“The foreigners play shnarps, we Watts”

“We usually start about an hour after the game ends. During this hour the players shower and eat dinner so we can drive through afterwards,” says Alex Neulichedl. He and his brother Klaus are the owners of the bus company “Latemar Reisen” in Nova Levante. “We have been a partner of the HCB since joining EBEL in the summer of 2013 and have driven the team across Europe since then. In the first year there were almost 27.000 kilometers and this winter so far 21.000 kilometers. So in total it will have been almost 200.000 kilometers,” calculates Alex Neulichedl.

It is around 670 kilometers from Bolzano to Bratislava. 2 chauffeurs are required for this route. One is Alex Neulichedl, the other Günther Herbst. “It's only further to Szekesfehervar. We expect it to take 7 hours of pure travel time to Bratislava. In total we are on the road for 8 hours. Before the Corona crisis, we stopped twice on 600-kilometer routes and ate at some motorway service station,” says Neulichedl. The 14 meter long bus has 54 seats and a toilet Since the coronavirus outbreak, everything has changed. “All travelers in Austria must have a negative test that is no older than 48 hours with them. There are regular checks. At the borders it's often like a lottery: it can happen that you're stuck in a traffic jam for an hour," assures the bus driver, who arrived in Bolzano at 9.30:14 a.m. on Thursday with the 54-meter-long, ultra-modern "Setra" bus has departed. This is equipped with 28 seats and a toilet. Neulichedl: “The HCB entourage consists of XNUMX people, which is why each individual practically has a double seat.”

On Thursday the players ate their packed lunches on the bus at lunchtime. “After a good 3 hours, we took a 15-minute stop so that everyone could stretch their feet and get some fresh air. After the driver change, we continued to the Slovakian capital, where we arrived at 18 p.m.,” says Neulichedl, looking back on the outward journey.

The two bus drivers are staying in the same hotel as the team on away trips. The HCB recently stayed in two different hotels, Daniel Frank confirms: “Last weekend we stayed at the Hotel “Merkur”. To be on the safe side because of Covid-2, we ate in the rooms. Of course it's a shame that we couldn't all eat together. My roommate Ivan Tauferer and I still had fun. Finally, on Saturday evening we turned dinner into a candlelight dinner. On our second trip to Bratislava we stayed in the “Premium” hotel, where we had a separate dining room especially for us.”

<a data-caption="Die hinteren Reihen gehören den einheimischen Spielern. Im Bild: Ivan Tauferer, Marco Insam, Anton Bernard und Daniel Frank (von links)." data-fancybox="inline-74916" target="_image" href="https://s3-images.sportnews.bz/_images/scale/1280x1280/img/2021/03/die-hinteren-reihen-gehoeren-den-einheimischen-spielern-im-bild-ivan-tauferer-marco-insam-anton-bernard-und-daniel-frank-von-links.jpg"> The back rows belong to the local players. In the picture: Ivan Tauferer, Marco Insam, Anton Bernard and Daniel Frank (from left).

The seats are clearly distributed on the bus. “The back rows are reserved for the local core. In addition to Anton Bernard, Marco Insam, Ivan Tauferer, Luca Frigo and me, “Mike Halmo is also allowed to sit in the back,” smiles Frank and adds: “On the way to the games, some people sleep, others read, watch a film on Netflix or play Shnarps. Our foreigners in particular like this card game, which is very popular and entertaining in North American ice hockey circles. We South Tyroleans and Halmo, on the other hand, play online wading games on our cell phones.”

The journey home, on the other hand, can sometimes be torture. “Some of us have a hard time sleeping on the bus and barely sleep. Then of course the journey becomes endless. Luckily I never had any problems sleeping. Last Sunday I slept at least 5 hours. When I got home, I went to bed again. “Sometimes after long journeys I take a break in the afternoon,” assures Frank.

The bus drivers are used to driving at night, but it's not always easy for them either. “Nights like this leave their mark: the next day is always torture. “Somehow you can’t get going,” says Neulichedl. He's not the only one hoping that this was the HCB's last trip to Bratislava this season.

ICE Regular Season ICE	SP	TV	P
1. Klagenfurt	47	183:101	102
2. Fehervar	46	146:126	89
3. Salzburg	46	142:107	87
4. HCB South Tyrol	46	137:125	76
5. Linz	46	146:116	75
6. Villach	46	155:136	74
View all

Football

Italy

International leagues

International

Winter sports

Tennis

Other sports

Motorsport

Cycling

Watersports

Events

Favorites

“The foreigners play shnarps, we Watts”

The players, coaches and supervisors of HCB Südtirol spent the night on Saturday and a good 4 hours on the bus after the 8th quarter-final game in Bratislava. The trip to the Slovakian capital is the second longest for the South Tyrolean team in the ICE Hockey League.

Suggestions

Comments (0)