London: sunset panorama (source: Wikimedia Commons)

Hungarian airline Wizz Air will launch new line between Brno-Tuřany and London-Luton in December. There will be three flights a week – on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Price of tickets will start from CZK 337 (€13.60).

Brno is already connected with London-Stansted by Irish low-cost airline Ryanair.

Source: iDnes.cz

Villa at 6, Purkyňova st.

Musicologist Miloš Štědroň revealed the address of the house where Kundera was born several weeks ago in an interview – it is located in quarter Královo Pole, at 6 Purkyňova st., next do Dobrák swimming pool and quite near the complex of University of Technology and IBM.

It is just an ordinary house, not belonging to Kundera’s family anymore (according to the land register) – but I think it is just a nice trivia about Brno.

One of the proposed looks of the new main station.

The plan of building a new main station in the “south centre” (next to Zvonařka bus station) got a blow that may be fatal – nobody knows if the project would have political support in 2014 and if EU is going to fund it anyway.

Every year, students of Brno University of Technology create funny graffiti around the dormitories Pod Palackého vrchem (at Palacký hill) to celebrate their graduation.

2009 graduates of the Energy Institute

Nice word play. Prdel means butt in Czech, but it is used as universally as the f-word in English. So the writing could be translated as: It was fucking hard but we've clicked the right answers.

Stairway to the tram station

Simpsons are quite popular here...

Matt Groening could sue the VUT students for royalties :)

P.S.: Check out this gallery of pictures captured at “Palačák” dormitories. Slightly NSFW.

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Although air polution is not generally considered a big issue in Brno, local bureau of hygiene measured above-regulation levels of nitrogen dioxide and dust in these places:

• Úvoz st., near Mendel sq. and Starobrno brewery.
• Svatoplukova st., a four-lane highway going through the former village of Židenice.
• Streets around main bus station, esp. Zvonařka st. and Masná st.

The main source of the pollution is automobile traffic – Brno is (and for the next twenty years will be) lacking a south-north by-pass road. The town council is trying to improve the situation by establishing “public transport and bikes only” lanes, but this is obviously not enough.

If you rent a flat near Obilní trh sq., then you may study in this beautiful park.

If you are coming to Brno for the Erasmus or any other study programme, chosing the right quarter may improve your “Brno experience” a lot. I recommend these parts of the town:

• Veveří is the true student quarter of Brno, with many university buildings (mostly of the Masaryk university), cafés and well known pubs. This is the place where hipsters ride their fixed-gear bicycles to get to the lectures on time.
  The rents are slightly above average – but it is still affordable to rent a 2-bedroom flat (CZK 12,000 or €500, including heating, gas & electricity), or even bigger apartment and share it with several other people.
• Královo pole may be a good quarter for these who study University of Technology or University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences – both have most of their buildings located right in this area. Královo pole is a neat quarter with cafés, clubs and pubs too.
• Cejl has been a poor, underdeveloped quarter of Brno for the whole last century. It is still dirtier than the rest of the town and pickpocketing is more common there (according to a police spokeswoman I interviewed last year). However, you can reach the town centre (and most university buildings) by foot within 10 or 15 minutes. There are many bars, and what is most important – the rents are approx. 15-25 per cent lower compared to the rest of the town.

Also, you may appreciate some more tips:

• If you want to commute by bike, avoid suburbs located on hills – Brno is actually a quite hilly town.
• Suburbs also usually suffer from poor social and night life. You’ll be lucky to find a good club or pub.
• On the other side, these quarters are usually located next to nice, large and safe forrests, great for hiking, running, cross biking etc. Rents may also be lower (but not significantly).
• Many students have to travel around the town on some days to get to different labs, libraries, etc. Don’t feel shy to contact your Erasmus guide or friends to figure out in which part of the town you are going to spend most of your time, to find the right place for renting a flat.
• But finally, don’t overthink it. Brno is quite small. The public transportation is great – even after midnight! The town offers a good level of safety everywhere. And it is not hard to find a new apartment quickly.

Enjoy your stay!

A garden of Hansen restaurant (source: hansen-restaurant.cz)

I got a lovely letter last week:

Dear Kasparek,

I’m an expat in Brno. I was wondering if you could recommend me some restaurants for a romantic evening. The kind of food actually doesn’t matter that much. A wide variety of choice is appreciated.

Thank you for your consideration. Keep up the good work!

Hello! K——

If you sometimes ask your friends a similiar questions, you may find handy my answer:

My girlfriend loves Greek restaurant Pontos (22 Křížkovského st.), but someone might mind the sharp light there. On the other hand, it is a budget-friendly place. I think Hansen (corner of Husova st. and Komenského sq.) may also be a good choice – they even have live jazz in the garden these days!

