Kroměříž- a walk among the trees

Kroměříž is a small city remote 70 kilometers east from Brno. Route is really simple, you just need to get to the D1 highway in direction to Vyskov and then to Kromeriz. It takes not more than an hour to get there by car and an hour and half by train. Once you get there, there will be signs directing to the main point in the city such as the Flower Garden, Chateau or the city centre.

Kroměříž with its 30 000 inhabitants is situated along the Morava river, the original settlement became a city in 1260. Its history is closely related with the dwelling of the Olomouc bishops, who used Kromeriż Chateau as summer residence.

I think most people visit Kromeriz mainly because of its beautiful and trimmed gardens. There're only two in fact, but they are the ones that attract people.

We started with the Chateau Garden, which is only a 2 minute walk from the main square called “Velke Namesti”. Parking in the city centre is chargeable, but we  found a place in front of the tennis club and close to the Bishop’s Mint House (Chobot street, Na Sladovnach street) that was free of charge.

When I walked in through the gates I was startled when I saw so many animals in it. I didn’t expect peacocks walking freely, monkeys in cages or corral filled with dear or different kinds of pigeons. I though this garden will be as usual, huge, green park at the back of the Chateau, but it was different. Since the establishment in 1509, it changed its look several times. It was a vegetable and fruit garden in 17^th century, then a baroque garden, then in 19^th century it was rebuilt into a stylish landscape park as we see it today with more than 200 kinds of trees from Europe, America and Asia. There’re creeks and ponds that goes through the park, which is the reason there’re so many lovely and admirable bridges. The area is really vast, about 46 ha, so if someone is not in the mood for walking, it is possible to hop on  a mini bus for a guided 40 minute tour .

Everything in Kromeriz is within foot distance. Chateau with observation tower and Archbishopric Mass Winery, town hall, main square, Bishop’s mint house or baroque church of St. John the Baptist. From Chateau through the Pilarova street to the Flower Garden leads UNESCO path, which goes through important places in Kromeriż. On its ways there’s the Moric Church situated on Stojan’s square, Academy of Justice built in Neo-renaissance style situated on Masaryk’s square or a XIX century corner building of grammar school. Even the second garden, which on the city map looks as it was  far away from the city is only about 10-15 minute away on foot.

Flower Garden, mentioned earlier was founded in 1665 as an axial garden, built on an elongated rectangle. Inside there’re labyrinths made of geometrically trimmed bushes, 3 to 4 meters high bushes that look like walls or colorful French style flower compositions. There’re also two buildings: Rotunda with rare Foucault’s pendulum  demonstrating the Earth rotation and 244-metre-long colonnade, where you can climb and admire the breathtaking view on the garden.   The entrance to the Flower Garden costs 40 kc per person.  Currently half of the garden is under reconstruction, but it doesn’t diminish its beauty. Fortunately, the part with stunning, brimful with colors and shades flower composition was opened to public. It looked the same way as I imagined it, but I suggest visiting Kromeriz during late spring, summer or early autumn, when hues are the best. I wouldn’t go there during winter, because the city wouldn’t  have its charm.

During our visit in Kromeriż, we indulged ourselves in delicious dinner served in one of many restaurants on the main square. Everyone will find something that suits best among vegetarian restaurant, pizzerias or traditional Czech restaurants. We ended up in a restaurant serving classical Czech cuisine, CENTRAL. Name not very visible at first sight, but food was palatable and served quickly. 

If you're interested in visiting surroundings of Kromeriż go to the city's official webpage. 

Enjoy!

Cebinka observation tower

Cebinka observation tower

Today my boyfriend and I took advanatage of a beautiful and sunny weather and we set off for a short before dinner trip. Our destination was an observation tower located in a small village Cebin remote about 15 kilometres northwest  from Brno.  You should hit the road E461 directing to Svitavy, but after few kilometres take the turn to Kurim and follow the road 385 to Cebin. Several hundred meters behind the sign with the village Cebin name on it, there’ll be a huge parking space on your left(if you’re going from Brno), where you should stop. In front of it there is a restaurant called Cebinska chaloupka.  Surprisingly this particular parking is also a perfect place for...shopping. There’s one little booth with vegetables like potatoes, onions, pumpkins and garlic, of course everything originated in the Czech Republic. And the second one, my favourite stand with fresh peppers and apples straight from the orchard.

