Brno: January 2, 2024: Reconnecting with Old Friends

Greetings on our last morning in Vienna — as we pack and head to the train station …

Yesterday morning we made our way to the Vienna Hauptbanh (train station) to catch a train to Brno (Czech Republic) to visit old friends… Jana and Jar, and their son Jan, and the partner of the original base of our friendship—Rudolf. This was probably our 5th or 6th trip to Brno over many years.

When we lived in Finland, we were friends with many young international people who–like us–were living in Finland for a year, mostly on some kind of grant or fellowship (also like us). One of those in this friend group was a guy named Lallin who was an architect/planner, working at the same firm Mike worked at (to supplement his Fulbright stipend and my grant). Over those months we learned a lot about what was then Czechoslovakia and Lallin’s love of his country and his decision to return home in spite of the political difficulties in the 1970s. While he would not yet be home, he encouraged us over and again to visit his country and especially his home Brno, before we headed back to the US. As it was, we were planning to travel (driving) all through what was then “Eastern Europe” (Poland, Yugoslavia, Hungary, etc.) so visiting Brno became part of our trip. That first visit was eye-opening. We were hosted by Lallin’s parents and stayed at their house. His mother and father were both teachers and then high school principals. An aunt also lived at the house along with Lallin’s sister and her two young children (Jana and Michal). We could never figure out where the family slept while we were there because they gave us (what seemed to be the only) bedroom. We arrived late in the evening because we were driving our own car and came through Poland. In those days crossing those borders was complicated and time consuming. By the time we’d wake up each morning everyone was up and the house looked like everything was in place. I think several people in the family slept on the floor of the kitchen and living room while we were there.

Anyway, while we had a great time and they were wonderful hosts, no one really spoke much English, so there were a lot of hand motions and pictures needed. We returned two years later when Lallin was back in Brno and together we did an amazing driving trip through the entire country—lots of stories to tell about that trip; and then we returned again few years before the Velvet Revolution… And then again a few years after that to learn more about the immediate changes brought on by the collapse of Communism and the break-up into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Somewhere along the way… I think in 1986, we met his partner, Rudolf (who is a total opera fanatic). Then Lallin got a heart transplant (apparently much easier to get there than in the states, since there is the assumption that everyone donates their organs) and we came to see him again. We had been planning to visit again–a few years later–but Lallin passed away a few days before we got there. We decided to come anyway to see the family which included, at that time, his niece Jana who was, by then a nephrologist, her husband Jaramil who was a professor of geology at the university.

Now we were coming again–just for the day–because it was so close to Vienna. We would see Jana and Jar (who is now the dean of the faculty of science at the university) and their son Jan who is a young 32-year old lawyer (and law clerk to one of the judges in the federal court, and who has just passed the exams to be a judge himself), and of course Rudolf, who is still considered part of the family. During the first years we met Rudolf with Lallin we learned a lot about the difficulties of being gay in Czechoslovakia.

Jana and Jaramil met us at the train station in Brno. It was a rainy, dreary day for a reunion, but the welcomes were warm and it was good to reconnect. Our train ride from Vienna to Brno was not without complications. It turns out that our ticket was on a “private” rail line (go know!!) so they had a little trouble finding our track since the government doesn’t announce the tracks for these trains as quickly as it announces tracks for government trains. The train was pretty low quality… but Jara told us that our train was much better than the government ones (!!) We had purchased “first class” tickets although the trip was pretty short. We figured the seats would be more comfortable, and it wasn’t very expensive. It was definitely a second world train (probably 1960 vintage, old German train). Not quite as bad as trains I’ve taken in Romania, Tibet, and Uzbekistan…. But close.

Nonetheless, we arrived safe and sound… and also learned that there are three classes on these Czech trains: Economy, First, and Business. Turns out that Business class is higher than First Class?

We then all met up with Rudolf and Jan at a restaurant with a view (which we couldn’t see in the rain) and had fairly typical Czech food (meaning lots of heavy meat… and potatoes.. and of course, beer). We talked on and on about politics (theirs, ours, and the world) and the environment (Jan is working to become a legal specialist in the newly emerging field of Czech environmental law), and what we’ve all been doing over the past years. It had been 10 years since we were last in Brno. Fortunately, Jaramil and Jan speak English very well, (and Jana understands but is hesitant to speak), but communication with Rudolf is limited.

Then we headed to their house for coffee and pastries and more conversation. Brno is/has always been an industrial city very overshadowed by Prague. It is the second largest city in the country with about 400,000+ residents. It is now a tech center but having difficulty encouraging young people to study technology at the university. It is home to about 5 large universities (some of which Jar says are very highly rated internationally). While we could see some new construction, Brno still seemed very much a second world city—but much loved by its residents who, like Jan, appear to return after university.

We learned that the amount of funds the US has given to Ukraine is more than the entire Czech budget. The Czechs have donated their old Russian tanks and other equipment to Ukraine in support of their role in the war with Russia because the Ukrainians know how to fix and use those old Soviet-era equipment. Then the Czechs can replace those weapons with new ones… well “newer,” according to Jan, who corrected his father’s description. Father and son were funny because Jaramil’s (Jan’s father) work involves locating minerals that are radioactive and recommends how they can be safely extracted if needed. Jan’s work focuses on regulations regarding such materials and their impact on the environment. Jaramil says jokingly that Jan (his son) will eventually put him out of business.

Jan took us on a tour of the newly renovated court building where he works–which was quite impressive. There were really good, large-size documentary-style black and white photographs of all the judges in a gallery-style wall on one floor. First we were surprised to see such “casual” photos rather than official portraits. Then we were also surprised that the majority of judges were female. And it was interesting to learn that one of the judges is interested in photography so she took all of the photos! Nice touch.

The Czechs have grown weary of the war in Ukraine especially because while they overwhelmingly welcomed Ukrainian immigrants at the start of the war, they are now seeing their taxes increase, to help pay for the immigrants. And the Czech Republic seems to back Israel over Palestine because of a general fear of Muslims and dislike of Arabs who are “paying their way” to get degrees at Czech universities. It’s probably also tied to the fact that they fear immigration overall—since they are a fairly homogeneous population.

Then we headed back to the station to catch our “non-first class” seat. Before taking a taxi for a late dinner (restaurants are open until about midnight here in Vienna—my kind of town), we went to the train information counter to check what kind of seats we have for our trip to Munich in a few hours. Turns out that while we thought we had first class seats (it’s a-5 hour train ride and we have our baggage; the “business class seats” are the only ones with room to store baggage) which we do… but again, it is Business Class that is the best seating. We couldn’t upgrade for our train, but we were able to rebook for a later train … We shall see.

We had dinner at a restaurant called Market (in the Naschtmarkt area), which was good… Asian. We had four starter plates and were pretty full at the end. Then back to the hotel to pack.

I’m going to sign off now and end this travelogue series… unless something really interesting happens between now and our flight to SFO. We are staying at an airport hotel so we can just walk to the plane tomorrow morning. Can’t imagine that anything worth writing about can happen between now and our arrival in SF.

Take care.
Fern