Last Saturday, some team members of the Brno office decided to go for a hike around the Brno Reservoir. This is a great place to go when the weather is hot because the water and trees refresh the atmosphere! The Brno Dam is easily accessible by public transports and there are plenty of things to do for all the family!
How to get there?
From the city center, you can take tram 1 (direction Bystrc) or tram 3 (direction Rakovecká) and thirty minutes later, you can get off at Přistaviště (the harbor). You can also decide to stop before, at the zoo and walk up to the Brno Dam. There is a pleasant path that follows the Svratka River and leads to the lake in approximately 20-25 minutes.
The second option is to rent a bike and cycle to the dam. You can rent it in the city center, at Trojka, Café Podnebi or use the Rekola mobile app (shared pink bikes which cost 150 CZK/ month).
What to do at the Reservoir?
Once you arrive at the Lake, you can hike or bike all around it. Some paths are narrow and rocky so you want to bring proper shoes for it. On your way you will be able to see beaches and nice spots where you can stop to rest or to spend several hours sunbathing (don´t forget to put sunscreen on!). Note that there is a nudist beach too if you would like to enjoy the place naked!
During your walk you will be able to notice the Veveri castle, which was first erected in the 13th century. Throughout the centuries, it has been reconstructed several times and it still under renovation. It’s possible to take a tour of the castle but I have been told there is nothing special to see there. The tours are provided in Czech but you can use a printed commentary in English. However, the Veveri castle is hosting some events which could be interesting to check out. For example, on July 25th and 26th, there will be the small breweries festival on the top courtyard. The admission is for 50 CZK. There, you will be able to taste products from five local breweries but also listen to music and see a majorette performance. On August 7th and 8th, the castle will host a music festival which also takes place in seven other castles of the Czech Republic.
Besides this, there are also a lot of playgrounds for children and some of them are totally new! There are also possibilities to rent boats and pedal boats. You can also try out stand up paddle too! Or you can also dip directly in the lake! Some part might be cleaner than others though.
When you are tired of walking, you can reach other parts of the lake with the boat run by dpmb. You can get a discount if you have a public transport pass and you’ll pay 56 CZK. If you have a dog, you can bring it on the boat too but you will have to pay an extra fare.
During this trip, you will probably get hungry. No problem about this there are a good amount of places to have lunch. You can chose to go for fast food or for a proper seated meal. If you chose fast food, you will probably want to try Langos, which is a deep fried flat bread served with garlic, cheese and ketchup (this recipe is actually from Hungary though). If you chose to go for a proper seated meal, there are nice restaurants which served a a wide range of food: fish, sea food, Czech cuisines, salads… Anything to make you happy! The menu can be provided in English so, it’s even better!
