Ostrava is a city that is often overlooked by those of us who move to the Czech Republic. Ask most Czechs what they think of the place and you’ll get varying degrees of disinterested reactions. Safe to say that the third largest city in Czech Republic and capital of the Moravia-Silesia region doesn’t get too much love. I had to catch a flight from Ostrava airport the other week, so I decided to go up a day early and check the place out.
Now I do want to preface this by saying that when I went to Ostrava, a lot of things were still affected by the horrendous floods that had happened in the region. Trains from Brno were not stopping at the main train station, and I was getting warnings from Google that businesses might be closed due to the after-effects of the floods.
Despite this, I didn’t experience too many disruptions on my trip. Yes, I had to get off at Ostrava Svinov instead of Hlavní Nádraží, but the excellent tram system meant that was barely an issue at all. Just like in Brno, you can use contactless to tap on and off the trams and buses in Ostrava, so getting around was super easy. I will say that Google Maps was not the best, and kept trying to take me on weirdly long routes, so I would recommend using the Dopravní Podnik Ostrava website, which has a journey planner, or download the MojeDPO app where you can buy tickets and look up connections.
After arriving, I headed to my accommodation. Hostel Moravia Ostrava is a cheap and cheerful little place about a five-minute walk from Ostrava Hlavní Nádraží. I paid CZK 664 for a spacious double room to myself. It had everything you needed for one night, a comfy bed, linens, side table, desk, chair and a couple of bedside lamps. The bathroom was shared but spotlessly clean, and I got full access to a kitchen with cooker, microwave, and fridge-freezer, as well as complimentary tea and coffee. Overall, I’d say it’s perfectly acceptable to crash there for a night or two, but any longer and I’d probably look elsewhere.
After dumping my luggage, I went to the most quintessentially touristic place in the city, Dolní Vítkovice. Serving as a coal mine and producer of steel for 170 years, the buildings and parts of the mine have been turned into museums and cultural centres for visitors to learn about Ostrava’s industrial past, and discover how it helped shape science and technology within Europe.
Since I only had limited time, I paid a visit to Bolt Tower. Built on top of blast furnace 1, the towering glass building reaches a height of 78 metres, and is certainly an impressive and imposing structure! You can take a guided tour or just take the elevator to the cafe at the top of the tower. I did the latter, and enjoyed my coffee while taking in the view, which was limited by the dull weather but still amazing! I then had a look at Usain Bolt’s signature, which commemorates when the great man opened the tower, and walked down the stairs back to the bottom. I also had a short walk around Dolní Vítkovice itself, and it was really interesting to see all the abandoned buildings, alongside those that have been renovated and turned into museums. It kind of felt like I was walking through a set from Fallout…
By this time, it had just turned 6pm, and I was yet to set foot in the historic centre. I jumped on a tram and made my way there in search of something to eat. I happened to stumble across Stodolní Street, apparently the party place of Ostrava. Considering the number of bars, restaurants and clubs, I can well believe it, but on a Thursday evening at 6:30pm, it was hardly jumping!
I ended up in Bernie’s Irish Pub, for what I can only describe as the most mediocre and overpriced burger I’ve ever had. I had one pint of Radegast, a burger, some fries and a dip, which came to over CZK 500!! I don’t think I’ve even paid that much in Prague for a normal pub meal. The burger bun was soggy and dripping wet from various sauces melding into grease from the bacon and burger patty. The bacon was quite limp, as was the limited salad, which was lacking any crunch or flavour. Overall, I would recommend steering clear of this place and choosing literally any of the other food options around town.
After leaving Bernie’s dissatisfied and with my purse considerably lighter, I wandered through the streets, admiring some of the classic Czech architecture. Even though I’ve seen a lot of it in four years here, I still find it extremely charming, especially the multitude of colours you can see cascading down the high streets, each building having its own unique charm and character based on whatever colour has been chosen for it. This is as prominent in Ostrava as it is everywhere else in the Czech Republic, and I love it.
I stumbled across a bar called Just Prosecco, which surprisingly did indeed serve – just prosecco. I nestled onto a stool and made my way through three glasses while reading my book and occasionally chatting with the waitress. She was very knowledgeable and happy to recommend different types of prosecco for me to try. She also presented me with complimentary olives and peanuts as soon as I sat down, so I had a lovely little snack to banish the taste of my mediocre burger. I loved this little place, and will definitely revisit whenever I’m back in Ostrava. And it only cost CZK 250. Half the price of my meal. I don’t know if you can tell, but I’m still extremely sour about the price of that meal.
I wandered back from the city centre to my accommodation and called it a night, as I had to be at the airport for 8:30 am. Transport to the airport was also pretty easy; I jumped on a tram to the main bus station, where you can find two or three buses that go to the airport, as well as the Airport Express bus.
Overall I would happily go back to Ostrava. I’m from an industrial area of the UK, and it did feel like a little reminder of home. It’s definitely worth the two-hour journey and CZK 230 train ticket to check it out in my opinion. If staying longer, you can do tours of the coal mines, plus there are some lovely nature spots around the city, and the zoo is quite acclaimed as well. Maybe next summer I’ll take another day trip up there to see what I missed this time!