Later, some more tips came to my mind:

• U Kastelána (51a Kotlářská st.) has a beautiful interior and it offers top-quality Czech meals with some French and Italian influences. Prices are above average.
• La Bouchée (33 Údolní st.) is located in a quite romantic cellar and meals like “snail caviar served with toast, butter and salt” may be good aphrodisiacs, I guess.
• Rialto (125 Veveří st.) is among the most expensive restaurants in town, but they try really hard to offer exclusive meals. The menu is frequently updated with fresh and seasonal ingredients.
• Momo Sushi (13 Solniční st.) is one of the best sushi bars in the town (there was a boom of these venues last year).

What is your favorite place to go when you want to spend a lovely evening with your spouse or lover? Let us know in the comments.

The Gallery Vittorio Emanuele II, Milan (source: Wikimedia Commons)

One way ticket costs CZK 849 (€34, incl. fees) – so this is a great opportunity to spend a weekend in Milan, buy some clothes and see some good soccer there – or to use the airport as a transition point for flights to some more distant parts of Europe and world.

There will be three flights both ways a week, on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.

[sponsored article] Kristián Kučera and Josef Zouhar are runing two interesting cafés in Veveří district, the coolest neigborhood of Brno.

Café 04: delicious pasteries for early risers

If you like home made pasteries, café Saula, friendly atmosphere and various cultural events, Café 04, located right in the centre of the town, is a place to go.

Café 04

Garden at Veveří st.

On work days, Café 04 also offers menu du jour between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. for €3.60 – you’ll get a tasty soup, one of four meals to choose from (at least one is meatless) and a free drink.

Pork tenderloin with bacon, rose hip sauce and roasted potatoes

On weekends, café opens at 11 a.m. and closes with the last leaving guest.

Students with ISIC cards will get 10 % discount.

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Café 09: live music will ease your mind after studying hard

Café 09

“Literary” Café 09 is located in the Moravian library at Kounicova st. On each work day, you may enjoy live music of diverse genres, from French chanson to electro.

Coffee Saula is a popular Spanish brand, founded in 1950.

For those who want to organise a conference or workshop in Brno, Café 09 offers flexible pricing and various services, from catering to lending data projectors. Feel free to contact the owners with any questions at info@cafe09.cz.

Cafe 09 is open every day except Sunday from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. It has both smoking and non-smoking lounges.

Both Cafés offer free Wi-Fi connection.

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The depressive, but also mind-blowing paintings of Josef Bolf.

Three of the top Czech visual artists, Josef Bolf, Jiří Petrbok and Vladimír Skrepl, plus Marcel Hüppauff from Germany have a joint exhibition in Wannieck gallery, a beautiful repurposed factory building next to shopping mall Vaňkovka.

The exhibition is surprisingly large and quite depressive – but if you are a fan of postmodern art just like me, you may find some paintings and collages even funny.

Wannieck gallery is open daily, except Thursdays. I recommend visiting the venue on a colder day, I was sweating all the time last Friday.

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Brno as seen from Špilberk castle (photo by Artep ^_^)

• If you have a free afternoon, walk around the old town and enjoy some of the most popular sightseeings.
• Try out some great local beers.
• Join the night life in bars and clubs.
• If you are homosexual, you might be interested in gay-friendly venues.
• For a detailed guide to Brno, see Brno 101 – a website I wrote for one of my clients some time ago.

Valentino Rossi is fit again. Will he attract more than 250,000 motorbike racing fans this year?

Why is this the event of the year? What about the fireworks?

I love the firework festival! But you do not have to be a motorbike fan, yet you may easily notice something changes in the town every August. Streets are filled with people speaking foreign languages and the town literally doesn’t go to sleep for three or four nights.

Grand Prix of the Czech republics attracts more than a hundred thousands fans to Brno every year – record is 240,000 tickets sold. This is one of the few times you may see Brno on Eurosport – or, actually, on any TV station.

Hurray, I love racing. What should I do?

Visit the official webpage for the price of the tickets, detailed schedule of practices and races and advices on travelling to the venue. Also, read my older article about my favorite stand at the circuit.

I hate events like this. Will the MotoGP race affect my life?

Fear not. If you live downtown, you should prepare that Friday and Saturday night are going to be slightly wilder than usual. Also, it is better to avoid driving on D1 higway (Brno to Prague) on Saturday afternoon and evening.

Keep following our Facebook page for any actual news.

Will Valentino Rossi be OK after the hard crash several weeks ago?

Yes. Doctors allowed him to race in Brno. According to some rumors, he may even anounce leaving Yamaha for Ducati here.