Brno

The day that it started raining in Baden-Würtemberg, we jumped on the train and headed to the Czech Republic. After a train ride, frantically running around rainy Nuremberg trying to find our bus, a double-decker ride to Prague, and a helpful Czech conductor (with cousins in the US) putting us in the correct train, we were relieved to see our friends waiting for us at the train station in Brno. Lucie and Ales whisked our hungry selves off to one of the good local eats in downtown Brno. Pilsner Urquell, fried cheese, stuffed peppers, knedliky, and excellent company brought us back to wakefulness.

After a delicious Czech dinner to, we continued into town. At our second stop we were joined by Petra and Pavel, who also live in Brno. I was amazed at the change in the city since I was last there 6 years ago. The restaurants and streets were busy with people enjoying what was forecasted to be the last nice night of the year. Standing-only bars spilled into the squares around churches. People were sitting in cliques on the church steps and curbs, sharing beers and catching up.

One of the squares we spent the evening in (photo the next morning)

The next morning we woke up to the smell of pancakes wafting from the kitchen. Lucie whipped up some cream as we sat down to roll up our fruit filled central European palatschinke, I don't remember how many I ate. In any case, they made great fuel for exploring the city on foot! Lucie took the day off and was our local expert for the day.

Our first stop was at Tugendhat Villa UNESCO site, a 1920's modernist house just down the street from our friends’ flat. We did the garden tour and admired the indoor/outdoor central living space and minimalist decor. From Tugendhat, we walked down and through the park, into downtown, and over to the (still working) monastery where Mendel did his experiments. We had coffee in the garden, next to a bed of peas.

Spoelberk castle was out next stop. We hiked up the hill, got slightly distracted by a playground with a Zipline, and finally entered the castle. They had medieval construction equipment on the walls, showing how the castle was built with wooden forms and cranes. We went up the tallest tower and caught the view over the old City center and new tech areas.

From the castle we went by the town hall, cathedral, another church, and several squares. We grabbed a late “menu” lunch at a regular spot near Lucie's office, and then walked back to their apartment to pack up for our weekend in Ostrava...