Brno

Coming into Brno I had the idea in the back of my head that it was going to be a very small city for some reason.  I was surprised after getting around the city for a couple days how big it actually was.  For example, when we got lost coming home from the Tesco it took us two hours riding busses all over the city to even find a bus that would stop at our hotel.  I was also surprised that there was a lake and a beach so close to the city.  Having been in big cities for the last couple of weeks I just never thought about the fact that even though we have been in very populated areas that the areas still have bodies of water surrounding them other than rivers.  It was so nice to be able to relax by the lake for a couple of hours.  It kind of reminded me of home!

My favorite academic experience in Brno was the Roma museum.  I didn’t know anything about the Roma people previous to visiting the museum and so it was fascinating to be able to learn so much about then.  Not only did we learn about the history of the people and about their culture, but our tour guides also told us about the issues that the Roma people are facing today trying to assimilate into the Czech culture.  One of the biggest struggles they’ve had is getting their children the education they need to be successful members of the Czech society.  The “ghetto” they live in is also being gentrified which is putting pressure on them to move, but it’s hard because landlords in other areas of the city don’t want to rent to them. 

The Lake

My favorite part of our couple days in Brno was definitely our little trip out to the lake.  Me and about ten others from the group decided to take the afternoon we had off and go out to a local lake that some of the students from last year told us about.  It wasn’t what we expected at all but it was such an awesome change of pace.  There was a small carnival going on nearby and that was fun to walk through and experience.  Once we got to the grass beach it was gorgeous out and so relaxing.  There were quite a few locals around and some small outdoor eating places.  It was nice to get to know everyone a little better in such a different environment or atmosphere than we’ve been in for most of the rest of the trip. 

Since we were only in Brno for two days me and a couple of the girls decided to just grab a couple things from the Tesco to eat for dinner the first night and lunch the next day.  It had such a good selection of foods and it was all so cheap! I got 3 bananas, 2 yogurts, a couple of chocolate bars, and granola for the equivalent of just over four dollars.  To get to the Tesco from the dorms we took bus number 25 up the hill to the supermarket. 

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