Hello everyone, and welcome to my 3rd blog as the student ambassador of the International Relations and European Politics program here at Masaryk University. By now, it should be well established that studying the International Relations and European Politics program here at the Faculty of Social Studies was one of the best choices I have ever made and why I like the program this much. We also discussed the various places you can visit or do either in Brno or the surrounding areas during your off-time from your studies. This blog will take a mixed approach to discuss our lives in Brno; we are going to be mixing some academics (in the form of university credits) with traveling.
As a bachelor's student of Masaryk University, it is obligatory for students to complete at least two physical education credits to finish their studies at the university. These PE courses can be searched for in the Information System by searching “p9” in the Course registration/enrolment section. I do believe there is something for everyone in terms of the variety of PE courses available; students can choose from simple body exercises like functional core training, spinning, and yoga, or they can take up some sports like football, futsal, floorball or even wrestling/other combat sports if you’re really up for it. However, my favorite PE course at the university was “p947- Hiking.” The Hiking course is excellent and offers two different ways of enjoying nature in the Czech Republic. On one side, there are seminar groups that travel to different places within the Czech Republic on three separate days, and the other option is going for a two-and-a-half-day trip and camping out in the woods, etc. Both options provide a lot of opportunities to have fun, learn a lot about the Czech Republic, and also to get to know its flora and fauna.
When people come to Brno, they get to hear many things about the city, one of the main things that everyone mentioned about Brno was how “there are no rivers or hills near Brno.” Even I believed these claims for a long time until I took the hiking course. The first hike was done in Brno itself. It was a 16 Km hike around the city. There were several hills and amazing views. It was my first official hiking experience in the Czech Republic, and it was a lot of fun. Hikes usually take place in groups of 20-25 people, so you also get opportunities to get to know new people and socialize. The hike is also definitive proof that Brno does have a river and quite a big one as well. Not only that, there were areas that are also home to a lot of deer, so while hiking, you might just see a lot of deer, which is always cool.
The second hike was after a week, so we could have some time to recover. There were two main locations for the hike on the second day: Palava and Mikulov. The second hiking trip was arguably the best one. It was tiring. We had to walk a total of 40,000 steps, but it was worth it. The view from Děvičky Castle was fabulous and really picturesque. There were times when we were walking through vineyards, and it really just gave us a Tuscan vibe to the hike, the hills were magnificent, and the hike was peaceful. Sadly there are no deer on this hike, but there is an animal that I would argue is even better than a deer; I am talking about ponies. Yes, you might just encounter ponies on the walk from Děvín and the Martinka rock to Mikulov, which might just be a huge motivating factor for many.
The last hike wasn't really a hike, and it was more like a relaxing walk after the intensive workout in terms of walking 40,000 steps the day before. The final day involved us going to the Moravian Karst. It was an easy hike and only involved one hill. Although once again, the view and nature surrounding us were breathtaking. Although we could not see any ponies or deer on this trip, we were accompanied by a lovely golden retriever of another random hiker who was a joy to look at and hike with.
All in all the p947- Hiking is a good way to earn some credits while exploring the Czech Republic. I highly recommend it to everyone, regardless of their previous hiking experience.
