Blague #16: Weekend Trip to Brno!

Ashlyn Long

Saturday, June 1st

Today marked our first weekend trip away from Prague to the lovely city of Brno. The morning started with my friends and I getting coffee and pastries at one of our favorite spots near the apartment named Pekařství Na Nuselské, that was first recommended to us by our program director. From there, our class met and loaded onto the bus for our 2 hour trip, in which our first stop was to drop our bags off at the hotel so that we could get lunch and start our exploration of Brno!

On our agenda for the day was attending a festival that is held annually in the so-called Bronx area of Brno as our program director told us, named Ghettofest. Ghettofest is a significant cultural event that is organized by local residents and held in a neglected part of the city. During the festival, the street and park, which many Brno residents usually avoid,

become the center of the festival. This is because it is believed that a shared and positively defined public space in this way can reduce the boundaries between people across ethnicities and social strata.

It was beautiful to see all of the artwork, short plays, and even meet the illustrator of a children’s book that we later got to hear the author read aloud to a group of eager and attentive children.

Although this festival was different than anything I have experienced back home, I absolutely loved getting to witness it and seeing the different people it brought together through their many talents and love for their culture.

Goodnight from Brno!!