It was another early start again from Vienna by train to Brno. The ride was fairly short at just shy of 3 hours and as pleasant as these rides always are, and this time it was also in an old style cabin seat rather than open plan.
Introduction
Brno is the second largest city in the Czech republic after Prague and has not got a huge tourist reputation – definitely nowhere near Prague's level. I actually did not hear from a single person that they had been to Brno and so I was going in a little blind[1] based purely on a link from a little Tripadvisor thread I read when researching how to get from Vienna to Prague. It is a fairly ridiculous reason, but it was only a day and I think I would have considered something like this as a day trip.
Once I got into Brno, I found my way to what looked like the main square (Namesti Svobody or Freedom Square) after finding a cash machine. Changing money for the third time did make me wish for some kind of single currency across the continent for convenience's sake. I'm not sure if it would cause some other problems though. It was empty in the square and there seemed to be some kind of not quite started festival of sorts being done there. I made my way to a cafe with my bags (called Galerie Cafe) and ordered some coffee and breakfast to find out that it was also “Brno coffee week” which meant that there was a special map and some competition that I could not take part in. The map was pretty handy though. Again, not a huge amount to see in Brno but the map would help me find the cafes from which to get some form of refreshment.
When I got my change, I did notice something and that was that the coins were very ordered. By this I mean that each coin which was worth less was smaller than the previous one. I had not seen/noticed this before[2] and did this time only as my change seemed to have all types of coins. Putting all the coins together, there seemed a “jump” in size so I hypothesised that I was missing a coin so I did something a little out of the ordinary (extraordinary seems such an inappropriate word) and asked the waitress if there was a missing coin. I have no idea how she understood what I meant or what she must have thought of me but she did humour me and gave me a 2 Kurona piece. It fits!
Hrad Spliberk
Brno Castle (Hrad Spliberk) is home to Kasematy – a prison complex which was also used by the Nazis during their occupation. It was actually considered one of the hardest prisons of the Austro-Hungarian empire and has been part of the castle fortress for most of its life. It is recreated, sort of, here although I guess it is a little hammed up. Now it also contains the Brno City Museum.
It was a bit out of the way but I did enjoy it, and it always helps when you are a little elevated. As it was not a popular (in that there were not many there when I was) place, the feeling of emptiness made it feel a little more eerie which kind of helped.
From there, I followed the path set out on the tourist map to go via St Thomas's Abbey which was where some major intellectual breakthroughs in genetics were made by Gregor Johann Mendel which are commemorated with a small museum. A little garden outside, which I liked, showed Begonias in differently coloured quadrants to show the heredity of that colouration and dominant traits. The “tourist path” marked on the map did take me through an area that you would not think was for tourists as it was unmarked but I was asked, without prompting, if I needed some help whilst walking. I didn't, but I really appreciate that kind of thing and I would imagine most people do – so it left me with a very positive impression of the city[3] and people.
From there, I made my way to the hotel by walking through the city which is always a good way of getting a handle on a place. As the city is not so big, relatively, I was able to walk across fairly comfortably and did not even need to use the tram network that seemed so good. I went through the Cabbage Market area which is supposedly a sight of sorts. The name was pretty accurate and so I wonder how much of a tourist place it is. Or in fact whether it operates well as a market of veg. I don't really know what the prices are like everywhere though.
The importance of being unpopular
My hotel was on the outskirts of the centre of the city so I decided to route myself towards there and then onto Villa Tugendhat - some futurist housing that is the only example of modern architecture in the Czech Republic on the UNESCO World Heritage list. I'd heard it was very popular but it ended up being a waste of time as it wasn't, and it was not open for a tour. Looking online afterwards, I am not sure I missed a huge amount there.
The main thing I wanted to see in Brno, before I came, was the Brno Underground. It took me a bit of time to find it as was not where it was supposed to be on the map but I did find it, just before one of the tours – which was inadvertently great timing. Or so I thought until the woman at the ticket office said that they need a minimum number of people to do the tour and I was the only one there. Apparently, one is not the minimum – it was four. I was advised to return later (although two more people did arrive in the interim - still insufficient).
Petrov Cathedral (Cathedral of Peter and Paul) dominates the skyline and so that was next on my route and it was very impressive. Well, it was impressive for a city like Brno but with the other places I had seen, it was a smaller version of some larger cathedrals really! I did like the colouring and the view though. I then returned to Brno Underground after a quick coffee. I returned, but nobody else did and this time I really was the only one. This is the thing about being an unpopular person that likes unpopular things – sometimes you just do not get the benefits of other people. If I was travelling in a group, we probably would have got in, but then they probably would not have wanted to go anyway...
