Sand beach at Náměstí svobody sq.

Beyond a beer garden: where to savor life on a street

Many people coming from western Europe are surprised by the fact that Czechs do not enjoy “living on a street” as much as other nations do. However, several pubs and cafés in Brno are changing this, despite the forced 10:00 p.m. closing time.

Bláhovka pub, 54 Gorkého st.

Bláhovka pub at Gorkého st. on a Friday afternoon

Bláhovka was probably the first place in the modern history of Brno that attracted a crowd of “guests” drinking beer (great Pilsen, by the way) standing on a street in almost any weather.

Falk café/Špargl bistro, 12 Gorkého st.

This combo of a hipster café and a student bistro has only three tiny tables at the street but on some warm summer evenings it atracts crowds of dozens.

Kamenná st., including Duck bar

Siesta in front of Duck bar

I may be posting about Kamenná kolonie too often, but here is just another reason: every day after 5 p.m., a small crowd of 5-20 people sits down in front of Duck bar. These folks sip beer, smoke, read newspapers and discuss news – which is something you can not experience anywhere else in Brno.

Zelená kočka and Varna, Solniční st.

Two of the biggest beer gardens in downtown Brno turn Solniční street into quite a living place. I prefer Zelená kočka for the excellent Dalešické beer.

Přístavní st.

The road from Přístaviště tram station to the Brno dam lake is filled with huge beer gardens and wide enough for careless promenading. Sadly, you have to get ready for some slow and unwelcome service here.

Where to cool down

• In some of the outdoor swimming pools, of course.
• In a café, drinking some home made lemonade.
• At the sand beach at Náměstí svobody sq.
• In an outdoor cinema.

Please, share your tips

It is quite likely I forgot about some cool places, maybe I even don’t know some great spots. Please, share your experiences with others in the comments.

Brno crematorium, one of the finest functionalist buildings in the town.

You can access it with trams 2 and 5 (stop Ústřední hřbitov, 5 minutes from Mendlovo náměstí sq., 10 minutes from the main train station). (See the place on a map.)

The cemetery opens at 7 a.m. every day and closes at 5 p.m. from November to February, at 6 p.m. in March and October and at 7 p.m. from April to September.

The place has more “inhabitants” than Brno itself. Actually, it could be the second largest Czech city, after Prague. So let’s visit some of these interesting folks:

Gregor Johann Mendel (1822–1884), Augustinian monk who discovered some basic principles of genetics (sadly: without realising it).

The tomb of the local Augustinian convent that hosts the grave of G. J. Mendel. It is located in sector 2.

The grave of Leoš Janáček (1854-1928), one of the most important Czech composers, is located in the Circle of honor (sector 25e), together with graves of many other influental Czech citizens of Brno.

Red army memorial site, built in 1980 (sector 56c)

Is that Joseph Stalin? I guess so.

Wehrmacht graveyard (sector 79) is unknown to most people living in Brno.

A crematorium designed by Arnošt Wiesner in the 1920s, opened in 1930. One of the most beautiful functionalist buildings in Brno, yet the only one that no one enjoys visiting (marked as C on the map).

The official plan of the cemetery. Mind that north is pointing right! (click to enlarge)

A crowd in front of Duck bar in Kamenná kolonie

One of my hipster friends visited Brno recently. Here is a list of places and venues I took him to. Take it as an inspiration for your own visit of Brno or for showing it to your own family and friends:

First day

• It was a very hot day, so we had only a small lunch (a soup) at sausage bar U Bohouše (Veselá st.).
• Then we enjoyed a glass of Pilsen beer at the recently re-opened Stopka’s pub at Česká st.
• We got hungry, so we had a falafel and some grilled meat at Nandu’s (Údolní/Úvoz st.).
• Then we walked down the Úvoz st. and drunk one more beer in the beer garden of Starobrno brewery (Mendlovo náměstí sq.).
• Kamenná kolonie is a totally wonderful place. This time, we hiked to a small bunker above Kamenná st. Ask the waiter in Duck bar for detailed advice.(Duck bar opens at 5 p.m. – don’t forget to try out their pickled camembert cheese.)
• Returning back to the town, we sat in Kouřící králík jazz bar (Křídlovická st.) for a glass of Dalešické beer.
• Then we took bus #44 and rode to quarter Židenice (Mendelovo náměstí → Otakara Ševčíka, ticket for CZK 18). Ordered a lemonade in wonderfull small café Zastávka (“Tram station” at Táborská st. near Geislerova st.) and then enjoyed a meal in popular local Indian restaurant Goa (Geislerova st.).
• Walked through Cejl neigborhood to Traubka blues bar. Very interesting, dark place at Traubova st..
• As it got pretty late, we finished our long day in Salon Daguerre at Slovákova st.

