouc via the hour-long coach from Brno with only a vague idea as to what to expect. After some pleasant views of the Moravian countryside, I was blown away when I got to Olomouc. It's roughly a 20-30 minute walk to the centre from the bus and railway...

  I am delighted to announce that a new blog format from me will be coming your way for the next year and (hopefully) beyond. In case you’ve missed my recent announcement, in a few weeks I will be moving to Brno for a teaching job. Two years ago today, I left Glasgow for the last time, and if I’m being honest, life hasn’t been the same since.   I had moved back to Stevenage as a temporary measure while looking for teaching jobs abroad back in 2020. I found something in Jeju, South Korea, but it ultimately fell through due to the Covid restrictions. It got to the point I couldn’t wait forever – I needed money more than anything. Add a failed relationship and a dreadful season for Stevenage into the mix, and the last couple of years have been pretty torrid.   Though challenging, 2022 has been a great deal more enjoyable – I’ve seen a 400% increase in countries visited (500% if you include Jersey, 600% if you include my train briefly passing through a part of Poland)...