5 December - Tugendhat House, Brno

Another day, another architectural marvel. We'd planned a trip to Brno's Villa Tugendhat House even before we bought tickets for Europe this year. We set off walking to the villa after breakfast, hoping to find a coffee on the way. It was a heady -2, but according to Google "felt like" -7. Still, significantly warmer than yesterday, though overcast and grey instead of perfectly clear.

Just before we got to the house, and still with plenty of time to spare, we got to a nice-looking cafe. No luck though, as it appeared to be undergoing renovations. We ended up waiting outside for a few minutes before the guide came out - you can only go in on guided tours. The Mies van der Rohe-designed house is very simple from outside - quite unassuming, though its simplicity must have been quite a sensation in 1929 when it began construction.

The villa was built in 1929-30, but lived in for only a few years before the Jewish Tugendhats had to flee. It was used by the Nazis in the war, then used as a dance school. It was then taken over by the new Socialist Czech Republic and used for physical therapy. Only 12 years ago it was completely restored, all surfaces and all the built-in furniture, at a cost of over 10 million NZD.

The front facade to the street consists of a large glazed wall curving around to a dark timber front door. Again for the era, it was very unusual in that the bedrooms were upstairs, and the living below, with utility areas below that again. The bulk of the house is therefore below the road, facing out and down to Brno Old Town across a fabulous and generous sloped lawn. I imagine it sits on the best site in Brno.

The first room we entered was the entrance hall. The quality of the design was immediately apparent. Surfaces were white, simple and unadorned. Doors were all full height, the floor of simple white linoleum, and fixtures minimal. Van der Rohe's aim was that the house would be barely noticeable - as architects said at the time "a machine for living".

Next was Mr Tugendhat's bedroom - a gorgeous space. Very clean, crisp and a superb view out across the grounds to Brno. Talking about it with Karen after the tour, we agreed that it was our favourite room despite the living area being amazing. It was surprising that in a 900m2 house the bedrooms were very compact, way smaller than one might expect.

The parents' bathroom, all mod cons for 1930

Going downstairs to the living level it was clear where all the space went - it was super generous. Steel post and beam construction was new for the time, and in this house the floors are supported by chromed cruciform columns and beams, allowing the living space to be very open and flexible. It's hard to describe the plan - the front facing out was all glass in enormous panes. On one side was an exceptional multi-piece circular dining table for up to 11, surrounded by a curved wall clad in Macassar mahogany, the most expensive wood available. On the other side was the living area, and behind that a huge wall consisting of 5 panels of onyx from Morocco. The cost of the onyx alone would have bought any other house and property in the area, leaving a bit left over for its cars and more! Mr Tugendhat's accountant was apparently not happy. Behind the wall were their more private living areas, the library and Mt Tugendhat's desk.

The main sitting area, the window in front can be lowered completely.
Note the onyx wall.

The view out to the city and Spilberk Castle

From the rear, back to the front, dining behind the curved wall

The more private resting areas behind the onyx wall

Downstairs were utility rooms, including a very early aircon, heating and ventilating system. The villa used 40 tonnes of coal per year for heating! One fabulous feature was that two of the enormous front windows could be completely lowered into the basement to open the dining and living areas to the outside.

From below

So, a fabulous place to have seen. Well worth the detour on the way back to NZ to see one of the best houses by one of the 20th century's best architects.

Karen standing at the foot of the horse

We wandered back into Brno, taking the time to have my first svarak (hot mulled wine). Most enjoyable on a cold grey day.

We made ourselves a simple lunch, and then headed back out to visit the labyrinth - a series of storage cellars that had been dug under central Brno premises, and eventually became connected to form a network of tunnels. They'd been used originally for storage, some for wine, some as refrigerators by filling them with ice in winter which would last until the next winter. Some became taverns, some labs for alchemists.

4 December - Brno

Brno is a lovely change after the Mediterranean where we have spent the last 2 months. The people are of course all wrapped up in thick padded jackets, almost all in black. The buildings look very northern - all cut stone, turrets, and pale colours. The weather is of course much colder, a scary -8 this morning when we woke. 

The streets in the centre of Brno are very wide, open and clear. There's not much street furniture, very few parked cars, and mostly no kerbs. It seems very open and plain compared to elsewhere we've been this year. There are plenty of pedestrians but no cyclists at all - with the recent snow and all the ice and snow still on the streets they'd be a nightmare to ride. All the squares, even the smallest ones, have Xmas stalls selling drink, food and Xmas goods. Drink is clearly a big thing here. There are clearly many different types of hot alcoholic drinks available apart from mulled wine, and many stalls sell types of slivovitz. 

