Over the Hump: Bernard, buses, and birds in Humpolec

 

Sorry, I can't resist a Peep Show reference.

Until around 5pm on Friday, I only had plans to attend one game this weekend, and that game wasn't even scheduled for the weekend. Monday evening will see Zbrojovka Brno face off against undesirable cohabitees (as opposed to noisy neighbours) Artis Brno, as they look to cement their status as the dominant force in Brno, and go one step closer to confirming a near certain league title.

In any case, my plans were to take part in another darts tournament, but instead, I felt a trip to somewhere new and random would be just the ticket instead, especially given the upturn in weather. I looked through the league fixtures in Futbology and settled on another fourth tier game, this time between Humpolec and Kuřim. And of course, Humpolec being home to the best beer in the Czech Republic played a fairly sizable role in my decision.

I am of course talking about the excellent Bernard beer, which is genuinely unbeatable on tap. I had the pleasure of sampling the Jarni (Spring) 10 degree beer at the brewery, and it was magnificent. But before all that, it was a fairly long journey from Brno despite the relatively short distance. To get to Humpolec, you need to take the irregular train to Havlíčkův Brod (seemingly once every two hours) that eventually terminates in Prague, but takes the scenic route through Vysočina.

Then you can either get a train to Humpolec, or hop on one of the buses near the station as I did, only for the code on the Ceske Drahy app to not be recognised on the bus. I paid another 40kc to the moody bus driver, then I was Humpolec bound. On arrival, it didn't seem as though the area around the bus station had a lot going for it (I later found the same for the railway station), but a brisk walk toward the centre soon altered my opinion.  It was a gorgeous day, and Humpolec had so many gorgeous buildings in the main square alone, as well as an iconic lookout tower beside the brewery. 

I had ample time for that aforementioned beer at the brewery, then I made my way toward the ground, which was around 15 minutes on foot. At first  I thought it was just a bog standard 4G pitch with not a lot around it, but the ground is well-hidden within the sporting complex. It may have been modest in size, but it was a heck of an idyllic place to catch a game.

Surrounding the terracing (which is essentially just concrete steps) are a beautiful multitude of colourful houses, one of which had chickens, another which had a St. Bernard overlooking from above. Whether it was the St. Bernard of Bernard fame, I've no idea, though given that it was first brewed in 1597, I somehow doubt it. 

Then you have the magificent facade behind the other goal - a hillside with some magnificent evergreen trees, and a few fans that had the right idea in their deckchairs. I grabbed a Bernard from the bar underneath the main stand, paying a deposit on an AFC Humpolec cup, which I contemplated adding to my collection but thought better of it. I spent the majority of an uneventful first half in that stand before grabbing a 70kc klobasa, which was phenomenal value given that it was one of the better klobasas I've had so far this season.

The only negative really is that the food was only available at half-time and beyond, which if I'd known, I perhaps wouldn't have skipped lunch. However, that's a pretty minor quibble in the grand scheme of things. The second-half certainly livened up, and it was always going to take a scrappy goal to open the scoring. Humpolec got exactly that courtesy of what I'm pretty sure was captain Adam Savi's behind. Hey, they all count...

It was very much against the pattern of the game, which Kuřim had definitely edged, and it didn't take them long to equalise via an equally scrappy goal courtesy of (apparently) Ondřej Veselý - not to be confused with an actor namesake, though he certainly was a veselý man . 

Some penalty box pinball led the ball to eventually fall to striker Denis Koreň who gave the away side a late lead with a belting finish from inside the box. Petr Musil then put the icing on the cake in stoppage time, as Kuřim headed back east with a vital three points that keeps them very much in promotion contention. With Artis Brno B still to play at the time of writing, that gap could remain the same by the weekend's end, but the visit of 2nd place Bohunice next week promises to be absolutely massive.

The journey may have been a fairly long one, and it would have been nice to have more flexibility with regard to the trains and their infrequency, but it was a trip well worth taking in the end, and perhaps a part of Vysočina I'll return to sometime.

Five things you didn't know about Humpolec

1. Between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries, Humpolec was thought to have mined silver, though these theories have later been disproven. In actual fact, gold was commonly mined in and around the town.

2. The story of Bernard brewery begins in 1598 when the owners of the Herálec estate brewed the famously unpasteurised beer. In 1991, the brewery was brought by Stanislav Bernard following financial difficulties, hence the name Bernard. Today, the beer is among the most popular in Czech Republic. 

3. Humpolec, according to my girlfriend, is something of a meme town for Czechs, with the film referenced in Czech comedy film, Marecka, podajte mi peno! (Marecka, hand me my pen!). The phrase 'he has moved to Humpolec' will apparently mean something to Czechs. In Czech though...obviously...

4. Humpolec is also well-known for its clothmaking historically, with many referring to the town as the Bohemian Manchester. That said, I've also heard that said of Liberec, so...it seems there are a few Bohemian Manchesters.

5. AFC Humpolec started life in 1922, spending most of their existence bouncing between the 4th and 6th tiers of Czech football. They've been a 4th tier club since 2018, but are yet to finish anywhere above 8th in Divize D.