Holly Hamilton and JJ Chalmers test out a dual-centre city break in the Czech Republic. They kick off in the capital, Prague, before heading to Brno, the country’s second city.
Following viewer recommendations, they visit many of Prague’s tourist favourites, including the Astronomical Clock with its hourly procession of Apostles, the historic Powder Tower and the iconic Charles Bridge. They take a river tour to get a different perspective on the city, before heading to the Castle to take in the changing of the guard. In the Castle complex they admire one of Prague’s most impressive buildings, St Vitus Cathedral, where kings and queens were crowned and where Saint Wenceslas is buried.
In a city full of impressive architecture, the Dancing House, reminiscent of Fred and Ginger, has become a modern classic and inspires some nifty moves from JJ and Holly. They then jump in a classic car, to take a vintage red taxi tour of the city. JJ pays homage to The Beatles at the Lennon Wall, Holly visits a TV tower that was voted one of the world’s ugliest buildings, and finds an art gallery with its very own airship.
In the smaller and quieter city of Brno, three hours from Prague, JJ discovers Europe’s second largest ossuary, where 50,000 skeletons are stored in a medieval charnel. Holly calls in at the Villa Tugendhat, created by the legendary Mies Van Der Rohe in the 1920s and still inspiring architects and designers today. JJ accesses a once highly classified nuclear bunker that is prepared for chemical and nuclear attack, but in the meantime functions as a hostel.
And in this week’s short getaway, actor Kristian Nairn, Game of Thrones' Hodor, takes giant footsteps around a royal residence, Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland’s County Down. Show less