Czech Republic -

Brno and mysterious Olomouc – weekend break in Czech Republic

Gosia — Tue, 15 Sep 2020 14:11:03 +0000

I visited Brno and Olomouc in one day. I have a special sentiment for these cities because I visited them during my first solo trip 😉 My sightseeing plan was quite intensive. On Friday after work I got on Lux Express bus, which on Saturday morning brought me to Brno. In Brno I had a quick coffee and switched to a bus going to Olomouc. For 230 CZK, in an hour I found myself in this tourist-forgotten city. When I got there and saw the Olomouc train station, I thought time actually stopped there. However, when you go a little further from the station you can see a completely different reality. Walking down the empty streets, I was most surprised by the lack of tourists. However, after a while I realized that Olomouc was on the list of 50 most beautiful unknown cities in Europe according to Lonely Planet. Surprisingly, the second largest historic urban area, just after Prague is located in Olomouc. The old town of Olomouc is indeed quite extensive and consists of two squares – Upper and Lower. The most important monument of the city is richly decorated Holy Trinity Column, reaching over thirty meters. It was built in the first half of the 18th century as a thanksgiving for the recovery from the plague epidemic. The column is the largest sculpture in the Czech Republic and surprises with the amount of details Olomouc is also famous for the turtle figures, located right next to the column. They’re mysterious creatures because nobody knows the reason why they reside in the main square. Moreover, not only Prague can be proud of the famous astronomical clock – orloj. The clock in Olomouc has a unique, socialist character because instead of religious figurines it presents workers. So forget that at noon you will see angels’ figurines here, Olomouc orloj tells the time only shock workers! Olomouc is also a city of baroque fountains. We can see here: Hercules, Julius Caesar or Neptune one. There’s also no shortage of surprising murals. One of the most interesting can be seen on Denisova street. Presenting King Edward VII, who holds a selfie stick instead of a scepter. Not so far from the mural, you can visit Saint Wenceslas Cathedral, one of the highest sacred buildings in the Czech Republic. You can see the organs which were used by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. However, the biggest attraction of Olomouc is walking through the charming streets of the old town. Brno meanwhile, welcomed me with a relaxed, student atmosphere. The second largest city in the Czech Republic is an important scientific and cultural centre. It’s best to start visiting Brno by seeing the city from a slightly higher perspective. I recommend two hills. The first one – Petrov, where the famous St. Peter and Paul’s Cathedral is located. There’s an interesting view point for the city. Don’t miss Denis’s Gardens, located right under the cathedral, it’s one of the most beautiful parks in the city. The second place is the hill where the Špilberk Castle is located. In the times of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, there was one of the toughest prisons in the country where political prisoners were held. Currently you can admire here the panorama of Brno, with St. Peter and Paul’s Cathedral in the background. It’s worth visiting Zelný trh – the Cabbage Market. In the morning, the square is filled with colorful stlls offering various vegetables, fruit, spices and local products. Right next to it is the Old Town Hall – Stará Radnica. Remember to go through the passage, there you can see the two Brno’s symbols – a dragon which resembles a crocodile and a wooden wheel. Being in Brno, it’s also worth to get lost in a maze of paved streets and secret passages. You can then see a lot of interesting details that create a unique character of the city. The best place to relax after intensive sighting is Freedom Square – the main meeting point. At the central point of the square, there’s a characteristic black clock that resembles… of course I mean a bullet, what else? 😉 The bullet is a symbol of the city’s defense against Swedes during the Thirty Years’ War. More interestingly, this clock strikes at 11 am. instead of noon. This is related to a legend, according to which, during several-month siege of Brno in the mid-17th century, Swedes decided that if they fail to conquer the city before noon, they will stop attacking. Having known this the city’s defenders, struck the bells of St. Peter and Paul’s Cathedral at 11.00, thus interrupting the Swedish siege. Freedom Square is an excellent place to try famous dumplings and drink local beer – Starobrno.