Second day

• We had a lunch at Šelepova No 1.
• Later in the afternoon, we enjoyed two less known beer brands in small pub U Proutníka at Smetanova st.
• We bought two cans of beer and drunk it in the park at Kraví hora hill.
• Then we decided to had a lachmacun in the famous Azerbaijani bistro that recently moved from Nerudova st. to Malátova st. We walked for almost an hour to Královo Pole – you may take a tram (#4 and then #1) instead. But it was worth it.
• As we got tired, we finished our trip at U Míče, nice new pub offering Polička beer at Slovákova Staňkova st. Don’t miss their bread with cheese!

What we missed: new and cool vegetarian restaurant Kupé at Kounicova st., Brno House of Arts and Moravian Gallery. Air Café is also quite hip – definitely the right place to refresh your ironic moustache with some gin and tonic.

It is good to mention that my friend is a bit adventurous hipster interested in ethnic food and off-the-beaten-path travelling. Remember that some people may not enjoy a trip like this. (Poor them!)

A cellar beneath the Cabbage market (source: bkc.cz)

On April 1, a part of the medieval underground labyrinth beneath the Cabbage market (Zelný trh sq.) was made available to tourists. The price of the project exceeded CZK 100 millions; most of it was financed by EU grants.

For CZK 150, you can spend 45 minutes beneath the streets of Brno. You will pass 212 steps and explore a system of 30 vast medieval cellars, built since the 15th century. The people living in Brno at that time were looking for a place where to store various goods in a town that was surrounded by fortification, so they created an unique “underground town”.

The labyrint is open all year long from Tuesday to Sunday. According to local press, you can hire a guide speaking English or German. However, the official webpage is in Czech only, which is a total shame.

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Kids having fun with the new attractions

From 1939 to 1945, this place between Královo Pole and Žabovřesky quarters hosted a small concentration camp called Pod Kaštany (literary meaning “beneath horse-chestnuts”). After that, it was not a nice place either, although it had been transformed into a public park with a quite popular pub and club Šelepka.

Last autumn, the park got a major overhaul by Zdeněk Sendler’s Atelier of Landscape Architecture. It did not impress me then, but my opinion changed when the spring came. Every day, there are hundreds of children playing with the new seesaws and other atractions, dozens of people reading books at freshly painted benches – and many folks just sitting in the grass, which is clean, thanks to dog walking regulations. Needless to say that Šelepka pub has a great beer garden and very talented cook in the kitchen.

Šelepova No. 1 has one of the best beer gardens in the town. (It is much larger during summer months than in this part of the year.)

I just love this place. One of the best recent examples of park architecture in the Czech republic.

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My article about Maid Café in a local newspaper

New Maid Café in Sfinx shopping mall at Hrnčířská st. (map) is a quite interesting place to go. Just like in the maid cafés in Japan and USA, there are several young girls dressed in maid costumes, looking forward to take care of you. I have been there several times. I still do not know if it is sexist or sexy, if it is stupid or cool. But it is worth a try.

Last year, I complained that Brno had been missing a good “deli” offering simple, traditional local meals. Well, this may have changed – few days ago, a “sausage bar” U Bohouše opened at Dominikánské náměstí sq., right in the centre.

U Bohouše - the venue is named after an old popular Czech short movie about an extremly hungry St. Bernard dog

I gave it a shot yesterday and what I got was a tasty sausage with a fresh horseradish:

Spicy sausage Flamenco - to me it was rather mild than spicy

You can have some of the ten types of sausages (CZK 50-60 each), a goulash, a cabbage soup, bread with lard (!) and few other meals.

Feels like 1960s (and my cell phone camera feels like 1999)

I have not tried whether the cook/waiter speaks English, but it is quite easy to point to the sausage you want.

Seeing is salivating

Refreshing Dalešické and Poutník beers are on tap. And the radio plays Czech country. Quite a concept!

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Smells like rice flour and coriander, doesn't it?

The refreshing Vietnamese baguette, called bánh mỳ or bánh mi, is easy to be bought in the streets of Vienna or Berlin, but it takes a while to get one in Brno. However, it is worth the journey.

The only bistro known to me offering bánh mỳ is located in the Vietnamese market at Oloumoucká st. Yes, that Vietnamese market known for loads of fake sneakers and for the big fire that took place there in January 2011.

