Dear incoming students, The time of your arrival to Brno and Masaryk University is approaching and therefore I would like to give you more details about your arrival and the first days of your stay in Brno. How to get to Brno from Prague or Vienna airport? 1- Take the Student Agency Express bus (from Prague to Brno, you will have to change a bus at main bus terminal Florence in Prague, from Vienna to Brno the bus is direct). There is a ticket office at Terminal 1 in Prague, in Vienna there is no ticket office, from either Prague or Vienna you can buy your ticket in advance and pay by credit card, it is really easy: a. Go to: http://jizdenky.studentagency.cz/Booking b. In the place “Station of departure” choose: Praha Ruzyne - letiste terminal 1, in the place “Station of arrival” choose: Brno c. Change the suitable time and click on the orange button with the price. d. Choose the seat number on the bus and click on “Create reservation”. e. Continue with the payment. f. After doing all of this, you will be able to print out your electronic bus ticket; you will also receive a confirmation email. 2- Take the train from Prague to Brno, in this case, you need to take the city shuttle bus to get to the centre and then take the underground (metro) to get to the train station (ask at the info desk at the airport for details). There are two possible train stations: Praha hlavni nadrazi, and Praha-Holesovice, you can check the train schedule online at http://jizdnirady.idnes.cz/vlakyautobusy/spojeni/, switch into English (bottom right corner) and insert the data needed as follows: a. In the place From: write either Praha hl.n., or Praha,Holešovice, in the place To: write Brno hl.n. b. Change the date and time according to your arrival to Prague (please do not forget to count at least 2 hours extra time to get to the train station from the airport, it does not take that long but since you do not know the way, you must count some extra time to find it and time to buy the ticket at the train station to be in the safe side!). c. Click on SEARCH d. You will then get the list of all possible trains, make sure to choose only a direct train to Brno so that you do not have to change the train somewhere. The trip from Prague train station to Brno will take around 3 hours. If you are taking the train from Vienna to Brno, then you need to take the bus from Vienna airport to the train station, take the bus that takes you to (Wien Meidling) From there, you can take a direct train to Brno main station (Brno hl.n.). To check the train schedule from Vienna to Brno, go to http://jizdnirady.idnes.cz/vlakyautobusy/spojeni/ and follow the same steps as mentioned above, but instead of Praha stations, you will write the name of the station in Vienna, that is Wien Meidling. The trip takes around 1.5 hours. If both cases (bus or train) from either Prague or Vienna, you will reach the same destination in Brno, that is Brno main station (in Czech: Brno hlavni nadrazi), from there, you could either take a taxi to Vinarska residence (it would cost you a maximum of 400 CZK - approx. 15 EUR), or you can ask your tutor to wait for you there to lead the way to Vinarska. How to get to the halls of residence on arrival at Brno? Vinařská halls of residence (street Vinařská 5, Brno 603 00) Below you can see the location of Vinařská on a map. If you decide to get there on your own from the main railway station in Brno, or the bus station by the Hotel Grand (these stations are very close to each other), take tram no. 1 in the direction of “Bystrc” and get off at the stop called “Výstaviště”. Then cross the road and go up the street called “Vinařská“, about 200 meters up the street, you will see the main building of the Vinařská halls on your left. Take the steps up, then go through a kind of short passage between the buildings and you will see all 3 blocks of Vinařska residence on your left side. You are accommodated in the block A1, some of you in A2. The reception is inside just by the entrance. Komárov (Sladkého) halls of residence (street Sladkého 13, 617 00 Brno - please note that the accommodation assistant’s office is in the next building, street Bratří Žurků 5) Below you can see the location of Komárov (Sladkého) on a map. If you decide to get there on your own from the main railway station in Brno, or the bus station by the Hotel Grand (these stations are very close to each other), take tram number 9 or 12 direction „Komárov“ and get off at the stop „Komárov”. Use the underpass, then walk straight ahead about 200 metres, turn right, walk cca 100 metres and you can see the building on your left side. Arrival at the halls of residence You can arrive at any time, there will always be someone at the reception 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Have your accommodation contract ready – printed out from the ISKaM, after the online room booking. At the reception, they will give you: The key of your room A map of Brno, so called “Navigator” A printed programme of the registration day and the orientation week One piece of toilet tissue (please note that no further toilet tissue will be provided during the semester) In the halls of residence, there are small flats fully furnished (corridor, double bedroom, WC, bathroom and small kitchen with a refrigerator and a cooker). Some of the rooms have a balcony. You don not need to bring any pillows, blankets and bed-clothes. But bring your own towels and cooking gear. You can buy any stuff you need in some Brno supermarkets (Tesco, Interspar, etc.) You can also borrow kitchen utensils from former students who left them in the International Student Club. The orientation week Those who paid for the participation in the orientation week, please find the programme in the attachment or online at: http://czs.muni.cz/en/in/students/studies/erasmus-files/other-info There might be small changes in the programme (e.g. room , you will get the printed final version at the registration after your arrival) The registration with the Office for International Studies The registration is obligatory for all incoming students! You will get important information and a welcome package. If you arrive before the main registration day, Monday 12th September, do not come to our office, but come on Monday 12th September directly to the Faculty of Economics and Administration, where the registration day takes place. (You will be led there by your student tutors in that morning directly from Vinařská. Meet them please on Monday 12th September by the reception of block A1 at 8:45 or 9:15 a.m., depending on your Czech language level – see the attached Orientation programme for an explanation (Students accommodated at Komorov residence see Orientation week program for more details). The registration for other than Erasmus students coming after Monday 12th September (i. e. those who miss the registration day on Monday 12th September) takes place at the Faculty of Medicine (the old faculty in the city centre, not in the new campus) in your coordinator office based on arranged meeting. For registration, bring the following documents with you: a copy of the identification page of your passport (EU students can bring only their national ID card) a copy of your visa (for those who need visa) a copy of your health insurance card (or a commercial travel insurance) 650 CZK for Brno city transport card 170 CZK for MU chip card (only those who have not paid in advance) 500 CZK International Student Club membership fee (membership is voluntary) For other purposes (you might need later), please bring the following: 2 passport-sized photo (write your name on the rear) Czech language courses Information on Czech language courses can be found on our website. If you have not read them yet, please have a look at the attachment. Tutoring During August 2011, you will be (or have already been) contacted by a Czech student tutor who will help you to settle down in Brno. He or she can take you to the dormitory after arrival, help to arrange accommodation formalities (note that the Czech dormitory usually staff speaks very little English so the tutor help might be valuable), give you a hand in registering for courses and with various things you will need at the beginning or during the semester. If no tutor has contacted you yet, write to [email protected]. Vodafone SIM card For more information – see the “ISC Welcoming Letter” (will be available later). Insurance card, national ID card or transportion pass It is obligatory for all foreigners staying in the Czech Republic to have their insurance cards and ID cards (passports) always with you. Please carry it at all times, as you might be checked by members of the Police Office for Foreigners. Facebook The Office for International Studies on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/OIS/281091462463?ref=ts You can find there important links, accommodation and job offers, invitations to culture events. Introductory Guide It is a very important brochure, contains all practical information you will need during the whole stay in Brno.