Day 1
On a beautiful Friday morning of October 6 when there were no NYU classes, we departed from the indispensable meet-up location at the Vltavska metro station to the well-known Czech region of South Moravia.
The trip promised the real South Moravian vibe both inside and out by allowing us to visit some beautiful cities and go inside the Karst Caves.
Location 1. Brno
Our first destination was Brno, the capitol city of the region located in the south of the Czech Republic. It took us approximately 3 hours to get there from Prague. For my almost two-metre tall friend these were unforgettable hours because he could barely fit into the bus seat lol 🙂 (this was not that funny for him).
As a person who has been living in Prague for a while, I can say that Brno has a completely different atmosphere. It has a small, but gorgeous center with an authentic market for locals located right in the historical area. Although it is the second-largest city in Czechia, it has fewer tourists but more life on the streets.
Tip #1: you will find lots of interesting places if you don’t plan (you will be more surprised to find something that you did not expect to come across).
Tip #2: Bring your ISIC card!!!! You will get discounts in some of the restaurants and food spots (there is a really good salad bar called UGO right in the center offers a discount for students! And they have a WC, so now you know at least one spot in *emergency cases*)
Location 2. Mikulov
During the second half of the day, our NYU crew went to Mikulov, a town located right on the Czech-Austrian border that we had seen from the top of the hill earlier on our hike.
Note: be careful, because the stones are very slippery!
Churches, picturesque views, and funny NYU students made the hike much more interesting😅
. 
Comment from the group: he said “yes!”
After the active day we checked into the hotel which was 2 min away from the main square. Everyone who still had a full “social battery” decided to take a tour of the town tour. We went around the local castle, the garden near it, and called it a day.
However, some students still wanted to explore more. So, a group of five of us (including me) roamed the streets until we came across very spooky place near the church. It was a dark ghostly ossuary full of bones… brr… Anyway, we finished our exploration of Mikulov together with the sun slowly setting and a replenishing dinner afterwards.
Day 2
Location 3.The Punkva Caves
Our NYU squad arrived at this national nature reserve where the nature mesmerized everyone. Unfortunately, we did not hike there because we came to see the caves (but FYI: this place is a brilliant option for hiking, nature lovers will definitely like it). As soon as I entered the underground world, I got really cold!
Tip #3: take very warm clothes to the caves! I had a sport windbreaker, but it was still very cold for me.
So our guide led us through the caves, telling us lots of interesting info about the dripstones, the history of the cave, and more. The most interesting fact I remembered was that when people touch dripstones, they can turn dark and stop growing (because our skin has a chemical in it that does not react well with dripstones).
Tip #4: don’t be scared of getting lost there as far as tunnels are made without branching. (Although, if you have claustrophobia, think in advance about whether you should go to the caves)
Half-way through the tour, we unexpectedly came upon the 174- metre abyss called Macocha (stepmother). Legend says that she threw her stepchild into the abyss and then jumped in right after. By a miracle, the child was saved, but on stormy days you can still hear the mournful weeping of the stepmother from the abyss.
What surprised me at first glance was the small lake at the bottom of the abyss. When the guide told me that it was 70 meters deep, I could not believe my eyes.
The second part of the tour was a boat ride. Our NYU group took seats and we sailed along the Punkva river which the cave was named after. The water was crystal clear and freezing. It was around 6°C and the temperature in cave was around 8°C. Most of the way the depth was 1-1,5 m. but in some places it was 40 m. deep.
Tip#5: don’t take pictures during the boat ride! It is not allowed there because people focus on taking photos and forget to lean when there are rock on the sides.
In general, I had some flashbacks from my childhood when I played Minecraft, this time with no Enderman or zombies lol 🙂
It was a great two-day experience that I will definitely never forget. I highly recommend these caves to everyone!