Brno

26 September 2009
We woke up early the next morning (because some of us cannot contain their excitement about being in a new city and find themselves waking up at 5:30 then in their boredom rustle around so much everyone else has to wake up too) and found breakfast. In spite of our early start a few incidents led to a much later arrival in Brno than originally anticipated. We set up a reservation for a hostel at the information center then went in search of dinner.

The city of Brno is very similar Prague. It is the capital of the Moravian region of the Czech Republic and was originally a contender with Prague for the capital of the country. The city is much smaller than Prague (although you wouldn’t know to look at it) with a population of only 400,000 as opposed to Prague’s 1,000,000+. It is similarly blanketed in a spider web of wires that facilitate the operation of the very prominent and easy-to-use tram system. Spires sprout out from the rooftops of the city in every direction, marking the large population of churches and castles in the city of Brno.

Our living quarters in Brno were slightly more difficult to find. After taking the tram to the south western corner of the city we wandered around for a little while before we had to gesture to some older men talking outside if they knew where our hostel was. With their hand motions we eventually managed to find our way up to our hotel on the hill where the receptionist also could not speak English.

The next morning we found the pope at the airport along with about 100,000 other people. Buses line the highway stretching for a least a mile in both directions; waiting for their pope stalking groups to return so they can carry on. The city of Brno has provided extra transportation for this auspicious occasion. A quarter of a mile from where we finally stop walking the pope, in all his glory, smaller than the nail on my pinky, is sitting on a platform. Huge screens with video all fixed on the platform surround the crowd; the only way to get a picture of anything other than crowd is to take photos of the big screen. For this special occasion, mass is supposed to last three hours (four if you also want to listen to the president of the Czech Republic speak). Seeing as I am not a great Catholic in the best of times (never been baptized…) we stay for 45 minutes. Most of the mass is in Latin, the parts that are not are in Czech so we were happy to be there but not for three hours.

For the rest of the day we laze our way around Brno Mesto (town centre). After our long weekend we are all very tired; there was soooo much walking this weekend! We visited the castle at the top of a large hill (castles are always at the top of large hills: easier to defend) and from the top we see an extraordinary view of Brno. The view from the top is how Brno will always remain in my mind.

Have I mentioned how much I love trains? I love trains. I think they are one of the most brilliant means of transportation ever invented. I love planes too but airline tickets are so much more expensive. Everyone tells me that after my first 14 hour train ride I will be over this obsession but I honestly think I could live on a train and travel from place to place forever. Trains are cheap, relatively comfortable, there is almost always amazing countryside scenery, and no one has to drive so everyone can relax and read or watch the scenery go by or sleep. Trains are amazing. Our train ride went down without a hitch, we arrived safely back in Prague (which we all seem to be thinking of as “home” at the moment) and we are all happier for the memories and experiences we have gained.