But the truth is, 2017 has been really good to me so far. And even though there were lots of things to write about, I didn't have enough inspiration when I had some free time, and when I finally had inspiration there was no time and possibility to write at all.
But as I said, 2017 (in cooperation with my former job and my family haha) really pleased me, especially when it comes to traveling. Just now I returned from our trip to Georgia (and I will definitely do a blogpost about it, it's an amazing country to visit), but also in April I got to spend a month in Prague and Brno, Czech Republic.
Since I've been to Prague before and did a blogpost with lots of photos back in 2015 (here), I don't think there's any point in creating another one. But Brno I visited for the first time and I liked it a lot!
So without any more rambling, here it is. Vítejte v Brně :)
The easiest way to get to Brno is to fly straight to its airport Brno Tuřany with Wizzair, Ryanair, Lufthansa or a few other companies. Or, if these flights aren't available from your country, you can fly to Vienna or Bratislava (the closest ones) or Prague and get to Brno by train or bus within a few hours. Great prices and service offers RegioJet (and they have free coffee and hot chocolate on board!)
Brno is known as a city of students. For a city of 370 000 citizens (as for 2017) it has 14 universities. And since you won't find many tourists there, you can meet a lot of students from around the world.
This is the main square of the city - Freedom square (Náměstí Svobody). Cafes, restaurants, shops like New Yorker or H&M you can find here. In April I was also lucky to visit the Easter fair there, and it was so beautiful and so tasty with all the wine, street food, and sweets.
Czech people, from my experience, are very friendly and ready to help if you need it. Although in Brno not many of the locals (I don't count students) can speak English, so if you're going to visit it - be prepared. But still, I'm pretty sure that even without English they would be glad to help :)
The cathedral of Peter and Pavel is one of the highlights of Brno. Gothic architecture always takes my breath away and this time was not an exception. But to me, nothing beats Saint Vitus cathedral in Prague (and not to mention Barcelona Cathedral).
The entrance is free, but if you want to see the panorama of Brno from up there, you should pay 40 crowns, which is about 1,5-2 euros.
Speaking of churches and cathedrals, there is one I would highly suggest visiting. It's Saint James' church and it's located near Freedom square. It's genuinely one of the most beautiful churches I've ever seen. It's very bright and looks even bigger than it actually is because of its huge windows that let lots of light in.
I absolutely love this place and I went there several times just to look at it and enjoy some silence.
Both Cathedral of Peter and Pavel and Saint James' church can be noticed from another must-see place - Špilberk Castle. It's a dominant of Brno and just historical place worth visiting.
From the castle you can see the entire Brno and there are also great parks to walk or to read on the grass.
Another important historical and architectural place is Villa Tugendhat.
It was built in 1929-1930 and basically, it's the only example of modern architecture in Czech Republic. But here's also another interesting fact about the villa: in 1992 there was signed a document that divided the country of Czechoslovakia into the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic.
I went only to the garden, but you also can buy tickets to get inside and explore every room. Tickets you can get here. Villa Tugendhat is located near park Luzanky and it's easy to get from Brno centre even by walking.
The day I got to Brno I bumped into a grumpy man that, for some reason, wasn't happy to see me standing at the tram station; ten minutes later a few drunk students that spoke Ukrainian helped me with a ticket machine. Adding to that my tiredness after a long road, I was pretty confused about the idea of spending two weeks there. But after all, I can say that I do like this city. It's not on my list of the most favorite cities of all times, but even as a tourist I would definitely go back there. It's calm, pretty quiet, very beautiful and interesting, it has its rich history. Brno has that balance between old and modern, and it's something that I love the most in any city that I visit.
Have you been to the Czech Republic and in Brno in particular? If so, how did you like it? :)
xx, D
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