One of the things I was looking forward to when visiting Prague was enjoying some of Mucha’s great works. Which I was able to but not at the Mucha Gallary. The staff was so grouchy and unfriendly it destroyed the experience right from the start. For example, before buying a ticket (which I didn’t do) I ask the staff a question regarding the collection and the answer I go was very rude, something like, “how should I know, do you want ticket, if not go on.” And the museum store staff, which does sell some high priced very cool Mucha stuff, was equally as rude and rather mad. This was not an English language issue because in Prague just about everyone speaks English especially in tourist places. Actually, I have to admit that most staff at museums that I went to in Prague were not particular friendly but overall the Czech people are really nice and hospitable. My recommendation when visiting museums in Prague and other tourist sites in Prague is to bring a big smile, flowers, and candy for the staff to cheer them up.
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I hope somebody from the gallery reads this.... My general impression of establishments in large cities (not just PRG) is similar; smaller muzeums or gallleries in smaller cities are probably less rushed, maybe feel honored that you chose them, I don%26#39;t know...I saw Mucha%26#39;s exhibition in Stockholm many years ago %26amp; it was great....As Mucha lived %26amp; worked in France, many people there think of him as their Art Nouveau Artist.
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…blueyonder.co.uk/slav-epic/introduction.htm
if you are interested in Mucha you should have attempted to visit Moravsky Krumlov
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Yes, I wanted to get to see Mucha%26#39;s Slav Epic but from Prague it%26#39;s way to big a day trip (about 3 hours on public transport each way). Hey this gives me an excuse to go back to the Czech Republic outback to see some of the cool castles, palaces, and small villages. Some people say however that all the great castles and such are in Slovakia, but not sure. Cheaper in Slovakia too, I understand. Need to do my research.
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Certainly a good excuse to come back, great castles in Slovakia, hmm don%26#39;t know really, Czechs/Moravians have great castles and quite a few of them!
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It%26#39;ll give you a good excuse to come to Brno (which is a large thriving city with beautiful churches, palaces and medieval streets rather than the %26#39;outback%26#39; - also much cheaper than Prague :) ) and explore the surrounding area! Moravský Krumlov is one of the wonders of the world (not the town, which is nothing really to write home about), but the contents of the chateau. And get there before Prague gets its grubby hands on the pictures! They are just fine where they are.
Plenty of %26#39;real castles%26#39; in the area - the imposing Špilberk in Brno http://www.brno.cz/index.php?lan=en , Pernštejn http://www.zamky-hrady.cz/2/pernstejn-e.htm and others, natural wonders such as the Moravský kras www.moravskykras.net/en/moravian-karst.html , romantic villages and towns heaving with wine and folklore, e.g. Mikulov http://www.mikulov.cz/tourism/ , UNESCO world heritage sites http://en.czech-unesco.org/ etc., etc.
I%26#39;ll have to stick up for Slovakia a bit on this one - there are some great castles such as Bojnice http://www.bojnicecastle.sk/ , Trenčín …wikipedia.org/wiki/Tren%C4%8D%C3%ADn_Castle , of course the iconic Spišský hrad http://www.spisskyhrad.sk/en.html Oravský Hrad en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orava_%28castle%29 to name but a few - however, it is no longer cheaper in Slovakia, and I would say that both countries are blessed more or less equally with regard to castles, etc.
As for your experience with Czech %26#39;customer services%26#39;, I have grown to expect and enjoy a bit of curtness. Their view is: %26#39;By buying a ticket you enter into a purely business relationship and that is where it ends - don%26#39;t expect any more. Your enjoyment of the exhibits is entirely up to you and you should have found out about them before you came.%26#39; But that is all part of the charm ... It will be a sad day when a smile from museum staff becomes de rigeur :)
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Thank you very much for all the tips and hyperlinks. I did hear that Brno was a neat place to visit. It sounds like renting a apartment there for about a month and just touring the local region would be a good thing to do. Can you suggest a district in Brno that might be nice to hang out and more or less blend in and take in the ambience. Also, any suggestions on great pastry shops in or around Brno? The sweets in Prague were good but I was expecting more what you find in Austria and Switzerland.
As a side note, my wife and I have been on the Asia route for the last 10 years but this last trip was back to Europe (Turkey and Prague). Turkey was nice with great people and food and sites but Prague has renewed my interest in Europe. I hope the Czech people stay on their course of maintaining their heritage (learning from their unique history) and being evironmentally and socially responsibile--and sort out all the western world junk as they further develop.
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There is a whole load of information here http://brnonow.com/ which should tell you all you need to know.
Brno is closer to Vienna in its architecture and ambience than Prague, and therefore the cafes, etc. tend to reflect that fact. I am not a great one for pastry shops, but in the centre there is U kapucinů which is next to the Capuchin church/crypt containing the mummified monks and bone chandeliers and also on the main square (náměstí Svobody) at %26#39;U čtyř mamlasů%26#39; (The house of the four ninnies) - you can%26#39;t miss it …mapy.cz/big/49cbfa162075b30082770100.jpg
As for places to rent for a month - the above link might help you there, but there are several very nice parts of town, some more expensive and exclusive than others. It is just a matter of finding somewhere that is available! Masarykova čtvrť is the most exclusive, and is full of art nouveau and functionalist villas, or Černá pole is where the Tugendhat Villa UNESCO world heritage site is situated. Veveří is also a nice place = especially around the beautiful art nouveau Konečného náměstí mojebrno.wz.cz/inka--brno-dalsi-zajimavosti-…
This site is all in Czech, but has some nice pictures www.mojebrno.wz.cz/inka--brno-osobnosti.html
More information about the SOuth Moravian region can be found here http://www.jizni-morava.cz/en/
Enjoy!
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