【Aikido × Travel】Enjoying an Aikido Seminar and Dojo Visits in Prague, Czech Republic – Part 12

October 28th was the day we traveled from Brno to Hranice.

Originally, we had planned to go by train, but due to construction work, we needed to take a bus to Olomouc and then transfer to a train. Fortunately, our friend B, who lives in Hranice, kindly offered to pick us up in Olomouc, so we decided to enjoy some sightseeing until meeting him.

Our bus was scheduled to leave around 11:30 a.m., but before that, we had to wash four aikido uniforms from the past two days at a coin laundry.

As soon as the shop opened at 8 a.m., we started the washing machine and took showers while waiting. Last time, we put in enough money for two drying cycles, but the machine broke and only ran once—and the money wasn’t refunded. So this time, we decided to be extra careful.

When I returned to the laundry after my shower, the uniforms looked mostly dry except around the collar, so we brought them back to the room. But once we spread them out, they were still quite damp.

“I’ll go back to the shop again.”

 “It’s fine, let’s just leave it.”

So in the end, we packed the slightly damp uniforms into the suitcase.

In Japan, some places charge a bathing tax or accommodation tax, and it’s the same in the Czech Republic. Even though we were staying at an Airbnb, we had to pay the fee into a small box placed in the kitchen.

Luckily, we had exact change. If you stay in similar accommodations, don’t forget to prepare coins.

The long-distance bus station is located in front of the Grand Hotel Brno, so we took a tram to get there.

Since it was our first time using a long-distance bus in the Czech Republic, we arrived more than an hour early. Perhaps because of that, our bus wasn’t yet listed on the information board.

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The restroom at the station was paid, and when I tried to use my credit card, it didn’t work. A man was lining up behind me, so I stepped aside.

The man after me didn’t insert a card at all—he simply nodded toward the left side, and the gate opened.

“Huh?”

 I tried the same, and a staff member on the left side noticed my situation and opened the gate for me.

Later, I learned that foreign credit cards cannot be used for this restroom.

Even 15 minutes before departure, “Olomouc” still didn’t appear on the board, and the RegioJet bus at the stop showed a different destination.

We found another bus from the same company parked at the rotary, and when I checked its route, and finally saw “Olomouc” listed.

After showing our tickets to the driver, we were allowed to board. Unlike Japan, detailed announcements are rare, so you really need to check everything yourself.

We had reserved the front seats on the second floor, but the upper part of the front window was covered with a sunshade net, so we enjoyed the scenery from the side windows instead.

While I nervously checked Google Maps to make sure we didn’t miss our stop, Mike was fast asleep beside me.

There was a bus stop with a name similar to Olomouc, and we weren’t sure whether we should get off. But we remembered friend B telling us, “This bus stops far from Olomouc Station, so avoid using it,” so we stayed on board.

When the bus suddenly went in a different direction from the navigation route, my heart skipped a beat—but eventually the route overlapped again, and we safely arrived at Olomouc Station.

We wanted to store our suitcase in a station locker, but it required a phone number, and our SIM-only phones couldn’t be used. Thankfully, B had taken one suitcase for us the day before, so we only had one left.

We carried it together, taking turns as we walked toward the city center.

We stopped by a Chinese restaurant and enjoyed a long-awaited meal full of vegetables and Asian flavors.

Our goal was St. Wenceslas Cathedral in the old town.

When the building came into view, Mike said, “We don’t need the map anymore,” which turned out to be a mistake. Even though the cathedral looked so close, we kept walking along beautiful tree-lined paths, circling around it again and again without ever reaching the entrance.

The old town scenery was lovely, and wandering around was fun, but we had clearly drifted far away from the cathedral. So we decided to be satisfied with having seen the exterior and headed toward the main square to see the Holy Trinity Column.

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This is what we wanted to see.

But what we found in the square was… 

Under construction.

We tried to enter a nearby church, but a local person told us, “It’s not open today.” Even from the outside, though, we could tell how magnificent the interior must be.

While we continued exploring the old town, B contacted us with the meeting place and time, so we headed to the designated shopping mall.

We wanted to bring him a small gift, so we looked around a flower shop and a bookstore, but in the end, we chose a few delicious-looking items from a cheese shop that caught our interest.

When we reunited with B and showed him the photo of the Holy Trinity Column under renovation, he gave a wry smile. It seemed he was even more concerned about our sightseeing time than we were.

After about a 30-minute drive, we arrived in Hranice. B stayed with us through check-in, and after confirming plans for the next day, he said, “I’m having dinner with my wife tonight,” and headed home.

That evening, we celebrated with beer from the supermarket and a takeout pizza.

“Next time, let’s come by train so we don’t trouble him,” we said to each other while enjoying our simple but delicious dinner.

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