A dozen of the most interesting and important museums in Brno are joining 2011 Brno Museum Night. On the evening and night of Saturday, May 14, you are free to explore their exhibitions, look into the places that are not available during the rest of year and enjoy the company of tens of thousands of people roaming the town.

Brno Museum Night 2010. Source: brnenskamuzejninoc.cz

If you have a flute, bring it with you – and join the crowd around the Mozart’s statue at Zelný trh sq. at 7 p.m. to play the best known melody of Magic Flute and aim for the world record.

The event got a nice English and German language websites. Check out the hour-by-hour guide.

Photographer Carlos López covered Animefest.cz, the oldest and largest anime and manga convention in the Czech Republic, for Brno Now. If you met some strangely dressed people roaming the streets of Brno last weekend… so, here is more!

Follow Brno Now Event Calendar to learn about events such was Animefest.

Four girls at Moravian square

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A machine gun girl

Check out the complete gallery!

There are two large (well, speaking of Brno measures) and quite interesting music festivals going to take place in Brno this Thursday and Friday.

Čarodějáles (“witchfest”), inspired by the tradition of “burning witches” on the Walpurgis Night, brings some mascara to Riviéra outdoor swimming pool on Thursday, April 28. There are three stages, occupied mostly by Czech and Slovak rock bands. Tickets cost CZK 350.

Majáles takes place in the sport areal at Hněvkovského st. (in quarter Komárov) on Friday, April 29. It is a “spin off” of probably the oldest Czech student festival, held in Prague since the 1960s (and attended even by Allen Ginsberg in 1965). There will be four stages and the genres will be more diverse than at Čarodějáles. Tickets cost also CZK 350.

Aromasound concert flyer

New bouffet [byfé]

In a hurry, but still hungry for a good Czech meal? Check out [byfé], a new bouffet at 1 Lidická st., in the building of [mju:z]. Vilém Harašta’s team is cooking moravian pork roast with cabbage, smoked pork with horseradish sauce, goulash, cakes with vanilla cream and other Czech specialties during workweek from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Get free tickets to any party you want

Be the first one in the comments below this article to respond our question: what’s the name of the beautiful villa hosting [mju:z]? – and get two tickets to one party of your choice!

Hint: check out older Brno Now articles about [mju:z].

Easter menu

From April 23 to April 25, [mju:z] restaurant offers Easter menu, inspired by traditional local cuisine and consisting of…:

• Rabbit liver pâté, parsley chip and marjoram foam
• Rosemary lamb roast with spinach-garlic mash and nettle filling
• Lemon cream and pistachio cracker

Price for one is only CZK 295.

April events

Thursday, April 14: JazzFestBrno Jam Session

Jam session of Dmitry Baevsky Quartet and Carla Cook Quartet (after their concert in the Town theatre). The performance takes place in the non smoking part of the club and the entrance is free of charge.

Friday, April 15: Aroma Sound feat Martin Svátek (Nvigators, Madfinger)

“Brand new funky aroma from Brno”; a smooth mix of pop, funk, jazz, groove and latin music. Support: Funky Night and Dan Keschen
CZK 80

Saturday, April 16: Avantgarde, Beat Up Crew DJs & Dancers

CZK 50

Wednesday, April 20: Easter party of German high school

DJs Aka & Dan Keschen, affordable drinks and early start – at 7:30 p.m.
CZK 50

Thursday, April 21: Satan Said Dance, Bitchbook Party

Indie, nu rave & 8-bit
Resident: Nintendocore Princess
Support: Havana Brothers
Drink of the evening: Cosmopolitan
free entrance

Friday, April 22 / live in the beer hall

Tha Gangnails, DJ Tchichiman, VÖYD live visual performance
Original punk’n'roll party
CZK 100

