I spent ten days in Czech Republic to attend a travel blogging conference. After the main event, I spent a few days exploring South Moravia thanks to the Czech Republic tourism board. They invited bloggers and content creators to discover and explore the region. Needless to say, all opinions are my own.
I’ve been to Czech Republic several times in the past. The first time was in 2007, visiting Prague as a student. Since then, I’ve been to this beautiful country several times, visiting cities tourists not necessarily go to: Ostrava, Pilsen, Ceske Budejovice, Ceske Krumlov, Prachatice, etc.
But I had never been to Brno, the second largest city in Czech Republic. So I went there for the event, checking out the beautiful things to do in Brno. And after that, I spent a few days with other bloggers exploring South Moravia. What was it like? What did we do there? Follow the guide!
Blueprint family manufacture
Our group met up in the morning, and we were greeted by the welcoming and friendly Tereza, a local guide who stayed with us during the whole trip. We hopped on a van and our first stop was in a blueprint family manufacture in Olesnice. It was very interesting, it’s the fifth generation of the same family doing this.
This house was used as a manufacture since it was built in 1816. It’s not a museum, this is actually where they live! Five people sew, and one guy is printing. He can make up to 70 meters per day. Impressive! You can literally find anything you want… in blue: calendars, curtains, clothes, decoration, etc. And of course you can buy yourself an authentic souvenir if you want to!
Boskovice
After the interesting tour of the manufacture, we went to Boskovice. We first had lunch in a great restaurant called Hostinec U Rudyho (the music in the background was great!). The food was delicious, typical Czech dishes (dumplings, etc.).
After lunch, we started visiting the city. Boskovice is an old Jewish town. Jewish have been living in this city since the 14th century, probably from 1556 actually. Boskovice is very charming and quiet (it’s a small town!). We saw Hermann Ungar house, a famous writer who used to live there. We also visited the wonderful synagogue which dates back to 1639! This is were were learned 458 Jews were deported in 1942…
After the synagogue, we spent some time at Hrad Boskovice, the Boskovice castle. It’s a massive castle up the hills in ruins. It’s quite big and there’s a well you have to see. Plus you get nice views of the surroundings from the castle. We also had tea in a cafe nearby.
Cerna Hora
Our next stop was Cerna Hora, another small town in the region. We first went on a brewery tour at the Cerna Hora Brewery and Restaurant. Our guide explained the whole process, how they’re making beers, and showed us the brewery. Needless to say, we ended tasting beers ourselves! We loved them, no wonder why the Czech love beers!
After the brewery tour and the beer tasting, we went to our hotel to have dinner at the hotel’s restaurant. Again, we had great Czech food. We stayed at Hotel Sladovna. A great hotel from every aspect: the rooms are spacious and clean, the breakfast is great and their wellness center is so good! We spent quite some time there, enjoying the saunas, the Jacuzzi and the swimming pool.
The Moravian Karst
The next day, we left the hotel to head to the highlight of our trip: the Moravian Karst region with more than 1,100 caves! Five of these caves are open to the public, and we explored the Punkva caves. You can’t do it on your own, you have to go on a guided tour, which lasts about one hour. You first walk through the caves with a guide, then you hop on a boat for a ride on the waters of the caves.
After the boat ride, you end up at the Macocha Abyss, a gorge 138 meters deep. This is also where you’ll find the Punkva river. We hopped on a boat again but this time the boat ride felt like a roller coaster! But it was fun! After the boat tour, we went up to a platform to admire the Macocha Abyss from above.
Rajec Nad Svitavou
We all had a great time discovering the Punkva caves. We had lunch right after at Skalni Mlyn, where we had great Czech food again. In the afternoon, we visited Rajec Nad Svitavou, a wonderful castle of French style built in the 18th century by a French architect. Inside the castle, you can admire wonderful paintings and a collection of porcelain and prints. There’s also an impressive library with over 60,000 books!
Wellness Hotel Panorama
After the castle, we went to our hotel for the night, Wellness Hotel Panorama. The staff is friendly, the rooms are clean and well-decorated and we had a nice balcony with a view of the surroundings! We had dinner at the hotel’s restaurant, and we left the next morning.
The Slav Epic Museum
We went to Moravsky Krumlov to visit the Slav Epic Exhibition Center, a museum about the history of Slavic people from prehistoric to modern times. You’ll admire there enormous canvasses painted by Alfons Mucha from 1910 to 1928. The largest ones are 8 by 6 meters. The paintings are arranged in a historically chronological order. The style is a bit peculiar, but interesting.
RAF House Ivancice
After that we went to the top of a tower of the Moravsky Krumlov castle, and we ended our trip having lunch ar RAF House Ivancice. It’s actually part of a museum telling the story of Czechoslovak who fled their occupied country to the UK to support the Royal Air Force. Looking around, the decoration reminds of the 1940s. You’ll find documents, photos, paintings, items, etc. of that era. And the food -a mix of local, British and French cuisines- is great.
It was already the end of our trip in South Moravia! I have to thank the Czech Republic tourism board, the region of South Moravia, the city of Brno and the Traverse team for this wonderful trip! I honestly had a great time, and many people who watched my stories on Instagram said they didn’t know the region was that beautiful! I’ll be back for sure! If you want to spend some time in the country, check out this list of places to visit in Czech Republic!
- Traveling soon? Check out my travel resources page! This list of travel accessories can also be useful!
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