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Ostrava – Lower Vitkovice, an alternative way to explore

Gosia — Wed, 17 Jun 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Just a short drive from the Polish border you can visit the third largest city in the Czech Republic – Ostrava. At first glance, Ostrava can even scare off tourists. Chimneys, mining shafts or large steel halls are certainly not a relaxing environment. However, the city authorities have turned all these disadvantages into an asset. The old mining and steel complex was turned into an interactive cultural and educational center. However, before we reached Ostrava, we decided to visit another place that also was closed some time ago. About 30 km from the border with the Czech Republic in Raciborz, you can visit an abandoned hospital. The hospital building is over 100 years old and the times of its greatness are over. It was closed in 2004 and it’s been falling into ruin ever since. Unfortunately, we visited it a little bit too late, because there wasn’t virtually any medical equipment inside. Currently, the interior has been completely ransacked and destroyed. A lot of homeless people stay here and they are happy to share information about the building. In the years of its greatness, the interior of the hospital must have looked very interesting. Even now, despite the total demolition, it’s impressive. In Ostrava we are heading straight to the largest industrial open-air museum in the Czech Republic – Lower Vítkovice. While preparing a trip to this place, I saw a lot of pictures of this place, but none of them reflected its real scale. A maze of rusty pipes, chimneys, huge tanks, metal footbridges, all these look like a catastrophic movie set. Wow! It’s so ugly that this ugliness fascinates and delights! We are waiting for a guide to come, like children before opening a huge playground. We find out that nearby coal deposits and access to the Ostravica river were a decisive factor for the location of the smelter plant in 1828. Lower Vítkovice was a unique complex, due to the fact that the entire technological process was carried out here, from coal mining, through coke production and ultimately crude iron. The elements of bridges and rail infrastructure were produced here. The plant was closed in 1998. Now we can see it all up close. The most impressive is the big forge on which in 2015, a high lookout tower called the Bolt Tower was built. The name perfectly describes its appearance. In fact, it comes from the name of Jamaican athlete Usain Bolt, who supposedly visits Ostrava regularly. The Bolt Tower is an observation desk with a height of almost 80 meters high and it’s the highest point in Ostrava. You can rest at a café located at the top and admire surroundings. An important point in the production chain in Lower Vitkocice was the Hlubin Mine (in the picture on the left), opened in 1843. It is also available for sightseeing and is currently a cultural and educational centre. Gong Hall The round building in the picture below served as a gas tank with a capacity of 50 thousand cubic meters. It was closed in 1998 along with the whole complex. Since 2012 this space has been used as a cultural and entertainment center, which can accommodate 1500 people. During the trip you can also visit the control room of the large furnace. There you can also visit an interactive museum, which consists of four permanent exhibitions: Children’s world, the World of Science and Discoveries, the World of Civilization and the World of Nature. In a huge hall, which is the former power center you can see an exhibition dedicated to technical achievements from the invention of the steam engine to modern times, actually you can experiment and discover its secrets on your own. You can check your hand at the wheel of various vehicles. More information you can check here. Lower Vitkovice is also a place of numerus events. Every year there’s a four-day festival – Colours of Ostrava. Then the complex looks totally different. Old installations become a colorfully lit stage. It’s worth coming even just only to see it then. In the Lower Vitkovice you can choose between two main sightseeing routes: – Blast-furnace tour, including the Bolt Tower, during which you can familiarize yourself with the production process of crude iron. Trips start every day at 10.00, 12.00 and 14.00 pm from the information point. They are run in Czech but i’s possible to rent headphones (cost 100 CZK in 2020) with Polish, English or German language. – Coal route – including visiting the Hlubin mine, getting acquainted with the technique of coal mining and processing it into coke. The trip ends with a visit to the mining tower. Map from the website: https://www.dolnivitkovice.cz/en/dov-map/More information about tickets and various sightseeing options can be found here. While in Ostrava, it’s also worth visiting the Old Town square. There’s an interesting mural right next to the square. In Ostrava you can also see many other attractions such as:– Ostrowar Brewery Museum,– Michael’s mine– Landek Park – the biggest mine museum in the Czech Republic.Ostrava is an ideal place for weekend break.

