Brno - a fan's guide
Brno city and football guide
Brno cityBrno is Prague's kid brother. Despite being the second city of the Czech republic, the chances are that unless you recall it from being on the European motorcycling circuit, you may not have heard of it at all.
So it doesn't have the pulling power of Prague. Neither, however, does it have its crowds, its high western prices or its international flavour. When you're in Brno, you're in the Czech Republic, make no mistake.
This is a city which isn't there for the tourists, one where you'll see ordinary people going about their business. And that's its charm.
That's not to say it doesn't have places to see and things to do, There's enough in the city and close by to occupy a visitor for a weekend.
Brno's suburbs are drab and unappealing but once you're through them the centre is almost entirely pedestrianised. It's been given a fresh look in the past few years making it a pleasant place to wander. And it's compact, being all of a 15 minute walk from the grand station frontage to the south, to the Soviet monument at the northern end.
Check out my video - of arriving in Brno via train, then around the main square in town.
It's no chocolate box old town like Prague or Tallinn but the mix of architecture, smattered with the occasional communist concrete block, and glassy creations of the past decade, make for fascinating viewing.
A church once stood in the middle of the old town square - namesti Svobody - but that's long gone - and now it's quite a vast expanse of open space, buzzing from mid-morning onwards. Shops line the sides and lead off in all directions - an Apple Store the most obvious sign of new prosperity.
Brno has had a long and eventful history and to hark back to its days in the Hapsburg Empire take a short hike west and up the hill to the old fortress, Spilberk.
First built in the 13th Century as a castle to protect the royal retreat of Brno, in the 1600s it became a fortress in the face of menace from the Swedes and Turks.
Castle: Spilberk.
Its role changed again by the 19th Century when it became a notorious jail, home to dangerous criminals and political prisoners - and finally the Germans had the last word as the Gestapo made it headquarters during the early part of the Second World War.
You can take in two parts of the fortress. The first is an exhibition across three floors, Muzeum mesta Brna. Although a little dry in parts, it's extensive and there's English translations in the network of rooms you visit which take you from the castle's very beginnings right up to the present day.
It's then time to head down to the second portion of your visit - the Casemates, kasematy, or dungeons. It'll take you around half an hour to do the tour of the upper and lower Casemates, which were extensively refurbished - if that's what you do with dungeons - in the 1990s. Say you're english and you'll get a free guide and a few helpful pointers.
You can see where 30 odd prisoners were housed in one room, and some of the conditions they lived in when it was the most notorious prison in the empire. There are a couple of reconstructions to view but it would benefit from more. A lot of the tour is of empty cells that frankly could be a wine cellar if you didn't know better.
Grab a ticket to both sections for 160k, around £5. The views across the city are worth checking out, and they come for free.
If you have an interest in something a little more macabre, you can make a brief visit to the crypt of Kapucinska hrobka.
In six rooms below a Capuchin church the monks of the city were buried - and of the 205 that were placed here, a total of 41 have been preserved with the bodies on view. The most recent dates from 1785 and you can see the burial ground for Capuchian Friars. Their coffins were reused, so their bodies were simply laid on the floor. The inscription on the wall translates simply as: "What you are, we were. What we are, you will be." You have been told. Entry is 60k (£2).
A little further out you can visit the fine gothic Augustian monastary - whilst arguably the finest attraction at Brno is a 20 minute train journey away in the direction of Prague - the caves at Moravsky kras.
Whilst not as international as many European cities, English is still quite widely spoken. Brno is easy to navigate, laid-back, refreshingly cheap and worth a day or two or your time.
FC Brno: a fan's guide
Who are yer: The club
Brno finished a very creditable fourth in the Gambrinus Liga in 2008, its highest placing since the turn of the century. Three wins in the final three games - including victory at Sparta Prague which helped hand the title to Slavia Prague - saw them finish on goal difference behind Banik Ostrava.Unfortunately the side, coached by Petr Ulicny, cruelly missed out on its aim of European football - Liberec will be joining Banik in the UEFA Cup courtesy of their cup final appearance, where they lost to Champions League side Sparta Prague. But the club has shown faith in Ulicny by extending his contract for a further season.