Friday, April 22 / live in the club

SŠUM Easter party with ROW – D, Cube, Fuckers
Hip-hop style
CZK 30

Saturday, April 23: B-day mishule párty

DJ Týčr
CZK 40

Saturday, April 27: Oldies but Goldies

DJ Starec
free entrance

Thursday, April 28: Queer House

Final party of the festival Days of the European cinema
Nu jazz, nu brazil, groove house, funk
Dan Keschen & guest
The party starts right after the screening of movie House of Boys and you can use your cinema ticket as a ticket for the party.
CZK 30

Friday, April 29: DnB Muse

DJs: Panzer (Redrum), UfO & Musicant (Pohon), Flea, Parus Major, Motouch (Vendeta Contest Competitors)
CZK 50

Saturday, April 30: Big Present Party

RnB, Disco, Oldies,
DJ Týčr
CZK 40

David Dorůžka, one of the most prominent Czech jazz guitarists (source: Wikipedia Commons)

Michael Formanek Quartet, Dmitry Baevsky Quartet featuring Joe Cohn, The Stoner featuring David Dorůžka… and many more great jazz bands and musicians are going to perform in Brno between April 13 and April 21.

The 10th season of Jazzfest Brno starts next Wednesday and takes place mostly at Fléda and Semilasso clubs.

Schedule

April 13, 8:00 pm @ Fléda

Paradox (FRA)

Michael Formanek Quartet featuring Craig Taborn, Gerald Cleaver and Tim Berne (USA)

April 14, 7:30 pm @ Brno City Theater

Dmitry Baevsky Quartet featuring Joe Cohn (RUS/USA/CZ/SK)
Carla Cook Quartet featuring Darryl Ivey, Kenny Davis and Willard Dyson (USA)
Mju:z
Jam session

April 15, 8:00 pm @ HaDivadlo

Face of the Bass (CZ)
Limbo Electro Acoustic (CZ)

April 16, 8:00 pm @ Semilasso

Štefan “Pišta“ Bartuš JazzBrothers featuring Andy Middleton (SK/USA)
The Stoner featuring David Dorůžka (SWE/CZ)
Jam Session

April 17, 8:00 pm @ Semilasso

Will Bernard Trio (USA)
Mike Stern Band featuring Dave Weckl, Tom Kennedy and Bob Malach (USA)
Jam Session

April 18, 8:00 pm @ Fléda

Zuzana Lapčíková Quintet (CZ/SK)
Elena Sonenshine (CZ)

April 19, 8:00 pm @ Husův sbor

Tomáš Liška Trio featuring Daniele Di Bonaventura and David Dorůžka (ITA/CZ)
Vertigo Quintet and Dorota Barová (CZ/SK)

April 20, 8:00 pm @ Fléda

Robert Balzar Trio (CZ)
Dan Weiss Trio (USA)
Jam Session

April 21, 8:00 pm @ Semilasso

Vincenc Kummer Celebrates 70
JAZZFESTBRNO 2011 Celebrates 10

The festival has nice English-language website; tickets may be bought online, although it is not a “PayPal joyride”.

Prepare for loud groups of devils (known as krampuses in Austria) and angels, led by St. Nicholas(es), on the night of Monday, December 6. One of the most beautiful Czech traditions – masked people giving candies to good kids – takes place on the same day like every year.

In highly Catholic regions, the local priest was informed by the parents about their children’s behaviour and would then personally visit the homes in the traditional Christian garment and threaten to beat them with a rod. In parts of Austria, Krampusse, who local tradition says are Nikolaus’s helpers (in reality, typically children of poor families), roamed the streets during the festival. They wore masks and dragged chains behind them. These Krampusläufe (Krampus runs) still exist.

In the Czech Republic and Slovakia Mikuláš, in Poland Mikołaj and in Ukraine Svyatyi Mykolay is often also accompanied by an angel (anděl/anioł/anhel) who acts as a counterweight to the ominous devil or Knecht Ruprecht (čert/czart). Additionally, in Poland children find the candy and small gifts under the pillow or in their shoes the evening of 5 December. In Ukraine this tradition is celebrated on 19 December.

