Joanne and Muriel in Europe: Brno (lots of dead people in this one if you're squeamish)

We decided to stop in Brno because it was half way between Prague and Bratislava. As it turns out, Brno is an awesome little town with lots of things to see. The place basically shuts down for tourists on Sept 30 and we got here on Oct 2 so it is nice and calm here. No free walking tours though. Lots of churches and a striking amount of underground areas to explore.

First order of business, find our apartment. It was close to the train station so we walked. But first we had to find some sushi place to pick up the keys. We found the keys and then the apartment. Wowwy!! Fancy!

This is our building!

Our first night we went out and did a bit of exploring but it was raining and we were tired so that didn't last long. We did find the tourist office though and grabbed a bunch of brochures. For a town that doesn't seem to have any tourists, they really know how to put out a brochure! They have one for underground, one for kids, museums, restaurants and many more. We took all of those home and used them to the decide what we wanted to do with our two days here. And caught up on laundry!

Day one was supposed to be less rainy so we went up to Spilberk Castle. 20 minute walk up hill. Those old royals did love to put their castles on the tops of hills...

Met this guy on the way to the castle. He was really tiny.

Who's this? I have no idea but the statues here
all seem to have mustaches.

In order to go into any castle rooms or anywhere interesting, we would have to pay. We just weren't that interested so we consoled ourselves with a coffee and cookies. Which probably cost as much as the entrance fee but choices have to be made!

We weren't too far away from the underwater tanks. We had no idea why this would be a thing but it's a thing here. So, to the tanks! Boy! I'm glad we did. So cool! There are three huge underground tanks that supplied the water to Brno until ? The first was built in 1874, the next in 1894 and the last was 1917. The last one was actually two but have since been combined for the tours. The first two were made of brick and the last was concrete.

We managed to catch up to the English tour that had just started in tank #2 (1894). It seems so huge but it is actually the smallest. I took a million photos but they all look kinda the same.

The water was up the the red brick ceiling. Now there is just a bit on the ground. Just enough to create a very atmospheric reflection.

Next was tank #1 (1874). It was more divided and the floor was rounded so it was harder to walk around.

Then onto tank# 3 (1917). It is huge. The echo is incredible. The guide said the echo can last up to a minute. Some of the more baritone voiced men really reverberated. It was super eerie. The concrete wasn't as picturesque as the old bricks but the sound made up for it.

Some graffiti on the ceiling from the workers
who did repairs on Feb 16, 1925.

Lucky timing, we were there just in time to see this weird laser and sound show. It wasn't too much and it only lasted a five or so minutes. But to be down there with the booming sound and the lights out was a bonus. They have concerts down there with the crazy echo-y sound. I wish we were going to be here for the Gregorian chanting.

I would say this doesn't do it justice, but it kind of does.

(Next day, on the train to Bratislava... I finally figured out how to order a latte on their stupid app. But this time we are in Business class so we have a waiter. No app needed).

After our Tank tour, we headed back to the Freedom square where there was some sort of Oktoberfest going on but we didn't have any cash left and we weren't sure how to order anything from the tents. There is very little English signage here. So, we went to a restaurant and had an unsatisfying burger and a very satisfying lemonade.

And enjoyed the view of the famous Brno phallic statue.

Brno is a nice city but not nearly as photogenic as Prague or Vienna. There are tram wires blocking pretty much every nice building.

Another famous Brno statue. A very tall horse.

Since Brno can't compete above ground, they really do up the underground! Next stop, an ossuary (unsorted bones!). The brochure said it is only second to the Paris Catacombs. Count me in! Poor mom, more stairs, more dead people. It may be 50 000 people buried down there but it only has three rooms to look into. No Paris to be sure.

That was enough cellar-dwelling for one day. We just headed home after that and had an early night.

Next day, we are getting quite lazy now that we are on the right time zone, I didn't get up until 8:30 and we didn't get out of the apartment until 10:30. First stop, the main square and the fruit market. There has been a market here for the last 800 years! But we didn't have any cash and again, we weren't sure if we could pay with card, so no veggies for us that morning.

And admired (?) another famous Brno landmark, a Baroque fountain, which I think is kind of ugly but if you leave a fountain long enough, nothing can be done about it (Note to Victoria city council!)

We were trying to find the underground tour under the town square. We found the exit and the old entrance before we finally found the new, updated with an elevator!, entrance. Like I said, Brno knows what side of their bread is buttered (in this case, the underside). There would be an English tour at 3 so we decided to do a different underground activity. The Capuchins have a crypt here too. But instead of Habsburgs and super ornate coffins, this crypt has mummies. Townspeople and monks. This one may have been too gruesome even for me. No photos of course, one must respect the dead. Unless you paid 30 CKNs, then you can take all of the pictures you want. You may have already guessed, I paid the 30 koruna.

I have to wonder how these people would feel. They were placed in a crypt under their church 300 years ago looking like this:

And now some grubby tourist is taking their picture looking like this:

It was having his portrait there that made it all too real that this was an actual person with an actual life and now he is just a mummified body. My crisis of conscience was short lived however, I took more photos but no one else had their pictures on the walls.

Important (rich) townspeople

Capuchin monks. No fancy coffin for them
just bare ground and a brick for a pillow

After those dead people, we headed up to the Cathedral. St. Peter and St. Paul Cathedral I think. Or vice versa. They call it Petrov. We hiked up hills and stairs and circled the church. The front door was very elusive.

So, we stopped at a restaraunt tucked in the basement for lunch. It was a nice place for a basement (sort of). French food with servers from all over the world. Only one person spoke English so she got to serve us. My soup and dessert were excellent, my main was fine.

Then we kept circling until we found the door.

Success! The front, door included!

Funnily, when we came out of the cathedral and just went downhill for half a block, we discovered that the church is directly behind our apartment. Like, just there, around the corner. We could have saved a lot of hills/stairs but we would not have found our little lunch place.

Finally, it was time for our English tour of the underground labyrinth under the Town Square. It was an interesting crowd that was gathered for that tour. We've noticed this on other tours as well. We are often the only native English speakers on these English language tours. Lots of Europeans, just not local Europeans. We saw lots of Asian tour groups in Vienna and Prague but not here, at least not so far. Of course, I don't think Brno is on many international lists so it's not surprising.

Anyway, there was about 20 people which didn't seem unreasonable until we started the tour. The underground rooms started out as cellars for family homes. So they are small. I mean SMALL. There is no way 20 people would fit into any of these rooms. And I am always last, since I can't be first, so as to take pictures after everyone else retreats. I didn't hear much of the tour guide's talk. Cellars, old.

This is a map of the labyrinth as they call it.
The pink parts are escape rooms :/

Plus, each room was 'recreated' with stuff to make it seem more accurate to the times. Anyway, take these pictures as they come. I tried but I was working with limited material/circumstances.

Brewery/winery

Wine bottles

Tavern

Down an original well. That is scum on the water so...

After we reemerged into the upper realms of the Town Square, we headed home. Here are some last photos of Brno. We liked Brno a lot and would definitely recommend it for a couple of days if one was in the area.