Hello everyone!
Brno, the second largest and most inhabited city in Czech Republic – our current destination. Now let me tell you a little bit about our Saturday, the day, when me and my brother toured the entire Brno.
First of all, last Saturday was the day of grand opening of summer season on Brněnská přehrada (Brno Reservoir). Since we were staying in a flat there, we began our tour with this. Throughout the entire summer season (from mid-April to mid-October) you can take a boat tour here, even choose from various different options. Or simply, walk around here is just beautiful with this stunning scenery around.
After some time we hopped on tram 1 heading to the city centre, got off on Hlavní nádraží (Central Station) and continued on our way up to the historical centre. Keep your eyes wide open, architecture is breathtaking here, I absolutely loved everything about it! Eventually we got to Náměstí Svobody (Main Square) where every morning a casual market takes place. So many kinds of flowers, fruits and vegetables on one place….and the prices! In Slovakia, everything would cost above 1€. And here? Have you ever seen half a kilo of fresh strawberries for just 12,5 CZK, which is about 0,5€ ? I mean….woah, I’d never expect such low prices in the middle of a historical city in the second largest town of Czech Republic! I’ve been there before, naturally, but somehow I didn’t care about it back then….or maybe the prices in Slovakia have just ascended. One never knows.
Anyway, we continued up the Petrov hill towards the Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul. Over there, you can either go inside and see the magnificient interior for free, or climb up to its highest peak for some small change (we got the family ticket for 80 CZK because it was more convenient for us). Every day, the noon bell rings at 11 o’clock. What I do NOT recommend you, is to be up in the tower at that time. We were, and honestly, I was 100% sure that I’m never gonna hear again afterwards. We survived it, snuggled together and with headphones we (thank god) had within the hand’s reach on, but it was very painful. So yes, this carillon is beautiful, but definitely not from the tower. But the view was magnificient by the way. There, on the total left you can see the Špilberk castle and that’s where we’re heading to next.
By the way, underneath the cathedral are beautiful gardens and a couple of more outlook points that you can visit while walking down to the street. It’s very easy to find the way to the castle, however, I’d recommend you to use maps anyways. Entry to the area is situated only a few minutes on foot away on the left. However, the castle entrance is still far, first you have to climb the castle hill, apx. 30 minutes. On the way you have an opportunity to capture another amazing shots, because views from this side of the town is just magical. See for yourself! There’s also this Japanese-style gazebo kind of thing and a little pond with waterfalls where I played around with my camera for a little. As for the castle itself, also here you can choose from various options when it comes to tours. You can either see the interior from different angles or you can visit casamates, the underground prison. We chose this tour since my brother is very interested in such adrenaline kind of stuff. It’s really cold in those premises, so I’d highly recommend you to take something warmer with you. We were really cold afterwards, so we were more than happy when we saw this cute little café right by the entrance. I was interested by the special offer, which included a gingerbread coffee, Van Houten cocoa, ginger & lemon tea and svařák, hot red wine with some spices and fruits inside. Also cheesecakes were great. Loved it!
Another places around Brno worth of mentioning are ZOO, Obora and Tugendhat Villa. As for Obora, it’s basically a deer-park, but it’s so extensive that you wouldn’t be able to walk all of its trails in just one day. Tugendhat Villa is a futuristic house built in 1930, which up to this day looks like from next millennia. One wouldn’t believe that it was created already 100 years ago!
Now if you’re more into shopping, I’d recommend you to visit either Olympia or Vaňkovka shopping centre. Olympia is larger and offers bigger variety of stores, there’s also for example Ikea. But as for me, I prefer Vaňkovka, because it has everything I need and it’s easier to get around.
Well that was about it for our first day in Brno, the rest of the day we spent with our family that we haven’t had a chance to see in months.
I’m writing this article almost a whole week later because I’ve been catching up with school the entire week. Currently I’m away from my hometown again, in NP Pieniny in Northern Slovakia. We have some interesting things planned for the next four days, I hope you’re as excited as I am!
Have a great day!
Asequibles 