It is a beautiful afternoon in Spain, but Jess and I are in an internet cafe. Feet have gotten itchy, and it is time to make a serious move. Being on a trip with no plan or path means that the plan and path are constantly in flux. In the internet cafe, I have three windows open on one computer. The first is Skyscanner, one of the most helpful websites for looking up cheap airfare. The second is Ryan Air, which seems to be the cheapest airline every time (this is very unfortunate because it is the least desireable by far and we always get off the no-frills flight with colds). The final open window is a currency converter so it is possible to see how many American dollars the trip is going to cost us.
Jess also has multiple windows open, simultaneousy typing in the names of endless unknown cities when I find cheap airfare and checking bus and train options.
"Okay, Jess, look up Trieste."
"Hmm...hold on. Oh, it's in Italy."
"Nope. Look up Aitou."
"Bless you."
"No, I didn't sneeze. It's a city." (I spell it out. Twice, because the first time Jess was in another window checking her facebook.) "Where is it?"
"Lebanon."
"Look up B-R-N-O."
Jess types it in and looks at it. "Bruno? THEY FORGOT THE U!! It's in the Czech Republic. Book it."
We spend the next 15 minutes booking the crazy cheap flight to Brno, Czech Republic and practicing saying a word without enough vowels.
"Brrrrr-no."
"Br-noooooo."
"Maybe the B is silent. Rhino."
"Why would the B be silent? BRRRRRRRRNOOOOOOOO."
Eventually, we settle on just pronouncing the sounds. Br-no. And it is the correct pronounciation as we find out on the flight from Barcelona. Neither one of us knows what to expect from Brno, but we have a place to stay and we won't be spending Euros. Money not converted to Euros is money well spent...or something.
We are couch surfing at a place called Club Wash. It is a club where one can get their laundry done while they have a beer, watch a football game, or examine materials under a microscope (no kidding, someone did that). Jess I are meant to sleep on an air mattress on the hand-made stage in the back bar. It's a bit of an odd arrangement, but it seems safe and it could be fun. Plus, for the sake of the neighbors Club Wash closes at ten p.m. so we know it won't get too crazy. The owners and employees at Club Wash all live in the building and we quickly get to know Thad, a student from Colorado who has extended his stay to help out at the bar. Thad introduces us to Lukas, a gypsy boy that the owner of the bar has taken under his wing. Lukas is an energetic, creative twelve year old that only knows swear words in English. However, we communicate with him through gestures and enjoy his company for the three days we are in Brno. Lukas took Jess and I to the nearby grocery store to help us navigate the isles and was actually extremely helpful. We also had some fun. Lukas and I took turns putting obnoixious products in the cart and waiting for Jess to figure it out and get annoyed. Lukas put about forty bars of soap in as his grand finale. After rolling on the ground with laughter at the insinuation that Jess smells THAT bad, I had to draw the line and act like an adult. Jess and I told Lukas that we would buy him one special treat and he picked out a swimming pool. His second choice was a can of corn. Out of everything he could get at the supermarket, he wanted a can of corn.
Brno reminded me of some of the super-small Colorado and mid-west towns I've been to. There is not a lot going on, it was blazing hot, and all of the shops had homemade window displays with sun-faded products that had probably not moved in years. Our first day there we walked around and saw almost everything the town had to offer, or so we thought. In the evening, we spent time talking to customers and employees at Club Wash including a British traveller with dredlocks named Phil who we hope to meet up with later on our trip.
In the following days, we got a few errands done and went to the local swimming pool with Lukas. In a small town, taking an entire afternoon to lick an icecream cone while staring at people from a park bench is the way of life and we did our best to slow down and enjoy the speed of the locals lives. With the help of Thad, we found out that the real night life of the seemingly sleepy small town is underground. We went to a rock show in a bar that felt so much like the hull of a boat (the Alice Cooper look-alike lead singer gave me his phone number afterwards). Another night with another host, we went to an underground club where we patiently waited while the young boys (ages 16-21) that we were with loosened up enough to talk to us. By the end of the night, we were all taking over the dance floor and chatting like old friends.
Brno was the first chance in years I had to really experience the simpleness of summer that I remember from my childhood. Brno also claims the prize for the best and cheapest food we had in the Czech Republic. The Czech beer on tap at Club Wash was the best we had. The nightlife was fun and diverse. All in all, we are glad we went.
Brno, we will never forget U.