Source: Wikipedia

Sounds like a good reason for a party

If you prefer a shot of vodka to a candy but still want to enjoy the St. Nicholas tradition, then there are several parties for you this week.

On Wednesday, December 1, the 5th “Student party” will take place in Semilasso club (126 Palackého třída st.). People dressed as st. Nicolas, an angel or a devil will get a free entrace!

On Saturday, you may enjoy “crazy St. Nicholas party” with a travesti show in gay club Red Cat (25 Masarykova st.) and on the same day, there is a party at Tabarín (3 Divadelní st.).

The redesigned club is advertised by street art (source: facebook.com/fledaclub)

Bands Prago Union, Lesní zvěř, Lavagance (SK), Ventolin and Youcoco (SK) will perform live at the opening party. Resident DJs “Greatest Hits Collective” will most likely play until next morning.

Tickets cost CZK 150.

Rainbow flag, symbol of gay pride (source: Wikimedia Commons)

There are hundreds of gay or lesbian readers of Brno Now – I actually feel sorry for not having published this short guide earlier.

How gay/lesbian friendly is Brno?

Czech republic may be one of the most liberal countries in Europe and it legalized the “registered partnerships” of same-sex couples four years ago. However, south Moravia is probably the most conservative part of the country. This means:

• Holding hands on streets is generally OK for women, as this is recognized as a sign of a good friendship. I have never seen two men holding hands; it would probably look weird for some conservative folks.
• Generally speaking, same-sex kissing is OK on parties in clubs.
• Most gays and lesbians I know are not shy to tell their co-workers or schoolmates about their sexual orientation.
• You can still face homophobia but this kind of behavior is getting rare. Czech republic has a strong anti-discrimination policy (you can not be fired or disadvantaged for being a homosexual) and I do not know about any acts of homophobic violence in Brno. However, the first gay pride parade in Brno was harrased by skinheads several years ago, and the town refused to donate the GLBT film festival Mezipatra (although mayor’s son was acting in a gay porn) last year. So: the battle for equal rights is not over.

Gay or gay friendly clubs and restaurants

Of course, you can have a date in every restaurant in the town. However, there are venues that call themselves “gay friendly”, which means (among other thing) that it is somehow easier to find a mate there.

As far as I know, there is no “gay hotel” in Brno. I’ll let you know if that changes.

• Richard Club is, according to its website, the oldest gay club in the Czech republic. (Richard Club on a map.)
• Áčko is a nice café located right in the centre. It is one of the most popular places among the GLBT community. (Áčko on a map.)
• Some of my straight female friends love to party in Red Cat gay club, because there are no sleazy straight men harrasing girls that just want to have fun. (My friends are pretty clever.)
• I have spotted many gay and lesbian pairs in Salon Daguerre, although the café does not advertise itself as a GLBT venue. The same with café Spolek.
• My friend recommended me Depo Club at 7 Pekařská st., “the biggest gay disco in Brno”. I have never heard about it, just try it out for yourselves.
• Las Palmas is a gay wellness club, offering sauna and similar attractions.
• Feeling horny? Gibon club is a place to pick up some boy or man to have sex with. (Gibon club on a map)
• Dave’s club opened at 8 Hybešova st. in June 2011.

I would be glad for any feetback, further tips and so on. Let us know in the comments.

Old Brno at night, with University quarter at the horizon. Photo by Zdeněk Softič

It gets worse in June, July and August, when most of the young folks leave town; the same with January and February.

Most Czechs socialize in pubs. They usually meet their friends there, talk about the past week and only some of them are interested in meeting new people. If you want to find new friends, forget about pubs and go clubbing.

So where is all the fun?

Most clubs are located in the city centre or close to it – within a range of 3 tram stops.

