A LARP game organised by Court of Moravia

Do you enjoy movies, but you would like to experience something more? How about becoming a hero of the story, influencing how it ends and experiencing the movie atmosphere in person?

We are not talking about trip to L.A. here, we are talking about larp.

Larp is new way of entertainment for active people. During one evening you are going to become somebody else, experience new adventures with your friends and have fun in the way you never did.

Civil association Court of Moravia has been making such role-playing events in Brno for seven years and right now you can enjoy them in English. On Saturday, 28th May, you are invited to a Hollywood party as a famous director, a beloved actress or a charming actor. But the fun is not only about juicy characters; you´ll follow a story that happens to the characters and you´ll dragged into love affairs, movie business, personal dramas and all those things the true stars enjoy.

If you fancy the idea of spending one evening out of your ordinary life, check out the web site and learn more about larps in Brno.

We´d love to welcome you.

If you are interested, join the players in Café Kunštátská Trojka at Dominikánská st. on May 28 before 3 p.m.

Court of Moravia got a nice billingual Facebook page.

A part of a wild boar family

Thinking about a nice Sunday hike? Get a trolley bus to quarter Kohoutovice and enjoy a game preserve at hills Holedná and Hobrtenky.

Located only 15 minutes from Mendlovo sq. in the centre of the town, the preserve is a great place where to spot deers, moufflons and wild boars (safely locked in a large cattle-range).

Cute, isn't it?

It is allowed to feed the boars – just remember that although they like bread, it is bad for their health.

Your kids will be fascinated by the animals.

Holedná and Hobrtenky hills are a wonderful place for hiking, biking on running. It is easier to start in Kohoutovice quarter, because you’ll go downhill – but if you want to do something for your health, hike from Jundrov or Bystrc uphill.

Map

The green arrow shows the location of the wild boar range. Deers and moufflons live all over the forrest between Kohoutovice, Bystrc and Jundrov quarters.

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There are several open air swimming pools in the town – try out one of these on your next day off!

Kraví hora

Outdoor swimming pool at Kraví hora (source: kravihora-brno.cz)

Kraví hora outdoor swimming pool is located five tram stops from the city centre, next to the great indoor swimming pool.

In July and August, the place is opened from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m; 3 hours of sunbathing and swimming cost CZK 50, all-day ticket is worth CZK 100.

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Riviéra

Riviéra in Pisárky quarter (source: rivec.cz)

Located next to the Exhibition ground, outdoor swimming pool Riviéra was a promising project in the early 1990s, but it quickly turned in one of the stillborn businesses of the early Czech capitalism. However, life is returning to the huge area and you may enjoy several swimming pools, as well as other leisure time facilities.

Riviéra is opened daily from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and all-day ticket costs CZK 90.

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Dobrák

You may know about Dobrák from a recent post about an open air cinema running there until the end of August.

All-day ticket costs CZK 95 but you’ll get a CZK 30 discount after 4 p.m.

Btw, you can check out a webcam capturing the swimming pool.

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Zábrdovice

Spa in Zábrdovice, next to Zbrojovka factory (source: lazne-brno.cz)

Designed in the 1920s by renowed functionalist architect Bohuslav Fuchs, “spa” in quarter Zábrdovice is not a shiny place anymore. On the other side, with entrance fee of CZK 80, it is one of the cheapest places to go for a swim.

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Brno dam lake

Technically speaking, Brno dam lake is not a pool, but hundreds or thousand people swim or ride boats there every day. State has invested a lot of money to clean out the water and there is a nude beach located on the northern bank, approx. 2 kilometers from the ship dock.

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A ferry boat on the Brno dam lake (source: Wikimedia Commons)

After two years, ships are sailing again on the artificial lake above the Brno dam. One of the best ways of spending a day off in Brno had to step aside last year due to the lake’s cleanup.

A two way ticket from the docks in quarter Bystrc (tram stop Přístaviště, accessible by tram line 3, 9 and 11) to castle Veveří cost CZK 170 (€6.60). The ships sail every day from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Of course, you can take shorter sails, for example to return to Brno with your bike from a long trip.

All the ships have orlop decks, so you can stand a little rain (source: Wikimedia Commons)

Last week, brand new ship “Lipsko”, named after Leipzig, the German twin-city of Brno, was baptized. It can carry up to 200 passengers.

Map

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Brno Runs 2009 (source: brnenskebehy.cibasport.cz)

If you are a passionate runner, you should not miss the event called Brno Runs 2010. Four comptetions will take place at (and around) Náměstí svobody sq. on Sunday, May 2, 1:00 p.m.

The most prestigious race is clearly the half marathon of Brno. If you worry about your heart, you may take a part in the “Parents and children” event on a 300 meter track.

