Brno, Czech Republic.
What to see?
Brno is a fantastic city, it’s definitely one of my personal favourites. There is plenty to see and do and I am sure something can be found for all tastes. A few highlights for me included visiting the bell tower of the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul when the bells rang. It offers fantastic views, precariously small balconies and a really ear ringing treat. Needs to be heard to be believed to be fair. Exploring the various museums is a great way to spend a rainy day for a fair price and on sunny days, simply wandering around the Brno historic centre is a pretty great (free) way to kill some time!
Where to stay?
The stay in Brno was only supposed to last for 2 nights, due to the greatness of the place it turned into 7 nights. A good option if your only planning on staying in Brno for a night or two can be found on Airbnb. The host’s name is Robert and he and his lovely wife, Kim are nice people and very friendly, the apartment is huge and Robert was more than happy to answer any questions and show us around the area. Kim even made us (for a nominal fee) some authentic Vietnamese spring rolls which I can highly recommend.
As the trip to Brno was extended at the last minute we decided to try somewhere a little further away and booked a room at the Satyam Pension. The Satyam is a great little guesthouse located above an Indian restaurant, this worked out pretty ok for me as I’m from Birmingham! The hotel is small but perfect for a short stay, our room had everything we needed and was warm and clean. The staff were very friendly and the restaurant was amazing with a wide selection of food and very reasonable prices. Some of the best Indian food I’ve eaten outside of the UK.
Where to eat?
My stay in Brno happened to coincide with a renewed love of the singer Morrissey, and due to that I declared vegetarianism (which lasted for about 3 months), therefore I can only really suggest some vegetarian places I went to. The first one to mention is Vegalite, a specialist vegetarian place located just around the corner from Robert’s place. The menu of the day is served during the day (obviously) and is a real steal at around 3.50 euros. In the evening the menu is more extensive and includes falafels, burgers and various other vegetarian foods. There is also quite a grand selection of beers.
As I have previously mentioned, the restaurant at the Satyam is cosmic. If you fancy an Indian treat at a very affordable price check it out.
Where to drink?
Bars and cafes are plentiful in Brno, you’ll never be short of options wherever you are in the city. A cool place to check out is the Viking Pivince at Hybešova 40. It’s a small bar but it’s very cheap, has a jukebox with some pretty cool music on.
Top tip
Check out Brno before everyone else does!