• Fléda is considered to be a cultural centre of Brno, offering wide spectrum of concerts and parties, targeting on 18-30 y.o. audience with “good taste”.
• Mersey is one of the oldest clubs in Brno – I haven’t been there for 7 years and can’t judge it, but it’s still popular, so give it a try.
• TwoFaces has a small swimming pool next to the bar and I know about several girls who celebrated their 18th birthday there. Any further questions?
• Mandarin, Viva la Fiesta and Tabarin are clubs to go if you are suntanned & slim and want to ball a chick or a boy. The newer BMW you have, the better.
• Red Cat is a “gay and friendly” club. Some of my female friends like it because no one stares at them there.
• Desert is a cigarette-and-whoever-knows-what-else-smoke-filled den with urinals that whistle when you open your pants, but you know what? I like it.
• Alterna is halfway between being a pub and a club – it’s a friendly place where students meet durink week days. There are several jazz/kletzmer/rock concerts every month.

For a list of author’s favorite pubs, see the article “5 pubs and bars to visit during MotoGP weekend“.

Safety

The night life in Brno is, basically speaking, safe. If you get in a conflict with a drunk man (or woman), keep your head cold and try to leave. If you are new to the town, try to avoid quarters like Cejl after dark. Read more about the safety of women in Brno.
General security number in the Czech republic is 112.

About the law (don’t give policemen reason to end your party)

You can get alcohol if you are under 18 – at least according to the law, which is often being broken by bartenders.

Drinking on a street or in a park is not illegal, but this may change during 2009 — town council probably considers people drinking wine during their picnic evil and wants to fine them.

You should make no disturbing noise between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., no matter whether on a street or in a private apartment. Fines go up to dozens of euro.

Share your experience

If the list does not include your favorite club, tell us in comments — all the other readers are curious about your tips!

Beer and sausages sold at the racing circuit certainly aren’t the best thing Brno can offer, nor the most reasonably priced. For authentic Czech pub experience, visit these restaurants in the centre of Brno:

1. Bláhovka

A girl drinking Pilsen and eating blue cheese balls with paprika at Bláhovka

“Hostinec u Bláhovky” is known for probably the best Pilsen beer draught in Brno. Bunches of men (an some women) are standing with beers in nearby streets (!) every evening, as the pub itself is crowded.

If you are lucky enough to get a seat, try roast pork knee. If standing, try Czech tapas – pickled camembert, blue cheese balls (“nivové koule”) or bread with butter and tvarůžky.

Zvětšit mapu

2. Panoptikum

Beer garden of Panoptikum

Modern pub (opened 2007) with good draught Pilsen and many tasty meals to choose from.

Zvětšit mapu

3. Pegas

Pegas is offering at least 4 unique types of beer

Microbrewery with unique products, incl. weizenbier, but also legendary rude waiters. Try at your own risk.

Zvětšit mapu

4. Zelená kočka

Old fashioned restaurant with excellent Dalešice beer on tap (and Oslavany sometimes). They often offer meals from game meat.

Zvětšit mapu

5. Modrá růže

Pub with low prices, various Czech beers on tap and closing hour as late as at 4 a.m.

Zvětšit mapu

Prices

A 0.5 l draught beer in Brno usually costs between CZK 25 and CZK 35 (€1-€1.5). During the MotoGP some pubs double their prices; I think the above-mentioned restaurants play a fair game and do not change their prices.

Prepare CZK 200-400 (€7.5-€15) for a big meal. The small tapas cost less than €2.

Most pubs usually do not accept euros or cards, however the policy about the first one may be changed during the MotoGP weekend somewhere.

Don’t forget a very impotant thing: driving under influence is strictly prohibited in the Czech republic and may lead to a fine of hundreds of euros. If you are sleeping in a camp, use a bus or a taxi to get to the centre.

Brno offers a high quality of life (at least in the context of eastern Europe) for a quite nice price.

Thinking about moving to Brno? These two tables will tell you all the prices you are wondering about.

