Updated on October 2010: The Slav Epic is being moved from Moravský Krumluv to Prague. The exhibition is closed, so do not travel to Krumlov to see it!

Updated on September 2011: The Slav Epic is back to Krumlov and stays there until October 31.

Mucha is popular for his art nouveau posters and illustrations.

The Slav Epic has been displayed for several decades in the castle of Moravský Krumlov but several weeks ago, the National Gallery of Prague began preparations for transporting the large masterpiece to its building, as Alphonse Mucha personally gave the paintings to the town of Prague prior to his death.

However, Mucha wanted Prague to build a special pavilion for his work – which still has not been fulfilled by the Czech capital. For this reason, the town council of Moravský Krumlov prohibited the employees of National Gallery from moving Mucha’s paintings and asked a court to solve the problem. Before the final decision comes, The Slav Epic stays in Moravský Krumlov.

The recent development was greeted by the residents of the town (and whole region), grandson of Alphonse Mucha and, quite surprisingly, Czech president Václav Klaus.

On a bright day in Brno like this is, you can notice a huge hill with three tops on the horizon near Austrian border. The hills are called “Pálavské vrchy” and you can spend a great day there.

Silhouette of Mikulov at dusk

How to get to Pálavské vrchy & what to do there

I recommend using highway D2 and leaving your car on streets of village Pavlov (see a map). The ride will take less than a hour. If you don’t have a car, take a train to Popice; it will take you 2 more hours to Pavlov (if anyone knows about a better solution, please share it in comments).

It’s a steep hill upwards from Pavlov to ruin called “Dívčí hrady” but after a half an hour, you’ll see southern Moravia with all its wineyards and flood plains from a great height.

Chalky rocks, the icon of Pálavské vrchy

The castle “Dívčí hrady” was buit before the 13th century. It was destroyed by Swedish army during the 17th century.

Walking on you can explore whole “Pálavské vrchy” which is an UNESCO biosphere reserve, beautiful in every season. The area is very popular among photographers.

It's possible to see for miles from the hills. These folks look at Mikulov and to Austria.

Any harmful sport activities such are biking or paragliding are strictly prohibited in the reserve. Please follow internationally understandable boards with instructions. In return, here is a link to a detailed tourist map.

Mikulov: a piece of Italy at south Moravia

If you have some time left after visiting Pálavské vrchy or you are not a sportperson but still want to explore the region, ride to town Mikulov, located close to Czech/Austrian border.

Castle of Mikulov

There are several sights not to miss in the town; print a great list made by the town council. I personally recommend walking up another steep hill, called “Svatý kopeček” (Sacred hill). The butte is covered with small structures reminding the Crucifixion of Jesus and there’s still a pilgrimage held every September.

What I like about Mikulov is its historical architecture, consciously immitating Tuscany. Just sit at the stairs to the church of John the Baptist and you’ll wonder where are all the black haired boys riding their Vespas.

Chapels at the top of Svatý kopeček (Sacred hill)

If you are going to visit the area, don’t forget to buy a bottle of wine. Moravian wines are not as sweet as French or Italian wines, but they have strong enjoyable flavours. My favorite varieties are modrý Portugal (Portugais Bleu) and veltlín zelený (Grüner Veltliner, excellent with fishes or chicken).

Links

• Landscape attributes of Pálava
• The town of Mikulov
• Mikulov wine sub-region
• Photos of Pálava at Flickr
• Photos of Mikulov at Flickr

Pickled gherkins are the first thing that a stereotypical Moravian guy sees every morning, to fight with his hangover. Photo by hriskenworthy

I got upset, once again. An incoming agency CzechTourism has a nice website about cuisines of Czech and Moravian regions, but the information about southern Moravia is totally misleading. Trouts are eaten much more at south Bohemia and “lentil and millet bake” is a weird food that is eaten in Bible, but not anywhere around Brno. No food that is really enjoyed in Brno and at south Moravia is listed there. So – let’s fix it!

The true southern Moravian specials are:

• Roast goose. Fat & yummy.
• Pork knee. By the way, I have a friend in Korea who once told me that Moravian (and Czech) cuisine is quite similar to the Korean cuisine.
• Roasted pork (“Moravian sparrow”) with stewed cabbage and dumplings.
• Various dishes with savoy cabbage – like baked rabbit meat. I hate savoy cabbage. But it makes a list of ten.
• Sweet noodles with poppy seed. However, you won’t get these in a Moravian restaurant. You need to have a Moravian grandma. What a shame for Moravia!
• Pies with sweet cottage cheese and plum jam.
• Halušky, soft cooked noodles or dumplings.
• Pickled gherkins (the best hangover cure ever; you’ll get it in any store, no matter how small it is).
• Wine.
• Apricot brandy (I think that slivovitz is number 2 brandy at south Moravia).

I found some web pages with moravian recipes written in English here and there.