Take the bus line #31 or #31 departing from the main station and get off at the station U školy. Return some 100 meters and enter the Vietnamese market. At the right side, there is a long, narrow hall with grocery stores and restaurants. The very last place is called “Nguyen” – I guess it is the owner’s name – and is extraordinaly clean, regarding the rest of the market. The sign is not really big, so you will know you are in the right place by entering the bistro via glass door.

You can enjoy your bánh mỳ with eggs or pate – both variants cost only CZK 50. (Various types of phở also recommendable!)

Map (the location of Nguyen bistro is marked by the green arrow)

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Sushi master Tadayoshi Ebina preparing a tuna fish in Koishi restaurant.

The Grand Restaurant Festival is a nice opportunity to enjoy meals in some of the best restaurants of Brno.

Koishi fish & sushi, La Bouchée, Noem Arch, U Kastelána, Hansen (cz) and Valoria (cz) joned the event. Until February 15, you can get a single dish for CZK 250, two courses for CZK 500, and three courses for CZK 600 in any of these venues, ranked among the best restaurants in the Czech republic.

Before actually going to the restaurant of choice, you have to order your coupon(s) online at grandrestaurantfestival.cz (en). Standard menus remain untouched.

To be honest, the discount is quite small – as most of the restaurants offer three course “menu du jour” for less than CZK 300 during the lunchtime. But at least the event can motivate you to move your ass and finally get a table in the restaurant your colleagues keep talking about.

Show your friends the best pubs in Brno!

The Pocket guide to beer, pubs and alehouses in Brno contains information about various types of beer made in the Czech republic and about more than 35 best pubs in Brno.

For only €1,99 (cheaper than two beers!), you can download a PDF file and a simple map. You may print the guide and keep it in your pocket, or read it at the computer, in an iPhone or in a Kindle ebook reader.

“In recent years, many excellent micro breweries have been established in the region,” says Michal Kašpárek, the blogger behind Brno Now and author of the guide. “I wanted the visitors of the town to drink the best beer they can get in Brno and enjoy the town like locals do,” he explains why he has written the book and why it is so cheap.

Pocket guide to beer, pubs and alehouses in Brno can be downloaded from http://brnonow.com/beer-guide/.

No matter if you are looking for an old camera, cool clock, 19th century postcards or a Czechoslovak army uniform; there are several places in Brno where you can fulfil your sentimental needs.

My favorite antique shop: U sedmi švábů

U sedmi Švábů

At 8 Annenská st., there is a small antique shop with, well, everything. You can buy old tableware, toys, cameras, vinyl records, cameras, radios… it has really cool atmosphere and it is almost in the centre of the town.

Other great antiques

I loved a large antique shop at Husovická st. but it closed in June 2010 and moved to Dominikánská st. (on a right side when walking to Comsa Palace). It is called “Baru“. Sadly, it is lacking the former atmosphere of a pawn shop, now it focuses on more expensive items. But it is still worth of try anyway.

If you are looking for really valuable collector’s stuff, don’t miss the antique shop called simply “Starožitnosti”, at 14 Solniční st.

I also like a really tiny antique “ARTik” at Nerudova st. (next to the great lachmacun bistro). It is filled with decorations, old toys and stuff like that.

ARTik

Flea markets in Brno

There is no tradition of regular flea markets or designer markets – in contrast to Vienna or Budapest. However, there are collector markets with military memorabilia or matchbox cars – check out the list of the forthcoming events (in Czech but easy to understand; address is 21 Vlhká st., and the markets start at 7 a.m.).

Where to buy old cameras – Smena, Lomo or Praktica

If you are lucky, you get one of these in an antique — but I suggest you visiting specialized shops with new and old cameras. You’ll find one at Mendlovo náměstí sq., second in the middle of Pekařská st. (#16) and third at 31 Kounicova st.

Looking for postcards, maps or paintings?

These are sold in every secondhand bookshop – but this is a topic for another article.

Updated on 6/3/2011: the stand has moved to Královo Pole quarter. You can find it at the corner of Palackého and Malátova st., near Raiffeisenbank.

Few days ago, I discovered that there is a new (well, maybe only rebranded) stand selling Turkish and Levant Azerbaijani Turkish food at 6 Nerudova st.

As far as I know, this is the only place where you can buy lahmacun and pide in Brno. I tried out the first dish. The cook prepared the dought right in front of me, covered it with meat, asked me if I wanted it spicy or not and baked it, so I was given a totally fresh meal for CZK 35 (€1.40).

The bistro is located next to Nerudova tram stop.

Prices of meals are rather low.

I had a lahmacun and it was really tasty.

Updated on 12/20: The bistro has a website now and offers delivery, just call (+420) 774 328 704.

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