Please remember that the numbers in euro were calculated on June 23, 2009 — they can change anytime soon.

Usual costs of living for an Erasmus student

Cost of living for a worker or a businessperson

Are you afraid of the five months you are about to spend in Brno? Stop! Thousands of young people have had the same feelings before but now they have great experiences! Brno Now will guide you trough the best months of your academic life.

1. Rent a room in a hipster quarter

Renting a room instead of a flat is a good way to save some money and to find some friends. Renting a room in a hipster quarter is another good way to save some money – and also to learn why is Brno nicknamed “the Czech Manchester”.

Try quarters Židenice, Královo Pole, Černá Pole, Staré Brno, Juliánov, Žabovřesky, Komín and Jundrov. Avoid Cejl (too much criminality) and suburbs (lack of social life).

2. Attend events organized by your school and research, research, research!

Every faculty has its way of making the students know each other. Don’t be a loner and don’t be shy – the other people usually come to the party only to become friends with you!

It’s also useful to explore materials published by your university and even by other colleges or publishers – it will make your relocation easier:

• Erasmus at Masaryk University (MUNI)
• International Students Club at VUT Brno
• Information for incoming students (VUT)
• The official page of the Czech republic

With a little research, you will find important information about your programme, contact for a study advisor and other knowledge that will make the stress go away.

3. Become a hockey fan

Ice hockey is the Czech national sport and the club “Kometa Brno” has a cult following in the town, even though it participates “only” in the second league. A ticket costs only about CZK 60 (€2.15) and the atmosphere is just great.

4. Taste the local specialties

Go to a pub and order pickled camembert (“nakládaný hermelín”, CZK 60 per serving) and blue cheese balls (“nivové koule”, CZK 12 per serving)…

5. Visit the most popular pub

…or taste the specialities at “Bláhovka”, old-fashioned little pub near the the city. Many people swear by the quality of their Pilsner Urquell. Early afternoon is the only time there is a chance of getting a table.

Zvětšit mapu

6. Have a romantic date in a park

There are two beautiful parks right in the the city: around the Špilberk castle and around the St. Peter cathedral. Czechs are very liberal and they don’t mind pairs of people kissing in public. (I think that holding hands is OK for homosexual pairs, but I’ve never tested that.)

7. Learn to speak hantec

There is a quite funny jargon spoken in Brno – actually only in its pubs and, sadly, in the TV shows made in Brno, which makes the rest of the country think that we are dorks. Anyway: nothing is as cute as a foreigner being able to use some basic words:

Caution: speaking hantec in front of people from Brno may make you look cool. Speaking hantec in front of anybody from Prague will certainly make you look retarded!

8. Sail or bike to the Veveří castle

The dam in the west part of the city is popular for bike paths and also for excursion ships, departing every 30 minutes. About 8 km northwest from the harbour, there’s a castle called Veveří.

Because the dam will undergo a massive cleaning in 2009, there will be no ships this season – I recommend biking or walking to Veveří and back. Sailing will return in 2010.

9. Rent a bike and drive trough vineyards

Wake up early, go to the main train station, buy a ticket to Břeclav (a town near the austrian border), rent a bicycle and enjoy driving trough magnificent nature. Tourist Information Centre Břeclav has a great webpage with all the information you need. Beware: biking under the influence of alcohol is illegal in the Czech republic, fine may be as high as several hundreds Euro.

10. Add Brno Now to your RSS reader, weblog and Facebook wall

We will be here to bring you news and another lists of freewheelin’ ideas like this one. Are you here for the first time? Then read recent article on shopping in Brno.

Follow us and tell your friends and schoolmates about us! Just add our RSS channel to your reader of choice and publish a link to Brno Now on your website, blog or Facebook wall!

Credits

The beautiful girl in the headline photo was portrayed by karpov the wrecked train. Wordle was used to get the tag cloud.