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

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.

Just a quick tip: follow Ryanair_BRQ at microblogging site Twitter.com. You’ll be the first one to know about all special deals for planes going from or to Brno airport.

You could fly to London for CZK 1 (€0.04) one month ago – great price, wasn’t it?

The 19th International Travel Trade Fair and the 18th International Fair of Regional Tourism will be held between January 15th and 18th at the Trade Fairs Brno.

The exposition will be available for public on Saturday and Sunday. A ticket is worth CZK 80 (€3).

All the regions of the Czech Republic and a number of foreign regions and incoming agencies are once again taking part in the REGIONTOUR trade fair. Foreign central tourism offices, foreign tour operators, travellers and other famous personalities, and all the leading Czech travel agencies are preparing for the GO trade fair. This all goes to make the GO and REGIONTOUR trade fairs the tourism business and information centre of Central Europe.

Attention is also to be devoted to a number of new topics – congress and incentive tourism, cultural tourism and golf tourism.

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