Coming near Olomouc this Fall!

[boohiss13]

My husband and I are FINALLY making the trip to CR and his home is in a small village that is about 15-20 minutes outside of Olomouc.

Would someone please tell me the best places to visit....castles, springs, ANYTHING..that is in this area?

Oh, and about Olomouc...could anyone tell me about any good pubs, bars, or discos to go to (if there are any?)?

My husband, Marek, is a TERRIBLE planner, and I think I will have to plan most things before we go myself.

Dekuju!

Nancy

[Jana]

Hi Nancy,
just try www.olomoucko.cz - it is partially in English too, or www.olomouc.com (in Czech only). I was born in Olomouc, married an American and we are currently staying in Olomouc, so if you have any questions, just let me know.

[Sigma]

Lucky you!

I spent about eight months in the last two and a half years on Olomouc and I love the city. Hopefully I will be able to go back in a few years.

Last summer I spent three months in Olomouc (stayed in the university dorms) and travelled all around Moravia.

There is a spring (or is it a spa?) just southwest of Olomouc in a small village called Slatinice. I only went to the village (very small) to watch a soccer game, thus I don't know any thing about the springs (spa).

http://www.lazneslatinice.cz/

There is an interesting castle in a town called Sternberk (north of Olomouc). A good day trip is the Javoricko caves and the Bouzov Castle. This page tells a little about the Bouzov caste and Javoricko caves.

http://www.czech-tour.com/moravia.htm

I would recommend a trip to Kromeriz (south of Olomouc) to visit the Archibishops's Chateau (and the huge garden in the back). The 17th Century flower garden (other side of the city) is also interesting (if you like flowers).

I could go on and on, but I think that is enough information for now.

Have fun in Olomouc!

[boohiss13]

Thanks guys, I appreciate it!!! I'll visit all those sites and see what I can cook up.

What would you say was the % of English speaking folk in Olomouc? Like I said, my husband's village is about 15=20 minutes in a car away, and he has NO family members OR any friends that speak English that he knows of. (Although he jokingly told me the other night that after a few beers in the pub people speak all kinds of languages. Ha ha ha )

Oh, and the bars/pubs/discos....either of you go to any that are worth mentioning in that area? I'm a bit of a barfly, myself, and will be looking to go out quite a bit.

Also, what would a trip from the Olomouc area to Germany be like? I'm thinking about driving time, how difficult that driving would be (traffic or whatever), what hoops we would have to jump through at the border and so on. For example, would it be more sensible to take a train instead of a car or something?

I appreciate you answering! I'm really looking forward to the trip!

Nancy

[Jana]

Well, about the pubs in Olomouc - there are plenty, but so far that one called The Irish Pub is preferred by English-speaking people who stay in Olomouc (English and American students of Palacky University, business people working here or just visitors), so you can hear the English language there quite often. For Czechs speaking English here, there is a rule my husband developed: the younger they are, the more probable is they will know or speak at least some English. Considering the number of university students (about twelve thousand) for whom English is more or less obligatory or necessary, as well as the fact that the old city of Olomouc is the second largest historical reservation of the country, many people here speak some English.
As for the trip to Germany - train is rather expensive, unless you have some student or disability ID for discounts, and a car trip will take one day to the border (about six to eight hours). Bus might be a little better (faster and cheaper), but our roads are a lot worse than those you are accustomed to. Instead of Germany, I would recommend a trip to Austria, namely its capital Vienna, a beautiful city on the Danube river. From Olomouc, it is about three hours of driving distance. The itinerary is Olomouc-Brno-Mikulov (a nice little border town with beautiful castle)-Vienna. Mikulov is open for U.S. citizens, contrarily to several other border passes serving European Union members only.

[boohiss13]

Thanks so much!!! All this info will be really helpful!

As far as places needing to be preferred by English-speaking folk, like myself, that's not really necessary. I'll be with my husband and his friends, so it is not super-important that the place be a draw for people who speak English. My husband was young when he left (still young now ) and I wonder what his knowledge is of good places to gather in Olomouc.

My husband is originally from Velke Losiny, although we will be staying in a village much closer to Olomouc when we arrive. There is a spa, I am told, that is quite well known in Velke Losiny. My husband is terrible at describing things, so I wonder if you could help me with this as well....the spas...

Here in the US a spa, I think, is a bit different than in CR. What I'm wondering is if any of the spas in the Olomouc/Velke Losiny area are places that you would spend then night or a weekend, or are these places where you would just bathe in the springs during the day for a bit and then travel on?

I have a broader question that goes along these lines, but I'll put it in another thread...we'll be celebrating our anniversary while there and am looking for ideas...

Again, all this is VERY helpful to me and I appreciate it. I want to make the most of our time there!

[pismomalir]

My girlfriend and i run the new little backpackers hostel in Olomouc, and we have a map with our recommendations of good pubs, cafes, etc, which we give to each guest. we could definitely spare you a couple of copies., we're kind of a bit over the irish bar, but the russian bar next door is great. The Hanacka Hospoda on the lower square is my favourite restaurant, and is very friendly to our english-speaking guests. The teahouse drevena panaka on hrncirska ulice is also very good, and you musnt miss the hot chocolate at kavarna kraska dne on panska ul.
I'm Australian, so speak english (of sorts!!), and if all else fails, i'd be happy to meet up with you for a coffee and a chat.
My favourite daytrips from olomouc are to the east; to helfstyn castle www.helfstyn.cz, and to the open air museum at roznov pod radhostem. september and october are my favourite months to be in this beautiful part of the world.
Zatim ahoj a stastnou cestu, Greg
P.s. if you are in america, watch out for the upcoming la times story featuring olomouc; i think the publishing date will be june 14, but it's already been delayed once, so who knows??

[Sigma]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by boohiss13:
<B>
My husband is originally from Velke Losiny, although we will be staying in a village much closer to Olomouc when we arrive. There is a spa, I am told, that is quite well known in Velke Losiny. </B></font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Some info on the Spa can be found on this link (in Czech) --- however, it doesn't appear to be that helpful.

http://www.losiny.cz/lazne.htm

Just found another link

http://www.spas.cz/losiny/index.html

There is also the Zerotin Chateau in Velke Losiny.

Here is a site which has links to some day-trip ideas around Olomouc

http://www.hostelolomouc.com/main.php?open=daytrips

[Sigma]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by pismomalir:
My girlfriend and i run the new little backpackers hostel in Olomouc</font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Good to see another hostel in Olomouc. I stayed at a hostel above a book store/restaurant (I forget the name). I then spent another two and a half months at the University dorms, which were a good deal during the summer.

When I am back in Olomouc (hopefully soon!) I will make it a point to stay at your hostel.

[boohiss13]

Whoa! Took me a while to get back here! Thanks so much for all the info....I need it! We'll be there for three weeks..and my husband has planned about 4 things for us to do...so looks like the rest is up to me!

Thanks so much for all the info! I'll check everything out!