Brno Runs 2010 have an English-language website providing detailed instructions for runners.

source: Kohoutovice.cz

New wellness complex in quarter Kohoutovice opens on Thursday. Being focused mostly on families with children, it features 25 m pool, smaller pool with back flow, jacuzzi and sauna.

The building got unofficial nickname “Armadillo” for its distinctive design. Its total capacity is 350 visitors. Pools will open on 6 a.m. and close on 10 p.m. every day. According to idnes.cz, one hour of swimming costs only CZK 45 (€1.8).

The wellness complex was built by the town for CZK 211M (€8.4M). It does not have a website yet.

Map

The pool is located at Vaňhalova st.

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You can pay for a ride at the racing circuit Automotodrom Brno, but some people miss the money, some the car and some the necessary experiences. However, you can download the track, as well as the old abandoned temporary circuit Masaryk Ring, for the most popular racing simulators.

Automotodrom Brno for rFactor

Someone called “Baule” created a virtual version of Automotodrom Brno for popular realistic racing simulator rFactor a year ago. You can download the track for free.

Masaryk Circuit for Grand Prix Legends and rFactor

The original track going through the narrow streets of Bosonohy, Kohoutovice and Lískovec was abandoned 25 years ago – but you can enjoy it in two games. The original version (a 1965 track layout) was created for an older game Grand Prix Legends and you can download it for free, too. There is a port for rFactor as well, but you have to be paid members of community website SimRacing to download it. I found an older version of the track on some obscure warez site, but it did not work.

Other games

According to Wikipedia, Automotodrom Brno can be enjoyed in these games: Race Pro, SBK-09: Superbike World Championship, GTR Evolution, SBK-08: Superbike World Championship, Moto GP ’07, Race 07, GTR 2 – FIA GT Racing Game, Race – The Official WTCC Game, TOCA Race Driver 3, GTR – FIA GT Racing Game, Test Drive Le Mans.

Links

• Automotodrom Brno – official webpage
• Czech site dedicated to the old temporary track

On February 14, a quite romantic event will take place in the park at Kraví hora – a group launch of flying Thai lanterns. You can get two lanterns for free if you print out this leaflet and be the first to show it to the promoters:

Click the image to view the full size leaflet

If you are not lucky, you can still buy the lanterns at the place.

Video and map

Sky lanterns look beautiful:

This is where the event takes place (note the green arrow):

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I discovered this video of powered paragliding, taken at (or rather above) the water reservoir in Bystrc, and I knew I had to share it:

Later I discovered somebody who is recording his downhill biking accomplishments and uploading the stomach-rising videos to Vimeo:

I absolutely adore these young fellas, jumping and skipping at park “Denisovy sady”. Actually I think that this sport, called “le parkour” is the most dangerous one out of the three sports mentioned in this article:

If you know about any other extreme sport achievements captured on film anywhere in (or near) Brno, let us know in the comments.

Sledding (source: Wikimedia Commons)

Brno is covered with snow, so let’s have some fun with sleds!

Large green field in park Akátky

I sledded there every winter when I was a kid.

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Park at Kraví Hora

Popular among people living downtown.

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Fields around hills Medlánecký vrch and Palackého vrch

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Wait… I don’t have any sled!

You can buy sled in any supermarket for approx. CZK 1,000 (€40) or for much better price in secondhand goods stores.

The very first incity snowboard park in the Czech republic was opened last week in park “Čertova rokle” in quarter Lesná.

(This is not an image of the actual snowpark at Lesná. Source: Wikimedia Commons)

The facility is accessible daily from 3 pm to 8 pm and there is no entrance fee!

Via: Brno.iDnes.cz

Map

Approximate location of the snowboard park:

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Sadly, there’s only one really recommendable, modern swimming pool in Brno — the one located at Kraví hora, in quarter Masarykova čtvrt.

The modern interior of the facility. Note Špilberk castle in the window. Image courtesy of www.kravihora-brno.cz

There is a 25 m long swimming pool with 6 separated tracks, a jacuzzi for 10 persons, steam and fountains.

Always check the number of avaible tracks in this table (empty place = empty track).

One hour costs CZK 70. It’s good to remember Czech words MUŽI (gentlemen) and ŽENY (ladies) to prevent yourself from entering bad showers.

It’s easy to park a car in front of the swimming pool, which is also easily reachable by a tram #4, departing from Česká st.

Map

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Other swimming facilities

When I lived in the eastern part of Brno I enjoyed the swimming pool in quarter Lesná. There’s no steam and the building is old, but the place is clean and nice. One hour costs CZK 50-60 and you also have to check the number of free tracks.

A stupid thing is you can not start swimming on 9:30 and quit the pool on 10:30 – the pool has to be empty on the 55th minute of every hour. Edit: according to reader Tomáš, you can enter anytime. And there is a sauna. Cool.

A brand new swimming pool is being constructed in quarter Kohoutovice. It will be opened sometime in 2010.