We breakfasted in to allow the temperature to rise a little and let the sun came out. Good ploy, as it was very pleasant heading off on a walking tour of Brno. We are fully kitted - here's what I had on... Hiking boots and merino socks, merino underwear and t-shirt. Merino long-sleeved shirt and merino jacket. Down jacket, and another thick down vest. Woollen scarf and merino beanie. I was warm, but I needed all of it. A bit of wind and I would have needed another layer, which I don't have available!

We began the day with a coffee in a lovely cafe, then headed off around Brno. Stops on our walk included the two biggest churches, and the town hall where the tower didn't open until later. Much is closed on a Monday here. 

Town Hall, town dragon (actually a crocodile) hanging in the entrance passage

The Capuchins crypt was a bit of an odd one. It lies underground of course, and contains the mummified bodies of monks and various nobles who chose to be left there. The nobles were in glass-topped coffins, the monks lying in groups directly on the ground, with one or two bricks as a pillow. They were mostly nude apart from a cover over their hips, and were black and dessicated. A fascinating if not very pleasant sight. From there up to Spilberk Castle overlooking the town. We may revisit the castle tomorrow when it opens for visits inside.

In the Capuchins' Crypt

Spilberk Castle

Looking over Brno from Spilberk Castle

For lunch we bought some nice fresh rolls and fillings at a supermarket and retreated to our pleasant studio to eat them and take a little time out before a second trip around Brno.

In the afternoon we followed a trail of the best modernist (between the wars) buildings of Brno. The architecture here is rather like Prague in that almost all buildings have at least some architectural merit, without the random mix of styles, fads and short-lived buildings that most cities seem to have. Here there are really only two main styles - the slightly baroque more ornate buildings of the 18th and 19th centuries, then the cleaner modernist ones from the 20s and 30s. The latter, which were very innovative when they were built, have picked up a lot of cues from the older buildings, and the two styles combine together extremely well. All the buildings have been built to last, and the quality shows.

Crisp, clean modernist buildings

We did manage to have a look in a few second-hand and antique shops we found during our tour, finding one lovely little Moser glass to add to our collection of small glasses.

By evening we'd walked some 15 interesting kilometres, so stopped off for a piece of cake, a hot chocolate and a coffee in the same cafe as in the morning.

Look at the colour of that hot chocolate!

We finished off the day with a Vietnamese meal and Pilsner Urquell beer in a very nicely decorated restaurant. 

Evening Xmas market

We didn't realise that an elephant was part of the nativity scene?

Svarak is the local mulled wine, hot and spicy.

3rd December - Barcelona to Brno, Czechia

We were up good and early to be out of the apartment and on the doorstep of a nearby bakery by 7am to buy rolls and other nibbles for both our breakfast and lunch today as we were going to be on the move. 

The bus station was only a short walk away from our room, so we were aboard the bus to the airport soon after 7am. It was a good thing that we arrived at the airport with plenty of time on hand, because we found we had quite a lot of juggling to do between our bags after we'd weighed them. Clearly the baggage scales we have in Ceret are inaccurate, by perhaps as much as 2kg. We'd booked two large bags plus a 10kg bag on Ryanair, and were also allowed two very small cabin bags. With juggling we came within the weight limits ok, but after we'd checked the bags in John had a minor hernia. He realised he hadn't transferred his IT bag, which contains our USB travel charger and cables, a powerpack, the mouse, headphones and 2 sets of earphones (all including lithium batteries) etc from the 10kg bag into a cabin bag. The official result should be that the batteries and charger would be discovered when the bag was screened and all of them would be turfed out (including John's expensive headphones). An awful lot of money and hassle to replace them.

He sweated it out for the next three hours until we landed at Vienna. The heavens must have been smiling on us because the bag had not been opened and all the IT gear was intact. What does that say for the airport's security screening system? We wonder if the bag didn't get screened at all because for some reason this small bag had to be deposited at the odd-sized goods counter rather than where the two large bags were on-loaded. Who knows? We were manifestly relieved at the outcome and at the same time have learnt never to make the same mistake again. 

The flight itself from Barcelona to Vienna was great. A huge snowstorm had blanketed much of southern Germany, Austria and the southwest of Czechia the day before, forcing flights to Vienna to be cancelled. However, we were extremely lucky that our flight today was not only flying, but also left more or less on schedule and flew through brilliantly clear blue skies. We had wonderful views of the snow-covered landscape. Surprisingly the snow was lay on the plains and lower-lying cultivated or pasture land, whereas the forested ranges looked free of snow.