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Czech Republic – Adrspach and Teplice Rocks

Gosia — Wed, 21 Mar 2018 20:36:58 +0000

[huge_it_maps id=”7″] Adrspach and Teplice Rocks are ideal attractions for rock lovers. For a long time, both places had been unknown untill the fire that took place in 1824. It discovered numerous rock formations and mazes. Both places are located in Czech Republic in the Adrspassko – Teplicke Skaly National Nature Reserve. Why is it worth coming here? The main attraction of both places are numerous ineterstingly shaped rocks. They’re made of light sandstone which contrasts with lush vegetation. Long-term sandstone erosion due to the impact of water, frost and wind affected the unique appearance of these rocks. Many of them have their own names. We can see here: Toothpick, Axe, Head of Sugar or Lovers. Some of these rocks create numerous, winding mazes, narrow passages or even tunnels. What’s more, you can find here a lot of scenic ravines and interesting viewpoints. An additional attraction in Adrspach are two picturesque ponds through which the river Metuje flows, creating two waterfalls. The first pond is right at the entrance to the park. There’s a trail around it with multiple viewpoints. On the other lake, special cruises are organised during the summer period and there’s also a possibility of renting a boat. In Teplice Rocks, it’s worth walking to the top of the ruins of the old castle, located right at the entrance to the park. In fact, judging by the state of ruins, it’s hard to dertermine even how the foundations of this castle looked like but the view form the top of the mountain it’s worth climbing. The way upstairs leads through very steep stairs, which is why I don’t recommend it to people with fear of heights. Teplice Rocks also look different than Adrspach. They create high walls, which can reach up to 100 meters. While the trail in Adrspach Rocks takes the form of a labyrinth, here the road leads mainly through scenic canyons. Teplice Rocks due to the characteristic shape of the rocks is a good place to climb. Which place is better to explore? The best is to visit both because they are next to each other and sightseeing trails aren’t long. Walking trail in Adrspach Rocks isn’t demanding and properly adapted to everyone. A large part of it are sections of the easy path, available for disabled people or pushchairs/prams. Unfortunately, it tends to be very crowdy but it’s the only one drawback of this place. The trail which leads through Teplice Rock is longer (it has about 6 kilometers) and has a more wild character. In addition, from the Teplice Rocks you can take the yellow trail which leads to Adrspach Rocks, its length is around 4 kilometers. In my opinion, the great advantage of the Teplice Rocks is that they aren’t so crowdy than nearby Adrspach. Access and practical info: Both Parks are close to the border with Poland. You can reach them by rail. It is best to get on the bus from the main bus stop in Kudowa Zdroj cross the border and get off in Nachod. Then in Nachod you should take a train to Teplice or a bit further to Adrspach (depending on which rock city you want to visit). The railway station in Teplice is less than a kilometre from the entrance to the park. The best solution is to drive by car. I crossed the border in Kudowa – Slone, but there is also an option to go through: Golinsk-Starostin or Lubawka-Kralovec border crossing. The parking lots are in front of each of the rock parks. Current prices are available here. Teplice Rocks can be seen from April to October, every day from 8 to 18. The admission cost to both cities is available here. Together with the ticket, you get a map with the description of the rocks. Below is the map from the national park site. ” order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”500″]

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Nové Město nad Metují – between the bliss and hell

Gosia — Wed, 24 Aug 2016 17:54:07 +0000

Nové Město nad Metují is located in the Czech Republic, around 7 miles from Polish border. However, believe me that a trip there is definitely not a piece of cake. First stop – the town Náchod, famous for perfectly equipped shops. Staple goods like very good beer and better beer abound in this town, so for some a trip to Czech Republic, not only starts there but also unexpectedly ends. Those who miraculously manage to go past this town, have another problem. The way to Nové Město nad Metují, goes between the big lake – Bliss and the valley called the Hell in translation. All in all, going to the Bliss is not such a bad idea but the Hell is better to admire from the view point located close to the Nové Město castle. The castle which is the main tourist attraction in Nové Město nad Metují is open to visitors. Unfortunately guide trips are available only in Czech and taking photos is forbidden. However, the fabulous chambers are well worth visiting. The castle is surrounded by a beautiful garden which is divided in two parts which are connected by the beautiful, wooden bridge. The first part of the garden consists of symmetrical terraces while the second one is decorated with fountain and funny statues of dwarfs. The perfect place to admire these fabulous gardens and lovely old town, is the castle tower – Máselnica. The main point of the old town is the huge square which is surrounded by colorful townhouses. The other part of the Nové Město nad Metují is as colorful as the old one and interestingly decorated. Practical info: – To get to the castle, at the end of Náchod town, you need to turn left on route no. 14. There’s no problem with parking in Nové Město, you can park your car on the main square and it’s free of charge. – Visiting the courtyard and the gardens is free. Admission to the castle costs 110 CZK. More info you’ll find here. ” order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”500″]

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