Even though we didn’t plan any shopping , 3 kilos of delicious peppers land in my kitchen afterward. Before we move on to observation tower, I just need to add that vegetables in Cebin were twice cheaper than in a supermarket in Brno.

In order to get to the “Cebinka”observation tower, you need to cross the main street and follow the green path for one kilometre. We were a bit confused, because on the micro region map as well as on the Internet everything indicated we should follow the yellow trail. We thought it must have been a mistake and follow the green path hoping we’ll get where we planned. I felt like I was mountaineering for a while, a vertical wall stood in front of me waiting for me to get wet and tired, but I boldly march further, step by step thinking:  Thanks God it’s only a kilometre. ..

Now only 161 steps ahead of you and view from 30 meters high is all yours. From the up you will see Tisnov, Moravian Karst, Vysocina region or  transmitter Hady in Brno(Klajdovka). You can admire not only the beautiful landscapes but also enjoy fantastic greenery we are surrounded by.

Everything for only 20 kc from April to October only on weekends. 

 Behind parking space and the main road

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Ivancice - letovisko

Ivancice Letovisko

Since heat doesn't lower even for few degrees, the best place to spend a weekend or time after work is at a lake, pond, river or swimming pool. You can either choose one of the crowded swimming pools in Brno(Kralovopolsky, Kravi Hora, Dobrovsky or Riviera) or you can go about 30 kilometres by the city to Ivancice Letovisko. It's south west from Brno. You can choose among different bike paths leading to Ivancice, take a train or jump into a car to get there. On Saturday we decided to go there on bikes, it was a "brilliant" idea. In temperatures exceeding 30 degrees we were literally dying. What's more route is demanding a bit, constant up and downhills or road between crops in a full sun didn't make it any easier. It took us more than we expected to get there, about 2,5 hours. We rode through Brno Bohunice, Moravany, where cycle path 403 starts, following the path to Nebovidy and Orechov. Be careful there, if you don't want to make up your way, turn right on Brnenska street, don't follow the path 403 anymore. You should reach Siluvky in several minutes, then still following Brnenska or road number 152 you'll get to Moravske Branice, next stop Ivancice Letovisko. You'll recognize the place immediately. Many cars parked on the roadside and restaurants on the right side of the street are the distinctive marks. If you want to go to Ivancice by train, keep in mind that during summer break, there's a closure on the line and bus is put instead of train. It takes about 45 minutes to get there. We liked that place so much that we wanted to go there again on Sunday, but this time by car. GPS lead us to D1 highway in directions to Prague, we took the first exit to Ivancice, turn left to route number 23 and then follow to Tetice, Neslovice and to Ivancice. Set your GPS to Ivancice or Moravske Branice, Ivancice Letovisko is between those two. 

 Although no attractions are provided, people visit it with pleasure. One of the main advantage is enough space on the grass around the river to sit down. It's nothing like other places, where people touch each other while lying on the blanket. What's more kids can play outside the water as well as in it, as it's really shallow in some places. I recommend however putting water shoes, because little pebbles at the bottom of the river are not very comfortable to walk on. I also noticed that older kids had fun using small "waterfall" as a slide or jumping place. At a first sight it seemed safe, but the minute I went to slide on the mattress I was injured. But that's only my fault, I missed the mattress;) Kids were joyful and were happily returning to repeat their activities one by one. Teenagers and adults also found their point of interest, they were jumping in the river from about 2 meters high tower. This didn't seem secure at all and I wouldn't dare to do it, but it's possible thanks to an artificial dam, which keeps the river on sufficient deep. Water is amazingly refreshing after a 2 hour bike trip. Trees separate the river from the street, making cover from the noise. Even though once in a while some fast cars drove through, it wasn't disturbing.