Flight over Austria

On exiting the plane the change in air temperature from Barcelona was immediately obvious. In Barcelona the night before we'd had a gelato because it was quite mild. Here, it was just +2 degrees! We had a three hour wait until our bus arrived to take us direct to Brno in the Czech Republic, but the time seemed to go pretty quickly while tucked up warmly in the terminal building. Our Flixbus left promptly at 4pm. The sun was already starting to set so we had only about 20 minutes before it got dark and we couldn't see much outside the window. We both managed to snooze a little on the 2hr+ drive to Brno.

Landscape en route in the bus to Brno

Arriving in Brno

When we arrived it was so much fun jumping out of the bus. It was night-time, the place was lit up with city lights, snow was everywhere and it was -3 degrees. Huge grins were exchanged. After gathering our gear we set off on the 10-minute walk to our Airbnb. As we were approaching it's front door we passed two guys with two lovely husky-type dogs. When one of the guys saw us peering at the apartment keypad they came racing up and let us in. They were the owners, but for some reason thought we were arriving at 8pm. They were exceptionally welcoming and made sure we were happy with the apartment before setting off to their own place. The apartment is a step up on the rather ordinary place we stay at in Barcelona. We choose the latter because it is in a superb location in the Gothic Quarter in the historic centre and is very close to both bus and train stations. By contrast, our hosts here had left prosecco and sweets for us. 

A lovely welcome

By now it was nearly 7pm and time to find a meal somewhere. We are right in the centre of the old town, so a quick walk around revealed that some great exploration was on the cards for tomorrow. First stop was a supermarket just around the corner where we bought some supplies for breakfast for the next few days, then on to an eatery John had found by Googling. It turned out to be a family restaurant and very popular with locals. We found a seat in the corner. Nearby was a large family group very much enjoying the conviviality of the evening, and the beer. We saw all the adults supping 3 large pints each plus 2 shots of brandy during the time we were there. 

The menu - help!

The waitress seemed rather surprised when I ordered a non-alcoholic beer, and double-checked it was what I actually wanted. John ordered what turned out to be a nice light stout. Our meals could not have been more different from the dishes we have been eating during the last month or so in France or Spain. I had beef in a thick rich gravy accompanied by bread dumplings. John enjoyed pork ribs cooked in beer and with mustard and some sort of cheese. We added a plate of grated beetroot to provide some veges. My dish was very tasty, John's not so much. Thinking it was appropriate that we try a Czech dessert, I opted for a traditional Czech biscuit with cream and John chose apple strudel (of course). 

Firs Czech meal of the trip

Before taking our orders for dessert the waitress returned to take our next order for beer. Again, she looked a little surprised when we declined. Everyone in the restaurant was enjoying large quantities and on every table is a paper checklist - the waitress just keeps ticking the boxes as each beer is ordered and you take the checklist up to the cashier when you pay for your meal. 

Walk around our neighbourhood

Steaming food in an Xmas stall

Xmas stalls in the main square

The town hall tower

Wrapping up in our layers we walked the short distance back to the apartment, loving the enveloping heat as we stepped inside. Stripping off all the woollies, indulging in a cup of tea and snuggling into a very comfortable bed was a delight after another big day of travelling. 

2 December - Sagrada Familia, Palau Guell, Barcelona

We had been quite early to bed but unfortunately slept badly - a heavy cover on the bed that isn't what we are used to. Hence, we stayed in bed for a bit in the morning. There is no point getting up early anyway because nothing opens nor do the streets start to come alive until 10am. We found a little place to have a coffee and small omelette for breakfast, the omelette appearing rather surprisingly inside a bread roll.

We made our way north to Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's stunning cathedral, which was started in 1882 (141 years ago) and will hopefully be finished in just another 10 years' time. We have been inside several times - in 1982 and again in 2009. It must be time for another inside visit, but this time we contented ourselves with looping around it. What a sight! It is so enormously complex that it is very hard to make sense of it all. When completed it will have 18 spires, the tallest and largest of which is being built now and will become the tallest church spire in the world. We took plenty of time doing our circuit, gazing up at the incredible artistry and vision that has gone into it. There had been huge progress since we last walked round it, not that long ago. The executive architect happens to be a New Zealander!

