Let me Introduce …. OSTRAVA ! ! !

Veronika Krpcová

(and I did not forget to use three exclamation marks, a symbol that suggests our pride in our city)

Although I now study at MUNI, I come from Ostrava, and I would like to introduce this city to people from Brno. I know that theatres, museums and galleries are not so popular among some people/students, so I will recommend some more attractive activities you can do in Ostrava. So let’s do this!

PLACES

KOMENSKÉHO SADY

Do you need a place to relax? Choose KOMENSKÉHO SADY (Comenius Park) for a nap or to enjoy your lunch away from your office. This place has beautiful scenery along the Ostravice River (full of trees, greenery, footpaths and grassy clearings) and leads you through the centre of Ostrava to another part of the city, Ostrava Přívoz. It is the perfect place to relax, lie on your back on a blanket, have a picnic on one of five jetties along the duck-filled river, jog or just go for a walk and enjoy the day.

 

COOLTOUR OSTRAVA

Right in the city centre there is a place made for culture. COOLTOUR is a space where many cultural events take place. Here you can enjoy concerts, dance performances, workshops, public lectures, discussions, a Christmas fair, a restaurant day, summer campfires and open-air cinema. If you have nothing to do, this is the place to go!

 

SHOPS

City Folklore

A clothes shop, but a special clothes shop, not a normal clothes shop. Identical, Ostravian, significant, representative, stylish, distinctive, original, new – at least some of the words that describe artist-owner Sasanca’s show-room and products. She is a much-acclaimed Czech designer and we are proud of her. You can meet her at festivals, fairs and design weeks throughout the country. She has designed and made a collection of tour T-shirts for the famous Czech pop group Kryštof, T-shirts for the Ostrava Barista Cup and special T-shirts with the words ‘Local: 100 % Ostrava’ to profess the fact that we are from Ostrava and proud of it.

 

 

COFFEE EVERYWHERE!

And it really is everywhere! There is no way to get to work without a cup of coffee, and in the unlikely event that you are not addicted to coffee, in this town you have no option but to become so.

U ČERNÉHO STROMU coffee shop

One of the former Ostravanka coffee shops that separated from the others and went its own way, U černého stromu, where you can find good-quality coffee supplied by the famous La Boheme cafe in Prague, was founded by two women. Coffee is important, but what if it is not well prepared? This could never happen in this coffee shop. Its staff (winners in Ostrava Barista Cup competitions) are so highly skilled that your cup of coffee is truly extraordinary. Sweet things go hand in hand with coffee – and I am sure that it is enough just to name them: cheesecakes, brownies with cherries, cakes, pies, doughnuts, cupcakes.

 

KAVÁRNA DANIEL

This coffee shop is more famous for its 1930s design than its menu. The owners decided to renovate an old apartment in the city centre and create a new coffee shop. You can start your day in Kavárna Daniel and keep your lazy mood by moving to the next apartment, DUNBAR – a bar of the same style as the coffee shop – so preserving the atmosphere of the 1930s.

If you still can’t decide where to go, here’s another option. The ČERSTVÝ BOBY coffee shop is really small and there is nowhere to sit, but the coffee is really tasty, as it is in the CO KAFE espresso bar in the city centre and also in Poruba.

MINIKINO KAVÁRNA (Minicinema Coffee shop)

Crowded cinemas, coke and popcorn, checking your backpack (what if you were a terrorist!), high price of tickets – you won’t find any of these things in MINICINEMA. There is a small hall where you can enjoy interesting films (not just the latest ones but also some Scandinavian, French, Spanish and classic Czech ones, such as Adéla ještě nevečeřela). The atmosphere is completed by the bar right next to the entry to the minicinema, where you can order refreshments to enjoy in the cinema, and if you run out, you just get up and go for more, the only inconvenience being that they don’t stop the film when you go for another round.

 

FOOD

FAENCY FRIES

Do you love typical Belgian fries but lack the money to travel each time you feel like some? Don’t despair – here, a duo of owners offer a cone of fries with different kinds of mayo.

MAMA’S

Even Zdeněk Pohlreich gave three stars to this bistro, which started in a van parked in front of the TESCO supermarket selling three kinds of hamburgers and three kinds of hot dogs. These became so popular that the business moved to a restaurant, and I have to say that they have the best burgers in the town. If you are not a vegetarian, you guaranteed a good meal there.

Trisha SLADKÝ ČASY (Sweet Times)

Running a business out of a small shop selling nothing but cupcakes? Nobody had heard of this in Ostrava three years ago, when Trisha took a chance. Now we are extremely grateful to her, because cupcakes were just what we were missing! They give us a little happiness every day.

If Trisha’s cupcakes aren’t the thing for you, you can go further into the city centre and visit JUST DONUT, the first shop in Ostrava with American doughnuts. Their Oreo, lotus, white chocolate with almonds, salty caramel, peanut butter and plain salty doughnuts are unbelievable!

 

 

EVENTS

COLOURS OF OSTRAVA

The biggest and the most famous multi-genre music festival in Ostrava, attendance at which has become compulsory for Ostravians and people from the surrounding area. It is held in the industrial area of Lower Vítkovice, which guarantees an amazing, non-traditional atmosphere. There are always lots of stages.

OSTRAVA RESTAURANT DAY

An international food festival which is held throughout the world and Ostrava is no exception. Mostly 30-40 amateur cooks serve homemade food at cost price. A great day out for the general public and chefs alike!

EXPERIENCE OSTRAVA DIFFERENTLY

Want to get to know your neighbours better? Want to see more of them, not just in the corridor when you get home? Do you feel like a stranger or foreigner in this town? Are you new here? Then join Experience Ostrava Differently. It is a kind of festival filled with flea markets, workshops, food and conversation, giving you the opportunity to get to know other people living in Ostrava and learn about the life of this city.

There are many more things to do and many more places to visit in Ostrava, but I think that’s enough for now.

So – allow me to invite you to my hometown!