If you're not dog's lover, you'll definitely not like the fact that dogs swim freely in the river. Let's just hope they don't pee there.

 And one more point to consider, there's no lifeguard, therefore keep an eye on your kids while they're around water.

Boskovice castle and Western city

A week ago, for the second time, I visited Boskovice castle. Weather was warm and pleasant, not too hot-perfect for sightseeing.

Boskovice castle is about 40 kilometers north from Brno. Hit road E461 in direction to Svitavy. Recently often visited by my boyfriend and I.  After you reach Cerna Hora turn right on the next crossroad-signs to Boskovice. Once you’re in Boskovice, go straight on through the city until you reach signs directing to city centre. We parked at  the main square, on Saturdays after 1p.m. it’s free of charge, the same during week but after 6 p.m. On Sundays no charges are taken all day. 

The distance between main square and Boskovice castle is not big, it’s merely 2 kilometeres. Behind the town hall, which by the way is also available for tourists, turn right and follow the signs as well as yellow or red trail.

The entrance fee is extremely cheap(35 kc), but that’s because you don’t have to pay for a tour guide. The only tour guide you get is some sheets of paper with facts about the castle. You’ll read about different families inhabiting the possession through ages, its history or about usage of particular rooms.  Instructions are available in different languages-they also have one in English.

Tour shouldn’t take more than 2 hours. You should arrive at latest 30 minutes before closing time. During summer castle is opened till 6 p.m. Keep in mind that it’s closed from October to April. Full opening hours may be find here

Every important spot at the castle is described in the tour guide and of course corresponding name plates with numbers are located around the castle. There’re 16 stops in total. During your first stop you can admire the casket miniature of the ruins or supposed shape of the castle during Renaissance. What’smore at stop 8 you’ll learn that there used to be two floors. The first floor served as a representative room and on the second floor rooms for guests were situated. It’s quite hard to imagine because only ruins were left. For my taste, families had limited space there, but maybe I’m wrong. There’re also few observation points at stops 11,12,13 and 15 on each side of the globe. Entrance to spacious, dark and currently empty basements were also allowed, they used to serve as huge pantries.

Even though we spent quite a while on the castle, our trip didn’t finish there…

Because we still had some time, we went to Western city. It’s about a kilometer from the Boskovice castle, signs directing to Western city are visible from the city centre, so it’s easy to hit the target. A green path from the centre should also lead hikers there. Car park by the Western city is huge, but it cost 50 kc per day. One of the interesting things we were told before we even get to the city was the fact that  the only valid currency in the city is boskovice’s dollars. It’s possible to exchange it at the bank, in the saloon or in the exchange, conversion rate is 1:1.  We were also recommended places we should visit and showed how to get to the western city. It’s about 500 meters I guess, we got there within few minutes.

 All attractions in Western city are opened until 6 p.m. every day during summer. In addition every Saturday a country disco or gigs take place. So called Saloon 1870, which is also a restaurant and a pub is opened 24 hours per day. Men dressed as cowboys or Native Americans, women dressed as western or saloon ladies dancing country, quite a view. You could feel the atmosphere of Wild West. While adult long for the night, by day children are lured by Rodeo, Ancient World, horse riding or jungle park. They can also go for a horse show or learn how to throw a tomahawk. Inviting activities for kids were also gold washing or archeological excavations.

I found it really creative and extraordinary that it’s possible to spend a night within the area. You can either sleep in a wigwam for 200kc per night, pitch your own tent for 50kc per person, sleep in one of the hotels at the main street or rent a western style wooden house on “suburbs”for a bit more money.  Maximum capacity in those houses are 10 people. I think it’s popular destination for holiday camps.

Parents and their offspring will not be disappointed with time spent in the city, I guarantee.  

Western city's official webpage here