Brno is the Czech Republic's second city and it trails its famous capital in the sporting world too. The side has had its glory days - but you have to head back 30 years when the country was twice as big. Brno lifted the Czechoslovak league for the one and only time in 1978 and made the second round of the European Cup the following season.
It has enjoyed fleeting periods in the UEFA Cup and made it all the way to the quarter finals in 1980.
Where do you come from? The stadium
Brno's stadium is a mix of old, new and the generally tarted up.
Three sides of the ground are open to the elements meaning the noise isn't the greatest, although both sets of fans do their best to keep up the tempo.
Keep off the pitch: Fences and a wide track separate players and fans. The main stand for guests is on the far side.
The ageing terraces, a fixture of so many european grounds, do remain at either end - and the hard core fans are kept the full length of the pitch apart. Large spaces between each goal and the fences around the perimeter don't make for the best of the views.
The main stand runs along one side of the pitch and is for VIPs and members only. Everybody else takes their place on bucket seats slapped on old terracing down the other side. Expect to get very cold in winter....
Buy a season ticket - or buy a flat. The view of the block immediately behind the home end.
Despite the basic seating and standing arrangements the facilities are surprisingly reasonable, with clean toilets - although hundreds still choose the wall on their way out - and some refreshments on sale.
We're on our way: Getting to the ground
Brno stadium is sited in the north west of the city and is not in walking distance of the middle of town unless you're really feeling fit.
You reach it via trolley bus 32 from Ceska stop, at the northern far end of the central pedestrian area and the journey takes around 20 minutes and you'll see the ground on your left - there's a stop at the far end.
If you're at Brno main train station catch Tram 4 heading left (as you view from the station entrance) to Ceska, a five minute ride.
After the game trams are waiting to whisk you back into town. Even if you have to come right from the other side and it's a big crowd, as it was when I visited, it's only a ten minute wait until the next one and by that time the crowds had largely dispersed.
Bag a seat: Buying a ticket
It's pay on the day at Brno. Most gates are between 2,000 and 5,000, less than half the 12,500 capacity and last season they didn't make a 10,000 crowd.
Matchday tickets are on sale from the office to the right of the main stand, where you'll also find a plan of the ground. Standing is 60k (£2), whilst a bucket seat on the far side will set you back 80k (£2.70). You can get a programme there at the same time for 15k.
Heading for the exits: The main seated area at FC Brno.
If you choose to stand you can then opt for the main central end section, where the Brno faithful gather. The queue is up stairs immediately to the right of the ticket office. If you fancy a quieter section head round to the next entry 20 yards to the right.
For seats, keep heading right and round.
For the away end, turn left past the main stand and the terrace is at the far end. Past the police.
To get a feel for the atmosphere, check out the video below - at the biggest crowd of the 2007-8 season, FC Brno at home to Banik Ostrava. That was the one I went for. Watch out for the firecracker which really doesn't work in a teatime clash.
Goalless. Cow's backside and banjos spring to mind.
Who ate all the pies? Eating and drinking
FC Brno is in a not particularly beautiful residential district of the city, high rise flats have a good view of the pitch over one end. With that in mind food and drink options around the ground are limited so there's no huge point in arriving hours before the game. You are better off staying in town.
When you do get there though, head straight inside, and the seating section has on sale the local brew for 25k and the football speciality - a sausage, a piece of bread, mustard. As opposed to the UK version of a sausage within a piece of bread and mustard....
The food and drink points are located at the back of the stand close to the entrances and you can take your beer with you to the seat to watch the game. Queues can be long mind, for bigger crowds but you do have the bonus of watching the action from the back.
A small kiosk to the right of the main stand sells a very small amount of merchandise but there's no shop as such. You can go online to the club shop.