I was in this area was a little under 10 years ago during our world trip but I don’t recall learning about Brno and I don’t recall meeting anyone who has traveled to Brno. I think it’s because Brno is centrally located between Prague, Budapest, Vienna, and, Bratislava. It’s unsurprising Brno is overlooked given that line up. I had a wonderful time playing tourist and I want to bring Jac and Miriam to the area sometime soon.
Brno has all the quintessential ‘Old European City’ features like: a castle, a river, at least one cathedral with many churches, and, at least one public square. I’m glad I was mailed here because the city was neat, the countryside was beautiful, and, the tourist activities were quite a bit of fun. I often found myself alone or one of a few people at the different tourist activities. Despite the solitude, I was told repeatedly ‘a lot of tourists come to Brno’.
Just like my trip to China a bit over a year ago, I was surprised with how much things have changed in the decade since I’ve visited the area:
- Traveling was easier. I did zero planning due to my season of life and the short notice for this trip. The ratings feature Google maps, ‘open hours’ feature, and, step by step walking / driving directions in parts of rural areas simply didn’t exist last time. The younger American coworker I was traveling with was dumbfounded Jac and I somehow managed to travel AND have a good time without knowing exactly where things were located, what their hours were, or how much fun the activity / site may be.
- There are wayyyyy more American brands around beyond McDonalds and Starbucks. I was surprised to see Popeyes in the Brno old city center and even stopped at a food truck selling “South Carolina Beef” which was neither beef nor tasted like anything I have had in South Carolina.
- I was able to buy tickets online for the various tourist activities so I don’t have to wait or be surprised with which tour I purchased due a lack of translated tour information.
- Cellular data and my mobile phones worked seamlessly. Setting up an esim took two seconds and was super easy.
- I was mistaken for German more often than not and quite a few people seemed surprised I was an American. I wondered if it’s because Brno isn’t a common destination for Americans or if it’s because I’m quite a few pounds lighter than the last time I was in this part of the world and look more European-ish.
A handful of items remained the same:
- People are still people despite the cultural differences. Americans can be a lot warmer / kinder to random people on the street than most places in the world but everyone everywhere is helpful to those in need (for directions, suggestions, chit-chat, whatever) and are warm / kind to strangers once an actual conversation starts.
- Germanic orderliness is still present – I was in a hurry and tried to order my dessert with my meal in Vienna only to be told “no, you will order dessert after you eat your meal” by the waiter. I thought nothing of the comment but my younger American coworker was surprised since we’d never hear something like that in the US. Even crossing crosswalks out of turn is still quite the faux pas.
- I, just like last time when I was a tourist, still did things that do not happen in other parts of the developed world, like, manually ring a 15,000lb bell in a cathedral tower for all the citizens of Brno to hear during a tour at 1:27pm, or, touch bats in a cave while on a tour in the Moravian Karsts. I’m not sure if ringing cathedral bells or touching bats are common tour activities, I just asked the guides and they said “sure”. These ‘extras’ make being a tourist in places like the Czech Republic even more fun.
- The food was great and the costs were lower than the US. I was introduced to an amazing dessert called venecek which is sorta like a donut sliced like a bagel with a light whipped frosting between the top and bottom. I was very happy to see the Czech Republic is still a good deal.
- Most processes are still hot garbage – getting rental cars, checking into / out of hotels, going through airports are still needlessly complex and time consuming. The various big companies in USA have streamlined sooooo much of those processes which makes traveling / checkin / check out / checking of luggage / rental cars 1,000% easier. We are spoiled in the US.
Overall, it was a great trip and I was happy I was mailed to Brno even though it was on fairly short notice. It was amazing to experience the differences and see what’s the same. I am excited to go back but this time with my family 🙂.
Enjoy the photos!