From Sagrada Familia we headed towards Palau Guell, another of architect Antoni Gaudi's most famous edifices. It was closed for much of a decade from 2004 for structural repairs, and we only realised today that it was open for visits. Eusebio Guell was a rich industrialist who had been Gaudi's main sponsor and client, and the Palau was built for him and his family in 1882-3. Once again, another amazing place of enormous complexity. It must have been the equivalent of a 10-million-dollar mansion when built. The sheer amount of hand-crafted wood and ironwork was astounding, many many man-years of effort.

Street frontage, with enormous doors suitable for horses and carriages,
which head via a ramp to underground stables.

Performance hall, orchestra mezzanine top left

A random detail of column decoration

Roof with standard Gaudi chimneys

It was far more than a house for a couple and their two children. Most of it was designed for entertaining, with many beautiful halls and rooms, a magnificent pipe organ, a balcony for an orchestra and even a chapel. While we were going around it the organ burst into song, quite a moving experience.

It's been an amazing year for us for architecture. Frank Lloyd Wright's Tokyo Hotel kicked it off, followed by Le Corbusier's studio and home in Paris, Victor Horta's home in Brussels, Gaudi's Palau Guell. Mies van der Rohe's Tugendhat House is to come in 2 day's time. They've been a highlight of our travels.

We managed to start lunch at the very Spanish hour of 2:30pm, at a little 8-table restaurant near our room. We had to wait for a table, as it was very popular. A last plate of chipirones, some bacalao and we were set.

Back for a siesta, then out again for a small snack and then final repacking for Ryanair to Vienna and bus to Brno tomorrow.

1st December - Barcelona

Saturday 1st December saw us off on the first leg of our trip homeward. Though our first bus didn't leave until 10am we were up early and had the apartment completely ready for closing up in plenty of time. It was a bit of a surprise when we opened the downstairs door and found it was raining. We've barely had rain in weeks. So, trailing our big wheeled bags and wearing backpacks we made our way rather damply to the bus stop. 

We have used the 1 Euro bus to Perpignan so many times; it's been a great means of transport. With just time for a quick coffee at the cafe at the bus terminal, we boarded the Flixbus to Perpignan. We avoided a slight altercation when a couple of men sitting in our booked seats at the front very begrudgingly moved themselves elsewhere to unallocated seats. Given it was raining there was no final view of Mt Canigou as we left Ceret, so it was a bit of a low point to be departing France on.

The 2.25hr trip to Barcelona went smoothly and it was nice to get out and stretch our legs on reaching the bus terminal. There is a cafe nearby where we have stopped for a snack on many occasions over the years, and, it being  2:30pm, it was time for a small bite to eat. From there it was just a short walk to the apartment we had booked. Again, it was a place we have stayed in before. We like it because it is immediately opposite the brilliantly ornamented Palau de la Musica Catalana, and also one of Plensa's amazing head sculptures. It is also on the edge of the Gothic Quarter, a great location in the centre of the city. 

Arc de Triomf in Barcelona

Plensa's sculpture with the ornate Palace of Music on the left further down the street

After dumping our bags we promptly headed out again, though we only got as far as the next-door bar where we sat down to have a glass of cold beer! It was very welcome after the day's travels. It was then onwards to have a look around the Gothic Quarter, with an early stop being La Rambla and its famous Boqueria market. The latter was lit up with Xmas lights and was just as bright and and shiny inside. A lot of effort goes into the elaborate displays of food on offer.  

The entrance to La Boqueria

A little further away we came across a fabulous show selling all kinds of paper, much of it handmade. All manner of creations able to be made from paper were on display, including dresses. It was an amazing four-level store, clearly needing a very large population to be viable. I don't think Nelson would cut it unfortunately. My  love of paper resonated on our trip through Japan and I'm still gripped by it.

Amazing shop selling all forms of paper and paper creations

We carried on walking to Bilbao Berria, a bar in Plaza de la Catedral. It offers typically Basque food served as pintxos and tapas, i.e. very small dishes. The locals typically have one or two pintxos or tapas with a glass of wine or beer at around 5-7pm, before having their full dinner much later in the evening. We love going to this place and eating a variety of dishes as our one and only main meal. Each dish, e.g. fish or vegetable, is served on a small slice of baguette. The variety is mouth-watering. We have taken Bella, Nic and Alastair to Bilbao Berria over the years, and it never disappoints. 

Pintxos and cava - a perfect duo

Just some of the pintxos on offer

The secondhand stalls that typically set up in the cathedral square had been replaced by Xmas stalls, selling all manner of touristy knick-knacks so we gave it a miss and wandered back home. The music palace opposite our apartment was all lit up and provided some wonderful night-time photos.

Cathedral Square with the Xmas market

Palau de la Musica Catalana