The only thing left to do was to retire for the night after dinner so that I would be able to go to Prague with some form of energy. I went to a very nice restaurant called Tulip which also happened to be near my hotel where I had a tasty fish meal and some very polite service.
I was still unsure how to get to Prague the next day but it was not too far and the coaches and trains were near each other, I was sure I could work it out the next day...
Introduction
Brno is the second largest city in the Czech republic after Prague and has not got a huge tourist reputation – definitely nowhere near Prague's level. I actually did not hear from a single person that they had been to Brno and so I was going in a little blind[1] based purely on a link from a little Tripadvisor thread I read when researching how to get from Vienna to Prague. It is a fairly ridiculous reason, but it was only a day and I think I would have considered something like this as a day trip.
Once I got into Brno, I found my way to what looked like the main square (Namesti Svobody or Freedom Square) after finding a cash machine. Changing money for the third time did make me wish for some kind of single currency across the continent for convenience's sake. I'm not sure if it would cause some other problems though. It was empty in the square and there seemed to be some kind of not quite started festival of sorts being done there. I made my way to a cafe with my bags (called Galerie Cafe) and ordered some coffee and breakfast to find out that it was also “Brno coffee week” which meant that there was a special map and some competition that I could not take part in. The map was pretty handy though. Again, not a huge amount to see in Brno but the map would help me find the cafes from which to get some form of refreshment.
Hrad Spliberk
Brno Castle (Hrad Spliberk) is home to Kasematy – a prison complex which was also used by the Nazis during their occupation. It was actually considered one of the hardest prisons of the Austro-Hungarian empire and has been part of the castle fortress for most of its life. It is recreated, sort of, here although I guess it is a little hammed up. Now it also contains the Brno City Museum.
It was a bit out of the way but I did enjoy it, and it always helps when you are a little elevated. As it was not a popular (in that there were not many there when I was) place, the feeling of emptiness made it feel a little more eerie which kind of helped.
From there, I made my way to the hotel by walking through the city which is always a good way of getting a handle on a place. As the city is not so big, relatively, I was able to walk across fairly comfortably and did not even need to use the tram network that seemed so good. I went through the Cabbage Market area which is supposedly a sight of sorts. The name was pretty accurate and so I wonder how much of a tourist place it is. Or in fact whether it operates well as a market of veg. I don't really know what the prices are like everywhere though.
The importance of being unpopular
My hotel was on the outskirts of the centre of the city so I decided to route myself towards there and then onto Villa Tugendhat - some futurist housing that is the only example of modern architecture in the Czech Republic on the UNESCO World Heritage list. I'd heard it was very popular but it ended up being a waste of time as it wasn't, and it was not open for a tour. Looking online afterwards, I am not sure I missed a huge amount there.
Petrov Cathedral (Cathedral of Peter and Paul) dominates the skyline and so that was next on my route and it was very impressive. Well, it was impressive for a city like Brno but with the other places I had seen, it was a smaller version of some larger cathedrals really! I did like the colouring and the view though. I then returned to Brno Underground after a quick coffee. I returned, but nobody else did and this time I really was the only one. This is the thing about being an unpopular person that likes unpopular things – sometimes you just do not get the benefits of other people. If I was travelling in a group, we probably would have got in, but then they probably would not have wanted to go anyway...
The only thing left to do was to retire for the night after dinner so that I would be able to go to Prague with some form of energy. I went to a very nice restaurant called Tulip which also happened to be near my hotel where I had a tasty fish meal and some very polite service.
I was still unsure how to get to Prague the next day but it was not too far and the coaches and trains were near each other, I was sure I could work it out the next day...
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| Brno 2013 - click for photo album |
1. And deaf, it was pronounced as Brunn, as in the German name, and so misunderstood when buying tickets phonetically...↩
2. I wonder if this is common in many countries actually, has anyone noticed? In the UK, the coin sizes, overall, seem unrelated to the value but I cannot say I have given this much thought. I would appreciate it if anyone could tell me where this happens.↩
3. Whenever I have been asked if I am lost in other cities, it makes me have quite positive feelings which can really colour that trip for me. I try to repay the favour in London and regularly offer guidance if people seem lost. To be honest, people rarely accept my help but I hope that they take away a positive memory about those that live in London. There are times when I should not speak to strangers though – I am learning this slowly – especially at the Barbican when they are ranting about the problems of British culture.↩
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