The Moravian capital - Brno

As mentioned in my previous post, the world outside of Prague is usually off limits to every day tourist, however, little do they know that it takes about 2.5 hours on a direct bus to explore the Moravian metropolis, Brno. There are tons of buses that go every day from the Florenc bus station where you can get with the local subway system. I believe that Czech Airlines also run a bus directly form the airport to Brno. One of the best companies is the Student Agenecy and they do have a shuttle from the airport as well. If I may give you an advice, it is very easy to get from the Ruzyne airport with public transport for about 1 euro, just hop on a bus 100 and go to the end station. There hop on the subway in the station Zlicin and you have access to everywhere. No reason to dish out money for taxies or shuttles.

Anyway, so now you are probably asking me why the hell would I want to sit on a bus to go see Brno. Well, I tell you why, because you can. :). As I said, Brno is the capital city of Moravia and it even though it is not as achitecturaly phenomenal like Prague, it has its own. Above Brno, there is a Spilberk castle which became famous as a prison during the 30 year war and today you can visit its catacombs and get a great panoramic view of the town.

Close to the train and bus stops there is a St. Peter and Paul cathedral overlooking the city. You cannot miss its two pointy towers on the Petrov hill. The view from the towers is just spectacular and inside the cathedral you can wander around exploring the catholic church's wealth or sometimes local exhibits with different motifs.

Brno has recently become a lot more internationalized, so you might not be the only foreigner walking in the streets, but do not assume that everyone will speak English. A good Czech phrasebook is always handy. If you are a musically talented individual, Brno has one of the best music school in Europe and a quite large number of cultural institutions are active here as well. So why not study in Brno at the Janacek Academy of Music and Arts. Also, if you made it all the way this far, why not take a trip to Vienna, Austria or Bratislava, Slovakia which are only about 2 hours away.

0 comments: